EP-8KTA+ or MSI K7T Pro2?

[Chuc]

Finally received my retail Duron 700. Looking to pick up a motherboard and trying to decide between the Epox EP-8KTA+ or MSI K7T Pro2.

Both seem to have gotten good reviews and there's only about a $10 difference between the two with the Epox being the cheaper one.

Recommendations anyone?

 

[Sporko]

I've also decided on a Duron 700 and have my mainboard choices down to these two as well. The MSI seems to be the champ for stability while the Epox saves you a little money. I'm leaning toward the MSI but if it doesn't become available here (Canada) soon I may just go for the Epox.

 

[wyckedcool]

I have the epox 8kta+ and haven't had one problem with it. Keep in mind however I have not overclock'ed yet. But it run's very stable. I have a Duron 750 and my temp is 33 degrees with stock HSF. It's a quality board. I don't think you would be makeing a bad move by buying this board. I'm very pleased with it. One of the best decisions I made when building this.

Chuc your right. It's been getting alot of very good reviews. OCworkbenck.com gave it it's "Highly Recommended" award.

Just my 2 cent's worth

-----------------------------
Antec SX1030B
Epox 8KTA+
Duron 750
SB Live MP3+
Diamond Viper v770
Sony Spressa 8x/4x/32x
64mb pc133 Seimen/Infineon (for now)

 

[Neos]

Well, I should get it today ...the MSI Pro 2, that is. I went with it for the ease of playing with the multiplier, voltage, and FSB. From what I read, to OC with this is almost foolproof ...you go as far as you can, and then the Bios takes care of the rest.
The Epox & the MSI both look great. The Pro 2 just looks to be easier to deal with in this area.
Neos

 

[goggleax]

Neos - BUMMER (from your other thread) Keep us posted here when you get the correct board, I'd like to see what you think of it as well.

 

[DaddyG]

You should be able to find the EPOX 8KTA2, it uses the VIA 686B Southbridge with ATA100 support.

 

[Gogga]

Hi,

I recommended the Epox 8KTA+ board to a friend mine, who wanted to use it with a Duron 700. He is very happy with the combo, and he overclocks the Duron to 950Mhz.

The only difference between the two boards is that you have use jumpers to change the multiplier on the Epox and with the MSI board it is possible to change it in the Bios. I dont care so much about that, because if you found the limits of your Cpu, then you can just leave the jumpers alone!

You cant go wrong with either board, maybe the extra ISA slot on the Epox board provides a better upgrade option for you.

Regards,
Martin Pretorius

 

[Super6]

I should receive my Epox EP-8KTA2 (ATA100) in a couple of days and will post my results.

Super6

 

[BadBrad]

I have the EP-8KTA+ with a Duron 600 running at 900 stable for well over a week now. No problems what so ever! This board came with the latest VIA drivers which all loaded from a simple win GUI. Easily the best board I have worked with so far. Also included is a Win program USDM (Unified System Diagnostic Manager)that loads into the Win taskbar and can be called up at any time. This prog displays CPU & MB temps, CPU & chassis Fan speeds, Vcore, Vi/o, and status of the 12vdc & 5vdc power supplies.

 

[KBtrade]

Super6, where did you order your Epox EP-8KTA2 from? I have not seen it in stock yet anywhere, most places are saying this coming week it will be available...thanks!

 

[Phuz]

MAN!
Don't even consider the EP board.. The MSI K7T PRO2 (a) will blow that board away!
You can't even compare that board against the Pro2, it's SO MUCH BETTER!

read the review that AnandTech wrote..yipes.

 

[KBtrade]

The Epox EP-8KTA2 has VIA 686B South Bridge, with ATA 100 support. That is why I am considering over the MSI K7T Pro2 right now.

 

[spencer]

<< Don't even consider the EP board.. The MSI K7T PRO2 (a) will blow that board away! >>



Please tell us why the K7T Pro2 is so much better.

 

[Super6]

KBtrade:
ordered it from openlinx.com. Phuz, I happen to be a big MSI fan but didn't want to wait around for native ATA100 support. Epox makes good boards as does Soyo, Asus, AOpen, Intel (not for O/C'ing) and, yes, even Abit (for 9 out of 10 buyers)...I'm sure I'm leaving some other good ones out.

Unlike some who post here, I don't get a woody over 3 frames per second better or the size of the capacitors used. If the product is good and performs as advertised I'm happy and will share my experience.

