EPoX EP-8KTA+ VIA KT-133

Friday, October 20, 2000


Additional features

Additional features of the EPoX EP-8KTA+ include: Wake on LAN, Wake on Modem Ring, PS2 connectors for mice & keyboards, 2 USB ports on the rear panel, 2 other USB ports on the board itself, Power Failure Recovery, Suspend to RAM, RX/TX connectors for infrared communication, and start-up from the keyboard/mouse, or at a pre-set time. Hardware monitoring of fan speed, CPU temperature, and of voltages is also provided as standard equipment with this PC99-compliant motherboard. Finally, an integrated AC"97 sound-card has also been included.

Below, a photo of the EPoX EP-8KTA+.


Note: Click here for detailed specifications.


Installation

Installation of the EP-8KTA+ is quite simple. Before trying to Overclock, it is first helpful to start with the system set to its default parameters. So, make sure all the Dips, and jumpers are set as they should be, put the board in a casing, plug everythinh in, boot-up, and make a quick trip through the BIOS to finalize any adjustments.



The software bundle

The installation CD includes the VIA 4-in-1 drivers (v4.22), drivers for the sound-card, various sound apps from Yamaha, USDM for monitoring the hardware under Windows, Adobe Acrobat Reader, a digital version of the user's manual, Norton Antivirus, and Norton Ghost.



The hardware bundle

The EP-8KTA+ is also accompanied by a couple of extra pieces of hardware, including an 80-pin ATA66 cable, and a floppy-drive connector.

Next: The Tests



Specifications

Supports Socket A Processors.
AMD Athlon.
VIA Apollo KT133 AGPset.
I/O Controller.
1 Floppy drive controller,
1 Parallel port (EPP, ECP),
2 Serial ports.
USB.
2 supported onboard. 2 additional as option.
Award PnP BIOS. Flash upgradeable.
120MB ATAPI floppy drive and ZIP support!
Standard ATX form factor.
305mm x 220mm ATX.
UltraDMA-66 EIDE Controllers. (Up to 4 IDE devices).
Backwards compatible with PIO mode 3/4 & UltraDMA-33.
200MHz Front Side Bus.
3x DIMM Slots for SDRAM.
1.5GB max. supported.
PS/2 connectors.
1 PS/2 mouse, 1 PS/2 keyboard.
6 (32-bit) PCI, 1 ISA, & 1 AGP.
AGP supports 1x, 2x and 4x  modes.
 
Extended Functions for Greater Value!
Keyboard Power On (KBPO) - use keyboard to power on system.
Unified System Diagnostic Manager (USDM) - monitor in Windows system temperatures, voltages, etc.
Hardware monitoring functions provided by VIA VT82C686A chipset.
Vcore Voltage Control.
Vio Voltage Control.
CPU Multiplier Control (on compatible unlocked processors).
Wake On Lan (WOL) - use WOL compatible network card to power on system.
Wake On Modem (WOM) - use WOM compatible modem card to power on system.
Hardware sleep/resume.
AGP Security Latch (secures AGP card better).
Adds 4 holes around CPU socket to support larger heatsinks.

 
Designed with VIA's KT133 chipset, the EP-8KTA+ is a high quality motherboard built by EPoX in the industry standard ATX format. In addition to the AGP interface for high performance graphics, this board offers six industry standard PCI, one ISA, one 4x compatible AGP expansion buses as well as many other advanced system and BIOS features.

For full feature system designs, the Apollo KT133 is paired with the VIA VT82C686A super south bridge. Highly advanced, the EP-8KTA+ combines integrated AC-97 audio support for SoundBlaster Pro and FM synthesis legacy audio, super I/O, and hardware monitoring capabilities.

Two bus mastering ATA 33/66 EIDE ports are provided plus a floppy disk port supporting two drives of any industry standard capacity including 2.88MB as well as 1.44MB and lower capacity types. In addition an IrDa infrared port allows the connection of remote devices.