NEWS / Weiteres KT600 Motherboard: EPoX EP-8KRA2+

Nachdem bereits Hersteller wie QDI Legend und Asus ihre kommenden VIA KT600 Motherboars vorgestellt haben, folgt nun auch EPoX. Auf der WebSite von EPoX USA findet man bereits eine offizielle Pressemeldung und ein erstes Bild der Platine. Das Board wird wie erwartet Serial-ATA, FSB400 und vieles mehr unterstützen. Über Preis und Verfügbarkeit ist leider noch nichts bekannt...

"[Taipei, 25 June 2003] EPoX Computer Co. LTD (EPoX), a leading developer of quality mainboards for AMD enthusiasts, announced a superb choice to pair with the latest AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ operating at 400MHz FSB, the EP-8KRA2+. Powered by the revolutionary VIA KT 600 and 8237, EP-8KRA2+ comes equipped with a rich set of specs: DDR 400 memory, AGP 8X graphics interface, Serial ATA RAID, IEEE 1394, and USB 2.0 delivering optimum application performance for gaming, home entertainment and business productivity, making it an ideal choice all round.

The AGP 8X slot supports all the latest graphics cards and six PCI slots offer plenty of expansion potential. There are three DIMM sockets which can accommodate up to 3GB of system memory. In addition to the standard IDE port, the mainboard comes loaded with 2 additional IDE connectors from HPT-372 controller for RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 1.5 functions. On top of that, the onboard SATA controller provides two Serial ATA ports complete with RAID 0, 1 function. This brings the grand total of supported drives to ten.

For convenient peripheral connection, EP-8KRA2+ provides eight USB ports compliant with USB 2.0 (four at rear panel), and two 1394 ports with up to 400Mbps data transfer rate. The board also incorporates 10/100 Ethernet LAN for those who need straightforward network connectivity. The onboard AC`97 codec delivers not only 6CH audio but is equipped with intelligent "Jack Sensing", a user friendly feature to ensure those confusing audio jacks are plugged correctly.

As usual with EPoX, EPoX has added some handy features of its own to complement this offering. EPoX`s POST Port LED error-code display is a valuable troubleshooting device that shows the POST codes while the PC boots up. By looking up the codes in the manual, you can quickly detect the error without time-consuming process. Magic Health reports the system status for every boot up to help detect faults early. EPoX Power BIOS offers abundant excellent overclocking settings via BIOS. EPoX, in addition, designed Magic Flash, a clever utility for automatically updating BIOS in Windows environment, making DOS-based flash utility or bootable diskette a thing of the past.

For further detail information, please refer to EPoX official website: http://www.epox.com/ or contact EPoX sales.

Key Specifications

• Supports Socket A for AMD Athlon XP/Duron processors with up to 400MHz FSB
• VIA KT 600 Chipset (KT600 and VT8237)
• 3 DDR DIMM sockets for DDR 266/333/400
• 1 AGP 8X; 6 PCI
• 8 USB 2.0 ports
• 6CH Audio with S/PDIF out interface
• 2 P-ATA IDE interfaces with UDMA-33, ATA-133/100/66 support
• 2 P-ATA-133 IDE ports with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 1.5
• 2 Serial ATA ports with RAID 0,1 functions
• 2 IEEE 1394a ports
• 10/100 Ethernet LAN
• ATX form factor