KT Micro AGP

Intel's accelerated graphics port (AGP) architecture was conceived as a companion technology to Pentium II, but, despite no Intel support, it was only a matter of time before it found its way onto motherboards designed for Pentium-class processors, too. The KT Micro AGP is the first machine we've seen to offer a combination of AGP and Socket 7, in theory bringing enhanced 3D graphics performance within range of entry-level budgets.

The machine is based on a VIA technologies motherboard, based on its own Apollo VP3 chipset. This combines many features of Intel's 430TX chipset including support for fast SDRAM memory and UltraDMA hard disks, with the 66MHz AGP processor-to-graphics bus. This means you can have a machine based on a Pentium/233 MMX but with AGP graphics for £1,099 - cheaper than opting for an AGP Pentium II system.

The Micro comes in a somewhat ugly midi-tower case. The fan's relatively quiet, though, and the reset button is on the fascia. The Keytronic keyboard isn't one of its best efforts: the plastic construction gives it a flimsy feel, topped off by a characterless action and rattly keys. The mouse is of the two buttons plus thumbwheel Microsoft type, which is fine, although I'm becoming less convinced by the rarely supported scrolling function. KT supplied one of the new Sony Multiscan 100ES 15in monitors, a compact unit with a 14in image diagonal and support for an 85Hz vertical refresh at 1,024 x 768 resolution in accordance with current VESA recommendations. At 800 x 600 the image is sharply focused and stable, with the bright, flat appearance characteristic of the Trinitron tube.

This is clearly intended to be a machine suited to both the home and office, although home users will get the most out of the audio features. The sound card is a Creative Labs AWE64 Value, combining 16-bit audio processing with wavetable synthesis. I'm less familiar with the Turando active stereo speakers, but was surprised to discover that they were powerful, clear at the top and solid at the bottom, without the unpleasantly dominant mid-range common among PC speakers. They can also be powered from the back of the PC thanks to a crafty adaptor plug, so there's no power adaptor to deal with or extra mains socket to find.

PC cases should ideally provide as much access to the motherboard as possible, but that's not so with the KT. The upper half is blocked off by a metal sheet, which acts as the side of the drive bays at the front and the mount for the power supply at the back. The expansion slots are in full view, but the processor socket and RAM slots are difficult to get at. Reading between the lines, I'd say this is an AT case that's been 'converted' to an ATX motherboard by drilling a few extra mounting holes.

The expansion potential on offer is typical of most midi-towers, with one 3.5in and two 5.25in drive bays free - all front opening - and a total of one ISA and four PCI slots. Due to the shared backplate cut-out where the two types meet, if you use the ISA slot you lose one PCI. This isn't likely, as the machine already comes equipped with a sound card and an internal Modular Technologies 56K modem. Just one of the three DIMM sockets is occupied by 32Mb of SDRAM, leaving room for an upgrade, although case construction will make this fiddly.

The rest of the components are from the same popular mould as the modem and the sound card. There's a 4Mb Diamond Viper V330 graphics card in the AGP slot, based on NVidia's RIVA 128 accelerator, while the drive bays house a 3.2Gb Quantum Fireball UltraDMA hard disk and a 24-speed Hitachi CD-ROM drive.