EPoX 8HDA3+ Socket 754 Motherboard

Company: EPoX
Product: 8HDA3+
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2003
Reviewed By: Joey Chao

EPoX 8HDA3+ Bundled Accessories:

There are two IDE cables, one floppy cable, two sets of SATA power cables and drive cables, an I/O shield plate, and drivers disks provided with the 8HDA3+. We did not have a manual or drivers CD included with our package, this is a pre-retail sample and the full retail version will ship with these items. There are not many of features added in the bundle. Since the new chipset does support 8 USB connections, perhaps EPoX could have added more on an add on bracket.

The one extra bracket that EPoX did provide with the 8HDA3+ gives external SATA support and a game port. The external SATA drive will have to be plugged in the back of the case but it makes quick swapping easier than going inside the case and having to dismount a drive. The game port allows for joysticks and other external devices.

EPoX 8HDA3+ BIOS:

The DRAM Configuration Menu houses all of the memory timings and other memory adjustments. Here you can see a wide range of timings are displayed and can be changed. Also, there is an option to run the memory at a different speed from the system. This is just like a memory divider with Intel chipsets. There are rumors that the multipliers are locked on certain motherboards making the Athlon 64 overclocking more like a P4. Available options are 200, 166, and 133.

For information on system vitals such as voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds, users can refer to the PC Health Status menu found in the BIOS. This menu is a very useful tool for overclockers and other enthusiast who are concerned about temperatures and power. The 3.3V line is not displayed but all of the other voltages are including VCore and VDIMM. Generally in this menu, engineers provide options to be able to set up alarms and fail-safe precautions. EPoX only give two options. One is CPU temperature alarm, which can be set to a specific temperature at which the alarm will ring. The other option is to show the Health information during the POST screen.

Voltages are changeable in the Power BIOS menu. The VCore can be set to 1.75V, VDIMM up to 2.8V, and VAGP up to 1.8V. The CPU clock can also be changed in the menu. Upping the CPU clock is the only way to overclock the CPU since there are no multiplier adjustments in the BIOS.