Is the EPOX EP-8K7A+ a good motherboard?

[JFL]

Do you have one? What do you think of it?

 

[bozo1]

Read the forum a bit - this has been discussed ad nauseum.

 

[Bingo13]

Yes, it is a very good motherboard. Reminds me of a vintage orange juice without the pulp.

 

[buck]

<< Yes, it is a very good motherboard. Reminds me of a vintage orange juice without the pulp. >>


Funny, I was talking about that the other day.
When I was a kid I used to use a strainer for the pulpy OJ.
8K7A+ is an awesome mobo!
Matt

 

[celeritas]

My system (including 8K7A) is doing weird things. Namely, locking up in the middle of applications and rebooting. In your experience(s), is this usually due to CPU heat problems, bad RAM, mobos, HDD, or power supply? I know that issues with any of the above could cause similar problems, but I was wondering what people see most often. What tests do you propose I perform to determine which is the culprit? Here are some specs for you:

1.2@1.4 (10x140) AXIA Athlon
Taisol heatsink/fan + 2 Sunon case fans
Epox EP-8K7A mainboard
512MB Crucial DDR PC2100 RAM
60GB Maxtor 7200RPM ATA100 HDD
56x generic CD-ROM drive
10x/4x/32x HP CD-RW
FA312 Netgear NIC
Diamond MX300 sound card
Diamond Viper V550 video card (soon to be replaced by GF3)
Windows 2000 Pro NTFS

Everything is new except for the sound/video card. I've reinstalled Windows+SP2 three times, ran multiple repair processes, and applied the AMD AGP miniport, VIA 4in1's, etc. I've removed everything but the CPU, RAM, HDD, and video card, and a completely fresh install of Win2k still crashed intermittently.

My BIOS says my CPU temp is 100F-110F @ the default 1.77v vCore; if I bump it up to 1.87v (the next possible setting), then it goes up to ~116F and is even less stable. I've read that some people have bumped up their DDR RAM voltage from 2.5v to 2.9v or so. Does this help with stability or just overclockability? How much hotter do things get? Can someone please post a link to a good BIOS optimization guide, and/or post his/her 8K7A settings? Thanks.

Edit: I forgot to add that my PC refuses to restart. It does this when I choose restart in Windows, and when I exit my BIOS... The video goes out and doesn't come back up... My PC remains on, and I don't see any HDD activity. I have to hit the reset button. Shutdown works fine. Ideas? TIA.

Edit #2: I'm running Detonator 12.40... I also have a brand new Enlight 7237 case with an AMD-approved 340W power supply. 3DMark2001 (even at 1024x768 @ 16bit) either crashes after the first couple tests, or causes my PC to reset.

 

[Mungla]

I'm also having problems with my 8K7A. Could someone please post a good guide for BIOS settings? My 8K7A is running perfectly fine in 2D applications and such, but it will freeze within 2-3 seconds of running 3dmark 2000 or 2001 benchmark. What are the best Det3 drivers? I'm currently using the 1080's. Any ideas? If you could post a link to the latest AMD AGP drivers, I would appreciate it.

 

[AppleTalking]

celeritas:

Set your processor to the default speed and your FSB to 133MHz. and see what happens. If the freezes still occur, you've eliminated your CPU and fan as the source of the problem. If they go away, then it's definitely a heat issue.

Nick

 

[celeritas]

It was a warm today, and my BIOS now says my CPU is 50C/122F @ 1.77v. I'm not sure where I could mount any more fans, etc.

 

[00aStrOgUy00]

This MOBO hasn't come out yet right? I can't find it anywhere...I could only find the NON-RAID version

 

[celeritas]

The 8K7A is non-raid; the 8K7A+ is raid.

 

[KevinH]

Hey you guys with the problems. I would seriously suggest running any system with the Fail-Safe settings in the bios first. Run the system, tweak, run, tweak. That's the best way I've found to optimize your bios settings.

 

[celeritas]

I've tried fail safes and totally vanilla configurations. My PC crashes (esp. in 3D) and refuses to restart when asked, regardless of various settings I've tested...

 

[Bingo13]

Mungla,

I replied in this message to you about what mb drivers to use along with the latest links for drivers. link

Also, do not use the 10.80 drivers, they are the worst drivers out right now regarding stability. Use the 12.00 WHQL and Nvmax or drop back down to the 7.x WHQL drivers since you are not running a GF3 if you continue to have issues. You also need to be using DirectX 8.0a.

Celeritas,

Your soundcard and video card combination are most likely the causes of your issues. The MX300 has never worked &quot;correctly&quot; under W2K and the Viper 550 is likely having issues with any driver set above 7.x. 3DMark2001 really tests the directx 8.0 capabilities of a video card and your card was designed for directx 5. I would ditch the soundcard quickly and revert back to the 7.58 WHQL, 6.34WHQL, or even the 5.32 drivers until you upgrade your card. Ensure you are using DirectX 8.0a and try to use only the included W2K drivers for the MX300 until you can replace the card. Set all of your bios settings back to optimal, only use AGP 2x as the Viper 550 never really got along with AGP4x anyway. The Crucial memory likes to run at 2.7v so I would make that change also before you start tweaking the bios for performance. Since you have loaded the AMD and VIA drviers you should be set.

later....