Super6

 

[TimeKeeper]

Both mobo got great review. I happen to own two Epox 8KTA+ (I was very impressed w/ the Epox on my system, and &quot;upgrade&quot; my wife's ABIT KT7 w/ it also)

I don't really believe the one mobo can really &quot;blow away&quot; the other, nor I will recommend anything that I haven't try it myself.

 

[Mattster]

MSI is also coming out with the K7T Pro2a, which will use the 686b southbridge with the integrated UDMA/100. The last timetable I saw, it is supposed to follow about a month behind the Pro2.

 

[Super6]

UPS just delivered my Epox EP-8KTA2 (ATA100) and I'll try to get on it in the next couple of days and post the results.

Super6

 

[keviha]

I am very pleased with how my upgrade went last week. I installed an Epox 8KTA2. I'm running a Duron 600 @ 918 (102 x 9)at 1.725v. I'm sure I will get more out of it as I start fiddling around. My temps are about 32C at idle using FOP32-1 and arctic silver. Except for a row of capacitors on one side of cpu mount that kept me from using my Agilent Arcticooler, the board is really well laid out. It's stable and fast - can't ask for more.

 

[Zuluwarrior]

I contacted Bunta dot com as they were one of two showing the uata100
epox board.

I asked why no other stores were selling it and he told me
that their office was right up the street from epox,
so they picked the boards up right there!

They are backordered but should have some in a week.

As for the K7T Pro2, MWave is messin with people again.

I asked em about all the controversy of some folks gettin pro2's
and a lot of folks sayin they shipped em pros and here's what the girl
emailed me today:

Thank you for sending us your concerns, and the information that is being discussed in the forums. Unfortunately, there was a lot of confusion about which board we were actually carrying. We have since confirmed with MSI and our distributor, that it is indeed the K7T Pro board, and not the K7T Pro2 as we had originally thought. We sincerely apologize for all of the confusion and misrepresentation, and assure you that it was an honest mistake. We have since made all of the necessary changes to our web site, as well as any other sites that we advertise on. Of course those who did purchase this board with the understanding they were getting the K7T Pro2 will be entitled to a refund if they so choose. If you have any further question or concerns, please let us know. Thank you for visiting Multiwave Direct, and again we do apologize for the confusion.

Raquela, MWave.com

Now I'm really confused because if what she said was right, then everyone
who sez they got pro2's from em is lying which I know is not the case.....

What I'd really like to do is get the epox ata100 board now and get the pro2a
when it comes out in a month

this is gettin craaaaaazzy

jeez...I think I'll just go shoot myself!

 

[artemedes]

Zuluwarrior:
I think you are referring to this thread, and I only count one person who recieved a wrong one, and many who recieved the Pro2 myself included. This makes me wonder why you got that email. Whats the date on that reply? Did they get some in after that was sent? Gotta go play with my new board, cya.

 

[Fireloong]

Gosh darn, now it's off mwave's site.

 

[dennilfloss]

I'm really starting to think about replacing my P3B-F/celeron500 with a EP-8KTA+/Duron 800 combo. I run rc5 24/7 and I do not overclock anymore. One thing that might tip the balance is that the gentleman in the mom/pop shop I do business with is very familiar with Epox and likes that brand. Also, I'll get some money for my previous mobo/cpu combo because he can easily sell that to someone else in the neighbourhood.

 

[ube]

Whats the max voltage on the epox? is the Asus A7V the only mb with voltage select that goes over 2.0v?

 

[BadBrad]

The max CPU Vcore is 1.850vdc.

 

[Super6]

Well, I got the Epox EP-8KTA2 up and running with a Duron 600. Using my trusty mechanical pencil, I unlocked it and am currently running at 900MHz at 1.75v. Wasn't any more troublesome to set up than a good BX MB. The onboard sound isn't much compared to my Xitel Platinum (A3D2.0) but will do for the moment. The jumpers are easy to get at and not an issue. The IBM ATA100 is noticeably quick.

Early config:

Duron 600 @900MHz
Alpha something or another HSF
64Mb Crucial PC133 CAS3
30 GB IBM GXP75
generic GeForce MX (190/190)
Antec mid-tower 300w
Win98 (original...98Lite Micro install)
Teac cd-rom

It's still a baby...need some more (and faster) memory and KVM switch, sound card, etc. and some more tweaking. This may become a dedicated gaming system. Have no benchmarks but it seems much quicker overall than my PIII-550@733 on a Soyo SY-6BA+100 running QIII demos.

So far it's an A+.

Super6

Super6