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EPoX 4PCA3+

The 4PCA3+ is EPoX’s entry into the fiercely competitive Intel motherboard arena. Our review will show how well it can hold its own against the onslaught of the current i875P and i865PE-based speed demons…

Introduction

EPOX is a favorite among enthusiasts for their dedication to the art of overclocking. Since their inception, EPOX has been making insanely fast boards with great overclocking potential due to their legendary voltage manipulation capabilities. A lot of manufacturers shy away from the type of modifications EPoX do to their boards, while EPoX's attitude has always been ‘Bring it on’. Their latest masterpiece shows them to still be very much the trailblazers in the enthusiast arena.

The 4PCA3+ is EPoX’s premier offering based on the i875P chipset. The Intel i875P chipset offers support for Intel’s performance line of 800 MHz FSB processors with Hyper-Threading technology. The chipset also supports DDR RAM spec’d up to PC3200 operating in Dual Channel mode. The 4PCA3+ is a feature complete solution, which is common among i875P and i865PE based solutions targeting high-end power users and corporate workstation solutions. Among its many features, the board includes the following: 2 ATA-100 IDE ports; 4 ATA-133 IDE ports with built in RAID0, RAID1, and RAID0_1 support; 2 SATA 150 ports with built in RAID0 support; integrated Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet; 8 total USB 2.0 capable ports; 6 channel audio with support for S/PDIF digital input/output; and serial, parallel, and PS/2 port support.

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Board Layout

EPoX went with a very soothing and subtle design on their box, prominently displaying their corporate logo in the front center held in place by ethereal hands radiating power. I get the sense that they want to give you the impression that the board contained in the box is a powerful gift from the netherworld. Inside the box itself, you find your standard complement of manuals, driver disks/CDs, and cables including: 2 rounded ATA 133 IDE cables, 2 SATA cables with power connectors included, the rear panel shield, a bracket for the audio game port, and a standard floppy cable.

EPoX definitely put some serious thought into the layout of this board with great attention to detail. This is especially apparent when you consider the rounded corners present on the motherboard. I can find virtually no complaints about it whatsoever. The only area that could get a bit tight is around the Southbridge, since there are 4 ATA-133 ports, the 2 SATA 150 ports, and the floppy port. According to the silk screened revision number in the upper left corner of the board, the board under scrutiny is a revision 1 board. Also make note that the capacitors chosen by EPoX for the board were manufactured by Teapo (Taiwan, China) and GSC.

The CPU socket area is a bit unique on this board when compared to other i875P based solutions. The CPU socket itself is oriented perpendicular to the DIMM slots, which is standard. However, the CPU HSF retention cage is not oriented perpendicular to the DIMM slots, but rather parallel to them. This differing orientation between the mounting cage and the socket does not appear to affect the HSF contact ability with the CPU, and in fact seems to allow a bit more space in this usually crowded area. As you can see, the CPU HSF mounting cage itself is clear on all sides from obstacles, allowing easy installation and removal of a HSF unit. The monitored FAN1 header, used for the CPU fan, is located just below the HSF mounting cage. The i875P Northbridge chipset is located to the right of the CPU socket. The Northbridge chip is passively cooled with a good sized aluminum HS unit held down by a 4 prong mechanism. The hold down mechanism on the Northbridge allows for removal of the HS without having to remove the motherboard from your case. In testing, the Northbridge was found to get a bit toasty with an extreme overclock, necessitating the addition of an active cooling fan. Just above the Northbridge chipset is the ATX12V power connector. This location is optimal for power transfer to the CPU, but makes cable routing critical so as to not block air flow to the CPU.

The board’s 4 DIMM slots are located beneath the Northbridge and CPU socket, arranged in a 2 sets of 2 configuration. The slots themselves are color coded across the sets to demonstrate the proper slots to use in order to enable Dual Channel mode. The ATA 100 ports are located just below the lower set of DIMM slots with the ATX connector to the right of the IDE ports. The monitored FAN2 header is located between the lower set of DIMM slots and the board’s edge.

Just below PCI slots 1 and 2 is the ICH5R Southbridge chipset, with its two SATA 150 ports just below and to its left. The HighPoint RAID controller is to the left of the ICH5R chipset, just below PCI slot 4. The HighPoint’s ATA 133 ports are horizontally oriented just below the SATA 150 ports. The board includes a two digit diagnostic LED, located to the left of the SATA 150 ports. This diagnostic LED is a standard feature on most high end EPoX boards, and is very useful in debugging system related startup issues. The CMOS chip is located to the left of the diagnostic LED with the CMOS battery just below it. The front panel headers and the infra-red header are located just below the CMOS battery. The floppy port was placed at the lower left of the board, which could cause some issues when using a taller case. An engaged floppy cable also can block visual access to the diagnostic LED, as well as making it difficult to access the CMOS reset jumper which is sandwiched between it and the CMOS battery. The monitored FAN3 header and the 2 on-board USB 2.0 headers are located just above the floppy port, along the board’s edge.

The 4PCA3+ has a total of 5 PCI slots and a single AGP slot. The on board game port header is located just above and to the left of PCI slot 5, while the S/PDIF header is located just above PCI slot 2. The CD-IN, AUX-IN, and front panel audio headers are located in a group above and to the left of the AGP slot. Note that the rear panel audio ports will not function unless pins 5/6 and 9/10 on the front panel audio header are jumpered.

The rear panel contains the following ports: a PS/2 keyboard and mouse port, a parallel port, two serial ports, 4 USB 2.0 capable ports, a Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet port, and 3 audio ports.