 

[JFL]

Bozo1 : Yes, I have read the forums, but didn't find the info I wanted.

00aStrOgUy00 : The mobo is out, do a search on PRICEWATCH, you'll find it there.

 

[celeritas]

<< The MX300 has never worked &quot;correctly&quot; under W2K >>

I read that some people had IRQ conflicts with it, but I've never had a problem with it in the Win2k PC that it was in before the current one. IMHO, it's still a nice card and sound coming out of it to my Klipsch Promedias sounds really nice.

<< Ensure you are using DirectX 8.0a and try to use only the included W2K drivers for the MX300 until you can replace the card. >>

I am using DX8a, and tried Win2k's built-in 8830 drivers as well as Vortex 2 2559's and Aureal 3.12's. Crashes happen, regardless.

<< Set all of your bios settings back to optimal, only use AGP 2x as the Viper 550 never really got along with AGP4x anyway. >>

Optimal and fail-safe settings have the same results; my AGP is at 1x/2x with fast writes off, etc.

<< 3DMark2001 really tests the directx 8.0 capabilities of a video card and your card was designed for directx 5. >>

Not only 3DMark2001 fails, but so does Quake 3 Arena, Vulpine GL, etc. These tests didn't abend and crash my PC when the V550 (and the MX300) was in my Win2k Celeron 300A@450 PC... I agree that the card is old and should be replaced; I'm getting a GF3 within a couple weeks.

<< The Crucial memory likes to run at 2.7v >>

I didn't know that. My 8K7A's DDR default is 2.5v. I just spoke to a tech at Crucial who said I shouldn't deviate from 2.5v +/- 10%, so I'll try 2.7v and cross my fingers. I've read about people doing 2.9v+. That seems a little risky to me.

Does anyone know a good place to find high-power fans to replace a Taisol heat sink fan? How about that tiny fan covering the mainboard chipset? Thanks.

 

[Mungla]

Thanks for your help Bingo. I fixed my problem. It wasn't software related, it was IRQ conflicts. Yes, stupid good for nothing ACPI. I forgot to disable it in the BIOS. Now that my Geforce is on its own IRQ, i'm running smooth. 3dmark 2001 is giving me 4200 marks. I was always curious about this problem, what is ACPI good for anyways? You think having every PCI device in your computer running on a single IRQ would be dumb.

 

[Bingo13]

Celeritas,

you have a pm regarding the continuing issues...

Mungla,

I have never had an issue with ACPI, in fact I always seemed to have issues under W2K with it off. W2K actually institutes virtual IRQs under this setting and if you have recent devices that adhere to the specs you will not have any issues with them sharing. Your marks are good, time to tune the system to fly. I had been using the 12.40s and went back to the 12.00 WHQL, seemed better overall and I could go higher on overclocking with a GF3. I still like the 11.01s to be honest but since nvmax has been updated I am using the 12s now.

 

[celeritas]

Bingo13: pm back at you.

 

[celeritas]

I think I've discovered why my PC doesn't reboot properly. I'll know when I get home. Check out this and this. That sucks. The FA312 is a good NIC...

Mungla: Did you try upping your vCore .1v or your DDR RAM voltage to 2.7v? That seemed to fix my crashes. Have you installed 12.40's or 12.60's yet? Just curious... Have you checked your average CPU temp reported in the BIOS? I noticed that my 8K7A is ultra-sensitive to heat; <~116F = everything OK at 1.2@1.4 &amp; 1.5; >~116F = random lockups, esp. in 3D apps/games. I got a 64CFM card cooler and a 42CFM exhaust blower; now my temp is 100F idle &amp; 107F after running intense 3D for awhile. I got a 55CFM 92mm Sanyo Denki, will get a 92mm->60mm fan adapter, and will report the temp after replacing my wimpy Taisol heatsink fan.

 

[celeritas]

The NIC was it. I replaced it with a 3COM and now my PC reboots on command.

 

[celeritas]

BTW, I found a new BIOS for the 8K7A that has a nifty little GUI on startup.

8k7a1606.exe.

 

[celeritas]

I spoke too soon. I read that a v1607 BIOS can be found here. Warning: I have no idea if this is a legit BIOS; I can't find it on Epox's web or ftp sites. If someone tries this, let the rest of us know if it's OK -- if you can. <EG>

 

[Mungla]

celeritas, I have been running stable with the 8k7a for the past two weeks or so. I'm currently running at 145x9.5 .. The 1607 BIOS appears to be legit, I've been using it for about three days. The 1607 version was modified about three hours after the 1606 version was, so the 1607 is a bit newer. Now, I have no idea what is included/fixed in the 1607?

 

[Jik47]

I just built a new system today with a 1Gig Athlon 266 with the Epox 8kta3 and everything went together smooth and running real good. A friend of mine that recomended this board said him and six other people he knew all have had the same results. No problems......

 

[tjll11a]

I own a 8k7a w/ a 1.2 axia code 200mhz running at 11x133 no problems.... Love this thing