BIOS
EPoX uses the tried-and-trused Phoenix AWARD BIOS setup utility. It's extremely similar to the one found on full-size ATX boards. The 4PFE+ board may be small in stature but it certainly isn't short on features and an intuitive, easy-to-use BIOS. One note here. We manually upgraded to the 17/10/2003 BIOS before testing.
The POWER BIOS is usually where the action is at. EPoX, somewhat strangely given its tendency to offer voltages that would fry a CPU, don't offer any kind of voltage adjustment. That goes for CPU, DDR and chipset. There's a school of thought that shuns voltage adjustment for SFF systems. We'd probably agree. No matter how good the cooler and cable routing, the small internal dimensions and measly PSU don't combine to provide the best conditions in which to experiment with overvolting. That said, the CPU's FSB can be set to an improbable 350MHz FSB, helped by the i865G's ability to lock PCI and AGP clocks. System RAM, assuming one is using a 200MHz FSB CPU, can be set to synchronous (1:1), DDR320 (5:4) and DDR266 levels (3:2). Further, the AGP speed can be set to anywhere between 50 and 80MHz, with PCI speed being one-half of the AGP's speed.
More full-size board options. The lack of voltage adjustment may cause users to increase RAM latencies. We used our trusty 2 x 256MB Corsair XMS3500C2 modules that run at 2-2-2-6 latencies at 2.55v. Incidentally, EPoX reckons that the motherboard has a PAT-like BIOS, implemented by selecting the Aggressive Memory Mode's MAX option.
Plenty of BIOS options to control the board's features. Wireless support would be nice. The beauty of such a small package is in its portability.
59c whilst idling in BIOS. That's why there's no voltage manipulation present. SFF designers have to pay closer attention to the CPU's cooling capacity. It's job is a hard one; trying to cool a 3.2GHz Northwood is no easy task with such limited airflow. We'd also like some control of the fans' RPM, much like Shuttle's BIOSes. A BIOS that matches the system's needs.
