The EPoX 4G4A+ seems very promising.

[ahsia]

Originally posted by: CTPAX
Based on my experience:
1. Use dimm slot 2
2. Dont use the latest bios, flash the 04/24 one or older...
3. Use only one stick ram, try as many as u can find, till u get the suitable, the fastest ram usualy dont clock well on 4g4a+ (845G), because it causes the agp instability and lockups. Some guy said, that he switched to his old stick of PC2100 and was able to clock it over ddr400, but had no succes with xms corsair 3200, as i recall.
Thats all i think.

BTW. I run fsb160 ddr400 (4:5) p41.6@2.56, Kingmax DDR300 rated )

Well, I gave up. I re-benched my system with my Mushkin DDR366 in the 2nd DIMM slot, and although I get improvements, I still have to use a ver high voltage, and can't reach 150FSB whatsoever. I like this EPoX board, the features are plenty, the price is right, and the PCB has a great color. But in the end, I was a better overclocker, and I have trouble with this board.

I am RMA'ing this board for the Gigabyte 8IEXP, it is a few bucks more, but it does have firewire, and Intel PRO100 NIC. Maybe I will get better overclocking results, maybe I won't, but we'll see. I had luck with the Gigabyte 8SRX, and we'll see how I like the 8IEXP. Congrats to those of you who have had success with the 4G4A.

 

[terminalmind]

ahsia

Did you read what Quixotic had to say about the Gigabyte 8IEXP
in an earlier post?

As for negatives about the board... well I had the Gigabyte 8IEXP right before this board and in comparison, the Gigabyte looks muuuuch sweeter (epox board looks like crap) and comes with a lot more features (more usb, more firewire, more connectivity in general). However that was all a moot point as I could not overclock my computer above 125fsb and have it run stable (would crash on normal windows stuff, didn't even have to try prime or 3dmark).

 

[Quixotic]

Maybe you could try Windows 2000 instead of XP. From what I've read it seems like most of the trouble after installing the INF drivers occurs with systems running WinXP. I really think you should read the other thread regarding the Gigabyte motherboard first though. I was really excited about the mobo but when I installed it and tried to get it to work, I was rather disappointed. With the Gigabyte board, the highest stable speed I could do was 125FSB on the 3:4 divider. 133FSB or higher would cause regular crashes in Windows (all of a sudden system lockups even when doing nothing). At higher FSBs, Windows would often blue screen trying to load up. And while others seem to enjoy EasyTune4 just fine, whenever I tried running it or EasyTune3, it kept giving me an error that the board wasn't supported by the software. Someone else had the same problem, but I don't know if it was solved. Documentation was crap, though I don't know how good the EPoX documentation is in comparison as EPoX hasn't been giving me any problems. All in all, I wish I had waited a bit so I could read all the negative posts about the Gigabyte board.

In comparison, I think most people have been able to get the EPoX board up to 150FSB without a hitch especially if they use just the 1:1 divider. If you can get the gigabyte board to work, then great, cuz it has a lot more features (firewire, extra usb, connectors for compact flash reader, etc.) but in my opinion, it feels a lot like a very unpolished board stacked with toys.

 

[ahsia]

Well, I am getting different advice then. The consensus around here is that the EPoX is a great overclocker, while at another board, I have people pushing me to get the 8IEXP. I have already RMA'ed the EPoX board and ordered the 8IEXP, I try my luck out with that board. I have NOT done the proper research this time around, I was sort of in a rush to get a board. I am leaning towards the SiS645DX chipset again. I still feel that SiS645DX's chipset is faster than the 845G, although they don't come as equiped with all the features.

 

[ahsia]

Originally posted by: Quixotic
Maybe you could try Windows 2000 instead of XP.

I think stability is what counts here. If it works with one OS, and not the other, then what good is it really? I really liked the 4G4A board, everything just seems great, but in the end, I had to work so hard just to overclock to anything close to where my 1.6A's potential is, and that is just too much work. Like putting the RAM in DIMM2, well, what if I had to get a 2nd stick, does that mean my overclocking potential automatically goes down? I mean, that just doesn't make sense to me. If the board doesn't overclock well, it doesn't. But if it overclocks well ONLY if the memory is in DIMM2, and better if you use Win2k vs WinXP, then that just doesn't make sense to me. Does it make sense to you?

Anyways, I am going to give the 8IEXP a shot, we'll see what happens here.

