The EPoX 4G4A+ seems very promising.

[Sukhoi]

From what the review at VR-Zone said, it seems like the 4G4A+ is a 4BDA2+ with USB 2.0, LAN, and a 4:5 memory ratio. I'm liking this!

 

[oldfart]

Looks very nice. Linky

 

[joeryu]

i worry about any/if voltage issues will arise from the board not using external 12v line from PSU that all other P4 mobos use.

 

[gsethi]

you are correct jojo......just noticed after you mentioned that this board is missing the 12v power socket that is required for the P4. Wonder how this board takes care of that problem ?

that might become an overclocking problem when you are trying to push your P4 to its limit.

I was always wondering what this board was missing. that $130 price for all the features looked so good to be true. Thanks jojo for finding it.

PS: This board is just on the edge of getting dropped from my list unless that 12v socket appears magically on the picture

 

[brittlenet]

i worry about any/if voltage issues will arise from the board not using external 12v line from PSU that all other P4 mobos use.

Hmm... we need to get this resolved. Would someone kindly purchase the board and let me know?

gsethi: Where are you seeing this for $130? Did I miss it in the review somehow? This would be an incredible buy if it works as advertised.

I'm very seriously considering the 4G4A. Oldfart had already convinced me to get the 4BDA, and I was hoping this would be a more modern version. (props to oldfart, but don't let your ego get too big =))

 

[phillyTIM]

This Epox board really is enticing, but ya know what? I was turned off to it upon reading the vr-zone review, which says that the lan/sound/clock components are Realtek parts...ickh. Soooo...I may look at some other board now.

However, in response to your question about the missing P4 4-pin 12v connector, the vr-zone review has the following description which may be the reason that there is not a 12v connector; in fact, the board is proven to overclock well, so I wouldn't worry about it---

EPoX 4G4A+ is fitted with super low ESR Sanyo aluminum electrolytic capacitors of 3300μF to provide additional stability of CPU power. The new MOSFETs are the newest series of transistors which are smaller in size so it takes up lesser motherboard surface area and generate less heat. The voltage regulating job is done by Cherry Semiconductor CS5301 multiphase switch controller.

 

[Tom]

I'm not up on the ickiness of Realtek components, could you elaborate on your negative opinion of them ?

 

[gsethi]

gsethi: Where are you seeing this for $130? Did I miss it in the review somehow? This would be an incredible buy if it works as advertised.

Go to pricewatch and search for 4G4A+. 2 entries show up right now.......one for $129, other for $133.

board looks good for the price. but still little weary of the board. Would go with the giga-byte board for extra $20 since that will include Intel (am i right ?) NIC and better audio (i dont care, have my own sound card). I still dont like the idea of no 12v power connector.

i read somewhere else yesterday (dont remember now) that this board was only stable at 125 FSB. they got it as high as 150 FSB but it wasnt stable there. Wonder if no 12v power connector is playing the role here. just warning everyone beforehand but then, it might be his CPU. I wont jump on this board without further reviews though.

thanks

 

[cobrasvt]

board looks good for the price. but still little weary of the board. Would go with the giga-byte board for extra $20 since that will include Intel (am i right ?) NIC and better audio (i dont care, have my own sound card). I still dont like the idea of no 12v power connector.

i read somewhere else yesterday (dont remember now) that this board was only stable at 125 FSB. they got it as high as 150 FSB but it wasnt stable there. Wonder if no 12v power connector is playing the role here. just warning everyone beforehand but then, it might be his CPU. I wont jump on this board without further reviews though.

thanks

I wouldn't worry about the 12v power connector issue. I don't think that its going to matter. I have 1 on order now to replace my POS 8IRXP. I wouldn't buy another Gigabyte board until you read some "real" reviews from people who have actually bought one! If its like the 8IRXP and doesn't like the vcore to be messed with, then you will be stuck with a board that won't restart. This is what I have been experiencing with the 8IRXP since February! Quite frustrating if you ask me...

The other review site you are referring to is Overclock Workbench (Link). What they basically was saying about the overclocking was that their chip (a P4 2.4B @ 533) (note that this is a true 533 B P4), wasn't able to go much higher on the FSB. I think seeing that VR Zone's review has their CPU running at 166 mHz shows just what this board is all about!

As for Realtek components, I wouldn't worry about them personally. The LAN controller is fine, and as far as audio goes, I could care less. My Santa Cruz will be quite happy in their along with the GF4 4600!

As comparing the EPoX to the Gigabyte and the Asus, remember that the EPoX is a 845G motherboard which will allow you to run DDR333 as well as 1:1 and 3:4 and even 4:5 (400mHz) at 160 FSB. The Gigabyte and the Asus are both 845E chipsets which do not support the higher multipliers (only 1:1 and 3:4). They do support ECC memory if you are looking to support ECC which the 845G does not. The Realtek clock generator onboard allows the PCI/AGP buses to be "fixed" in spec.

I will post info on the board once I get it. Should have it either Thursday or Friday...

