EPoX EP-9U1697-GLi: ULi M1697 Goes Mainstream
by Gary Key on March 15, 2006 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final Words
The EPoX EP-9U1697 GLi offers excellent performance at a bargain price. The performance of the board in the majority of the benchmarks was extremely competitive with the ATI and NVIDIA chipset offerings. The stability of the board was superb at stock settings and very good at overclocked settings. We find it refreshing that a board with this performance is being offered for a retail price around US $85. While the ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 offers a greater feature set for the same price, the EPoX board offers significantly better performance in the overclocking area.
With that said, let's move on to our performance opinions regarding this board.
In the video area, the inclusion of dual PCI Express x16 connectors provides dual card capability with eight PCI Express lanes per graphics connector available during dual card operation. The board utilizes a manual jumper system to switch from single x16 PCI-E operation to dual x8 PCI-E operation. While not as convenient as a digital switch, it does assist in keeping the cost of the board down. The performance of the board under SLI testing matched that of our nForce4 boards and offered full SLI compatibility with the ULi PowerExpress Engine Enabling driver although the board is not SLI certified. We tried this driver with the 81.85, 81.95, 81.98, and 82.12 drivers without any issue in a myriad of benchmarks and games. EPoX will not be supporting or certifying SLI operations on the board. The board also fully supported our ATI X1900XTX and EVGA 7900GTX video cards in limited testing.
In the on-board audio area, the EPoX board offers the Realtek ALC-655 AC97 audio codec. While the ULi M1697 chipset fully supports 7.1 HD audio, EPoX only provided 5.1 AC97 capability, probably due to the implementation cost of the Realtek HD audio codecs. The audio output of this codec in the music, video, and DVD areas is decent for an on-board solution. The audio quality in gaming was okay, but it did not match the output of the Sound Blaster X-FI or even the Realtek ALC-882. If you plan on utilizing this board for gaming, then our recommendation is to purchase an appropriate sound card for consistency in frame rates across a wide range of games and audio quality. However, the Realtek ALC-655 should suffice for the majority of home/office users.
In the storage area, the EPoX board offers the full complement of storage options afforded by the ULi M1697 chipset. The board offers RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 capability, NCQ, Hot Plug, and 3Gb/s support along with dual channel ATA133 Ultra DMA capability. The board also offers eight ULi USB 2.0 ports when utilizing the two USB 2.0 headers. The performances of the ULi SATA and IDE controllers were excellent and easily exceeded the nForce4 solutions.
In the performance area, the EPoX EP-9U1697 GLi generated outstanding benchmark scores in the majority of applications, considering the price of the board. The board's performance was consistently competitive with other ATI, ULi, and NVIDIA chipset offerings in the majority of benchmarks and applications. The stability of the board was excellent during testing and general usage.
However, we feel that EPoX made the following errors in the design and execution of the board. The location of the floppy drive connector at the bottom of the board, the location of the 24-pin ATX power connector right above the CPU socket, and the use of active cooling on the ULi M1697 chipset could be improved.
Although we understand the budget nature of the board, we believe that the lack of PCI-E or PCI based Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller is an issue for a board being targeted to an enthusiast market. Also, the lack of an HD audio codec hampers the audio capability of the board and while we understand most serious gamers will opt for a discreet audio solution, we still feel that this option should have been included, considering the native support provided by the ULi M1697. EPoX will be offering the 9U1697 GLi-J board with PCI-E Gigabit via the Marvell 88E8053 controller, but it will only be upgrading the audio to the 8-channel capable ALC-850 AC97 codec. EPoX has not disclosed pricing or availability of this model at the time of our writing.
The BIOS issue that we encountered, which caused random lockups after exiting Windows XP, was disconcerting, although we did not notice any stability or performance issues within Windows or during testing. EPoX has provided us with an updated BIOS for testing. However, it also has issues. At the time of this writing, we are still waiting for an acceptable solution from EPoX.
