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So, what's the final verdict? Frankly, I paid the most attention to the AK73 Pro (A)'s stability, since by reputation, this is AOpen's forte. It did not disappoint, not crashing once under any of the stability tests. Its performance is excellent in all respects,
essentially matching the level of performance expected from
the KT133A platform. AOpen also put a lot of thought into the component layout, reducing cable clutter and leaving some allowance for alternative cooling solutions such as the Blue Orb. To top these off are the excellent Dr. Voice and Die Hard BIOS technologies, the nice software bundle and the good documentation (save for the BIOS settings). Lastly, there is the sexy black PCB and silver AOpen North Bridge heatsink (though active cooling would've been nicer).
However, one area in which the AK73 Pro (A) falls short is overclocking.
While we managed to attain an impressive maximum FSB of
145MHz, or a 10% overclock, we really wished that the
maximum FSB setting in the BIOS, 166MHz could have been
attainable. Speeds beyond that resulted in failures in the stability tests and random hangs during benchmarking, though whether this is an issue with the
PC150 CAS3 SDRAM used, or the KT133A chipset itself is debatable. The process of overclocking itself is greatly complicated by the usage of a hybrid software/hardware system, with jumpers controlling the FSB range (100-124 or 124-133), the I/O voltage and a DIP switch controlling the CPU multiplier settings. In this respect, the AK73 Pro (A) is behind the times when compared to the ABIT, MSI or EPoX offerings. Also, while a 1/5/0/1 (AGP/PCI/ISA/AMR) expansion configuration is enough for most users, power users would have preferred to do away with the onboard sound and the AMR slot, replacing it with an additional PCI slot or an ISA slot for legacy support.
If you want the best looking KT133A motherboard on the market, with
rock solid stability, nice diagnostics features and
excellent FSB overclocking potential, albeit with some
inconveniences, then you've met your match. The AK73 Pro (A) comes
Highly Recommended.
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