FIC KA-11 VIA Apollo Pro 133A Slot-1 ATX

The Bad

Initially, our KA-11 sample could not even install Windows 98SE without crashing if the memory clock was set to 133 MHz. While there was a BIOS update from FIC to address such issues, we could not get the board to accept the flash. Fortunately, FIC got back to us and let us know that a "/F" switch on the Awdflash.exe command line would force the flash. This did in fact work for us and 133+ MHz FSB settings were just as stable as all other settings. Unfortuantely, the KA-11 was not the most stable board we've ever seen - overall slightly below average.

The low memory clock is further compounded by a fundamental problem with all VIA chipsets we've encountered - memory performance is sub par compared to the i440BX. The use of Virtual Channel Memory (VCM) is able to narrow the gap, but unfortunately VCM is not widely available at the moment.

Also mentioned previously, the KA-11 also lacks the ability to configure the AGP and PCI ratios, so overclocking can be a bit tricky. The best way to avoid this is with an FC-PGA CPU in a Slocket with jumpers for setting the FSB speed. From there, you can work with FIC's jumperless FSB settings.

Last, we'd like to see FIC include a jumper or BIOS option to disable the onboard sound. As it stands, if you decide not to use this feature after purchasing it, you'll have to disable it through Windows' Device Manager, which is not always as effective as physically disabling it in hardware.Along the same lines, there is no way to completely disable the BIOS Guardian feature. If "disabled" in the BIOS, a warning message still pops up at boot time forcing you to hit space to continue.

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 0

• Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

• USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 64MB Mushkin SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 64MB Memory-Man SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin SEC Original PC133 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Mushkin SEC Original PC133 SDRAM

Manufacturer: The Memory Man
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.memory-man.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com