|
Layout
The
board in all its glory |
The
layout is basically the same as the 8KTA3. So,
whatever flaws the 8KTA3 layout has, the Pro also
has. By the way, Dean's review of the 8KTA3 can
be found here.
I won't go into much detail with the layout itself
and just concentrate on what changed. Now let's
take a closer look at the board
Here's
one of the improvements that Epox has made, the
cpu latch was changed to a plastic one. This is
much easier to flip open compared to the metal one
that the 8KTA3 had.
The
slots |
The
board uses the same 1/6/1 format as the 8KTA3. It
also retains the onboard sound. Notice the agp retention
clip. That's nice for keeping those video cards
snug fit.
Bios
chip |
The
bios chip and CMOS clear jumper are located at the
bottom right near the debug display. It's good that
Epox kept the CMOS clear jumper at an uncramped
space.
Unfortunately,
those huge 4700 uF capacitors are still quite near
the processor. It does make attaching heatsinks
a bit harder. But I guess that would be better than
having less stability by moving the capacitors away.
Anyway, there is enough clearance for my Thermoengine
Black Turbo so I'm not complaining much. Also, notice
the heatsinks on the mosfets. Nice touch.
Now
you might be wondering if they changed the voltage
regulator for the additional core voltages. I checked
and found the same HIP6301 used on some 8KTA3 boards.
But anyway, do you notice that yellow jumper? That's
for setting the added voltage. Jumper 1-2 sets +0.1,
2-3 for +0.2 and so on up to +0.4. It's a good call
by Epox for making such a hazardous setting to be
adjustable only by jumper. You don't want your kid
brother running your Athlon at 2.1 volts now, do
you? Speaking of the added vcore adjustment, what
it does is adjust the default voltage. How does
that work? Well let's say you shorted all L7 bridges
so that you have 1.85 volts as default. If you set
the jumper to +0.4 then you'll boot at 2.25 volts.
Take note that the bios only allows you to set the
voltage up to 1.85 volts so 2.25 is the maximum
for the board.
BIOS
and Overclocking |
