MSI KT4 Ultra

Both the GA-7VAXP and KT4 Ultra are good adverts for VIA's new KT400 chipset, but the real benefits may only become apparent when DDR 400 memory stabilises. That said, both boards still performed well, although there's no obvious performance gain over KT333 at the moment. But with built-in USB 2 and the option of Serial ATA and Bluetooth on the MSI, the KT400 is still a strong platform for AMD processors. Nvidia's nForce 2 platform should offer strong competition, though, featuring an improved Dual DDR memory controller, and the forthcoming nForce 2 SPP motherboards could be a serious challenge.

If you're looking to upgrade your Athlon PC, both of these boards offer benefits, particularly AGP 8x. Of the two, the Gigabyte GA-7VAXP is the best, offering IEEE-1394, RAID and networking for the same price as the MSI KT4 Ultra. However, neither board features the forthcoming Serial ATA connector, although MSI offers this as an option. If you want true future-proofing, it might be worth shelling out the extra for this. But, even without Serial ATA, the GA-7VAXP is a superb board, especially at the price, and earns a worthy place on our A List.

Author: Gareth Ogden