**Official Epox 8K5A Series (KT333) Thread** (Files, Reviews, and Info Inside!)

[Insane3D]

Well, I just got a couple of thse boards, and have been extrememly pleased with them so far. I thought other users planning on building or upgrading to a Athlon XP system might be interested to hear about this board. I will try to keep this thread updated with the latest information, tweaks, files, and pro reviews. Feel free to post any questions or experiences with this board here.



Pro Reviews

Epox 8K5A2+ @ AMD World

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Mikhailtech

Epox 8K5A2+ @ PC Stats (Best Review So Far IMO)

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Cool Hardware

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Legion Hardware

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Tbreak

Epox 8K5A3+ @ Tweak Town

Epox 8K5A3+ @ Overclockers.co.nz

Epox 8K5A2+ vs. Chaintech 7VJL "Apogee" @ Hard Techs 4U (Translated from German)

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Socket A Thanks MrEMan

Epox 8K5A2+ @ PC Arena **New** Thanks Technonut

Epox 8K5A2+ @ Neoseeker **New** Thanks Mem!

Epox 8K5A3+ @ Active Hardware **New** Thanks Mem!



File Links


Epox EP-8K5A2 Official Product Page

Epox EP-8K5A2+ Official Product Page

Epox EP-8K5A3+ Official Product Page

8K5A Series Manual (.pdf format)

Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 (To view manual)

Latest Official 8K5A2+Bios (11/01) ***Update***

Previous 8K5A2+Bios (8/15)

Latest Official 8K5A3+Bios (8/15)

Latest Official 8K5A2 Bios (8/15)

*The bios files linked above also include the latest Awdflash and intructions on how to flash.*

Epox 8K5A2+ **Beta** Bios (5a2p2905.bin) **Use at your own risk!**



Latest Highpoint Raid Controller Drivers (HPT372)

Latest Highpoint Raid Controller Drivers (HPT374)

Latest Via 4-in-1 Chipset Drivers (4.43) **Updated** Thanks Athlonstein!

Realtek Onboard Sound Drivers

Via 6103 Onboard LAN Drivers

Via 8235 2K/XP USB 2.0 Drivers (v2.47) **Thanks Ruroni!**

Epox USDM Monitoring Program (Beta)

Motherboard Monitor 5.2







I will post my experience with the boards in a bit, but I like to use the board for more than a few days before I comment on it's performance. But so far...it's FAST!



** Special thanks to Mem who has been extremely helpful in finding the latest reviews!


Edit:

Thanks for the sticky!

Updated 9/18/2002

 

[RideFree]

Why is Newegg discontinuing the Epox line?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: ridefree
Why is Newegg discontinuing the Epox line?

AFAIK, Newegg is not discontinuing the Epox line, they just have a disclaimer on it. They are doing this with some other products as well. I would assume they might have had a lot of people who complained about the high temp readings on the 8K3A series mobos since they were actually reading from the internal diode and people didn't like what they saw and RMA'ed a perfectly fine board just for that. Newegg probably got sick of it and put on that disclaimer so people can only get the same item back.

Only Newegg is doing this, and I get my Epox boards from Mwave anyway...better prices and no such disclaimer. They also had the same disclaimer on the new Radeon 9700 cards..

 

[RideFree]

Really a good answer. You also answered a ? I had on the 8K5A3+
What set me-off was that I had observed that Newegg pulled the user-feedback from the 5A3+

Is the 2+ newer than the 3+?
I can hardly see any difference between the two. Can you tell?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: ridefree
Really a good answer. You also answered a ? I had on the 8K5A3+
What set me-off was that I had observed that Newegg pulled the user-feedback from the 5A3+

Is the 2+ newer than the 3+?
I can hardly see any difference between the two. Can you tell?

There are only two main differences between the 3+ and the 2+. The 3+ has the 8 channel (4 IDE Ports)Highpoint 374 ATA/RAID controller, and a 4th DIMM slot. The 2+ is the exact same board with the regular 4 channel (2 IDE ports) Highpoint 372 ATA/RAID controller and 3 memory slots. Other than those two differences, they are the exact same board.

 

[RideFree]

On the 3+ ? can you populate all four DIMMs? Isn't that supposed to slow it down?

 

[Insane3D]

I believe you can, but to fill all three slots with PC2700, you would probably need to get Registered DDR to keep things stable..


Check out this review of the 8K5A3+. They had the following to say regarding populating all four DIMM slots..

4 DIMM slots have been added to this board to give you a maximum of 4GB of memory, definitely enthusiast based. While you might have trouble populating all 4 DIMMs with DDR-333 memory and getting them to work successfully ( I know I did), DDR-266 with 4 DIMMs worked without any problems whatsoever, so it does have its advantages.

So it looks like four regular unbuffered sticks of PC2100 will work fine, but four unbuffered PC2700 sticks might be another story.

