Striking: colorful packaging for the Epox EP-4G4A.

A black PCB and a good overall range of features: Epox EP-4G4A.

In recent times, Epox has become known for its overclocking functions and good features. The manufacturer has basically remained true to these characteristics: in the BIOS, the CPU core can be increased to 1.85 Volt max., the memory to 3.2 Volt max., and the AGP voltage to 1.9 Volt max. These features are targeted at hardcore overclockers who want to run their processors and graphics cards to the limit. Compared to other participants in the test, Epox stands out for its Port 80 card and the RAID controller (Highpoint HPT 372) integrated on the board. Sound and network chips are also integrated, although the manufacturer uses a lower value AC'97 sound chip.

High voltage: extreme settings, especially for the memory and the AGP. Hardcore overclockers will be thrilled.

The rest of the features include six USB interfaces, four of which are on the motherboard. In the benchmark tests, the board lands well in midfield, and the differences between DDR333 and DDR266 memory are enormous. This once again shows that DDR266, despite CL2 mode, does not offer the best performance by far, as opposed to DDR333 with CL2. All in all, the Epox provides a good price/performance ratio. Equipped with the maximum of features (with RAID controller), the board costs around $140.

Ports on the Epox EP-4G4A.

A view of the Highpoint RAID controller and Port-80 segment display.