 

[oldfart]

cobrasvt, let us know how it is. If it is as good as the 4BDA/(2+) boards, it should again be the best 845 based board available. Any 845 board that I consider will have to have a) PCI/AGP Lock, b) 3:4 (845x) and 4:5 (only on 845G) mem ratios @ any FSB. I dont see why anyone would buy an 845 board without these features.

I really dont care about stuff like lan and audio, even USB 2.0. Any of that can be simply added in with a PCI card. What I look for is the stuff that you cant just add in like great overclocking features. Thats is what makes a good mobo.

 

[gsethi]

oldfart, from where did you order your Epox board ? Also, please share your overclocking experience with the board. if it overclocks well, i will defninately but this board since the price seems to cheap.

thanks

 

[oldfart]

I've built two similar P4 systems. Mine is an EPOX 4BDA2+, P4 1.6A @ 2.4 GHz, 150 FSB, Samsung PC2700 @ PC3200 (DDR400). The 2nd one is a friends. Same thing except 4BDA. Both run really well. Look @ my system rigs below for more details. This combo will score over 3000 in Sandra mem benches and does very well in real benches as well. Mwave has pretty good prices on them. Newegg and other usuals are also good.

 

[brittlenet]

Oldfart: You stole the words right out of my mouth.

I really doubt EPoX would produce a board that didn't overclock well. That's their key brand image. Why bother to put a PCI/AGP lock and flexible memory ratios on a board that won't overclock? I suspect the onboard voltage regulator combined with a decent power supply (e.g. Antec or Enermax) will perform very well.

Keep us updated, cobrasvt. I'll probably get one when they're available from newegg.

 

[gsethi]

oops, i meant cobrasvt, where are you getting your new Epox from ?

 

[oldfart]

cnetpc has it listed.

 

[cobrasvt]

I ordered it from CNetPC for $129 + $9 for shipping. I am in Maryland and they are in New Jersey so I should have it tomorrow!

From what I have been reading, the 12volt ATX extra power connector onboard wasn't really needed because of the new mofsets and also from what I can gather, the extra connector was to actually supply extra voltage for RDRAM. I just tried unplugging the 12volt connector from my 8IRXP and it booted fine... Hmmmm....

I will keep you informed as soon as I get it!

 

[Sukhoi]

Yeah, I was thinking that since all the power comes from the same PSU, as long as there are good quality components for the main ATX connector, I don't see why a special connector would be needed.

 

[gsethi]

seems like the person at www.overclockers.com who got this board has some problems running it over 133 MHz FSB. I hope that its just his memory or his processor and not the board....

cobrasvt......please let us know your experience as to high high this board can go. 150 Mhz FSB should be the least........166 preferable

Thanks

 

[cobrasvt]

Well, I just walked in the door and the puppy is here! Boy does the box look sweet! The board looks awesome as well!

Luckily for me I'm off the next 4 days so I will have plenty of time test and compare to my 8IRXP! I want to run the 8IRXP through the barrage of benchmarks again so i can compare them. Will post as I go with updates....

As far as the OC Workbench review, as I mentioned in my earlier post, even he said it was because of his processor. He is running a 2.4B (hence - true 133 FSB processor). I do not think the 533 processors are going to have as much head room as the 500 parts do. I guess we'll find out...

Off to benches...

 

[brittlenet]

cobrasvt: Can you confirm that a 4400/4600 will fit unobstructed in the AGP slot? This shouldn't be a problem, but I just wanted to make sure since a few of the cheaper motherboards had issues.

It's also now listed at NewEgg for $133, but is not in stock yet.

 

[Sukhoi]

Dang, this thing only has one serial port, and I need two. I guess I'll have to go out and buy a USB Graphlink for my TI-89..hopefully they aren't too expensive.

Edit: I was looking at the Newegg pics, and it looks like there is a separate expansion card with a second serial port along with a game port. Can someone confirm that's what these are? Thanks!

 

[cobrasvt]

Yes, there is a 2nd comport header cable along with the game port header. They use the same expansion bracket.

There is a total of 4 built-in usb 2.0 ports, PS/2 mouse and keyboard, lan, 1 serial, 1 vga, mic in , line in, line out, along with 1 expansion braket for 2 additional usb 2.0 headers and the com2/gameport expansion bracket.

I will post my results as soon as get it installed and run the benchs on it...

 

[cobrasvt]

Forgot to mention, there is a SPIDF expansion header on there as well, but EPoX didn't seem fit to supply the bracket expansion (not a big deal to me as I will be using my Santa Cruz).

As for the question regarding whether or not a GeForce 4 Ti4400/4600 will fit, there is absolutely nothing in the way of the AGP slot. The only bummer is just as with 99% of the other boards on the market, you will have to remove the 4400/4600 to install additional memory as the latches for the memory will hit the card when you open them...

Ok, I'm off to start ripping out the 8IRXP...

 

[gsethi]

let us know about the 4:5 memory ratio that this board has. I am just about to order one but waiting for a review from you.

8IRXP here tooo baby.....i really want to see those benchmarks

 

[Tom]

I would very much appreciate it if you could confirm that you can select the 3:4 or 4:5 ratios and FSB speeds from 100 to 200 or if not what speeds they can be selected at.

And good luck with the board and thanks for any info you can provide.