Life in the Fast Lane: New Boards for the Athlon 64

Epox 9NPA+ Ultra

Board Revision: 1.0

BIOS Version: 03/22/2005

The 9NPA+ Ultra has everything you'd expect on an Epox: the dark-green hue, a Port 80 diagnosis module with two-digit display, and power and reset buttons directly on the unit (both below left in the picture).

The nForce4 Ultra is used here, and the maker squeezes every last ounce out of its capabilities: there are three PCI slots, three x1 PCIe slots, the x16 connection for the graphics card, two ATA/100 channels for optical and hard drives, and four SATA-II ports. The Epox has no end of overclocking fun in store; our only issue is that the chipset fan could be a little quieter.

The package contains some useful round IDE cables, SATA power supply switches, a USB adapter with two ports as well as Norton Internet Security 2004, Wasay ProMagic Plus Lite and Wasay ImageIt 3.0.

The sound system has one optical und one coaxial digital output.