I built a custom system for myself back in 2002, using an Athlon XP 1800+, Radeon 8500 and a Gigabyte GA-7VAX motherboard.
Back then, I tried out both Windows XP & WIndows 2000, but eventually installed Windows XP and it ran on it without any problems (I think I started out with 512 MB of RAM).
I upgraded the graphics card to a 9800XT and the CPU to a Barton 3000+ (333 MHz FSB) around 2004 and both ran on this motherboard without any problems.

Unfortunately, my original motherboard went a couple of years ago (I think that one of the onboard components went) and I replaced it with a GA-7VAXP (which I bought on eBay).
The two models are very similar.
It actually uses the KT400A chipset which, as you've stated, only supports up to 333 MHz FSB, but does support DDR400 RAM (only 2.5V).

Overall, it was a nice motherboard to have.

Thanks for the feedback, jesolo!

Turns out I have a Barton XP-M 2600+ 1.45v, some sort of 2200+ (not sure of core), and a few other that look like Palominos and Durons. Assuming the motherboard works, I'm going to have a little fun benchmarking CPUs. Will probably test both GF3 Ti200 and 9800Pro.

clueless1 wrote:

Found an old Gigabyte system--Gigabyte case with a GA-7VAXP v1.1 inside. No CPU, graphics card, or RAM, but it is a KT400 chips […]
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Found an old Gigabyte system--Gigabyte case with a GA-7VAXP v1.1 inside. No CPU, graphics card, or RAM, but it is a KT400 chipset. Looks like it will take a Barton, but only at 166Mhz FSB. It does accept DDR400 RAM, which I'm sure I have 2GB of. The case has an XP Home COA on it, so I know what OS it ran. I have to go through my parts bin and see what CPUs and graphics cards I have. I'm pretty sure I have at least one Barton cpu. As for graphics, I have a GF3 Ti200 (~2001) and Radeon 9800Pro 128MB (~2003).

This mobo looks like it's from circa 2002. Assuming it works, how would you configure it? I'll put the fastest AthlonXP cpu I have in, but would you choose the faster 9800Pro, or the more period correct Ti200? Would you put Windows XP or Win2kSP4? I've already got a couple of XP systems, maybe I'll configure this as a high-end Win2k system.

Oh, and I have a Thermalright SLK-800 copper beast for cooling. 😎

Assuming the mobo works, I'll post some pics after it's up and running.

If your doing Barton the 9800 Pro is more period correct. If your going to do Palomino the Geforce3, if Thoroughbred well neither match 2002 so you'd want a Geforce 4 🤣

Testing with Barton and 9800Pro right now. 😀 Turns out I don't have a Palomino. I have:
-Barton XP-M 2600+ 1.45v 133x15.0=2.0Ghz
-Thoroughbred XP 2200+ 1.65v 133x13.5=1.8Ghz
-Thoroughbred XP 1800+ 1.5v 133x11.5=1.53Ghz
-Duron 1300 1.75v 100x13
-Duron 1100 1.75v 100x11

The motherboard doesn't officially support the XP-M (auto-detects a x6.0 multiplier), but manual multipliers work. The board goes up to x12.5, but to get to its rated speed you got to run it at 12.0x166=2Ghz. I pushed it to 12.5x176=2.2Ghz with just a .1v bump in AGP voltage. That's all I'm willing to push the AGP bus, though I wouldn't be surprised if the cpu itself could break 2.3Ghz.

Here's a couple of pics. 😀

Turns out my XP-M 2600+ has had a rough life and is a bit tired. 🤣. 3dmark03 crashes on Battle of Proxycon consistently until I lower the cpu to 1.83Ghz. Tried giving it more voltage, but no dice. Unless...maybe an issue with the KT400? At any rate, the XP 2200+ runs fine at its stock 1.8Ghz, and the XP-M 2600+ only runs stable when underclocked to 1.83Ghz.

Core temps are in the low 30's, so I know it's not running hot.

edit: screenshot

What bus clock on the mobile cpu? KT400 can overheat and not like anything stable over 175fsb.
XP-M's tired? could be by the different memory bus timings on the bus interface.
It uses different romsip table, maybe relaxing the memory, or give the memory a notch extra voltage.
Maybe you can set the interface to standard or aggresive in a way, and could help stability.