 

[RideFree]

Well, I'm probably gonna do a 2+ as I have 2ea. 512MB fast Mushkin 300 Mhz around here someplace. I may do the Newegg AMD1400 with it.
I used to order from Mwave but they really blew a substantial order for me, and it has taken two years for me to get my teeth to stop grinding whenever I think of them. Also, overall Newegg was always cheaper than Mwave on every comparison I've done. I'll check 'em out again.

 

[RideFree]

Insane,
Thanks for the help.

 

[Technonut]

Nice thread with a sticky and everything. Thanks for posting the file links.... It is nice to have everything in one place, especially with such a popular mobo.

If overclocking the board, I do suggest installing active cooling on the Northbridge. The round HS looks nice, but does not really have much actual contact area with the chip, and a small thermal pad. With a high FSB, the KT333 NB gets quite toasty.

I have been pleased with the board except for the lower than average Sandra memory benches. I know that it is a synthetic bench, but still a comparison point between boards. Other than that, the board performs well, is stable at a high FSB, and has proper voltage controls (except AGP ) for overclocking.

EDIT: Here are a couple of BETA BIOS versions written by an EPoX Tech: (Try at your own risk)

5a2p2905

8k5axxxx (I am using this one)

 

[Athlonstein]

I just received an 8k5a2+ today and noticed the Nothbridge hs is rectangular (link below shows a pic), most reviewed pics show it being round.

8k5a2+

Anyone know if this before or after the round hs? Better or worse?

 

[Mem]

Anyone know if this before or after the round hs? Better or worse?

I don`t think there`ll be any difference,sometimes companies like Epox change the heatsink design etc due to cost,it shouldn`t effect the performance at all.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Great thread, great info! Thanx

 

[Actaeon]

Few questions, does this board also show higher temp readings like the 8k3a?

And lastly, what do you guys consider the "best" bios?

This board is great, I got one, fantastic OCer, and high performer. Best bang for the buck IMO.

 

[Technonut]

Copied from my reply to another thread:

From EPoX Tech :

In relation to temperature on 8K5A2+ - a very straight answer - the temperature is read from the in socket thermisistor but does suppport temperature shutdown feature to protect against overheating.

The reasoning is because different cpu's have different methods of reading temperature available, we cannot have the newly integrated overheating protection function working at differing levels of temperature, as with the EP-8K3A - this created a great level of confusion with end users not understanding the difference between the temperature in the core and the temperature in the base of the socket.

As such a level playing field is given to prevent users with XP's setting a 50 degree celsius limit and having the mainboard shutdown immediatley after power-up.

Well, I had the on-die diode problem explained to me so that I understand now. Seems like EPoX 8K5A2+ still reads the on-die diode but it displays the temp read from the thermistor. Simple as that. The on-die diode is used to prevent the CPU from getting fried, and it has a pre-defined temp on which the board will shut down.

EDIT: I like the 8k5axxxx BETA BIOS. It seems to make the system more responsive.

 

[RideFree]

Gents,
I'm in the process of putting the parts & pieces toghether on line and have a memory snag.
On Newegg, about 2/3rds of their PC2700 is oos. What gives, is there a change in the wind?
I was gonna go with Samsung ? a 512 & a 256. Is there a trusted, on-line outfit? Or other recommendations?

TIA,

 

[RideFree]

Is there a trusted, on-line outfit?

Actually, with my new contacts I could probably look at the mem chips myself (for the first time in years) and see if what I ordered was what I got.

 

[Insane3D]

Ok guys, I was just helping out a fellow AT'er build his first PC the other day around a 8K5A2+ and a 1600+, and I thought there might be others out there setting up something similar. In my experience, how you first setup your system, from the first clean install of Windows to updating everything can go a long way to making your sytem fast and stable. I've seen so many problems that could be traced back to bad driver installs and the like. I figured a step by step guide to installing a Windows OS on a new system based on this board might be helpful to some first time, or inexperienced builders.

Here is the method I used on my fresh WinXP SP1 install, but it should generally apply to most Windows OS'es.. (Not 3.1 )

1. Install the OS.

I've found some people like to install the OS with the bare minimum in their computer, like vid card memory and CPU only. Personally, unless I am troubleshooting problems, I like to install Windows with all my components installed, and the bios setup the way I like. Enabling some power saving features like APIC after Windows is installed can cause problems sometimes. Also, I've found it helpful, though not necessary, to disable anything you are not using on the board. For instance, on my systems, I disable both COM ports and the parallel port. In addition to those, I also disable the RAID controller and Audio if it's not being used.

2. Driver Installs

This is where a lot of people get hung up. It's important to install the Via chipset drivers first, before any other drivers or updates, especially video card or sound card drivers. The reason behind this is you need to have the OS using the proper drivers for the chipset before trying to have it control peripherals controlled by the chipset. For instance, on some older OS installs, Windows doesn't even know the board has an AGP port until you install the proper chipset drivers. So, if you install video card drivers first, and the OS tries to address the AGP port for the card, but no drivers have been installed for the AGP port, porblems can occur. This is much less a factor with WinXP however. I like to use the following checklist..

