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EPoX 9NDA3+ NF3 Ultra s939 Motherboard
EPoX 9NDA3+ NF3 Ultra Mobo
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Specifications:
CPU Socket:
-Supports Socket-939 based AMD Athlon 64/ Athlon 64 FX
System Memory:
-Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
-Support single-sided or double-sided 2.8v DDR-333/400 DIMMs with dual channel architecture in 128/256/512Mb technologies
-Support Asynchronous clocking mode between FSB and DIMM
-Support up to 4GB system memory
Chipset
-nVidia nForce3 Ultra AGPset
Expansion Slots:
-Five PCI connectors compliant with PCI v2.2
-One 1.5v AGP- 8X/4X connector compliant with AGP v3.0
USB:
-Eight USB connectors compliant with USB2.0 from embedded USB controller (4 connectors at rear panel)
P-ATA IDE:
-Two IDE ports (up to 4 IDE devices) with UDMA-33, ATA-66/100/133 support from embedded IDE controller
S-ATA RAID:
-Two S-ATA ports from nForce3 Ultra with up to 150MBps bandwidth
-Two S-ATA ports from Marvell 88SR3020 SATA PHY
-RAID 0,1,0+1,JBOD support
LAN:
-1Gb Ethernet from onboard Cicada CIS8201 Gigabit Ethernet PHY.
1394a:
-Two 1394 ports with up to 400Mbps bandwidth from onboard VIA VT6307 1394 controller
Audio:
-Selectable 2, 6 or 8-CH audio from onboard Realtek ALC85x AC 97 v2.3 compliant CODEC.
-Support Aux-In, CD-In, S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out
-Rear panel audio jacks configuration;
-For 2-channel mode; stereo Line-out (green), stereo Line-In (blue) and Mic-In (pink)
-For 6-channel mode; Front stereo-out(green), Rear stereo-out (blue), Center and Sub-woofer (pink)
-For 8-channel mode; stereo Line-In (blue), Mic-In (pink), Front stereo-out(green), Rear stereo-out (black), Center and Sub-woofer (Orange) and Side stereo-out(gray)
-Support Front panel audio for Mic-In and stereo Line-out only. (Front panel Line-out electrically shared with rear panel Line-out)
-Support Auto Jack Sensing for fool-proof audio device installation
-Support SPDIF Coaxial output.
-Support SPDIF Optical output
I/O:
-Onboard Winbond W83627THF LPC I/O controller
-Legacy peripheral interface for PS/2 keyboard & mouse, FDD, Parallel, Two Serial, Game and IrDA (v1.0 compliant), K Support Hardware Monitoring function such as fan speed monitoring and CPU temperature sensing.
-Support Smart FAN Control and Intelligent Fan speed control for chassis Fan
BIOS:
-4Mb Flash EEPROM with Award Plug & Play BIOS
-Support ACPI S3 (Suspend To RAM) mode in ACPI compliant O/S
-Support EZ Boot for fast bootable device selection
-Support Magic Health for system hardware status report during system boot-up
-Supports AMD Cool n Quiet
Special Features:
-Support KBPO (Keyboard Power ON) function
-Support Wake-On-LAN by PME
-Support USB resume in S3
-Onboard Post-Port LED display
-Support AGP-Master for protection against improper AGP card insertion
PowerBIOS for excellent over clocking features:
-Support Asynchronous FSB/DIMM timing mode and 1MHz fine tuning on AGP clock
-Support BIOS adjustable CPU clock and voltage, AGP voltage, DIMM frequency and voltage settings.