JaNoZ wrote:

What bus clock on the mobile cpu? KT400 can overheat and not like anything stable over 175fsb. XP-M's tired? could be by the di […]
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What bus clock on the mobile cpu? KT400 can overheat and not like anything stable over 175fsb.
XP-M's tired? could be by the different memory bus timings on the bus interface.
It uses different romsip table, maybe relaxing the memory, or give the memory a notch extra voltage.
Maybe you can set the interface to standard or aggresive in a way, and could help stability.

Since the motherboard multiplier only goes up to 12.5 and the FSB choices are 100, 133, and 166, my options were limited. Bottom line: it was not stable at 166x12 (2000Mhz), 166x11.5 (1916Mhz), but became stable at 166x11.0 (1833Mhz). The CPU is a 1.45v cpu, but this board gives it 1.6v without an option to undervolt (I can only overvolt by percent). The memory I have in there is Mushkin DDR400, but it is only running at DDR333. That is why my conclusion is either a tired cpu (I used to overclock it back in the day), or some compatibility issue with the KT400 chipset.

I've never bought a new motherboard and graphics card at the same time, so matching them by year ends up producing pairings that seem strange to me (even if they really aren't, factually speaking). For a late Athlon XP I'd definitely "feel" right with the 9800 Pro. Geforce3 seems weak for that CPU, but again my perception of how these things align is a little skewed.

I used to run Win2k back then and I still like it, but nowadays XP has a significant advantage in compatibility with lots of things, including Steam and GoG if that's an issue.

Decided to see how this system could handle Far Cry. Ehhhh...not so great. Playable, but framerates get a bit chunky in spots. Playing at 1440x900 Medium graphics settings. Still, not so bad for a 1.8Ghz single core.

Actually played Xonotic pretty smoothly at 1440x900 on Low detail settings.

Hmm, when i look at gigabyte hompage of 'GA-7VAXP':
This board has no holes next to the socket A/462. So depending what heatsink you have this doesn't matter or is bad...

Regarding that i have one thermalright which need these holes, this board would not be a replacement for my epox board.

melbar wrote:

Hmm, when i look at gigabyte hompage of 'GA-7VAXP':
This board has no holes next to the socket A/462. So depending what heatsink you have this doesn't matter or is bad...

Regarding that i have one thermalright which need these holes, this board would not be a replacement for my epox board.

Thermalright SLK-800 with the 6 mount point retention clip. It does the job pretty well without need for mounting holes. 😀 In fact, I tried but could not get the cpu temp over 38C through Prim95, 3dmarks, etc. It idles at <30C. Too bad the cpu won't run stable past 1.83Ghz.

I was running a Thermalright SLK-900U, so there i need these mounting holes.

I have a 2100+ Thoroughbred B, and i switched the clock mainly between 1.8GHz (2200+, 133FSB, 1,625V) and 2.086GHz (2600+, 166FSB, 1,65V).
Maybe the setting 2.16GHz (2700+, 166FSB) is also possible, but perhaps not with 1.65V core voltage.

How did you manage to get this board working with an Athlon XP-M? I have a plain GA-7VAX in my mainboard stash and it doesn't work with mobile bartons (checked it last summer, and had to finally use a nForce 2 based Asus), maybe there was just a problem with my specific board 😀

mmx_91 wrote:

How did you manage to get this board working with an Athlon XP-M? I have a plain GA-7VAX in my mainboard stash and it doesn't work with mobile bartons (checked it last summer, and had to finally use a nForce 2 based Asus), maybe there was just a problem with my specific board 😀

Just flashed the latest BIOS, then used manual jumper settings. Set the FSB to 166 and take the multiplier off of Auto. Set it manually. 😀

My 7VAXP just died a week ago. 🙁

mastergamma12 wrote:

My 7VAXP just died a week ago. 🙁

Check the caps, very common problem on Gigabytes of that period.

Sadly I don't have the board anymore.

i have an MSI KT6V-LSR (MS-7021) which is based on the newer VIA KT600, it ineeded supports FSB 400 FSB Athlon XPs (KT600 seems to be an upgraded KT400A with FSB 400 support), I'm currently using it with an Athlon XP 3000+ (2.1 Ghz, Barton, FSB 400). I'm looking some gigabyte boards for Athlon XP too