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Posted by
Per
Hansson on October 22, 2002
Manufacturer: FIC
Product: AN17
KT333 motherboard
Manufacturer #2: Epox
Product #2: 8K3A+
KT333 motherboard
Find motherboard prices
here.
Hardware
-
CPU
AMD Athlon XP 1466 Mhz (133mhz FSB)
Motherboard Epox 8K3A+ BIOS “8k3a2815.exe“ date
08/15/2002
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256MB
DDR-SDRAM, CL2, 133 Mhz TwinMOS
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ATI
Radeon 8500 @ 275/275
-
IBM
60GXP 20,0 GB
-
Enermax
431w PSU
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Windows
2000 Professional w/Service Pack 3
Benchmarks
What we
can conclude on here is the fact that these mainboards are
aimed at two very different user groups; the Epox 8K3A+ is
aimed at the power user, having a board filled of extra
features and overclocking friendly options. While the FIC
AN17, a more discrete offering saves on the extra niceties
for pushing a no-frills, very solid performer that will
attract some OEM and less demanding users.
Like we
have repeated along the article, if we get to compare the
"tweakability" of these boards we really get
results from two different worlds, notice that the FIC is
based towards the OEM market, with dip switches for
processor voltage and no multiplier changing support, this
is surely a mainboard that hardware enthusiasts and extreme
overclockers alike will not touch with a ten feet pole. Here
the Epox is its complete opposition, with only two jumpers,
one to select the FSB for the system and the other to clear
the CMOS this board will surely appeal to individuals who
prefer this kind of "control".
Price,
another thing to consider… like we mentioned at the
beginning of this article, perhaps the most attractive point
of KT333 motherboards right now are their prices. Having
most manufacturers distributing high-end KT400 solutions for
~$160 and mid level boards for around $100; we could find
the Epox reviewed here for less than $90 and while we got a
very hard time finding the FIC it went for less than $70, so
we now leave it to you to compare and decide what fits your
needs better.
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