When it comes to AMD
motherboards, I usually hold Epox in a higher regard then most other
manufacturers. I find from a consumer point of view, Epox usually deliver a
good mixture of value and performance, and I also like how openly the company
embraces the enthusiast community. In the last year I've probably purchased at
least seven Epox AMD motherboards for various machines, for both friends and family, and
not one has ever let me down yet.
We recently tested Epox's 8RDA+ (nForce2 SPP) in
January
and were extremely impressed by what we saw - the
board even earned a PCstats.com "Recommended Product Award."
The
question today is if nforce2-IGP packing EP-8RGA+ motherboard will behave
exactly like the EP-8RDA+, or will it be able to differentiate itself from its
SPP brother?
Like all nForce2 motherboards, the Epox 8RGA+ supports 200/266/333MHz
FSB AthlonXP processors, and even the anticipated 400MHz FSB variety should AMD decide to
release them (we vote Yes! on that question). The three DIMM slots are standard feature on
all nForce2 boards and can hold a maximum of 3
GB of PC1600/2100/2700/3200 DDR memory.
The
onboard components include ATA/133,
two Firewire ports (IEEE 1394), 10/100 LAN, six ports USB2.0, game port
header and 5.1 audio among others.
| epox
8rga+ motherboard |
|
|
Ships with the following:
- IDE ATA66/100 Cable
- FDD Cable
- Driver CD
- User Manual
- Quick Install Guide
- Rear I/O Back Panel
|
| Brackets: |
| Game Port BracketIEEE 1394 Bracket |
I sometimes wonder if Epox are trying for the "retro
look" with their motherboards. That might explain why they're always green... but
seriously, the whole fad surrounding PCB colour has lost its edge, and
manufacturers realize that aside from the moderate amount of branding an
identifiable PCB colour brings to the table, most users just want
something fast. Heck, a bland looking board that's
fast is far better than a slow pretty one right?
With lack of any Serial ATA support (a
common point among nForce2 boards), or IDE RAID for that matter, the 8RGA+ is
not one of most feature rich motherboards out there despite all the onboard
items we have already mentioned. On its behalf however, the 8RGA+ does have six
32 bit PCI
slots so you
shouldn't have a hard time expanding in the future.
Since all GeForce4 cards
support Nvidia's Twinview (including the onboard GeForce4MX) Epox have bucked
the trend and equipped the EP-8RGA+ with twin analog display output connectors -
that's right, two of em! - so users can take full advantage of dual displays. An
8X AGP slot is also available for full-fledged videocars.
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