Powerful utilities for Windows:
-USDM (Unified System Diagnostic Manager) for system hardware monitoring
-Magic Flash for BIOS update without requiring DOS flash utility and bootable diskette
-Magic Screen for personal bootup screen design
Form Factor:
-305mm x 245mm x 40mm, ATX Size
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Price: ~$110
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There's not much to say about the 9NDA3+ other than it's one of the easiest boards to get a high stable overclock on. Featuring the nVidia nForce 3 Ultra chipset really unlocks it's potential as a great overclocker. The BIOS features numerous voltage and clock tweaking options that are straight forward and allow you to push your overclock to the max. The only complain I have with the BIOS is the vdimm adjustment, it only goes to 2.8v which clearly isn't enough if you're trying to run some BH-5 or other high-voltage memory on this board. Luckily there's a simple volt mod that can be done that allows you to reach into the upper 3v catagory. For the most part the PCB layout of this motherboard is ok and doesn't pose any major threats. An XP-120 can be fitted to this board but you must use dimm slots 3&4 if you're running dual channel memory as the XP-120 interferes with slot 1. The only other flaw in the PCB layout is the location of SATA ports 1&2 which are the locked ports controlled by the NF3 chipset. These ports are located directly behind and a tad below the rear of the AGP slot which makes them unusable without a 90* sata cable when using a video card with a large cooler such as the 6800 Ultra. Stock performance of this board isn't the greatest, but it's also not the worst. However I think this was a strategical move made by EPoX to make it as good of an overclocker as it is. As it falls short in some catagories in stock level performance, please buckle your seat belts after overclocking
This board overclocks so well and gives unseen performance gains when pushed to the limits, it's absolutely incredible. The onboard audio by Realtek obvously isn't the best but also isn't the worst, it offers an 8.1 channel digital output that sounds pretty good when it's cranked up. This board also features an onboard gigabit lan which comes standard on most high-end boards these days. Packaging and accessories are top notch when it comes from EPoX's high-end mobo catagory. One of the coolest features of this, and most other EPoX boards, is that it includes an 80 port onboard LED display that shows all POST codes during bootup which comes in very handy if for some reason your computer doesn't boot correctly. Just check ur LED, take down the number that's displayed, go to the back of your manual, find the number, read what the problem is, then fix it! Included with the 9NDA3+ is a nice full color guide and lengthy user manual covering everything that ought to be covered in a manual, along with an EPoX double sided screwdriver, and a bag of mosfet heatsinks that can be placed on the motherboard for additional cooling. All in all this board is a top level performer that lacks no features that would be found on a "high-end" motherboard costing much more.
Conclusion: One of the best s939 / AGP boards you can buy if you're on a budget or looking to do some mad overclocking.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 for a few stupid pcb layout problems and lack of vdimm control.
EPoX 9NDA3+ NF3 Ultra Mobo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications:
CPU Socket:
-Supports Socket-939 based AMD Athlon 64/ Athlon 64 FX
System Memory:
-Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
-Support single-sided or double-sided 2.8v DDR-333/400 DIMMs with dual channel architecture in 128/256/512Mb technologies
-Support Asynchronous clocking mode between FSB and DIMM
-Support up to 4GB system memory
Chipset
-nVidia nForce3 Ultra AGPset
Expansion Slots:
-Five PCI connectors compliant with PCI v2.2
-One 1.5v AGP- 8X/4X connector compliant with AGP v3.0
USB:
-Eight USB connectors compliant with USB2.0 from embedded USB controller (4 connectors at rear panel)
P-ATA IDE:
-Two IDE ports (up to 4 IDE devices) with UDMA-33, ATA-66/100/133 support from embedded IDE controller
S-ATA RAID:
-Two S-ATA ports from nForce3 Ultra with up to 150MBps bandwidth
-Two S-ATA ports from Marvell 88SR3020 SATA PHY
-RAID 0,1,0+1,JBOD support
LAN:
-1Gb Ethernet from onboard Cicada CIS8201 Gigabit Ethernet PHY.
1394a:
-Two 1394 ports with up to 400Mbps bandwidth from onboard VIA VT6307 1394 controller
Audio:
-Selectable 2, 6 or 8-CH audio from onboard Realtek ALC85x AC 97 v2.3 compliant CODEC.
-Support Aux-In, CD-In, S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out
-Rear panel audio jacks configuration;
-For 2-channel mode; stereo Line-out (green), stereo Line-In (blue) and Mic-In (pink)
-For 6-channel mode; Front stereo-out(green), Rear stereo-out (blue), Center and Sub-woofer (pink)
-For 8-channel mode; stereo Line-In (blue), Mic-In (pink), Front stereo-out(green), Rear stereo-out (black), Center and Sub-woofer (Orange) and Side stereo-out(gray)
-Support Front panel audio for Mic-In and stereo Line-out only. (Front panel Line-out electrically shared with rear panel Line-out)
-Support Auto Jack Sensing for fool-proof audio device installation
-Support SPDIF Coaxial output.
