BlueSmoke - Review : EPoX 8K3A+

		Date	: Jun 24th, 2002
		Genre	: Motherboards
		Developer	: EPoX
		Author	: Jin-Wei Tioh

A few months ago, VIA released their highly anticipated successor to the popular KT266A chipset, the KT333. The KT333 basically boasts official support for DDR333 memory and ATA-133. While the performance benefits offered are not too significant (an average of 3%), the KT333 will supplant the KT266A as the standard shipping chipset due to its pin compatibility of unchanged cost.

EPoX is the first manufacturer to drop a KT333 motherboard into our hands. They have been catering towards and popular with the extreme overclocking crowd for some time now. Today, we take a look at the 8K3A+, the big brother of the popular 8KHA+. Can it measure up to the 8KHA+'s success? Here's a brief technical overview :

What hits you right away is traditionality of the 8K3A+, at least as far as PCB color is concerned. Or the motherboard could have just been color coordinated with its distinctive lime green packaging. The 8K3A+ sits in an open tray, covered by a semi-transparent sheath. A unique touch is the small carrying strap on the packaging. Once that has gotten your attention, a few other things hold it : the 2 ATA-133 RAID headers, 6 PCI slots (and absence of an AMR slot), 2 digit 7 segment display and the 8K3A+'s sheer size.

Component placement is generally clean with a few gripes. The ATX power header is placed close to the rear of the board, which means that the ATX power cable is going to be dangling above the CPU disrupting airflow. The DIMM slots are just barely above the AGP slot, making DIMM installation/removal a chore when using graphics cards such as the Leadtek WinFast A250. It is absolutely necessary to first remove the AGP card. The 2 IDE headers also obstruct the 2nd to 4th PCI slots, making them unable to accommodate full-length expansion cards.

EPoX decided to integrate only 2 USB ports, including an additional bracket to hook up the other 2 USB ports. As per the industry's standard operating procedure, the front panel connectors are placed in the lower-front corner of the motherboard, ensuring the cables do not get in the way of any expansion slots.

Capacitor placement is alright, though 6 2200uF caps can stand to be placed a little further from the CPU socket. EPoX also sticks to AMD's "no mount zone" specification, permitting the usage of HS/F units which use the 4-lug mounting system, such as the Zalman CNPS5000 and the Swiftech MC462A.

The VT8367 North Bridge constitutes the core of the VIA KT333 chipset, providing all the major features of the chipset; DDR333, 100/133MHz FSB, as well as AGP 2x/4x support. 166MHz support is unofficial but perfectly feasible due to the presence of a 1/5 PCI divider. EPoX opted for a non-stylized, silver passive chipset cooler. Although some might voice concerns regarding the lack of an active cooling solution, it didn't hinder us from ramping up the FSB on the 8K3A+. More on this later.

As with most motherboards on the market, the 8K3A+ sports 3 DIMM slots for a maximum memory capacity of 3GB. At any FSB range, you have the option of running your RAM at either 133MHz or 166MHz. Beyond 166MHz, the RAM operates synchronously with the FSB. This is something to keep in mind while attempting to overclock beyond 166MHz.

The 8K3A+ comes equipped with an universal AGP slot with an added a locking mechanism at the end of slot which helps secure the AGP card in place. It is basically a small plastic clip, working similarly to that of a DIMM slot by clipping onto the small tab on the AGP card. While it would take quite an amount of force to unseat the AGP card (an amount that would likely have damaged other components more severely), it is a small, but welcome feature.

The VIA VT8233A South Bridge is basically an updated version of the VT8233 from the KT266A chipset. It boasts ATA-133 and 6 USB ports, on par with all other chipsets. Some interesting features include support for 6-channel AC'97 sound, and the VT8233A's integrated 10/100 BaseT Ethernet and 1/10 Home PNA controller. About the only things lacking in this South Bridge are USB 2.0 and FireWire support, which is VIA's rather than EPoX's fault.

For expansion slots, EPoX elected to implement the power-user oriented 1/6/0/0 (AGP/PCI/ISA/AMR) configuration, something we have only seen previously on the DFI AK76-SN. This is probably one of the features that sets the 8K3A+ apart from other KT333 motherboards. As mentioned earlier, the 2nd to 4th PCI slots are incapable of accommodating full-length cards.

The 8K3A+ features an impressive number of capacitors; at least a dozen 2200uF and an assortment of smaller capacitors. 6 voltage regulators (3 visible, 3 on the flip side) sit adjacent to the CPU socket.

In the overclocking department, the 8K3A+'s FSB is fully adjustable in 1MHz increments via the BIOS. The FSB clock generator used is capable of an astounding 255MHz, but in practice, it would probably be limited by the 1/5 PCI divider after 166MHz. CPU core voltage is fully jumperless, allowing adjustments from 1.1V to 1.85V in 0.025V increments, and from 1.85V to an extremely high 2.2V in 0.050V increments. CPU multiplier selection is also fully jumperless. I/O and DIMM voltage adjustments are present, with VDIMM from 2.5V to 3.2V in 0.1V increments. The CPU fan header held up well when paired with a black-label Delta fan. All in all, EPoX has one heck of an overclocker in the 8K3A+, some would say an overclocker's dream.

