**UPDATE: Epox 4PEA+ (845PE) Review Now Up**

[cmdrdredd]

Just like to say that your review is very good on this board.

One thing I would note for everyone looking at these mobos is to think about whether they really "need" the Serial ATA and the Firewire and will they really use any RAID offered? If not then I'd suggest everyone take a look at Albatron's offering like I did...no frills but serious performance for under $100! What a deal IMO

I'd still take the Albatron over the others for the price and add the controller cards I needed later. If I wanted RAID I'd add it and if I needed SATA I'd add a card.

Great reviews none the less. I'd like to see a roundup of the overclocked boards running the benchmarks. Say get them to run at the highest stable overclock and see what one comes out on top then. I'd be interested to see this as I may be building a system for a friend and he wants to do some overclocking.

 

[First]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Just like to say that your review is very good on this board.

One thing I would note for everyone looking at these mobos is to think about whether they really "need" the Serial ATA and the Firewire and will they really use any RAID offered? If not then I'd suggest everyone take a look at Albatron's offering like I did...no frills but serious performance for under $100! What a deal IMO

I'd still take the Albatron over the others for the price and add the controller cards I needed later. If I wanted RAID I'd add it and if I needed SATA I'd add a card.

Great reviews none the less. I'd like to see a roundup of the overclocked boards running the benchmarks. Say get them to run at the highest stable overclock and see what one comes out on top then. I'd be interested to see this as I may be building a system for a friend and he wants to do some overclocking.

I very much agree with you cmdrdredd, Albatron's 845PE board is perfect for the extreme overclocker that doesn't need all those onboard components. If you don't need FireWire, RAID, and SATA, then there's no reason to spend an extra $50 for the 4PEA+ over Albatron's 845PE board.

I've been thinking about doing some type of review comparing stock benchmarks to overclocked benchmarks. In other words, we'd like to show AnandTech readers exactly how much performance can be gained from overclocking certain platforms, and if the risks of stability and long-term reliability are worth it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Excellent...I look forward to seeing something like that. I'm probably going with one of these new P4PE boards for my friend's new system and haven't decided what one would be best for him. He really wants to overclock and they all seem fairly good at overclocking. I have first hand experience with the Albatron, but I think he may need SATA (I know the PEv Pro II is out there) so I'm not sure this would be best for him. He's planning to keep this system for the long term which is why overclocking is important. He wants to be able to squeeze extra speed out of it when it's not so top of the line.

Just out of curiosity do you have to send the boards you test back to the manufacturer or does the Anandtech staff keep them on hand for future testing/reference?

 

[First]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Just out of curiosity do you have to send the boards you test back to the manufacturer or does the Anandtech staff keep them on hand for future testing/reference?

Yes, we get to keep all the boards we're sent. Can you imagine what my lab looks like? I'll probably need to rent additional space soon enough.

 

[Insane3D]

Can you imagine what my lab looks like?

Yes, yes I can. Damn you.

I'll probably need to rent additional space soon enough.

I've got some room here at home...I'll keep an eye on those boards for you..no charge!

All kidding aside, great review as usual Evan!

I have a difference of opinion with you on the placement of the ATX connector..but that's neither here or there..

 

[buckchoi]

Good review....now just waiting for it to hit Australia's shores!

Hey wasn't the northbridge supposed to have a LED illuminated fan on it?? Thats what i read somewhere.....cant' remember where though

 

[Siegfried]

Thanks for the review! And I agree with cmdrdredd that it would be nice to have an "overclocked" overview of the 845PE boards. Now I just need to wait on the other 2 reviews and I'll be all set

 

[oldfart]

Nice job on the review. Looks pretty good. The lack of a 3:4 is surprising since Epox has had it since 845D. On the Epox 845G, there was a 100/133 jumper that had to be set to "100" to get the 3:4 ratio in the BIOS. If it's like other Epox offerings, there should be a non + version that is more barebones.

 

[iamTux]

the review is very nice reading.

my question would be: what board would you choose? the proven fantastic overclocker but a bit old EPoX EP-4G4A+ or the brand new contender 4PEA+ with official DDR333 support?

i'm in the market for either of these fine boards but i'm really undecided.

 

[Yourself]

Great review Evan...thanks!!


I agree with Oldfart about the 3:4 memory divider. It 's disappointing that something that's obviously built into the chipset is left out of the Bios. Although I love my Albatron PE board, they did the exact same thing in a different manner. 100 mhz FSB chips are only given a 3:4 divider while 133 chips are given both 3:4 and 4:5. For the life of me, I don't understand why they don't just put all the damn dividers in and let the user change it if they choose. I have a chip that does 165 FSB all day long, but I have to "hamstring" it and run at a lower speed to keep my memory at a realistic speeds. Sigh...

If leaving the dividers out is something other than oversight, I would love hear everyones thoughts on why that is. Also, I realize that Bios updates often fix issues like this, but if the functions were there like they should in the first place, Bios updates could return to addressing issues like compatability and stability.

Sorry for the rant, it's just the eternal search for the perfect mobo that's got me a little wound up(oh yeah and a triple Venti latte)

Self

 

[buckchoi]

Originally posted by: iamTux
the review is very nice reading.

my question would be: what board would you choose? the proven fantastic overclocker but a bit old EPoX EP-4G4A+ or the brand new contender 4PEA+ with official DDR333 support?

i'm in the market for either of these fine boards but i'm really undecided.

I'd go the newer 845PE chipset board because it has support for Hyperthreading,Serial ATA etc making it better for the future.

 

[Mem]

Nice review,it`s good to see Epox getting the credit they deserve,the last 18 months or so they have come a long way and one of the best board makers now IMHO.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Excellent review EL, your propensity for including detailed data on overclocking results such as the specifics memory settings under each circumstance will help many who purchase the board to achieve the desired results without all the experimentation. Also the inclusion of the RMA and Tech. support data is something I consider over and above from mobo reviewers so thanx Now if Anand would just let you start doing the buying guides I would start reading them again BTW do you have an agreement with the manufacturers that prevents you from hooking us up with "leftovers" in the FS/FT forum

 

When is it due at vendors?

 

[First]

Thanks for the kind words guys. MSI's 845PE will be up next week too. Although I'll be working on ASUS's Granite Bay and nForce2 mostly this weekend.