nForce4 Ultra Roundup: Charting the Mainstream

Epox 9NPA+ Ultra: Features and Layout

Specification	Epox 9NPA+
CPU Interface	Socket 939 Athlon 64
Chipset	nForce4 Ultra (single chip)
BUS Speeds	200MHz to 400MHz (in 1MHz increments)
PCI/AGP Speeds	Asynchronous (Fixed)
PCI Express	100MHz to 145MHz in 1MHz increments
Core Voltage	Off, +0.025V to +0.25V in .025V increments (to 1.75V with a 1.5V CPU)
DRAM Voltage	Auto, 2.5V to 3.1V in 0.1V increments
Chipset Voltage	1.5V, 1.6V, 1.7V, 1.8V
Hyper Transport Ratios	Auto, 1x to 5x in 1x intervals
LDT Bus Transfer	16/16, 16/8, 8/16, 8/8
LDT Voltage	1.2V, 1.3V, 1..4V, 1.5V
CPU Ratios	Auto, 5x to 50x in 1x increments
DRAM Speeds	Auto, 100, 133, 166, 200
Memory Command Rate	Auto, 1T, 2T
Memory Slots	Four 184-pin DDR Dual-Channel Slots Unbuffered ECC or non-ECC Memory to 4GB Total
Expansion Slots	1 x16 PCIe Slots 3 x1 PCIe 3 PCI Slots
Onboard SATA	4-Drive SATA 2 by nF4
Onboard IDE	Two Standard NVIDIA ATA133/100/66 (4 drives)
SATA/IDE RAID	4-Drive SATA 2 PLUS 4-Drive IDE (8 total) Can be combined in RAID 0, 1
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394	10 USB 2.0 ports supported nF4 2 1394A FireWire ports by VIA VT6307
Onboard LAN	Gigabit Ethernet PCIe by Vitesse VSC8201 PHY
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC850 8-Channel codec with 6 UAJ audio jacks, CD-in, SPDIF in/out, coaxial and optical SPDIF Out
Other Features	AMD X2 Support with MD9N5701 or higher BIOS 2-Digit Diagnostic LED, On-Board Power and Reset Switches
BIOS	Award md9n5701 (7/01/2005)

For quite a while, Epox boards have had the reputation of fast performance at stock speeds. In recent roundups, Epox has also done very well in the overclocking arena. The Epox was our Gold Editor's Choice in the Socket 754 roundup, and was a great all-around performer.

The 9NPA+ continues the Epox tradition of a great feature set at a standout price. The Ultra version sells for about $110, but it is also available as an even cheaper nForce4 4X version, the 9NPA for around $93, and a more expensive 9NPA+ SLI for about $149.

BIOS options and ranges are consistent with a top enthusiast board. Memory voltage extends to a very respectable 3.1V, but it does not reach the levels really needed for OCZ VX or Mushkin Redline. For those high-voltage 2-2-2 memories, you will still need a DFI nForce4 board.

Epox likes to provide Diagnostic LEDs on their boards to assist in troubleshooting, and you will still find the LED display, despite the reasonable price of the motherboard. You will also find a full implementation of NVIDIA nForce4 chipset features, on-board Firewire support, and gigabit LAN supported by the PCIe bus.

Click image to enlarge.

The layout of the Epox is generally pleasant with the glaring exception that both the ATX 24-pin and 12V 4-pin power connectors are between the CPU and the real panel connections. In this location, it is difficult to find a really good routing for the bulky 24-pin cable. No matter how you run it, the cable will have to snake around or over the CPU or memory, potentially blocking air flow.

The other less-than-perfect location is the floppy connector at the lower right edge of the board. If you don't care about floppies, then ignore my complaints, but some floppy cables will have a tough time reaching in tall cases. Both IDE connectors are located on the right edge just behind the PCIe slot, so IDE cables have to be very flat under a long card like the top NVIDIAs, or the PCIe will not seat properly.

The rest of the board layout is quite good. All of the SATA connectors clear the big slots easily. The additional on-board connectors are at the bottom edge of the board, away from the slot area. The exception is the location of the CD/Aux in connectors, which are above the big slots. This location is easier to navigate if you use CD-In connectors with your optical drives.

The single chip nForce4 Ultra is cooled with an active fan and heavy heatsink. The nF4 gets hot during the heavy loads of overclocking and Epox provided a solution that seems to work well at keeping the nF4 chip cool during our testing.

Every board in this nForce4 Ultra roundup uses the Realtek ALC850 codec to provide onboard audio, and this includes the Epox. The ALC850 Codec provides four pairs of stereo outputs, with 5-Bit volume controls and multiple stereo and mono inputs, along with flexible mixing, and gain and mute functions. Two 50mW/20ohm headset audio amplifiers are integrated at Front-Out and Surround-Out, and both amplifiers are selectable for Front-Out, Line-In and Mic-In as a Universal Audio Jack.

You can find more information on the ALC850 at Realtek.

Epox provides a full selection of rear I/O ports. These include 6 programmable audio mini jacks plus optical and coaxial SPDIF out connectors to support the Realtek ALC850. The back panel also includes PS2 mouse and keyboard, 1 standard Firewire (IEEE1394a), Parallel port, 1 serial port, 4 USB, and one RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet.

Epox does not offer additional RAID controllers, but the 9NPA+ Ultra does implement the full nForce4 feature set of 10 USB ports, 4 SATA 2/4 IDE, which can be combined in RAID arrays, and an on-chipset hardware firewall.