EPoX 5EDAI — a Motherboard on Intel 915P
Intel 915P chipset (i915P Northbridge and ICH6 Southbridge)
The motherboard market has come to a standstill on the threshold of models based on the new line of Intel 965 chipsets. Indeed, the entire computer world is waiting for the appearance of Intel Core 2 processors in desktops. These processors with the new microarchitecture are officially supported only by i965/975-based motherboards. (i975X is quite an expensive chipset without unique features; besides, not all first revisions of motherboards will work with Conroe.) So during this lull we'll publish reviews of old motherboards that we missed. We'll also expand our horizons, as we have been pointed at a growing number of reviews about products from a limited number of manufacturers.
EPoX 5EDAI returns us to the past. To the i915P chipset, which was launched nearly two years ago… Many lances were broken over the sudden upgrade to new Intel standards. DDR2 memory was expensive and slow, no one wanted PCI Express and that stupid socket… But now this budget motherboard from EPoX arouses no feelings of inferiority. Fortunately, such memory got cheaper (DDR2-533 is nearly cheaper than DDR400), all new video cards are designed for PCI Express only, and no one remembers how the old socket looked like. 5EDAI is a budget solution, but it does not mean that this solution is bad. This model offers flexibility in memory usage (two slots for DDR and two for DDR2 — of course, four slots of the required standard would have been better, but different users need different things) and peripheral slots: 3 x PCI (all of them will be available even after you install a monstrous video card), 2 x PCIEx1, one graphics slot (how many of your friends have a SLI/CrossFire computer?). Additional controllers are kept to minimum, but there are some nice features (like an integrated POST controller), passive chipset cooling, and as a result - a low price. This model also has drawbacks, of course — it does not support dual-core processors (all cores newer than Prescott) and DDR2-667 memory (and higher), but it's a questionable drawback. Scanty functionality has a good effect on the PCB layout: there are absolutely no problems with arranging a few connectors for peripheral devices and expansion cards. IDE and FDD connectors are located behind PCI slots to facilitate access in a small PC case, but memory slots stand in lone conspicuity, which certainly makes it easy to handle them. A main power connector in the center of the board is a peculiarity of most EPoX models, which has a positive effect on voltage regulators, though it poses some problems with laying a power cable. Besides, this connector is very close to the PCIEx16 slot on this motherboard, so it will fight for the surrounding space with a video card with a bulky heatsink. Access to jumpers is not hampered when the motherboard is installed into a PC case. But both of them are placed close to other elements: one of them is near a PCI slot, the other - to the display of the POST controller. So it's not very convenient to manipulate them. Brief description of their functionality is provided on the PCB (sometimes in unexpected places).
The 4-phase switching voltage regulator of the processor incorporates seven 1800 uF capacitors (Luxon) and four 560 uF ones (Sanyo). The motherboard is also equipped with a voltage regulator for memory, reinforced with L elements and several 1000 uF capacitors. The PCB has empty seats for a chassis intrusion sensor and a connector for a Game port on a bracket. It may be a peculiarity of our sample, as the PCB of this model is unique in the line of EPoX products. Other motherboards from this company, based on the same chipset family, usually offer better functionality (Gigabit Ethernet + RAID of SATA drives + IDE RAID) and designed for DDR memory (support for two memory types is a unique feature of the 5EDAI). Motherboard dimensions — 305x245 mm (full-sized ATX, nine-screw mount, all motherboard edges are firmly fixed).
System monitoring (Winbond W83627THF, according to BIOS Setup)
CPU core, memory, chipset, battery voltages, +3.3 and +12 V and +5 V Standby
RPM of 3 fans
CPU and board temperatures (by the corresponding embedded sensors) and an external thermal sensor, which is connected to a special header on the PCB — EPoX remains one of the few companies that still include this useful feature into its models; unfortunately, our bundle lacked the thermal sensor
Chassis Smart Fan Control — automatic control of rotational speed of a system fan depending on a temperature inside a PC case (this function is mostly for offices, you can specify a desired temperature within 35—55°C)
CPU Fan Auto Control — "classic" CPU fan speed control depending on CPU temperature (the budget model uses the simplest method: you specify desired temperature, the other parameters are configured automatically).
Onboard ports, sockets, and connectors
Processor socket (Socket 775, officially supports all modern Pentium 4 (5xx/6xx series) and Celeron D (3xx series) processors, permissible bus clock — 533/800 MHz)
2 x DDR SDRAM DIMM (up to 2 GB DDR200/266/333/400, dual-channel mode supported) and 2 x DDR2 SDRAM DIMM (up to 2 GB DDR2-400/533, dual-channel mode supported) — different memory types cannot work together!
PCIEx16 for a video accelerator
2 x PCIEx1
3 x PCI
Power connectors: standard ATX 2.2 (24 pins, you can use a usual 20-pin connector), 4-pin ATX12V connector for a processor
1 x FDD
Chipset-based IDE connector (Parallel ATA) for two ATA100 devices
4 x "chipset-based" SATA (Serial ATA) for four SATA150 devices
2 connectors for brackets with 4 additional USB ports
1 x CD/DVD audio connector
AUX-In connector
S/PDIF-In/Out
Connectors for analog audio ins and outs on the front panel
IrDA connector
3 fan headers, all of them support rpm control, one of them is a 4-pin header (for a processor fan) offering more accurate fan speed control (if this option is supported by a cooler).
