EpoX 8KHA+ or Iwill XP333???

[WheelsCSM]

Looks like my old Abit KA7-100 just gave up the ghost, either that or my cpu got tired of being overclocked. Now it won't POST (or does it sporadically). Well anyway, I need to get back up and running so I'm looking at pairing up a XP 1700+ with a 8KHA+ or a XP333. A friend of mine has the Epox and it seems like a good board so far, the XP333 looks interesting with all of the overclocking features, but I'm wondering about stability. Any comments? I heard one time there was a beta bios for the Epox that allows PCI dividers for overclocking, is this true? I would like a KR7A, but I think I'll save myself ~$35 and go with one of these, the Epox seems to be just as good (I don't care much about ATA-133 or 4 DIMMs). Thanks.

 

[RaistlinZ]

The Epox 8KHA+ will give you better performance. The Ali Magick chipset on the Iwill-XP333R is not as fast as the KT266A chipet.

However, the Iwill does give you RAID, four IDE channels, and onboard 5.1 sound. So overall it is the better value. It just depends on whether you need those features, or prefer raw performance.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mem]

<< I need to get back up and running so I'm looking at pairing up a XP 1700+ with a 8KHA+ or a XP333 >>



As already stated both are good boards so it comes down to features however I can speak for the Epox 8KHA+ which I`m using with my XP 1700+ CPU & the board is rock stable also very easy to setup with only one jumper(100/133mhz fsb) to worry about.

 

[FreakyGuy]

<< The Epox 8KHA+ will give you better performance. The Ali Magick chipset on the Iwill-XP333R is not as fast as the KT266A chipet. >>



Hmm better performance?

Anantech's own scores on both boards.
Epox / IWill
Quake 3 - 223.6 / 221.6
Sysmark - 307 / 306
Winstone - 31.3 / 31.2

That's less than 1% difference between them.

The IWill boards are very stable. They have the 3 phase MOSFET power like most current boards. This is to provide a sustained high current to the CPU while keeping the MOSFET cool. You can't go wrong with the IWill.

 

[Mem]

<< They have the 3 phase MOSFET power like most current boards. This is to provide a sustained high current to the CPU while keeping the MOSFET cool. >>



The Epox 8KHA+ also uses a 3 phase power supply .

 

[WheelsCSM]

Thanks for the help, but after reading through the forums, I think I may go for a 1.6A Northwood. I can't resist the possibility of an OC of 2.2-2.4 GHz for that price. Now I need to decide if I want an Asus P4B266-C or a P4S-333

 

[vampiro]

<< The Epox 8KHA+ will give you better performance. The Ali Magick chipset on the Iwill-XP333R is not as fast as the KT266A chipet. >>



What reviews have you been reading, the XP333 is the same as the KT266A in almost every bech. I have a personal bias against the VIA chipset, so I would say go with the XP333.

 

[KouklatheCat]

I am completely satisfied with my 8kha+. It has been rock stable since the day I installed it.

 

[bobwill]

I had an Iwill XP333 rev 2.1; note, I had one. I'm now running a Soltek SL75 DRV2. After a week of tinkering, the Iwill would not reliably detect my memory. This is not a chipset problem, it is a problem specifically with the DIMM slots that were on that particular board. Still, it was enough to turn me off to that board for the time being.
Also, the soltek board does post higher benchmarks than the XP333, on passmark performance test the Iwill posted approximately 295 million additions per second, the SL75 posts 315 - 320 with the same processor, and XP1500+.

From what I've read, it seems that the ALi Magik has the potential to be a better system for using a RAID or SCSI set up. The KT266A would be a better gaming machine. It all depends on what you want to do with the board.

Newegg currently has the XP333R for something like $110.

 

[BeauJangles]

Epox. They have better tech support in case something goes wrong.

 

[LongCoolMother]

iwill can use DDR333 and epox cant right...

-and-

iwill xp333 is out? :Q

time to get rid of my ECS K7S5A

 

[DAPUNISHER]

<< Thanks for the help, but after reading through the forums, I think I may go for a 1.6A Northwood. I can't resist the possibility of an OC of 2.2-2.4 GHz for that price. Now I need to decide if I want an Asus P4B266-C or a P4S-333 >>

I concur, in fact I may sell my main box so I can build 1 of those myself I haven't used Intel for my own systems in a long while but everything I've seen says oh yeah

 

[goog]

I'd choose the Iwill.
Depends on what features you want, these boards don't have much in common.

 

[Wind]

<< I am completely satisfied with my 8kha+. It has been rock stable since the day I installed it. >>


Same here.