Written By:
Date Posted: July 15, 2002

BIOS AND OVERCLOCKING

On June 1st, 2002 MSI released version 1.3 of the K7D Master/K7D Master-L BIOS. The BIOS claims to update two things, but there is another thing MSI didn't advertise with the update. PCI Latency is now adjustable within the BIOS under the Advanced Features section.

Within the advanced chipset features section you may adjust memory timings, video and BIOS caching options and AGP timings. While the menu doesn't offer a deep amount of user customization options, it is enough to satisfy most enthusiasts.

When it comes to FSB options, the K7D Master-L is weak. Users can adjust the BIOS in 138, 140, 144 and 150 MHz increments. This is definitely not the board to get if you plan on overclocking. In my tests I was able to get the board to complete a SiSoft Sandra 50 run loop test without it locking up while running at 138 MHz. At 144 MHz the board locked up during Windows boot up. Keep in mind the board had PC2700 memory installed, so the memory was not stopping the board from going any further. At 138 MHz the PCI bus is running at 34 MHz, which is just 1 MHz over normal operating speed. With no PCI devices installed the system still locked at 144 MHz. I am not sure where the fault lies, as the CPU and video card installed can run fine at 154 MHz in my Abit KX733 mainboard. My best guess is that the AMD 760MPX just doesn't take well to overclocking.

MSI built the K7D Master-L with stability in mind. The multiplier goes up to 12.5, which is not very high when compared to performance boards from Abit. Options in the BIOS are in no way geared towards overclockers or tweakers, they are geared to people who want stability paired with a little bit of control and some overclocking options. If you want an overclockers board I would suggest the Abit KX7333 series.

So far we have looked at the boards features and BIOS, now lets see how it does in the most important area of all, performance.

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