-Support SPDIF Optical output
I/O:
-Onboard Winbond W83627THF LPC I/O controller
-Legacy peripheral interface for PS/2 keyboard & mouse, FDD, Parallel, Two Serial, Game and IrDA (v1.0 compliant), K Support Hardware Monitoring function such as fan speed monitoring and CPU temperature sensing.
-Support Smart FAN Control and Intelligent Fan speed control for chassis Fan
BIOS:
-4Mb Flash EEPROM with Award Plug & Play BIOS
-Support ACPI S3 (Suspend To RAM) mode in ACPI compliant O/S
-Support EZ Boot for fast bootable device selection
-Support Magic Health for system hardware status report during system boot-up
-Supports AMD Cool n Quiet
Special Features:
-Support KBPO (Keyboard Power ON) function
-Support Wake-On-LAN by PME
-Support USB resume in S3
-Onboard Post-Port LED display
-Support AGP-Master for protection against improper AGP card insertion
PowerBIOS for excellent over clocking features:
-Support Asynchronous FSB/DIMM timing mode and 1MHz fine tuning on AGP clock
-Support BIOS adjustable CPU clock and voltage, AGP voltage, DIMM frequency and voltage settings.
Powerful utilities for Windows:
-USDM (Unified System Diagnostic Manager) for system hardware monitoring
-Magic Flash for BIOS update without requiring DOS flash utility and bootable diskette
-Magic Screen for personal bootup screen design
Form Factor:
-305mm x 245mm x 40mm, ATX Size
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price: ~$110
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's not much to say about the 9NDA3+ other than it's one of the easiest boards to get a high stable overclock on. Featuring the nVidia nForce 3 Ultra chipset really unlocks it's potential as a great overclocker. The BIOS features numerous voltage and clock tweaking options that are straight forward and allow you to push your overclock to the max. The only complain I have with the BIOS is the vdimm adjustment, it only goes to 2.8v which clearly isn't enough if you're trying to run some BH-5 or other high-voltage memory on this board. Luckily there's a simple volt mod that can be done that allows you to reach into the upper 3v catagory. For the most part the PCB layout of this motherboard is ok and doesn't pose any major threats. An XP-120 can be fitted to this board but you must use dimm slots 3&4 if you're running dual channel memory as the XP-120 interferes with slot 1. The only other flaw in the PCB layout is the location of SATA ports 1&2 which are the locked ports controlled by the NF3 chipset. These ports are located directly behind and a tad below the rear of the AGP slot which makes them unusable without a 90* sata cable when using a video card with a large cooler such as the 6800 Ultra. Stock performance of this board isn't the greatest, but it's also not the worst. However I think this was a strategical move made by EPoX to make it as good of an overclocker as it is. As it falls short in some catagories in stock level performance, please buckle your seat belts after overclocking
This board overclocks so well and gives unseen performance gains when pushed to the limits, it's absolutely incredible. The onboard audio by Realtek obvously isn't the best but also isn't the worst, it offers an 8.1 channel digital output that sounds pretty good when it's cranked up. This board also features an onboard gigabit lan which comes standard on most high-end boards these days. Packaging and accessories are top notch when it comes from EPoX's high-end mobo catagory. One of the coolest features of this, and most other EPoX boards, is that it includes an 80 port onboard LED display that shows all POST codes during bootup which comes in very handy if for some reason your computer doesn't boot correctly. Just check ur LED, take down the number that's displayed, go to the back of your manual, find the number, read what the problem is, then fix it! Included with the 9NDA3+ is a nice full color guide and lengthy user manual covering everything that ought to be covered in a manual, along with an EPoX double sided screwdriver, and a bag of mosfet heatsinks that can be placed on the motherboard for additional cooling. All in all this board is a top level performer that lacks no features that would be found on a "high-end" motherboard costing much more.Conclusion: One of the best s939 / AGP boards you can buy if you're on a budget or looking to do some mad overclocking.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 for a few stupid pcb layout problems and lack of vdimm control.
I think it helps keep the cost down too, but I may be wrong... I have no clue what the price difference is between the different colors 
