X-bit labs

MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R Mainboard on VIA KT600 Chipset Review

Category: Mainboards

by Grigoriy Gubankov

[ 10/25/2003 | 01:56 PM ]

Today we reviewed one more Socket A product on VIA KT600 chipset. This solution from MSI is definitely worth your attention, as it offers the whole bunch of great features, excellent performance and leaves a very good overall impression. Check out the article for more info on one of the best VIA KT600 based board!

Table of contents:

• Specifications and Accessories
  
• Closer Look: Features
  
• PCB Design
  
• BIOS and Overclocking
  
• Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

A little while ago we posted a review of the ASUS A7V600 mainboard based on the latest Socket A chipset from VIA – KT600 (see ASUS A7V600 Mainboard on VIA KT600 Chipset Review). If you remember, I didn’t like the mainboard that much. It left an impression of an unfinished product. I don’t know whether there is any objective reason for this. Maybe ASUS was a little hasty in releasing a mainboard on the latest VIA’s product or just approached its development not seriously enough. Or maybe this “hastiness” air about the mainboard is just my subjective impression, which has no real proof behind it. However, the ASUS A7V600 does have a striking drawback, which is not to be waved aside. The performance of this board was considerably lower than that of the reference KT600 board provided by VIA Technologies.

Now, we will have an opportunity to test another KT600-based product, made by another company. The company is in the top four mainboard makers list. It is MSI and the mainboard is called KT6 Delta. 

Specifications and Accessories

The generic KT6 Delta name actually covers four mainboards developed around the same PCB. The scope of their functionality differs, of course. I won’t describe the differences in detail here, but rather offer you a list from the MSI Web-site. I guess no comments are necessary here:

• KT6 Delta-SR (Standard Version) [SATA RAID 0, 1 via South Bridge];
• KT6 Delta-LSR [SATA RAID 0, 1 (SB), 10/100 LAN];
• KT6 Delta-FISR [SATA RAID 0, 1(SB), Gigabit LAN, IEEE1394];
• KT6 Delta-FIS2R [SATA RAID 0, 1(SB), SATA RAID 0, 1, 0+1 (Promise), Gigabit LAN, IEEE1394].

Our thanks to MSI, we received the version with most features, MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R. Let’s take a closer look at the product and its specifications:

As you see, the mainboard has every capability one could only wish. I am quite at a loss thinking about anything that might have been added. Well, VIA’s codec of the Vinyl Audio series might be better than the codec from C-Media. However, if you are a music fan, you would probably prefer a standalone solution, while non-demanding users will be quite satisfied with the quality of the integrated audio.