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Setting up a EPOX 9NPA+ Ultra

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Pingjockey

Senior member
Well Im going to be setting up this MB for my new rig. It has been 2 years since I have done a setup. Is there a thread I can go to that will give me the path to follow? Im sorry is ths qiestion has been asked but all MBs seem to have their quirks and I just wanted to make this as painless as possible.

System:

Epox 9NPA +Ultra Ver 1.1
Athlon A64 3200+ Vinice
1GB (2x512) PC-3200 Corsair Value Select RAM
MSI 6600GT
BENQ DW-1640 DVD Burner
Hercules Game Theater XP

Will be loading Windows XP Home Version.

Basically, what are the steps take for install and setup. I am mainly concerned with the latest BIOS and driver setup for the MB. I always get confused during this phase about clearing and deleting old versions before installing new versions. Do I load up the disk that came with the MB and then update from there?

Any help would be appriciated. Thanks

Oh, what is the opinion on the onboard audio?

 
I am mainly concerned with the latest BIOS and driver setup for the MB.
Click to expand...
Don't bother with a BIOS update unless you absolutely have to (ex: if you were getting an X2).
Driver set up? Just install everything on the CD EXCEPT ActiveArmor (integrated firewall, might cause you more harm than it's worth) and the IDE drivers (known to cause problems with stability). I could be wrong on the ActiveArmor thing though. All I know is that it's not very good.

-The Pentium Guy
 
Well, I just installed the AMD64/Sempron thingy off the CD and now I can't get back into Windows... I guess I'll re-install... lol. Great... another 2 hours of Windows patches and reboots. 😉
 
I agree with Pentium Guy, the Active Armor is total garbage, it borked my system. Also, the IDE drivers are pretty bad as well, I've had problems with them as far back as I remember. I thought I might trust them after moving back to AMD/nVidia from an Intel system, but they caused problems with CD/DVD burning. However, the board defaults the cpu core to 1.5v on average, you may want to update the BIOS for the new vcore options with your Venice. Other than that, enjoy the system.
 
I would update the bios. I did right off the bat. I had no problems Installing the mobo in general. Flawless.

Allthough, SPQQKY is correct. It does give the wrong voltage to some AMD chips it seems. I think this is the only flaw the epox board has.(some other boards do it as well.) BUt it gave my newly installed venice 1.5volts at stock. The max you can lower it down to is 1.4. Which is fine, but still.. At stock it should be like 1.3# correct? (The bios update did NOT fix that for me)

Anyways, id update the bios to the latest one myself. It fixes quiet a few things if you read their list. Good luck. Hope you enjoy it. I havnt been able to play with mine yet, because I sold my venice right after I got it, and am now waiting for a new chip.
 
Yup update BIOS first... that might fix the wrong voltages going to the procs (dont know what they've fixed/updated). I usually skip the CD and go straight to the web to download all the drivers. nvidia.com for the nForce drivers. As for the stock voltage for your Venice chip its (according to AMD) 1.35-1.4V
 
We know what the stock voltage is. That isnt the problem. Its a known bug/problem with epox and other motherboards(I forgot which). It sets the stock voltage to 1.5. The only way to lower it, is to update the bios, to get the new feature added that 'subtracts' voltage. The lowest I was able to make the stock voltage was 1.4.

Like I said, its not a big deal, since most people OVERCLOCK anyhow, and thus would probably end up raising volts anyways. Still, if you run stock, you should know the volts are higher than needed.(Might as well help keep temps down right?)


Originally posted by: Doug117
Yup update BIOS first... that might fix the wrong voltages going to the procs (dont know what they've fixed/updated). I usually skip the CD and go straight to the web to download all the drivers. nvidia.com for the nForce drivers. As for the stock voltage for your Venice chip its (according to AMD) 1.35-1.4V
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Just install everything on the CD EXCEPT ActiveArmor (integrated firewall, might cause you more harm than it's worth)

-The Pentium Guy
Click to expand...

Glad I read this....I was just going to work on getting ActiveArmor set up. I know there are free firewalls out there that I can download, so I'll stick with one of those.

As for bios, I just did my first bios flash (I'm a total noob with all of this stuff right now) and everything worked great. I was sweating buckets throughout the entire process, but it all came out good. I used the latest one and did it in Dos.

 
FYI For anyone using this board. New Bios released last friday 10-21

http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/support.php?ps=335&type=1

I just bought this motherboard today after having nightmares with my EVGA NF41 motherboard. Thankfully, EVGA has offered me a full refund ( even though it was free 😀 ) for the retail value of the board - this was after I had a bad motherboard, and then RMA'd that board only to get another bad motherboard. Now I can only hope that it was indeed my Motherboard causing the problems I was experiencing - and that the EpoX board will be better.
 
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