EPoX 4PDA5+ Review - Packaging and Layout
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The 4PDA5+ came in this box, which prominently displays all of the board's features. The box was very densely packed -- possibly because I got the PowerPack edition of the board -- but going through it revealed a number of extras, such as rounded cables and two backplates. One was to provide 2 more USB ports, and another was to give another serial port and a gameport.
I also thought it was kind of neat to provide a screwdriver and some mini heatsinks. The heatsinks are supposed to help in overclocking because the only cooling usually provided goes on the northbridge. These heatsinks go on the chips next to the processor, nearby the capacitors normally found there. EPoX also supplied enough that I could put on two on some of the chips next to the AGP slot. I have no idea how effective they are since I don't know how how these chips normally get. The screwdriver has a magnetic core that holds a Philips and a flat-point screwdriver head.
Looking at the motherboard, the backplane includes the audio connectors, 4 USB 2.0 slots, the legacy PS/2 ports, ethernet, a serial port, a parallel port, and SPDIF connectors. Despite the prevalence of USB keyboards and mice, I think the PS/2 ports are going to be with us for a while.
As you can see below, the memory is located close to the AGP slot. With my Radeon 9600 installed, I can't get the memory out of the purple slot next to the printed 'EP-4PDA5+' because the white clip used to keep the memory in place cannot be pushed down. I like the fact that the IDE connectors are far away from here, as the Soltek 86SPE-L I was using before made it impossible to reach the cables without removing the optical drives and the memory.
Having said that about the IDE connectors, the SATA chip and connectors are located in a corner of the board, right next to a diagnostic LCD, followed by the Winbond legacy IO controller.
Finally, in regards to the CD Audio input pins, the digital audio cable given to me to use with my DVD drive has a small clip on the top of the connector. The pins however, are sitting within a few millimeters of a capacitor, and right next to the
Aux In pins. I had to hunt around for another digital audio cable, and eventually stole one from my Athlon 700.
Next: The BIOS >>
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