Features Comparison

The first phase of choosing a new motherboard is usually spent comparing product specifications. While it's often easy to find two motherboards with the same list of features the K7M and K7 Pro have a few minor differences. Lets compare the basic specs:

Motherboard	ASUS K7M	MSI K7 Pro
North Bridge	AMD 751 (Irongate)	AMD 751 (Irongate)
South Bridge	VIA 82C686A	AMD 756 (Viper)
Memory	3 x 168-pin DIMM   sockets support up to 768MB SDRAM	3 x 168-pin DIMM   sockets xsupport up to 768MB SDRAM
Expansion  Slots	1 x AMR (Audio Modem Riser) Slot  1 x AGP Slot  5 x PCI Slots  1 x ISA Slot	1 x AGP Slot  6 x PCI Slots  1 x ISA Slot
Bus Speeds	90, 95, 100-125,   133, 140, 150MHz	90, 95, 100-125,   133, 140, 150MHz
Audio	AD1881 3D Enhanced Codec	Creative CT5880 (optional, not present on sample motherboard used for review)
IDE ports	2 x Ultra DMA-66/33 Ports Support up to 4 Hard Drives	2 x Ultra DMA-66/33 Ports Support up to 4 Hard Drives
Dimensions	30.5cm x 21.3cm	30.5cm x 19.2 cm

One of the first things you'll notice is the difference in South Bridge chips. While MSI chose the AMD 756 South Bridge, the K7M uses VIA's 686A chip.

We assume one of the primary reasons ASUS chose the 686A is due to its versatility. Unlike the 756 South Bridge, the 686A can be used on a variety of ASUS motherboards. In addition to the ASUS Slot A products, the 686A can also be included on motherboards that use the VIA Apollo Pro133 and Apollo Pro133A chipsets and even older Socket 7 products!

One nice feature present on the K7 Pro is the sixth PCI slot. All 6 PCI slots on the K7 Pro are bus mastered. Unfortunately we couldn't come up with 6 PCI cards to test compatibility with the K7 Pro, if you've had any rough experiences with the 6 PCI slots please let me know.

For legacy devices, both motherboards also have an ISA slot.

Diagnostic Utility

One major feature the K7 Pro adds is D-LED. Located at the top of the motherboard next to the parallel/serial ports, D-LED is a bank of 4 LED's that gives the current status of the motherboard. This makes D-LED an excellent diagnostic tool for assessing problems during system bootup, in addition to the more traditional system beep codes.

Note the colors of the LED's

Oops, we forgot to plug in the video card!

For instance, if the motherboard hangs while initializing the video, the first LED will shine green while the other 3 LED's are red. With each LED having 2 different colors (red or green) and four LED's, 16 different combinations are possible.

The end-user can then look up this color combination in the manual, which also provides suggestions for solving the problem. This saves troubleshooting time for both MSI and the consumers.

This is a great feature that we'd like to see implemented on more motherboards. No more guessing why your system won't bootup!

FEATURES WINNER: K7 Pro