MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R (KT600): Feature Packed Fun

MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R: BIOS and Overclocking

As standard with all current MSI motherboards, the KT6 Delta-FIS2R uses an AMI BIOS setup. This isn't the most popular BIOS available for enthusiasts (Award is considered #1 these days), but MSI is sticking with it for simplicity reasons.

The KT6 Delta-FIS2R PC Health section includes very basic readings, those you would come to expect from a very bland PC Health section. These readings include System and CPU temperatures, CPU and North Bridge fan speeds, Vcore, PSU readings (all rails) and a battery voltage reading. Unfortunately, MSI does not include any type of fan speed control option, or any other interesting options for that matter. We would have preferred to have seen some VAGP and VDIMM readings thrown in there, with a CPU temperature warning adjustment option as well. Overall, the KT6 Delta-FIS2R's PC Health could certainly be better, especially if MSI expects any serious enthusiasts to purchase this motherboard. Nonetheless, the end user does get enough readings to get by, and in that sense, it is more than adequate.

The KT6 Delta-FIS2R’s Advanced Chipset Features are very nice, rivaling the best Advanced Chipset Features of other Socket A BIOS motherboards that we've seen, including nForce2 Ultra 400 BIOSes. In this section, you'll find such memory timing options as CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge, Precharge Delay, Bank Interleave, Command Rate, Fast Command, and a "system performance" (Fast and Ultra modes available). In general, these are excellent options to have at your fingertips; tweaking enthusiasts will definitely enjoy this type of BIOS setup.

One of the most important options available in this BIOS is the FSB frequency adjustments. MSI was smart to allow lots of FSB overclocking headroom in the KT6 Delta-FIS2R, up to 280MHz FSB to be precise. Definitely, this should not be considered a limitation, especially since AMD does not plan on introducing processors above 200MHz (400MHz DDR) FSB anytime before the Athlon dies out in 2004.

MSI has been going all out with their voltage ranges as of late, and the KT6 Delta-FIS2R continues with this tradition. VDIMM is adjustable all the way up to a massive 3.3V in 0.05V increments (excluding 3.15V). There are very few memory modules available on the market that are able to reach this high of a voltage without suffering long term damage. However, the few modules that are under warranty around 3.0V or so (like OCZ's GOLD series of modules) are excellent choices for motherboards, such as the KT6 Delta-FIS2R. Overall, we're impressed and happy to see MSI maintain their recent trend of astronomically high voltage ranges. Epox was the only other motherboard maker that made such options standard across their entire line of motherboard models.

Regarding AGP/PCI lock, it is unfortunate that the MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R holds a spot among other KT600 motherboards that lack this feature, common in all nForce2 motherboards. This will most likely be a turn off for most overclockers, who desire control over how out of spec they want their AGP and PCI devices to run.

The KT6 Delta-FIS2R’s VAGP range is exceptional. VAGP is adjustable in 0.1V increments up to 2.10V. For normal use, this high VAGP rating is quite unnecessary, so our recommendation is to stick to the default 1.5V setting. If you're a hardcore (video, CPU, etc.) overclocker, 1.7V should be sufficient to satisfy your needs. A VAGP of 2.10V could be disastrous, however, so tweak at your own risk.

One notable feature of the KT6 Delta-FIS2R is the chipset voltage options. This feature is becoming more common among nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboards, but not so with VIA chipset-based motherboards. The KT6 Delta-FIS2R offers chipset voltage options ranging from Auto (2.5V) up to 2.8V in 0.1V increments. In case you're interested, MSI calls their chipset voltage option "VLink Voltage".

FSB Overclocking Results

For FSB overclocking, the following setup was used on the KT6 Delta-FIS2R:

Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed
Processor:	Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton Core)
CPU Vcore:	1.650V (default)
Cooling:	Volcano 7+ HSF
Power Supply:	Enermax 350W

The KT6 Delta-FIS2R was a good FSB overclocker for KT600 motherboard standards, coming in at 210MHz FSB. Compared to nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboards, however, the KT6 Delta-FIS2R is simply mediocre at best. Every single nForce2 Ultra 400 motherboard that we’ve come across so far has been able to reach north of 220MHz FSB, and in several cases, quite a bit higher. Clearly, hardcore overclockers will stray far away from KT600 motherboards, unless they are content with purchasing 133MHz or 166MHz FSB Athlon processors, and running them at 200MHz FSB at a slightly lower multiplier. Actually, this is common practice among the casual overclocker.

The KT6 Delta-FIS2R’s CPU multiplier options range from as low as 6.0X to as high as 15.0X. To be more exact, the CPU multiplier is adjustable in 0.5X increments between 6.0X and 10.0X, with a 14.0X and 15.0X option available. This is an acceptable multiplier range for the most part, but is definitely lacking in terms of the higher value and useful multiplier values between 10.0X and 14.0X. We can’t think of any logical reason why MSI left out multiplier adjustments between 10.0X and 14.0X.