Socket-A VIA KT133 Motherboard Roundup - November 2000

EPoX EP-8KTA2

EPoX EP-8KTA2
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CPU Interface	Socket-A
Chipset	VIA KT133
Form Factor	ATX
Bus Speeds	95 / 100 / 102 / 104 / 106 / 107 / 108 / 109 / 110 111 / 112 / 113 / 114 / 116 / 118 / 120 / 124 / 127 130 / 133 / 136 / 140 / 145 / 150 / 155 / 160 / 166 MHz
Voltages Supported	Auto Detect / 1.475 – 1.850 (in 0.025V increments)
Memory Slots	3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots	1 AGP Slot 6 PCI Slots (2 Full Length) 1 ISA Slot (1 Shared)
On-board Audio	VIA VT1611A AC97 CODEC
BIOS	Award Modular BIOS 6.00PG

EPoX has consistently delivered solid solutions for users, and the EP-8KTA2 is no doubt an above average motherboard, which makes it another good contender in the KT133 market.

Once again, the biggest feature of the EP-8KTA2 is the implementation of the multiplier ratio settings through a set of dipswitches.  EPoX also implemented a series of CPU core voltage as well as I/O voltage tweaks.  These should provide users with all the tools they need to overclock their processors.

Since the EP-8KTA2 was released not long ago, EPoX was able to incorporate the VIA 686B as the south bridge, which now supports Ultra ATA 100 devices.  Moreover, the 6 PCI and 1 ISA expansion slot configuration makes the EP-8KTA2 a good choice for users with a lot of add-on cards, especially some old ISA devices like SCSI controllers or ISA modems.

The EP-8KTA2 turns out to be one of the best boards in performance, although it is not as stable as some of the other boards in this roundup.  Together with a nice price tag, the EP-8KTA2 really makes itself a close competitor of the ABIT KT7, the KT133 solution by ABIT without the on-board RAID controller.