**Official Epox 8K5A Series (KT333) Thread** (Files, Reviews, and Info Inside!)

[CyNics]

Guys, am I going to regret by getting this board now since nforce 2 is just around the corner??

 

[Mem]

I did not see this posted before but there`s a review of the Epox 8K5A2+ @Hexus .

 

[bupkus]

Guys, am I going to regret by getting this board now since nforce 2 is just around the corner??

That all depends on how much the nforce2 will cost, and if you had to buy new memory (in pairs) anyway.
Also, if you can do with the onboard video.
I, for one, couldn't wait. I was cycling my old KT133A for something of my choosing, and it had to be done soon.

 

[russr]

While the kt400 chipset might not support the 1/6 pci divisor. The gigabyte, and abit kd7 boards are both working on 1/6 pci divisor. According to the latest Tom's hardware article, the gigabyte actually features an automatic 1/6 pci divisor that kicks in at 200mhz fsb.

As far as the abit kd7, i know they implemented it in the latest bios, but it still doesn't work correctly.

So if you are after a board with a 1/6 pci divisor that is adjustable or kicks in at 200mhz fsb, you'll have to wait until one of these mobos gets it right in their bios, or some other mobo has it working.

So far no rumours on the 8k9a2+ having it or not having it. Has anyone even bought an 8k9a2+ yet?

 

[bupkus]

Only one (1) ATA-66/100 Hard drive ribbon cable for my 8K5A2+?
I just installed the board and was a bit surprised. I only have one hard drive, but I have one of each, CDROM and CDRW.
Also, shouldn't that one ribbon cable support ATA-133?

Another point, the two Epox's I received from Mwave.com a couple of days ago have "round" heat sinks. I suppose these were on a shelf in the back.

 

[russr]

why don't u return it and get an 8k9a2+? it is kt400, has serial ata, agp 8x and the updated 533mb/sec vlink.

 

[mooo]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
hmm so if you have to use the headphone and microphone ports for 5.1 channel sound you have to sacrifice those and thereby not have the ability to use headphones or a microphone... sounds like a rip to me

you could use a USB headphone. people claim (at least plantronics does) that it delivers better sound quality than the analog ones that connect to the headphone port. if you have a case with front USB ports, it may be more convenient than the rear headphone port.

 

[friedpie]

what is the highest multiplier in the Epox 8k5a2+ bios?

what is a 1/6 divider?

will the athlon ever get a 200 MHz bus?

 

[russr]

the highest divisor for the pci bus on the 8k5a series is 1/5. So at 166mhz ur pci bus is at 166/5 = 33mhz. a 1/6 pci divisor enables u to go past 200mhz fsb w/o overclocking the pci bus since 200mhz/6 = 33mhz.

 

[bupkus]

The other 8K5A2+ is still in the box. Do you think it's worth the hassle and the shipping and restocking fees to make the exchange?

EP-8K9A2+

How about this?

EP-8RGA+ Are those serial ports I see? :Q

 

[russr]

if one of the is unopened, then simply call UPS and tell them u want to refuse the shipment. mwave won't charge u a restock fee (since unopened). That's what mwave told me themselves.

ups will pick it up from your doorstep. so all u'll be out is the shipping charges.

i personally don't think u should return it if you are concerned about the NB heatsink. return it if you want the 8k9a2+ which in my opinion seems very good.

 

[MrEMan]

Chris Tom at AMDZone has a link to yet another 8K5A2+ review over at PC Arena ( http://www.pc-arena.net/Review_full.asp?ReviewID=162 ).

I also noticed that NewEgg is now listing the 8K5A2/2+ boards again (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-123-176&depa=1). Apparently someone at EPoX has listened because both the board reviewed and the additional 2 photos on NewEgg's site show the space-saving rectangular northbridge heatsinks (nice to see that function has won out over the supposedly "flashy?" , but space-wasting round heatsink (I have no idea what marketing type thought of such a dumb design). From the photos it appears that the rectangular heatsink provides an additional 3/16" clearance between the CPU and the northbridge heatsink.

I wish that the online vender's would publish warranty terms on their sites. I still haven't been able to find out if either NewEgg or MWave are carrying the newer (post September 1 production) 2 year warranty boards.

Speaking of MWave, I notice that after being out of stock on the 8K5A2 for over a week, that MWave now is listing the boards as "while stock lasts". I also notice that MWave has listed the EPOX EP-8K9A VIA KT400 boards, which based on the limited specs available on www.epox.com appears to be the VIA KT400 version of the original 5 PCI slot 8K5A2 boards, for about $2 more than the 5A2 ( http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/ProdM...therboards</b>&Back=ProdMOTHERBOARD-EPOX.hmx? ).

Anyone have any comments about the 8K9A board? I notice from the photo on EPoX's site that the hard drive connectors have been relocated to the front of the board, near the center, and that it appears to have a square northbridge heatsink (can't these guys standardize on one heatsink design?).

Jim

 

[wpenhall]

Hello -

I just purchased the Epox 8k5A3+ (largely on the advice of this thread) and it worked great for about two days. I may have fried it as well as my Enermax power supply in one foul swoop - please see my post in the tech support section here for the full, sad story. I would appreciate any insights into peculiarities the Epox boards might have with regard to the "power fan" pin set, and hard drive and power LEDs.

More specifically, can the board "turn on" with the case power switch if the LED leads aren't connected?

