VIA KT333 Motherboard Roundup

[miggetyMike]

Does anyone out there have any personal experience with the EPoX 8K3A+? I have heard mixed reviews about this board. They both agree this board is fast. I am especially impressed with the overclocking features. This review crowned it as its gold winner in terms of kt333 boards but Tom's hardware claimed at these high levels it had stability issues. I'm lookin to upgrade soon and want a board with exceptional performance and stability, allthough this probably goes without saying. I am also considering the msi and asus boards included....any opinions?

[jmichna]

Well, with this SharkyExtreme article, I believe I've now read every KT333 mobo evaluation/roundup article publsihed to date. Although it may not make everyone's top choice, the one board that is always mentioned in the top two or three is the EPoX board. This last roundup made my decision, and I just ordered the mobo and two 512mb Corsair XMS 2700DDR mem mods to feed the mobo.

In my situation I can live without the onboard NIC and sound (have both already), and although I regret the absence of USB2.0 support, the reality is I don't have any USB2.0 devices, and don't plan on getting any in the forseeable future... at least during the life of this mobo.

Beside the articles, I've lurked at -- and posted to -- my favorite two user forums (Sysopt and Techimo) and the overwhelming... well, most popular anyway... recommendation is always the EPoX 8K3A+

The articles that did mention stability issues (if memory serves me right) involved how many mem slots were populated as well as the degree of overclocking. I'm going to only use two slots, so I don't anticipate any issues.
Good luck all,
jmichna

PS: In my evaluation, I considered the EPoX, the Asus A7V333R, the Abit KX-333R, the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP and the MSI KT3 Ultra-ARU... the MSI and Abit dropped out first, my final decision was between EPoX, Asus and Gigabyte.

I currently have an Abit K7-100, and Asus A7V133 (this is the one I'm replacing) and an Asus P4S533 in service... so this was a tough decision.

[miggetyMike]

Thanks for the info......but I'm curious as to why the msi board was one of the first to drop from the list. I was considering it second to the epox.

[jmichna]

Originally posted by miggetyMike
Thanks for the info......but I'm curious as to why the msi board was one of the first to drop from the list. I was considering it second to the epox. miggety...
A few reasons actually, but none really strongly compelling:
1. After going through the storage website reviews I could find regarding Promise vs HighPoint on-board RAID, most results seem to tip performance in favor of HighPoint. Boot times for HighPoint were reported quicker. I've had boards (older ones, granted) with both, and boot speed is different. If money were no option, I'd have elected for a 3Ware IDE-RAID controller card (the 7450) for the best IDE-RAID performance, but money is definitely a factor.
2. The MSI has a lot of great features (eg., USB2.0 support) and would probably make an excellent board, but it seemed to me that several of the KT333 reviews seemed to put it's overall performance (speed) in the middle of the pack, and it was reported to not be quite as overclockable. Again, this is trying to draw conclusions from several reviews that were not necessarily in agreement in test results obtained.
3. Didn't want the CNR slot, and can possibly use the sixth pci slot at some point (I've got an Adaptec SCSI -- non-booting -- controller card that I use with my scanner). Plus, some day may be able to get that 3Ware RAID card ;-)
I'm sure if you go MSI, you will be happy (I have an MSI GF4 Ti4400 vid card and love it!).
jmichna

[miggetyMike]

Thanks for all the help.....I think I will go with the epox. Its allways good to hear another persons opinion. Thanks again.