 

[Judgement]

Hmm why is this board so much cheaper at mwave.com, nothing else at mwave was cheaper then newegg.


Maybe its an OEM version? Just doesn't seem to make sense that it would be $22 more at newegg when everything else from newegg is cheaper.

 

[anazoal]

The 4G4A+ at MWave is a NEW RETAIL mobo -- I bought mine from them.

1.6A @150 FSB DDR 375 (Samsung original DDR 333). EDIT mem in slot 1.

Vcore @ 1.525, everything else default. ...Everything stable for > 2wks.

EDIT:

BTW, those having problems, have you tried burning in your memory by gradually increasing FSB and running Sandra mem burn-in at each stage? This really does have an effect on the max mem speed you can reach.

 

[Quixotic]

Sorry, but perhaps I should clarify myself. When I suggested trying Win2K instead, it was because people using WinXP were having trouble reaching the same OCed levels after installing the INF update. I merely suggested trying Win2K simply because I haven't encountered any overclocking-potential dropoff after installing the INF update (which was also a necessity as Win2K didn't seem to utilize the AGP port very effectively otherwise - 19xx pre-update 3dmark score vs. 80xx post-update 3dmark score). I'm not saying that the board overclocks better in Win2K, only that there seems to be no adverse reaction to the INF update. In any case, the OS you have really shouldn't be a factor in how far you can overclock with a particular mobo and cpu.

Here's a link to the 8IEXP thread that at first convinced me to get the Gigabyte board, and then also helped in getting me to RMA after having same difficulties.
Gigabyte 8IEXP Thread

Hope you have better luck tho

Originally posted by: ahsia

I think stability is what counts here. If it works with one OS, and not the other, then what good is it really? I really liked the 4G4A board, everything just seems great, but in the end, I had to work so hard just to overclock to anything close to where my 1.6A's potential is, and that is just too much work. Like putting the RAM in DIMM2, well, what if I had to get a 2nd stick, does that mean my overclocking potential automatically goes down? I mean, that just doesn't make sense to me. If the board doesn't overclock well, it doesn't. But if it overclocks well ONLY if the memory is in DIMM2, and better if you use Win2k vs WinXP, then that just doesn't make sense to me. Does it make sense to you?

Anyways, I am going to give the 8IEXP a shot, we'll see what happens here.

 

[Pabster]

I don't know where the "INF Update" thing started, but I don't notice any difference in potential pre- or post- INF/IAA installation.

 

[Quixotic]

Here's a little update on how my EPoX 4G4A+ is doing:

I used to have 2 sticks of 512MB PC2700 Samsung memory on this board but I couldn't get the memory to go any higher than ~333MHz @ 2.5-6-3-3, 2.8V. This morning I took out one of the two sticks, leaving a lone stick in slot #2, and tried stress testing my system again. Eureka! It's stable @ 150FSB and 375DDR now. I'm not sure if putting the memory in slot #2 *really* made a difference, but I'm too lazy to try it in slot #1 and besides, why mess with it if it ain't broken? Personally, I'm attributing the success to the fact that systems tend to be more stable with fewer slots populated. I remember a lot of mobos having stability issues when using all 4 slots, etc. I will be trying the 3:4 divider later when I get home to see if I can get it running at 400DDR.

BTW, I was wondering if anyone could explain to me just what successfully overclocking a setup requires. I'm sure everyone is using different standards. From what I've read so far, some of these standards are:

1) Yay, I can get into Windows without encountering a BSOD.
2) Yay, I can get into Windows and leave my computer on overnight and it still hasn't crashed.
3) Yay, I can get into Windows and play MP3s without any crashes.
4) Yay, I can get into Windows and run Prime 95 but it reports errors.
5) Yay, I can get into Windows and run Prime 95 for X hours, where X > 1/3, without any crashes.
6) Yay, I can get into Windows and run both Prime 95 and loop the 3DMarks2001 SE benchmark for at least 12 hours straight without any crashes.

I used to subscribe to method #5 but whenever I did other stuff while running Prime, it would always crash, whether after 10 minutes or 5 hours. I keep hearing a lot of people say their systems are 100% stable because they can run Prime 95 fine, but I'd like to implore everyone who has tested only with Prime95 to try looping 3dmarks2001SE as well. I know from personal experience that my setup, which I deemed stable after doing fine on Prime95, was far from that as it always crashed after concurrently running 3dmark for anywhere between 10 minutes and four hours. Try this and let us know if it makes any difference. I know #6 still probably isn't the ultimate test, but for now, as long as my computer doesn't crash halfway through a Warcraft 3 match, I'll be happy I'm sure it'd also help make everyone's overclocking success reports a lot more useful/accurate.

