Specifications

While the original A7V was an excellent overclocker, one of the main caveats against its overclocking prowess was its required use of dipswitches for overclocking. While the dipswitches present on the A7V were fairly easy to access, adjusting CPU parameters within BIOS is a much easier task to accomplish. Realizing this, ASUS added settings for adjusting the clock multiplier, bus speed, and CPU voltage within the A7V133's BIOS. Here's a brief rundown of the rest of the board's features:

Features

VIA KT133A & VIA 686B chipset

3 x DIMM Socket to Support Max. 1.5GB PC133/VC133 non-ECC SDRAM

1 AGP (4X), 4 PCI, 1 PCI/CNR shared

Supports 1X/2X/4X AGP Mode

CPU clock ratio from 5.0 to 12.5

2 x UltraDMA/100 (Promise® ATA-100)

2 dual-channeled enhanced PCI Bus Master IDE connectors provides Ultra DMA 33/66/100

2 serial ports, 1 parallel port, 1 PS/2 mouse and keyboard connector, 2 USB conectors + 1 USB front pin-header supports 2 devices, 1 media connector (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in, Game port)

ATX form factor, Board size: 9.6" x 12.0" (24.5cm x 30.5cm)

System up and running

Cooling fan on North Bridge

Notes

With only five PCI slots, you'd assume the A7V133 falls one feature short of matching the KT7A in terms of expansion options. However, with the onboard IDE controller present on both motherboards, freeing up enough IRQ's for all six PCI slots on the KT7A would be difficult. Since the chipset only natively supports five bus masters, ASUS felt it was best to only include five PCI slots.

Like the rest of ASUS's high-end offerings, the A7V133 uses a universal AGP Pro slot. We haven't seen any consumer-level graphics cards that require the slot just yet, but it's always there just in case. ASUS also bundles the A7V133 with a 2-port USB bracket and their excellent PC Probe hardware monitoring utility.

Although the listed specs don't mention it, the A7V133 also utilizes active cooling on the North Bridge of the chipset. We've noticed many motherboard manufacturers are doing this with their KT133A motherboards to help keep the chip cool.