We feel that it is unfortunate that the ULi M1697 chipset utilized on this board will probably have a short life span in light of the NVIDIA acquisition, but we are glad to see that EPoX has done a wonderful job in bringing this board to market at a low price-point while offering superb performance and stability. If you're willing to live with the few minor shortcomings mentioned above, this is a great board given the budget price.
The EPoX EP-9U1697 GLi offers excellent performance at a bargain price. The performance of the board in the majority of the benchmarks was extremely competitive with the ATI and NVIDIA chipset offerings. The stability of the board was superb at stock settings and very good at overclocked settings. We find it refreshing that a board with this performance is being offered for a retail price around US $85. While the ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 offers a greater feature set for the same price, the EPoX board offers significantly better performance in the overclocking area.
With that said, let's move on to our performance opinions regarding this board.
In the video area, the inclusion of dual PCI Express x16 connectors provides dual card capability with eight PCI Express lanes per graphics connector available during dual card operation. The board utilizes a manual jumper system to switch from single x16 PCI-E operation to dual x8 PCI-E operation. While not as convenient as a digital switch, it does assist in keeping the cost of the board down. The performance of the board under SLI testing matched that of our nForce4 boards and offered full SLI compatibility with the ULi PowerExpress Engine Enabling driver although the board is not SLI certified. We tried this driver with the 81.85, 81.95, 81.98, and 82.12 drivers without any issue in a myriad of benchmarks and games. EPoX will not be supporting or certifying SLI operations on the board. The board also fully supported our ATI X1900XTX and EVGA 7900GTX video cards in limited testing.
In the on-board audio area, the EPoX board offers the Realtek ALC-655 AC97 audio codec. While the ULi M1697 chipset fully supports 7.1 HD audio, EPoX only provided 5.1 AC97 capability, probably due to the implementation cost of the Realtek HD audio codecs. The audio output of this codec in the music, video, and DVD areas is decent for an on-board solution. The audio quality in gaming was okay, but it did not match the output of the Sound Blaster X-FI or even the Realtek ALC-882. If you plan on utilizing this board for gaming, then our recommendation is to purchase an appropriate sound card for consistency in frame rates across a wide range of games and audio quality. However, the Realtek ALC-655 should suffice for the majority of home/office users.
In the storage area, the EPoX board offers the full complement of storage options afforded by the ULi M1697 chipset. The board offers RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 capability, NCQ, Hot Plug, and 3Gb/s support along with dual channel ATA133 Ultra DMA capability. The board also offers eight ULi USB 2.0 ports when utilizing the two USB 2.0 headers. The performances of the ULi SATA and IDE controllers were excellent and easily exceeded the nForce4 solutions.
In the performance area, the EPoX EP-9U1697 GLi generated outstanding benchmark scores in the majority of applications, considering the price of the board. The board's performance was consistently competitive with other ATI, ULi, and NVIDIA chipset offerings in the majority of benchmarks and applications. The stability of the board was excellent during testing and general usage.
However, we feel that EPoX made the following errors in the design and execution of the board. The location of the floppy drive connector at the bottom of the board, the location of the 24-pin ATX power connector right above the CPU socket, and the use of active cooling on the ULi M1697 chipset could be improved.
Although we understand the budget nature of the board, we believe that the lack of PCI-E or PCI based Gigabit Ethernet LAN controller is an issue for a board being targeted to an enthusiast market. Also, the lack of an HD audio codec hampers the audio capability of the board and while we understand most serious gamers will opt for a discreet audio solution, we still feel that this option should have been included, considering the native support provided by the ULi M1697. EPoX will be offering the 9U1697 GLi-J board with PCI-E Gigabit via the Marvell 88E8053 controller, but it will only be upgrading the audio to the 8-channel capable ALC-850 AC97 codec. EPoX has not disclosed pricing or availability of this model at the time of our writing.
The BIOS issue that we encountered, which caused random lockups after exiting Windows XP, was disconcerting, although we did not notice any stability or performance issues within Windows or during testing. EPoX has provided us with an updated BIOS for testing. However, it also has issues. At the time of this writing, we are still waiting for an acceptable solution from EPoX.
