Click to enlarge

Although the KT3 Ultra2 is still a KT333 board, there are actually a couple of noteworthy upgrades from the KT3 we've reviewed earlier. The northbridge is a newer revision, the CE, which is reported to overclock much better than the previous CD revision. We didn't have a whole lot of success in overclocking with our last KT3 Ultra, so I'm expecting it to go a little smoother this time around. Of course, the KT333 supports DDR333 (or PC2700), but you'll have to be aware that pre-2700+ Athlons are still on the 266FSB. This is an issue if you're looking to maximize your performance, as older Athlon XPs simply don't have the bandwidth to saturate the memory bus.

The next upgrade is the newer VIA VT8235 Chipset (southbridge). All the usual features are included, such as AC'97 Sound, ATA133, but the upgrade from the previous VT8233A is the inclusion of USB2.0 natively supported. The previous KT3 Ultra supported USB2.0 via a separate NEC controller. This should theoretically lower the pricing a little as the extra hardware is no longer needed.

Click to enlarge

What is more or less becoming common fare these days, the KT3 Ultra2-R includes a Promise RAID controller. There's support for ATA133 drives, and if RAID, in its supported flavors, doesn't appeal to you, you can use it as an extra IDE controller. MSI includes a nice little manual to help you setup a RAID array for those of you who've never set one up. If RAID isn't your thing, MSI offers the board without it.

The Realtek ALC650 returns again, and it's a decent solution for the sound card impaired. In the past, most people stay away from onboard audio for a couple reasons... it sucks up CPU resources, and it generally sounds like crap. Although the Realtek does use some resources (about 5-7% in MP3 playback), most users with their high speed CPUs probably won't notice anything. As for sound quality, well, it's great. True audiophiles can probably nitpick and point out the problems, but for everyday computer use and gaming, I find the sound acceptable.

Software

Fuzzy Logic 4 is MSI's Windows based overclocking software. It works well for the most part, but personally, I still prefer doing it the old fashion way in the BIOS.

PC Alert III, much like Motherboard Monitor, is a background app (though it can be configured to be launched only when requested) that monitors your system health, in regards to heat. Your CPU temps are monitored, as well as any fans that support monitoring.

The Live BIOS and Live Driver is something that's packaged with all of MSI's new boards, but it's still something I'm not comfortable using. Both are Windows based applications that can update the appropriate feature on your motherboard. I'd still update the BIOS through pure DOS mode though. I did give the Live BIOS a shot for the sake of testing it, and it kept hanging on me. Go figure.

The DVD software was a nice addition, and works well enough that if you choose to watch DVDs from your computer, this will be more than enough.

Finally, you get all of the drivers you need to run your hardware. Standard stuff, but you'll be better off going to the right sites and grabbing the latest version.

Installation notes

Like we've mentioned earlier, there may be some issues with removing memory with a video card already installed in the system. Not a big deal to be honest, but lazy people will have to remove the video card to get their ram out.

The mounting holes surrounding the socket are for the larger, motherboard mounting heatsinks. They're already grounded, and our Swiftech MCX462 had no problems bumping into any neighbouring capaciters.

Motherboard manufacturers may have gotten wise to the GeForce 4 Ti4600 compatibility issues (i.e.: They didn't fit without breaking a capacitor or two), and the Ti4600 had no problems fitting into this board.

Previous Page - The Board

Next Page - BIOS, Overclocking & Test Setup