 

[Quixotic]

Same here. No diff

Originally posted by: Pabster
I don't know where the "INF Update" thing started, but I don't notice any difference in potential pre- or post- INF/IAA installation.

 

[MetroRider]

Originally posted by: Quixotic
Same here. No diff

Originally posted by: Pabster
I don't know where the "INF Update" thing started, but I don't notice any difference in potential pre- or post- INF/IAA installation.

It made a huge difference for me. In both of my OS's installed, 2k and XP, i could boot my 1.6a stabily @ 2640 MHz. However, once the inf's were installed, and then the nvidia drivers, i couldnt be stable after 2400.

As a side note, my Red Hat 7.3 linux runs like a charm with the cpu @ 2720 MHz, with no crashes at all while being in X. To really stress test it, i should install the linux nvidia drivers and try playing Quake3 and see what happens

 

[audscott]

I received my board today & set-up - changing from an Abit BD7II-RAID for the added voltage.

At first used DIMM 1 - I had read this thread earlier...but you know

Anyway - WinXP wasn't stable over 150, 4:5 cas 2.5, 6, 3, 3, 2t - the Abit was a rock at 165 FSB 1:1, cas 2, 5, 2, 2, 1t or 150 3:4, cas 2.5, 6, 3, 3, 2t.

So then came back to this helpful thread...voila!!!! DIMM 2 yields 165 FSB 4:5, cas 2 6, 3, 3, 2t with sisandra 3164/3144 memory - the highest I've evern gotten. :Q

Do some more tweaking, but this seems to be a keeper...of course, I only use one DIMM (512) memory - so YMMV when using more than one DIMM slot.

 

[pay]

I am looking forward to purchasing this board, just a couple questions.

1. Where are these INF/IAA drivers everyone is talking about?

2. Should I install them or not?

3. If I install them, what is this "fix" everyone is talking about that will prevent loss of performance

Thanks!

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: Quixotic

BTW, I was wondering if anyone could explain to me just what successfully overclocking a setup requires.

For me, it must be absolutely indistinguishable from buying setup that is spec'd at the OC'd level. So if I have a 1.8A and I OC it to 2.4, then it should be just as stable as a true 2.4 in 24/7 daily use. That means the only instabilities allowed are those that aren't attributable to the OC.

Yes, it's a high standard, but after the 300A@450, I'll never accept anything less.

 

[ahsia]

Originally posted by: pay
I am looking forward to purchasing this board, just a couple questions.

1. Where are these INF/IAA drivers everyone is talking about?

Download them from Intel Chipset Driver.

2. Should I install them or not?

Most people have installed them and find ways to continue overclocker at their high rate.

3. If I install them, what is this "fix" everyone is talking about that will prevent loss of performance

Some people have experience less chance of hitting higher FSBs, so it doesn't really affect performance. The "fix" is:

1. Use dimm slot 2
2. Dont use the latest bios, flash the 04/24 one or older...
3. Use only one stick ram, try as many as u can find, till u get the suitable

As for myself, well, after reading some more on the 845G vs. 845E chipset, I decided to keep the 4G4A+ and pass on the Gigabyte 8IEXP. Then, while putting my system together again, the bracket for the P4 snapped, so I had to RMA it anyways, but this time, I exchanged it for another 4G4A+. Well, let's say I am having better luck this time around.

Without wasting any time, I went ahead and installed XP, download the latest INF drivers from Intel, App Accelerator, installed them. Then installed video, sound drivers, as well as 3DMark, Prime95 and SiSoft. Everything at 1.6GHz. Then proceeded to overclocking. I could was to boot into XP 133FSB, then 150FSB, then 154FSB, but 160FSB was unstable as soon as XP loaded. Highest voltage I set was at 1.7v, although it showed it hovering between 1.75-1.77v. I ran 3DMark with my Radeon 8500LE at 250/275, and score 9480. Very happy!

I realized that some of the problems I was having before was with overclocking my 8500LE. Without the INF drivers, I could boot into XP at 288/300 and run 3DMark, although my scores would be in the 8000s. Now with the INF drivers installed, 3DMark would only run at 250/275, if I overclock it to 275/275, 3DMark would crash. But being able to score 9480 is great.