We feel that it is unfortunate that the ULi M1697 chipset utilized on this board will probably have a short life span in light of the NVIDIA acquisition, but we are glad to see that EPoX has done a wonderful job in bringing this board to market at a low price-point while offering superb performance and stability. If you're willing to live with the few minor shortcomings mentioned above, this is a great board given the budget price.
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custommadename - Sunday, March 19, 2006 - link
I thought so, but I wanted to make sure. That's great. So this board is pretty much a good overclocking board for a great price. I'm hooked.UJMA - Friday, March 24, 2006 - link
When released the "J " version of this board sports both Gb Ethernet and 8 Channel ALC850 Audio. Look for the EPoX EP-9U1697GLI-J ... I'm definitely getting this mobo.Gary Key - Friday, March 24, 2006 - link
We still do not have confirmation if this model will be released in the US. We certainly have expressed our feelings to EPoX that this is the model that should be offered here. Also, the ALC-850 is not real upgrade from a quality of audio output aspect compared to the ALC-655. We lobbied for the ALC-883 as the cost differential is minimal compared to the ALC-850 but EPoX is betting most people buying the board will upgrade the audio for gaming anyway. We think the ALC-883 would still suffice for the casual gamer and probably for the more serious gamer on a budget from a performance/audio output aspect. It is hard to get excited about a SB X-FI when it cost $30 more than the motherboard in this market segment in our opinion. We think this is still an issue. Overall, the quality of the board is very good and the results speak for themselves.
UJMA - Friday, March 24, 2006 - link
Pretty sure we'll get the "J" version in Europe, "J" versions are available on other Epox models over here. Also glad to see that the Epox board was not unduly handicapped by x8 lane PCI-E as opposed to x16 lane. All in all, even in the bog standard guise, it's a very good board for the money.Good review by the way!
superkdogg - Friday, March 17, 2006 - link
^^^^^^^Those numbers are the initial value the memory will run if the HTT is 200. They all scale based on the HTT speed, so 1:1 = 200. All the other numbers are dividers that allow for running the memory at a ratio speed based on the HTT i.e. 133/200 = 4/6.
custommadename - Friday, March 17, 2006 - link
The memory speeds in the review were Auto, 100 MHz, 133MHz, 160MHz, 200MHz, 218 MHz, 240MHz. Is there a 1:1 setting so that the ram speed increases with the FSB? It would be a shame not to have that seeing as how the ram can be overvoltaged to 3.2Vsuperkdogg - Thursday, March 16, 2006 - link
Hey, this board looks great! The main drawbacks are the two silly component choices: no Gb ethernet and no HD sound (not like Nv boards have this anyway). Since my home network is 10/100 and I'm not an sound freak (and I have some 5.1 digital Live! cards to throw in if need be) those aren't drawbacks.I have a A8R-MVP that rectifies those problems at the cost of high vCore options.....pm me if you want to trade :P
kmmatney - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - link
Its great having low cost Socket 939 boards, but where are the Socket 939 Semprons?Per Hansson - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - link
Since Epox has had so many issues in the past with using poor capacitors (sorry I mistyped that, I mean crap capacitors) From GSC and TEAPO I think it deserves a mention that this board is using high quality Sanyo MV-WX capacitors for the VRM section and everything 1000uF and above on the board, and even not cheaping out on the lower value caps by using the top capacitor brand Rubycon for them...And if the editor can not distinguish from a good and bad capacitor brand please atleast post high resolution pictures of the capacitors so people looking for the info will find it without being as wierd as I am and recognize them by the style of their vents and type of colors used ;-)
Gary Key - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - link
We did make mention on the front page and the features page about the high quality components used on the board. However, we did not specify the brand names or sizes utilized. We will do this in the future if the components selected warrants mention as it would assist the readers without your (not weird) ability to pick out the brand names. I did take a high resolution shot of the capacitors as I surprised by Epox utilizing these on a value board. I should have followed my instincts and posted the shot on the first or last page. Thanks for the comments. :)