Intel 915P chipset (i915P Northbridge and ICH6 Southbridge)
The motherboard market has come to a standstill on the threshold of models based on the new line of Intel 965 chipsets. Indeed, the entire computer world is waiting for the appearance of Intel Core 2 processors in desktops. These processors with the new microarchitecture are officially supported only by i965/975-based motherboards. (i975X is quite an expensive chipset without unique features; besides, not all first revisions of motherboards will work with Conroe.) So during this lull we'll publish reviews of old motherboards that we missed. We'll also expand our horizons, as we have been pointed at a growing number of reviews about products from a limited number of manufacturers.
EPoX 5EDAI returns us to the past. To the i915P chipset, which was launched nearly two years ago… Many lances were broken over the sudden upgrade to new Intel standards. DDR2 memory was expensive and slow, no one wanted PCI Express and that stupid socket… But now this budget motherboard from EPoX arouses no feelings of inferiority. Fortunately, such memory got cheaper (DDR2-533 is nearly cheaper than DDR400), all new video cards are designed for PCI Express only, and no one remembers how the old socket looked like. 5EDAI is a budget solution, but it does not mean that this solution is bad. This model offers flexibility in memory usage (two slots for DDR and two for DDR2 — of course, four slots of the required standard would have been better, but different users need different things) and peripheral slots: 3 x PCI (all of them will be available even after you install a monstrous video card), 2 x PCIEx1, one graphics slot (how many of your friends have a SLI/CrossFire computer?). Additional controllers are kept to minimum, but there are some nice features (like an integrated POST controller), passive chipset cooling, and as a result - a low price. This model also has drawbacks, of course — it does not support dual-core processors (all cores newer than Prescott) and DDR2-667 memory (and higher), but it's a questionable drawback. Scanty functionality has a good effect on the PCB layout: there are absolutely no problems with arranging a few connectors for peripheral devices and expansion cards. IDE and FDD connectors are located behind PCI slots to facilitate access in a small PC case, but memory slots stand in lone conspicuity, which certainly makes it easy to handle them. A main power connector in the center of the board is a peculiarity of most EPoX models, which has a positive effect on voltage regulators, though it poses some problems with laying a power cable. Besides, this connector is very close to the PCIEx16 slot on this motherboard, so it will fight for the surrounding space with a video card with a bulky heatsink. Access to jumpers is not hampered when the motherboard is installed into a PC case. But both of them are placed close to other elements: one of them is near a PCI slot, the other - to the display of the POST controller. So it's not very convenient to manipulate them. Brief description of their functionality is provided on the PCB (sometimes in unexpected places).
The 4-phase switching voltage regulator of the processor incorporates seven 1800 uF capacitors (Luxon) and four 560 uF ones (Sanyo). The motherboard is also equipped with a voltage regulator for memory, reinforced with L elements and several 1000 uF capacitors. The PCB has empty seats for a chassis intrusion sensor and a connector for a Game port on a bracket. It may be a peculiarity of our sample, as the PCB of this model is unique in the line of EPoX products. Other motherboards from this company, based on the same chipset family, usually offer better functionality (Gigabit Ethernet + RAID of SATA drives + IDE RAID) and designed for DDR memory (support for two memory types is a unique feature of the 5EDAI). Motherboard dimensions — 305x245 mm (full-sized ATX, nine-screw mount, all motherboard edges are firmly fixed).
System monitoring (Winbond W83627THF, according to BIOS Setup)
CPU core, memory, chipset, battery voltages, +3.3 and +12 V and +5 V Standby
RPM of 3 fans
CPU and board temperatures (by the corresponding embedded sensors) and an external thermal sensor, which is connected to a special header on the PCB — EPoX remains one of the few companies that still include this useful feature into its models; unfortunately, our bundle lacked the thermal sensor
Chassis Smart Fan Control — automatic control of rotational speed of a system fan depending on a temperature inside a PC case (this function is mostly for offices, you can specify a desired temperature within 35—55°C)
CPU Fan Auto Control — "classic" CPU fan speed control depending on CPU temperature (the budget model uses the simplest method: you specify desired temperature, the other parameters are configured automatically).
Onboard ports, sockets, and connectors
Processor socket (Socket 775, officially supports all modern Pentium 4 (5xx/6xx series) and Celeron D (3xx series) processors, permissible bus clock — 533/800 MHz)
2 x DDR SDRAM DIMM (up to 2 GB DDR200/266/333/400, dual-channel mode supported) and 2 x DDR2 SDRAM DIMM (up to 2 GB DDR2-400/533, dual-channel mode supported) — different memory types cannot work together!
PCIEx16 for a video accelerator
2 x PCIEx1
3 x PCI
Power connectors: standard ATX 2.2 (24 pins, you can use a usual 20-pin connector), 4-pin ATX12V connector for a processor
1 x FDD
Chipset-based IDE connector (Parallel ATA) for two ATA100 devices
4 x "chipset-based" SATA (Serial ATA) for four SATA150 devices
2 connectors for brackets with 4 additional USB ports
1 x CD/DVD audio connector
AUX-In connector
S/PDIF-In/Out
Connectors for analog audio ins and outs on the front panel
IrDA connector
3 fan headers, all of them support rpm control, one of them is a 4-pin header (for a processor fan) offering more accurate fan speed control (if this option is supported by a cooler).