Thanks in advance.

 

[poolsiddrfter]

First, this is a great thread!
I will be receiving my 8k5a2+ today along with a 1600+ and 256mg Geil 3500 Plat memory.
I'm excited to get things rolling and see how far I can o/c this system. I have a question
about the onboard sound which I'll be using. Will there be any problem with the o/b sound card
if I am o/c the fsb and multiplier? Also, I was thinking of using the mobo LAN for hooking up
my cable connection. Will o/c mess with that also? Is the mobo LAN card any good for that
matter? Thanks for any help

 

[daction]

I have a question, how come if you look at the picture on Mwave (and cnetpc.com) of the 8K5A2 it looks totally different then the + model, it's a black board vs. a green board and the layout looks slightly different.....

 

[RideFree]

Warranty: 2 year warranty plan - Expires 9/5/2004.

I checked this at the EPoX web-site and this is the report based on the s/n for the 8k5a2+ I got from mWave, shipped Sep-19-2002.
As the two year warranty just started with M/Bs produced 9-1-02, this must have been air-shipped to mWave. Actual date of manufacture: 9-5-2002.

 

[bupkus]

How do you determine the date of manufacture?

 

[MaxDSP]

well, I placed the orders yesterday for:

Epox 8K5A2+ -MWave.com
AthlonXP 1600+ -Newegg.com
256MB True Samsung PC2700 (will get more when/if I get more funds) -Kommax.com
GC68 and Artic Silver III -SVC



if it wasnt for me having it shipped to an address different from my billin address, Id probably recieve them sooner

ah well, cant wait for this stuff to arrive so I can finally build a stable and fast system

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: poolsiddrfter
First, this is a great thread!
I will be receiving my 8k5a2+ today along with a 1600+ and 256mg Geil 3500 Plat memory.
I'm excited to get things rolling and see how far I can o/c this system. I have a question
about the onboard sound which I'll be using. Will there be any problem with the o/b sound card
if I am o/c the fsb and multiplier? Also, I was thinking of using the mobo LAN for hooking up
my cable connection. Will o/c mess with that also? Is the mobo LAN card any good for that
matter? Thanks for any help

Hello. I have never heard of that memory. Is it true PC2700? If so, you'll have no probs. See, the 8K5A2 boards have 1/5 PCI divider that kicks in at 166MHz. So, when you run 10.5 x 166, the PCI/AGP cards are running perfectly at their ideal speeds of 33/66MHz. If you start to get up in the 170's/180's then you MAY suffer instability. Otherwise you'll have zero probs.

The onboard LAN is just dandy. In normal everyday use, you cannot tell that you're using onboard vs. a PCI card LAN. I ran the Network benchmark in SANDRA b/t this box and the server on my LAN. Got better than 10mb/s transfer rate. I'd say that means it's working fine.

AFA the onboard sound goes; I'm not using it. I have a SBLive XGAMER that I've grown fond of. The onboard sound is OK, but IMO doesn't compare to a QUALITY card. Now, if your soundcard is an ancient SBLIVE 16, then you may want to use the onboard sound. It's not that the onboard sound is BAD...it's not....it just is not as good as a good PCI solution. I have sensitive ears, though. YMMV.

 

[poolsiddrfter]

Hey MichaelD, Thanks!
You cleared up my questions!
Since I'll use this rig for gaming and audio mp3s, I want to have
a great solution for sound. (plus my nephew has an x-gamer card and said I
HAD to get one)

Just to let ya know, the Geil 3500 Plat is rated at pc3500. I got it for future
upgrades and for o/c. When I have the sys up and o/c, I'll tell ya how it runs.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[russr]

Be aware guys, I ordered an Athlon XP 1600+ from Newegg 2 days ago. I got it today and it turns out to be a weird stepping ARNGA. What's worse is that this stepping sucks....won't do 166mhz fsb at default voltage or anything.

I'm going to have to either RMA or buy again and hope I get AGOIA.

Also ordered from MWave last Friday the 8k5a2+ and got a board made in 7/2002 with 1 year warranty. Suckage!!!

 

[AMDBOY]

8K5A2+ & corsair or any cl2 for O/C: which do you recommend 2x256MB or 1x 512MB. Is there an advantage to one or the other for overclocking??

 

[bupkus]

Good question, AMDBOY.
I bought the Corsair 512 module but now wish I'd got the 2 at 256. What if someday I decide to get an nforce2 board?

 

[KF]

Originally posted by: AMDBOY
8K5A2+ & corsair or any cl2 for O/C: which do you recommend 2x256MB or 1x 512MB. Is there an advantage to one or the other for overclocking??

It is unusual to be able to run two modules as fast as one.

nForce 4xx (not 220) has two separate memory controllers, so running two modules does not have the same implications.

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: russr
Be aware guys, I ordered an Athlon XP 1600+ from Newegg 2 days ago. I got it today and it turns out to be a weird stepping ARNGA. What's worse is that this stepping sucks....won't do 166mhz fsb at default voltage or anything.

I'm going to have to either RMA or buy again and hope I get AGOIA.

Also ordered from MWave last Friday the 8k5a2+ and got a board made in 7/2002 with 1 year warranty. Suckage!!!

how do you tell the difference? I ordered a 1600+ yesterday from newegg also. Should I be alrite if I get the ARNGA core or any other one besides the AGOIA? Im not gonna do any overclocking, as theres really no need for me to.