Introduction

The FIC AZ11EA

KT133A: The missing link in FIC's lineup

When AMD launched the AMD-760 chipset last year, First International Computer (FIC) was one of the first motherboard manufacturers with a 760-based product available on retail shelves, the AD11. In fact, FIC's AD11 motherboard was the first AMD-760 motherboard available with full PC2100/266MHz bus support. Limited samples of the AD11 even shipped with 128MB of PC2100 DDR memory bundled in the box. While this may not sound extraordinary today, at the time AMD-760 motherboards were hard to come by, not to mention PC2100 memory.

While the AD11 rounded out the performance segment of FIC's motherboard offerings for the AMD platform, the AZ11E (based on VIA's KT133 chipset) filled in the mainstream, and the AZ11, the value segment. This left VIA's newer KT133A chipset noticeably absent from FIC's lineup. As you probably know by now, KT133A adds one important advantage over KT133: 266MHz front-side bus (FSB) support. The higher bus speed can yield a noticeable performance improvement over the older 200MHz bus, especially with faster 1GHz+ Athlon processors. Another compelling feature of KT133A is price. Since the chipset is priced less than AMD-760, KT133A motherboards are inexpensive and don't require upgrading to DDR memory.

Long power cable for fan

The 2-phase power solution on top of board

Realizing this, FIC has recently adopted the KT133A chipset in their lineup with the motherboard we're reviewing today, the AZ11EA. Like most other motherboard manufacturers, FIC chose to base much of their KT133A product on their older KT133 design, the AZ11E. By doing this, FIC is able to reduce development costs and bring the AZ11EA to market sooner than implementing a new design. Considering the number of months most KT133A motherboards have been available on the market, filling the void between the AZ11E and the AD11 was important to FIC. As a result, the AZ11EA will take the place of the AZ11E in the mainstream segment.

Features

VIA Apollo KT133A & 686B

FSB @ 200/266MHz

Supports CPU multiplier 5.0/5.5/.../12.5

Integrated audio in the VIA 686B (Audio could be disabled via BIOS)

Supports PC100/133 SDRAM, & VCM Technology

3 168-pin DIMMs for a maximum memory size up to 1.5GB

2 x UltraDMA 33/66/100 IDE Ports

1 AGP/5 PCI/1 CNR Configuration

ATX Form Factor: 8.6" x 12"

NOVUS: Clockometer, Overclock Partner, Hot Key, Logo Genie, BIOS Guardian, and optional-AudioAlert II