Following another industry SOP, EPoX integrated AC'97 audio. However, they took the extra step by choosing the Realtek ALC650 CODEC, which among other things supports 6-channel audio and has a S/PDIF output. Processing power has come to the point where the CPU time used by AC'97 solutions is for all purposes insignificant. With onboard audio already sporting many of the same features as dedicated sound cards, many people (including this editor) are seriously questioning the need for them.

The 8K3A+ is also equipped with a HighPoint HPT372 ATA-133 RAID controller, which supports RAID 0 (striped), RAID 1 (mirrored) and RAID 0+1 (striped + mirrored) arrays. Quite a few other motherboards utilize the Promise PDC20276 RAID controller, which lacks support for RAID 0+1. If you elect not to use the RAID functionality, it could just as well double as a second IDE controller, bringing the total to 8 IDE devices, more than most people could ask for.

As with the 8KHA+, the 8K3A+ also sports the POST display that has won many fans. The 2 digit 7 segment display at the lower front of the motherboard cycles through various POST (power on self test) codes upon startup. If for some reason the system malfunctions, a POST code related to the error will be displayed, facilitating easier system diagnostics.

Rounding up the bundle are a multilingual short installation guide and 2 CDs; one with the drivers and utilities; the other with a full version of Drive Image and Partition Magic. While differing from the usual antivirus software bundle, they are still very handy programs to have around; Partition Magic to create new partitions, change partition sizes or convert partitions, Drive Image for creating backup images of your hard drive. The package also contains two manuals, one for the 8K3A+ and the other for the onboard HighPoint RAID controller. The manuals are clear and detailed, although explanations of the BIOS settings are not present.

Our test suite and methodology has been revised by quite a fair bit. For starters, CPU performance scores have been eliminated in favor of the overall performance measurement done by MadOnion's PCMark 2002? 3DMark 2001SE has also been discontinued as a stability test in favor of allocating more time to the other tests. How does the EPoX 8K3A+ fare?

For the results below, the 8K3A+ was run with standard parameters (ie. no overclocking) at 800MHz (6 x 133 FSB), with a memory speed of 166MHz at CAS 2.5. Please note however, that you shouldn't compare the results obtained here to rate a Socket-370 motherboard and vice versa.

We would like to take a moment to thank the sponsors who helped facilitate this review. The 7528 was supplied by Arkua, the Artic Silver II TIM by Arctic Silver LLC, and the Siluro MX400 by ABIT.

In addition to the standard performance measures, overclocking tests were performed to ascertain the highest FSB speeds the system could sustain. The CPU (an unlocked Duron 800) was set to run at 6 x 133MHz, with overall stability gauged via informal tests such as Aquamark and 3DMark 2001SE. The FSB is gradually dialed up, with stability being tested via Ultra-X's RAM Stress Test and Stability Test. At the highest FSB determined to be stable, 3 makeworld -j4s are performed under FreeBSD 4.5 to confirm results.

What did we find? The highest FSB we achieved was a blazing 166MHz, with the CPU being gunned at 830MHz (5 x 166). A full 25% increase in FSB frequency without any tweaks whatsoever, which certainly speaks well for EPoX.

The good :

• Superb stability under both standard (133/166MHz FSB/mem) and overclocked (166/166MHz FSB/mem) conditions.

• Observes AMD "no mount" zone, with support for heatsink/fan units such as the Zalman CNPS5000 and Swiftech MC462-A.

• Overclocking is the 8K3A+'s forte. Fully jumperless complemented with a wealth of overclocking and performance niceties, including I/O and DIMM voltages and fine memory timing adjustments as well as memory interleaving support.

• Expansion slot configuration of 1/6/0/0 (AGP/PCI/ISA/AMR). It doesn't get better than this.

• Integrated 6-channel AC'97 audio which even has S/PDIF. With CPU utilization being a non-issue, and with a feature set rivaling that of traditional sound cards, not too many people will be complaining.

There isn't much to complain about the 8K3A+, but nevertheless, nothing is perfect. Some shortcomings include :

• Generally clean layout, which is good. However the DIMM slots were positioned too low making DIMM installation/removal inconvenient. The placement of the ATX power header will result in the ATX power cable hanging over the CPU, which might hamper cooling efficiency.

• Lack of some features, such as an onboard NIC, USB 2.0 and FireWire interfaces.

• Size isn't everything. This thing is a behemoth that might cause problems for those with more compact casings.

The 8K3A+ is one the first KT333 motherboards out the door. It overclocks like a dream, with excellent stability to boot, surviving the rigorous "makeworld -j4" test in FreeBSD 4.5 even at a FSB of 166MHz. Topping these off are the excellent POST display, good documentation (save for explanations of the BIOS settings), and nice software bundle. There are a few shortcomings to the 8K3A, mainly the lack of features such as USB 2.0 and FireWire, as well as a few layout issues. However in response to this, EPoX is giving away a free PCI USB 2.0 controller, which is certainly a very welcome move. If you are looking for an excellent KT333 motherboard, the 8K3A+ is all that and a bag of chips. EPoX gets our Excellence Award.