The EPoX 8K3A+ is not exactly what you would call a fully-featured motherboard. Though it does include a HighPoint HPT372 ATA-133 IDE RAID controller, there is no USB 2.0 or LAN support and the onboard sound is basic software AC'97. This is a pure performance motherboard, so the lack of hardware audio is forgivable, but USB 2.0 and onboard LAN are fast becoming required features and this does lose the 8K3A+ a few marks. \
Similar to its feature list, EPoX has included a rather standard component selection with the EPoX 8K3A+. This includes the motherboard, floppy cable, two ATA-66/100/133 EIDE cables, a driver/utility CD, an IDE RAID driver floppy, a hardcopy user manual and a smaller quick install guide. There are also a few extras thrown in such as a USB 1.1 bracket, a Drive Image backup CD and an EPoX case sticker. The retail box contains everything you need to get up and running, but due to the lack of integrated features, the selection is still a bit sparse.
After the EPoX 8K3A+ took a few body shots in the above sections, we're now at a point where the board starts to really shine. This was the easiest motherboard to work with, especially the horizontal CPU socket with its exceptional amount of working space. The DIMM sockets are shifted far to the right and well out of the way of any CPU or HSF installation. Of course, this translates into only the floppy connector positioned at its usual place adjacent to the DIMM sockets, and the other IDE connectors are a bit farther down. The standard IDE connectors are set vertically on the outer edge, just below the AGP slot. Those for the IDE RAID controller are a bit farther down, and are mounted horizontally on the bottom right corner. Board dimensions are dead on with ATX standards and a fully installed EPoX 8K3A+ does not have any board overhang.
The location of the ATX power connector could certainly be improved on, as it sits below and to the left of the CPU socket. EPoX also doesn't seemed to have learned their lesson with the GeForce4 Ti 4600 difficulties it had with their KT266A board, and there are a couple of ominous capacitors sitting right below the card. This did not interfere with our installation of the GeForce4 Ti 4600 reference card in the least, but to assure full support for future upgrades, we would like to see the area totally clean of any raised obstructions.
With few onboard features, the EPoX 8K3A+ is a joy to install and is an extremely easy board to get up and running. This refers to the initial setup, but further tweaking may take awhile due to the extensive BIOS options present with the 8K3A+.
Without a doubt, the EPoX 8K3A+ has the most powerful, fully featured System BIOS of any KT333 motherboard in our roundup. This section actually highlights the best points of the EPoX 8K3A+, as it not only includes almost every tweaking and overclocking option imaginable, but allows incredibly high settings as well. Supported overclocking BIOS features include CPU FSB, CPU Multiplier and DRAM Clock, while its 255 MHz FSB limit ties for the lead with the Soyo, and the 2.2V CPU core voltage and 3.2V DDR voltages levels are well ahead of its competition. If outer limits overclocking is in the cards, then the EPoX 8K3A+ is the board for you. Although there are not a great deal of integrated options on the EPoX 8K3A+, features such as IDE RAID and USB can be disabled via the System BIOS.
The EPoX 8K3A+ is on one hand the most powerful, overclock-friendly motherboard in this roundup, while on the other, we must recognize that not everyone will be enamored with the absence of USB 2.0 and an overall lack of integrated hardware options. This board is really the yin to the Soyo KT333 Dragon Ultra yang, and if someone were to combine the two, the result would certainly be absolutely incredible. We still lean more towards outright performance and overclocking in this roundup, and its exceptional performance in this area makes the EPoX 8K3A+ a lock in the Top 3 and a great option for high-end systems.
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