So my 1.6A is running at 2.4GHz right now, going through Prime95 now, but I left my system, so I don't know how long it will run before erroring. I am glad I kept this board!

P.S. The first 4G4A+ I had, the heatsink on the motherboard chipset had an EPoX logo on it, but this one doesn't. Dunno if that makes a difference. Also, under PC Health Status, the default BIOS shows higher voltage than what is actually set, while the new updated BIOS shows lower voltage than what is actually set. Thought you guys would like to know.

 

[ethernaut]

Wow great thread! I am planning on getting this board also. Those INF drivers kinda scare me though.. Reminds me of the Via 4-in-1's... DO they improve performance and stuff? What do they do anyways?

 

[pay]

I already have an SMC 10/100 mbit NIC and some cheap Avance 4000 Logic soundcard, do you guys think I should use the onboard NIC and soundcard instead? Maybe just the NIC? just the SC?

Thanks

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: ethernaut
Wow great thread! I am planning on getting this board also. Those INF drivers kinda scare me though.. Reminds me of the Via 4-in-1's... DO they improve performance and stuff? What do they do anyways?

From Intel: "The INF files inform the operating system how to properly configure the chipset for specific functionality, such as AGP, USB, Core PCI, and ISA PnP services."

 

[Labdog]

Originally posted by: ahsia

Originally posted by: CTPAX
Based on my experience:
1. Use dimm slot 2
2. Dont use the latest bios, flash the 04/24 one or older...
3. Use only one stick ram, try as many as u can find, till u get the suitable, the fastest ram usualy dont clock well on 4g4a+ (845G), because it causes the agp instability and lockups. Some guy said, that he switched to his old stick of PC2100 and was able to clock it over ddr400, but had no succes with xms corsair 3200, as i recall.
Thats all i think.

BTW. I run fsb160 ddr400 (4:5) p41.6@2.56, Kingmax DDR300 rated )

Well, I gave up. I re-benched my system with my Mushkin DDR366 in the 2nd DIMM slot, and although I get improvements, I still have to use a ver high voltage, and can't reach 150FSB whatsoever. I like this EPoX board, the features are plenty, the price is right, and the PCB has a great color. But in the end, I was a better overclocker, and I have trouble with this board.

I am RMA'ing this board for the Gigabyte 8IEXP, it is a few bucks more, but it does have firewire, and Intel PRO100 NIC. Maybe I will get better overclocking results, maybe I won't, but we'll see. I had luck with the Gigabyte 8SRX, and we'll see how I like the 8IEXP. Congrats to those of you who have had success with the 4G4A.

i dont understand you can't correctly overclock your EPoX 4G4A(+). but whatsoever don't replace it by the gigabyte (bad overclocker). take in that case an Asus P4B533(-V ; the i845g chipset is the faster chipset from intel for the DDR memory) or Abit BG7. if you want plenty of features you have also the Abit IT7 Max which is just coming out. you can plug on this board 12 hard disks; it's a record i think.

 

[Labdog]

Originally posted by: ahsia
Well, I am getting different advice then. The consensus around here is that the EPoX is a great overclocker, while at another board, I have people pushing me to get the 8IEXP. I have already RMA'ed the EPoX board and ordered the 8IEXP, I try my luck out with that board. I have NOT done the proper research this time around, I was sort of in a rush to get a board. I am leaning towards the SiS645DX chipset again. I still feel that SiS645DX's chipset is faster than the 845G, although they don't come as equiped with all the features.

sorry man but not. the SiS645DX chipset is fast but not as fast as the i845G from Intel. alot of Good Luck for your Gigabyte overclocking.

 

[Labdog]

Quixotic

note: Win2K & WinXP have the same kernel...


for who are interested by, here some reviews of the EPoX 4G4A+:
VR Zone
ocworkbench
ocsystem
tweaktown

 

[HigherGround]

Well, after reading this and other 845G mobo threads, I decided to go with the 4G4A+. Pretty standard setup from newegg:

Epox 4G4A+
PIV 1.6A
512MB Samsung DDR
GF4 4200
Enermax 350W PS
3g of AC3

that will replace my current aging ( 2+ year old ) system ... can't wait

 

[Labdog]

yup, fine one.
do you get a good HSF like an Alpha PAL8942T as well?

 

[HigherGround]

do you get a good HSF like an Alpha PAL8942T as well?

I'm not going for an extreme o/c, so I'm hoping that I won't need an aftermarket HSF.