The VD133 actually has similar expandability as many BX boards with 1 AGP, 5 PCI and 2 ISA slots. The dual ISA slots might come in handy for those who want to keep ISA modem, sound or interface cards through their next upgrade. With Intel and their 820 chipset trying their best to do away with ISA, your best bet for future ISA compatibility is surprisingly with the competitive VIA Slot-1 or Athlon chipsets. There is one potential problem with the Apollo Pro 133, and it comes directly from VIA itself. Shortly after releasing the Apollo Pro 133, VIA announced the new Apollo Pro 133A chipset that now included all the Apollo Pro 133's features, as well as adding support for AGP 4X.

Iwill itself is a relatively small player in the motherboard market, but their product line has grown steadily to include a wide variety of products featuring a myriad of chipsets. I was a bit surprised when I looked over their product line, finding a wide selection of boards with the ALI Aladdin Pro, Intel 810/BX/ZX/LX, Apollo Pro+ and now the Apollo Pro 133. They've even got a voltage-selectable S370 Slocket, which looks competitive to the MSI MS-6905. Although Iwill doesn't have the name recognition of Asus or Abit, their extensive product line and impressive VD133 motherboard show they might be ready to move a few rungs up the ladder.

Motherboard Name: Iwill VD133
Chipset: VIA Apollo Pro 133
Form Factor: ATX
DIMM Slots: 3
PCI Slots: 5
ISA Slot: 2
AGP Slot: 1 (x2)
Bus Speeds:
66 /75 /83 /100 /103 /105 /110 /112 /115 /120 /124 /133 /140 /150
CPU Clock Multipliers Supported: 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0

Tested Configuration:

• Windows 98
• PIII-450, Celeron 300/366/450
• 128 meg 8 ns PC100 SDRAM
• 128 meg 7.5 ns PC133 SDRAM
• Seagate ST34321A HD