1. Install the latest 4-in-1 chipset drivers from Via, Reboot
2. Install latest video card drivers, Reboot
3. Install latest Sound drivers, Reboot (if needed)
4. Update any other hardware drivers that need updating, reboot as needed.
5. Update the OS from Windows Update until all relevant updates are applied.
6. Start installing programs and enjoying your system!

Like I said before, these guidelines are primarily for Windows XP, but it should apply with some minor variations to the other Windows OS'es.

 

[Technonut]

Is there a trusted, on-line outfit?

Googlegear has good RAM prices, and is dependable.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: ridefree
Gents,
I'm in the process of putting the parts & pieces toghether on line and have a memory snag.
On Newegg, about 2/3rds of their PC2700 is oos. What gives, is there a change in the wind?
I was gonna go with Samsung ? a 512 & a 256. Is there a trusted, on-line outfit? Or other recommendations?

TIA,

Hey man, I like to get my memory from Kommax.com. Great prices and I've ordered several times with no problems..

DDR @ Kommax.com

They have 512mb sticks of Samsung PC2700 for $126, and 256mb sticks for $63...

 

[Macro2]

what is the typical temperature you get off these boards with the internal Diode that scares people into returning the board?

 

[Technonut]

They have 512mb sticks of Samsung PC2700 for $126, and 256mb sticks for $63...

Googlegear has the 512MB sticks of Samsung PC2700 for $128.00 with FedX 2Day shipping for 5 cents. Link The 256MB 2700 is $67.00 with Free 2 Day FedX. Link

I agree that Kommax is also a good company.... I used to order bulk cases from them.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Macro2
what is the typical temperature you get off these boards with the internal Diode that scares people into returning the board?

You don't anymore now that so many people were returning 8K3A's for that reason..

Epox decided to change the temperature monitoring scheme for this board...it still monitors the diode, but strictly for emergency shutdown. According to the manual, it's set @ 100C. The temp readings in the bios and windows are from the Winbond chip and the in-socket thermistor.


Normal diode temps were around 60C or so in most systems...so people freaked. The thing about the in-socket thermistor is it is basically a joke. It monitores nothing but the air under the CPU in the socket. High CFM CPU fans can make it read even cooler. Try this experiment...blow some compressed air under your CPU socket while it's running and watch the temp drop like a rock...


It's really a shame they did this, but I can understand because all these people probably returned perfectly good boards and made their RMA rate shoot up like mad...

:disgust:

 

[Creig]

What Epox SHOULD do in one of their next BIOS updates is to give the end user a choice as to which method he'd like to have monitoring temperatures, the on-chip diode or the thermistor. They could simply set the thermistor as the default so that people who never play with the BIOS would still see their nice inaccurate cooler-reading temperatures and the rest of us who know better could see what our processor was REALLY doing;.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
Ok guys, I was just helping out a fellow AT'er build his first PC the other day around a 8K5A2+ and a 1600+, and I thought there might be others out there setting up something similar. In my experience, how you first setup your system, from the first clean install of Windows to updating everything can go a long way to making your sytem fast and stable. I've seen so many problems that could be traced back to bad driver installs and the like. I figured a step by step guide to installing a Windows OS on a new system based on this board might be helpful to some first time, or inexperienced builders.

Here is the method I used on my fresh WinXP SP1 install, but it should generally apply to most Windows OS'es.. (Not 3.1 )

1. Install the OS.

I've found some people like to install the OS with the bare minimum in their computer, like vid card memory and CPU only. Personally, unless I am troubleshooting problems, I like to install Windows with all my components installed, and the bios setup the way I like. Enabling some power saving features like APIC after Windows is installed can cause problems sometimes. Also, I've found it helpful, though not necessary, to disable anything you are not using on the board. For instance, on my systems, I disable both COM ports and the parallel port. In addition to those, I also disable the RAID controller and Audio if it's not being used.

2. Driver Installs

This is where a lot of people get hung up. It's important to install the Via chipset drivers first, before any other drivers or updates, especially video card or sound card drivers. The reason behind this is you need to have the OS using the proper drivers for the chipset before trying to have it control peripherals controlled by the chipset. For instance, on some older OS installs, Windows doesn't even know the board has an AGP port until you install the proper chipset drivers. So, if you install video card drivers first, and the OS tries to address the AGP port for the card, but no drivers have been installed for the AGP port, porblems can occur. This is much less a factor with WinXP however. I like to use the following checklist..

1. Install the latest 4-in-1 chipset drivers from Via, Reboot
2. Install latest video card drivers, Reboot
3. Install latest Sound drivers, Reboot (if needed)
4. Update any other hardware drivers that need updating, reboot as needed.
5. Update the OS from Windows Update until all relevant updates are applied.
6. Start installing programs and enjoying your system!

Like I said before, these guidelines are primarily for Windows XP, but it should apply with some minor variations to the other Windows OS'es.

Exactly what an experienced tech does! This should have a sticky of it's own in the Technical Support forum IMHO.