KD7-E initial impressions!

[mdzcpa]

I swapped mobos with a buddy yesterday. He had the KD7-E and I the Asus A7N8X. I really wanted to know what the KD7-E had to offer so we swapped boards.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say that I am very pleased with the swap...and I'll be hanging onto the KD7-E for a while now. A few initial impressions:

First off, my version 1.3 R9700 Pro loves the KD7-E. Granted no AGP x8, but now it can loop 3DMark2001SE at a FSB of 200!! It will make bansi one time runs through 3DMark at 202. That's higher than the KD7-RAID by 14mhz (max was 188 on the KD7-RAID). Gone are the days of the R9700 and low FSB speeds....hooray!

Second....the mobo is very stable at 200+mhz. Not a glitch. Running Corsair PC3500 C2 at CAS 2, 4 way, 3,6,3 1T at only 1.75v.

Although the R9700 hits it limit at 200mhz for 3D, it can still boot in much higher. I'm not sure if it is a cured issue, or just my Highpoint Rocket RAID card I added to the lean featured KD7-E, but I have no HD corruption up to my max prime stable fsb speed of 209mhz.

So...the KD7-E was for me what I hoped it would be...a KD7 without the KD7 issues of HD corruption and low FSB speeds with the R9700. The XP 2700 multipliers are fully unlocked (high and low ranges) without touching the chip, the diode temps work great, and the voltages are rock solid. After a bit of burn in, I'll be pushing up the overclock and voltages and going for some higher 3DMark2001SE scores. Right now I'm just into the low 18k range. I'll post to the ORB soon.

For $90 the KD7-E really rocks. Well...that's about it.

[Umgawa]

Grats bro that looks like what the kx7 should have been and I to will be buying one for my new prometeia. I think ill wait on the nf2 untill the have a few revisions.

[mdzcpa]

You'll be pleased

Keep in mind that the swap to the KD7-E was not a knock to the A7N8X at all. That NF2 mobo was indeed one great board. In the end, it was the huge amount of features and great general performance that was the Asus board's strength. However, I'm an Abit guy at heart, and I like the "lean and mean" type of board like the KD7-E.

Two very different mobos the KD7-E and A7N8X are

[RacerX]

Can you please post your highest obtainable FSB with this board? I need something real soon as I feel I have damaged my KD7 trying to run 3dmark at 210fsb.

Also are you using -5ns winbond chips on this board?


Thanks

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by RacerX
Can you please post your highest obtainable FSB with this board? I need something real soon as I feel I have damaged my KD7 trying to run 3dmark at 210fsb.

Also are you using -5ns winbond chips on this board?


Thanks

So far max prime stable FSB is 209mhz. It will post at 210-211 but it is not stable there. It could be the R9700 Pro holding me back...but I haven't tried another card yet.

And, yes, the Corsair XMS 3500 I'm using has the 5ns chips.

[Emericana]

i hate how on the nf2 you can use 1t command rate but other than that i have found that the mem benchies are much better on nf2. but if you would rather have a kt333 suit yourself hehe.

i loved my kx7 when i had it but it seems like the 8rda+ is a worthy upgrade

[boredom]

Originally posted by Emericana
i hate how on the nf2 you can use 1t command rate but other than that i have found that the mem benchies are much better on nf2. but if you would rather have a kt333 suit yourself hehe.

i loved my kx7 when i had it but it seems like the 8rda+ is a worthy upgrade

Not everyone is having luck with 8RDA+'s as is seems Epox still has QC issues. I cancelled my order because of this, I know how someone choosing a KT333 over your nForce2 must make yourself feel insecure with your purchase but you don't need to bring him down because of it.

[imp3rfecti0n]

what are the max voltages on the kd7-e?
And how's performance with 3dmark compared to the nforce2 board?

[SlimHitman]

So far my KD7-E is up to 215fsb @ 2.0v.

The max volts are 2.35vcore and 3.25vmem BTW.

[mdzcpa]

I think Slim covered the voltage question

As far as 3dMark2001SE, the boards are about equivalent. The A7N8X can produce the higher scores with Bansi runs, but the KD7-E runs higher 3DMark2001SE scores at rock solid day to day 24/7 settings. Both can run a low 18,000 score with my R9700 overclocked to the max. The biggest difference is that the KD7-E will loop 3DMark2001 forever once the stable speed is found (200mhz with the R9700 in there), while the A7N8X likes to throw occasional errors at would otherwise appear to be a stable speed. Although the A7N8X can make great bansi runs at 3Dmark at 200mhz and above, backing down the FSB a few mhz didn't help to stable things for 24/7 operation as you would expect.

