Epox MVP3G2 Super7 ATX

Using VIA's North/South Bridge design to their benefit, the real differences between the G2 and its predecessor start to come into play when you look at the South Bridge controller on the board.  The VT82C596B, pin compatible with the older VT82C596 (meaning all Epox had to do was essentially pop the new chip into the old design), is the new South Bridge on the G2 and it brings with it Ultra ATA 66 support, a feature not provided for by the older South Bridge. 

VIA does have another South Bridge controller, the Super South Bridge (the 596B is referred to as the Mobile South Bridge), that features Ultra ATA 66 support as well as support for an AMR Slot and thus integrated audio/telephony codecs.  Epox's decision to use the Mobile South Bridge (596B) versus the Super South Bridge (686A) was a very intelligent one as you, the consumer, aren't forced to pay for added features that either won't be implemented on the motherboard or won't be used by you in the first place.  With the Super7 standard looking to take on Intel directly on the low end, thinking like this is what will make it happen, kudos to Epox on that point.

Epox's revered Easy Set Dual Jumper CPU configuration is present on the G2, which basically allows the FSB to be selected via a single jumper and the clock multiplier to be selected by another.  The FSB selection can also be made from within the Award BIOS setup from a list including the following frequencies: 66/68/75/83/95/100/112/124/133MHz.  Unfortunately, just like every other Super7 motherboard (ABIT, where are you?) the G2 isn't fully jumperless as the CPU's clock multiplier must still be controlled from the motherboard.  The single jumper for clock multiplier selection does make this reality an easier one to endure however. 

Due to the complexity of voltage selection options made available on the G2 (in contrast to the MVP3G-M), the single jumper setting had to be replaced with a five switch dip-switch placed next to the ATX power supply connector.  The switches are all easy to set and aren't a pain to deal with at all, however a step in the jumperless direction would have definitely been desired.

Taking advantage of the MVP3's ability to run the memory bus synchronous with the AGP bus (usually 66MHz) or synchronous with the FSB (usually 100MHz), Epox provided a single jumper setting for that option appropriately placed next to the first of the three DIMM banks. 

Since Epox chose to forego the Super South Bridge in favor of the more cost effective Mobile South Bridge w/ Ultra ATA 66 support, they also gave up support for integrated hardware monitoring.  But all you hardware monitoring freaks (don't worry, AnandTech's own Mike Andrawes falls into that category) out there have nothing to fear as the Winbond 87831D provides the hardware monitoring functionality you've been wishing for. 

Two thermistors are already provided for you by Epox on the motherboard (no thermistor headers, sorry guys), one is placed directly above the 2nd PCI slot and the other is naturally located in the middle of the Socket-7 CPU interface. 

A feature not reserved to the G2 alone but available to all MVP3 based motherboards (finally) is a single driver configuration package that automatically installs all the required drivers and patches for the MVP3 chipset under Windows 9x/NT.  The software driver package is known as the VIA Service Pack 4.01, or 4-in-1 driver for short.  The 4-in-1 package is essentially all four necessary drivers and patches (IDE Busmaster, VIA AGP, IRQ Routing, VIA Registry - ACPI) to help your system work properly the first time, without having to tweak settings, disable AGP 2X mode, or anything of the sort, which many Super7 users were used to simply because they didn't have the drivers installed properly. 

A driver release like the 4-in-1 is long overdue on VIA's part, but as the old adage goes, it's better late than never and quite a few Super7 users will be happy to know that VIA finally got their act together, at least on the driver side of things.  The 4-in-1 comes bundled on Epox's drivers and utilities CD-ROM, however it is also available for download at VIA's website.  The included CD-ROM also features a complimentary copy of Norton AntiVirus and Symantec Ghost 5.1 (hard disk cloning utility - very useful in testing labs ;)...).

Epox's user's manual is decent, it isn't a bare quick start guide, however it isn't a documentation masterpiece either so they get an average score for that.  More importantly is the stability of the G2, which was considerably better than most other Super7 motherboards we have managed to get our hands on.  But there is a little more to this issue than meets the eye...