This is somewhat OT but since I run a PC retail shop here in the Philippines, the distro bought in the new stuff from EPoX. Being so, I thought i'd share with you this quick preview of EPoX's latest SLI mobo, the EP-9NPA3 SLI
Introducing the EPoX EP-9NPA3 SLI
Box shot
Opening it up reveals the usual suspects (i.e IDE cable, SATA cable, manual, I/O backshield, driver CD, etc, etc).
box opened
A good bundle and includes everything you need to set-up a PC. No need for rounded cables which helps drives costs down. You buy this mobo for the mobo, not its goodies....
no SLI switch card?!?!?!
A quick glance at the mobo reveals one glaring absence. There's no SLI switch card!!!!!1111 Could this mobo actually enable SLI in the BIOS in the same way that much more expensive mobos enable SLI? I wonder....
metal backplate
A look at the backside also reveals another important change, the use of a metal backplate. I have always preferred metal backplates over plastic ones like those used by DFI and the previous EPoX mobos. Why? Its soooo dificult to install an aftermarket cooler on plastic backplates simply because of the fact that they are not stuck to the board using tape, and hence, fall off once you remove the stock retention mechanism. Anyone who has experienced installing an aftermarket cooler while the mobo is still inside the case would know what I'm talking about. If not....wel', you arent hardcore enough...plus the fact that metal is stronger than plastic....
That concludes a look at the mobo. Next thing you'll ask me is "what are the BIOS options?"
Well, this I can tell you so far. This mobo has by far the best OCer BIOS I have seen south of DFI's dominance of the OCer market. EPoX really did a good job with this mobo's BIOS.
For starters:
CPU Frequency = 200 - 400 MHz
CPU voltage = -0.2v to +.35v (more than enough to toast your proc! wooppiieee!)
DIMM voltage = 3.1v (more than enough to toast your mems!)
+1.2V HT = up to 1.5v, default is 1.2v, known as LDT Voltage in the DFI nF4 series BIOSes.
Chipset voltage = up to 1.9v (waaay overkill, in my experience, 1.8v is more than enough)
The memory timings are extensive, 2nd only to the DFI's plethora of available tweaks. Still no DRAM drive stength but hey, you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?
So there you go, guys, a quick preview at what is possibly the best mobo you can get as your Xmas gift to yourself. As a parting shot, I'll leave you with the lasting image of 2 x 6600GTs sitting lovingly together in ths mobo.
SLI'd 6600GTs