The best the A7N8X could due with stability running 24/7 was only about 194mhz. Yes, it would run up to 200mhz for long periods, but would throw an annoying occasional error above 194mhz during long hours of gaming. Running Memtest86 revealed test #5 errors at speeds above 194 with anything above "Optimal" timings. Again, all in all a great mobo but a little quirky in the upper FSB range for me. There is good reason why most of the reviews have the max stable fsb overclock pegged in the mid to high 180s on the NF2 mobos.

The KD7-E, on the other hand, is far more stable in the upper FSB ranges. Yes, it takes a much higher FSB for the KD7-E to compete with the A7N8X, but when it is running up high, it is much less quirky. It's either stable...or it's not. Once you hit instability, just back things down a mhz or 2 and your done. (I do not get occassional errors or memtest86 issues).

Bottom line is that with the KD7-E I am able to run a much higher FSB day to day, and ultimately have the best 3DMark2001 scores from my day to day settings.


Emericana:

Like I said, both boards are for different market niches. The KD7-E is a much better overclocker (with stability), while the A7N8X is a better all around mobo. If I needed a new mobo for my MutliMedia rig, the A7N8X would be the way to go for sure.

But, I am looking for something that can handle high FSB with stability in a day to day environment for my gaming rig, and can handle my R9700 (which does not like high FSB issues on the regular KD7-RAID). The KD7-E fits the bill.

[imp3rfecti0n]

Ok thanks to you mdzcpa, I'll probably be getting this board

Just one thing before I do, do you know whether the performance of the KD7-E is up there with the KX7-333? I'm changing from that board since it doesn't go high enough with the voltages and I don't want to void warranty with a vmod..

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by imp3rfecti0n
Ok thanks to you mdzcpa, I'll probably be getting this board

Just one thing before I do, do you know whether the performance of the KD7-E is up there with the KX7-333? I'm changing from that board since it doesn't go high enough with the voltages and I don't want to void warranty with a vmod..

For me, the advantages of the KD7-E over the KX7 are the voltage options, CPU temp diode reading, use of all multipliers on Tbred B CPUs without having to unlock the chip, 8x V link, and USB 2.0. The KD7-E is just as fast as the KX7 as far as my testing can tell plus you get the benefits mentioned above. I cannot think of anything the KX7 can do that the KD7-E can't.

Whether or not these advantages are worth the cost of the mobo or not is up to you

[imp3rfecti0n]

Thanks for the help mdzcpa, I'll be getting one as soon as I can
It seems to be a relatively new mobo because here (Australia) none of the vendors have it but I've fired off a few e-mails to ask if they'll be getting them in :p

[mdzcpa]

No problem....good luck with your search

[DuraN]

I also have a KD7-E, and i think i will leave my KX7 in the box where it belongs (for now, until i need more $$$ )

I will post in about an hour with some benches. Only on a locked XP1600 though, i will put my tbird in tomorrow to see how high this baby will rise

[Tiribulus]

This is intriguing news fer sher. All they need is to release a raid version and the icing would be there. Been busy with DVD authoring/encoding shctuff since I bought that damn DVD burner, but you have peaked my interest.
Tiribulus

[Tiribulus]

The standalone HP raid controller is 76 bucks, not that bad I guess.

How bout this BadBoy:

"PROMISE FASTTRACK MODEL SX4000 RAID5 ATA OEM
FastTrack SX4000 provides a low-cost, high-performance, four-channel ATA RAID 5 host adapter card designed for smaller servers and professional workstations running Windows or Linux platforms. Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD using up to 4 standard Ultra ATA drives. FastTrak SX4000 has a hardware-based XOR engine to provide rapid parity calculations for RAID 5 arrays.The onboard Promise BIOS offers 48-bit Large LBA support to automatically recognize and optimize the performance of larger Ultra ATA drives while supporting individual drive sizes exceeding 137GB for maximum capacity arrays. FastTrak SX4000 has a single 168-pin DIMM slot supporting up to 256MB user-installed ECC or non-ECC cache memory (64MB minimum required). Model#: FASTTRACK SX4000
Tiribulus

[bigdawginva]

Thanks mdzcpa. Looks promising. Just ordered mine. Needed another mobo for my other 2400+.

