Written:
10/8/2000
Written by: TronŽ
Manufactured by: DFI
Yet another VIA KT133 motherboard enters the scene, the DFI AK74C. Kudos go to Rob Fowler at DFI Taiwan for sending us one of these to evaluate. With a couple dozen KT133 mainboards now on the market, DFI had its work cut out for it to stand out in the crowd.
You can see from the board that this is your typical 1-AGP / 5-PCI / 1-ISA / 1-CNR layout. I'd just as soon not see an ISA slot ever again, and CNR slots just aren't being utilized by your average builder, but these aren't really minuses as this seems to be the standard fare in mainboards these days.
The board also includes your standard AC97' compatible onboard sound, although DFI does have a version of the board (AK74SU) that uses a less-CPU-cycle-robbing Creative/ESS 1371 audio CODEC. Again, onboard sound isn't necessarily a bad thing, and on this board, like most, it's easily disabled.
Two things you can see clearly about this board are that DFI did a good job at removing obstructions around the CPU socket which can block some larger heatsinks, and placed the ATX power connector out of the way.
As with all KT133 boards, it supports UDMA-66 IDE devices via the VIA Southbridge. Included on CD are VIA 4-in-1 drivers, .pdf manual, virus detection software, and drivers for the AC97' audio. The board's manual is clear and well written, and includes an addendum quick reference sheet, regarding key jumper settings, and a safety feature overview.
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