Review - EPoX 8KRA2+ VIA KT600 Motherboard

Techware Labs recognizes EPoX's support in making this review possible!
Review by Edward Chang, call sign: Big_E
August 8, 2003

EPoX EP-8KRA2+ Features

VIA KT600 Northbridge and VT8237 Southbridge Technology

Key Features

• Supports full range of AMD Athlon™ XP processors
• 266/333/400MHz FSB settings
• Supports up to 4.0GB DDR266/333/400 SDRAM
• Support for AGP 4X/8X
• 8X V-Link 533MB/s high bandwidth North/South Bridge interconnect
• Integrated VIA Vinyl™ Six-TRAC six-channel AC'97 audio
• Serial ATA support for up to 4 devices
• RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 0+1 support, including Disk Striping and Disk Mirroring
• VIA RAID Software Configuration Program (supports Windows & Linux)
• Parallel ATA 33/66/100/133 support for up to 4 devices
• Support for up to 8 USB 2.0/USB 1.1 ports, UHCI compliant
• Integrated MC'97 Modem
• Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet MAC
• Advanced power management capabilities including ACPI/OnNow
• 664-pin BGA North Bridge
• 539-pin BGA VT8237 South Bridge

Benefits of VIA Apollo KT600

FastStream64 Technology
VIA FastStream64™ Technology uses an expanded array of prefetch buffers to reduce latency in the memory controller, extending performance at a lower transistor cost than dual channel implementations. With a 266/333/400MHz processor bus and supporting DDR266/333/400 memory, the VIA Apollo KT600 provides lightning fast access to system memory and can reach a peak bandwidth of 3.2GB/sec, enabling the full performance potential of the fastest AMD Athlon™ XP processors to be harnessed.

Rich, Warm VIA Vinyl Six-TRAC Audio
The six-channel surround sound supported in the VT8235 and VT8237 South Bridges, combined with the high quality VIA Vinyl Six-TRAC external codec with advanced Stylus driver support, enables a rich, vibrant sound that will enhance the user experience when listening to music, watching movies, or playing games.

Native Serial ATA/RAID Support
The VIA VT8237 is the latest in a series of market leading South Bridge chips from VIA integrating state of the art I/O innovation. With its native dual channel Serial ATA controller, the VT8237 provides direct support for two Serial ATA devices at a bandwidth of 150MB/s per port and its unique SATAlite™ interface expands support for two additional SATA devices through an optional external Serial ATA PHY. Featuring support for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 0+1, the native VIA RAID controller optimizes system performance by ensuring the highest disk data transfer rates and provides the most advanced fault tolerant solution for optimum data integrity. It also comes with a user friendly software configuration program for easy disk array set up in all the latest Microsoft Windows and Linux environments, and supports both Serial ATA and Parallel ATA standards.

Unified VIA Hyperion 4in1 Drivers
VIA's unified approach to drivers has been established for eight generations of chipsets, allowing end users to benefit from seamless hardware and software compatibility.

Let's compare the VIA KT600 with other competing chipsets.