[imp3rfecti0n]

One last thing.. is there an option to set CPU Decode: Normal, fast, aggresive, etc, in the BIOS?

Thanks

Btw, anyone know when the KD7-E will be coming to AUS?

[Justintoxicated]

so KT333 is better than Nforce2 in your opinion? Strage, should i keep my 8k3a+ then and give an Epox Nforce2 MB to my sister?

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by imp3rfecti0n
One last thing.. is there an option to set CPU Decode: Normal, fast, aggresive, etc, in the BIOS?

Thanks

Btw, anyone know when the KD7-E will be coming to AUS?

Yes...there is an adjustment for either Fast or Normal for CPU Decode. From testing it against my old KX7, it appears that the Normal on the KD7 is similar to the Fast on the KX7, and the Fast on the KD7 is like the KX7 Ultra.

BTW, when overclocking high FSB avoid the "fast" setting on the KD7. Just like the Ultra KX7 setting, it causes trouble at high FSB speeds.


Tiribulus:

He he...we think alike! I went ahead and bought a Highpoint RAID Rocket 2 channel card myself. I picked it up on sale when I bought the A7N8X becuase I wanted to keep IDE RAID. It works like a charm on the KD7-E

Anyway, the KD7-E is certainly no glamour board. It is purely an overclocker's workhorse. Worth looking into if that is what you need.

Originally posted by Justintoxicated
so KT333 is better than Nforce2 in your opinion? Strage, should i keep my 8k3a+ then and give an Epox Nforce2 MB to my sister?

Hold up...not so fast.

Remember, each chipset and particular mobo has it's strengths and weaknesses. Right now, if I were to have only one computer and I wanted it to be a geat all around performer, I would still get an NF2 mobo. Right now they are the best platform for the AMD XP...generally speaking. Loaded with features and boasting the best benchmarks at stock speeds, the NF2 is king right now. I particularly liked the A7N8X a lot.

The KD7-E, on the other hand, is a stripped down, bang for the buck overclocker. So if you need to buy all the add on cards to get the sound and LAN, and don't plan on pushing the FSB to the outer limits, the NF2 mobo you have may still be the best choice.

Again...it all depends on what you want out of the mobo. For me, I wanted the best in overclocking with my R9700 at the expense of other features. The KD7-E with its AGP x4 (keeps R9700 happy at high FSB speeds), great voltage choices, and CPU diode temps is all that I needed or wanted.

You need to decide what you need out of a mobo. there is no single best choice for all users

[Tiribulus]

I've always been a gimme the foundation and I'll make the rest of the choices kinda guy which I still am, however the AT7 Max and KD7 did soften me up somewhat as I see that these recent implementations are quite far from sucking actually. One other thing. Any isues with the 1/5 divider? Iset it in my wife's AT7 and every windows app still reports 1/4. Dunno if it's a KT333 thing or a just her board thing.
Tiribulus
BTW, Don't think I could ever give up my raid

[DuraN]

Noticed something strange while benching yesterday. I cant upload pics because my ISP is kinda wierd, but ill have a go anyways.

In Sandra mem bench, my efficiency was CRAZY, like 190%. Then i noticed that Sandra 2003 actually thought i had SDRAM

Can you check this on your board Mike ?

[sjohnson]

I'm not Mike, but yeah, Sandra doesn't support my kd7e properly.

I get the same kind of reports, like 190% efficinecy.

The 0x90 offset row in WPCREDIT is all 00 entries and appears to be read-only as well.

[mdzcpa]

Duran and Tiribulus:

Yep....I can confirm the same thing here on my side. It seems that Sandra does not support the KD7-E properly. The 1/5 divisor is not recognized, and the memory does show as SDRAM with huge efficiencies.

Just to be sure, I double checked the 1/4 and 1/5 divisors...and yep the 1/5 works fine. Going to 1/4 will not aloow me to boot over 164 with the Radeon in there. 1/5 allows for boot ups up to 209 and 3D apps up to 202.

The Sandra faulty reports are harmless...but somewhat annoying. Maybe Sisoft will correct this on the next update