Conclusion
This content was originally featured on Amdmb.com and has been converted to PC Perspective’s website. Some color changes and flaws may appear.
There is little doubt that the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU is an impressive motherboard. The performance gains over the KT266A chipset are not the board’s strongest selling point simply due to the fact that the KT333 chipset is not the killer chipset upgrade that many people thought and hoped it would be. MSI shouldn’t really be blamed for that.The KT333 chipset (and future chipsets) will really begin to shine when we see Athlons running at a higher frequency than 133 MHz. While we can do that now with overclocking, it is not the preferred way to do it. The “ifs” and the “whens” on 166 MHz FSB Athlons is still up in the air. There is a small chance that we will see them before the end of the year, but I don’t think the they will start when the Thoroughbred line is released. If we don’t see them this year, then the chances are high that we will never officially see them, as Hammer will be the big focus for AMD towards the very end of 2002.
Performance aside, the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU offers everything a PC enthusiast could ask for in a motherboard. The feature set is amazing including IDE RAID, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 6-channel audio with SPDIF connectors and Bluetooth. This board offers everybody something.
For the overclockers out there, you will find the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU to fit your needs perfectly. There are reports that the KT333 motherboards aren’t overclocking as high as their KT266A counterparts, so do your research in the AMD Forums before making a purchase if that is really important to you.
With all that this motherboard gives you, Amdmb.com is proud to present the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU with the Editor’s Choice Award!
