EPoX EP-9U1697-GLi: ULi M1697 Goes Mainstream

EPoX EP-9U1697 GLi: Features

EPoX designed a decently laid out board with all major connections easily reached except for the floppy drive connector. The EPoX layout provides excellent clearance for cards and components, and was easy to install in a mid-size ATX case. Although the board features a 3-phase voltage regulator power design, it provided excellent stability and allowed for an impressive level of overclocking for an entry-level board.

The DIMM module slots' color coordination is correct for dual channel setup. The memory modules are easy to install with a full size video card placed in the first PCI Express x16 slot. The ULi IDE port 1 connector is located along the edge of the board directly beneath the memory slots. The layout in this area could have been excellent if the 24-pn ATX connector or floppy drive connector would have been placed to the right of the first IDE port connector.

The ULi IDE port 2 connector is located below the ULi SATA ports. The ULi SATA ports are conveniently located below the M1697 chipset and to the left of the memory slots. The SATA ports feature the new clamp-and-latch design, but are not color-coded.

The chipset fan header is located below the ULi SATA ports. The ULi M1697 chipset is actively cooled with a fan and low rise heat sink that did not interfere with cards installed into a secondary PCI Express x16 slot. The fan was generally quiet during operation, although we believe that a well-designed passive heat sink could have been utilized on this board.

The CP80P post port debug LED along with the power on and reset buttons are located to the left of the IDE and SATA connectors and right of the floppy drive connector. The floppy driver connector is located in an unusual position, and if utilized the cabling could interfere with the SATA and IDE ports. The ULi USB connectors, chassis panel, and system fan header are located on the left edge of the board. The yellow CMOS jumper block is a traditional jumper design located to the left of the BIOS chip and below the battery.

The board comes with (2) physical PCI Express x16 connectors, (1) PCI Express x1 connector, and (3) 32-bit PCI 2.3 connectors. The layout of this design offers a very good balance of expansion slots for a mainstream board.

The first physical PCI Express x16 connector is located below the 24-pin ATX power connector. The configuration jumpers and the PCI Express x1 connector are located next. The additional slot space in this area easily accommodated our dual slot video cards and still allowed the PCI Express x1 connector to be utilized. The second physical PCI Express x16 connector is located next, followed by the three 32-bit PCI 2.3 slots.

We did not have any issues installing our EVGA 7800GTX 512MB or ATI X1900XTX video cards in the second x16 PCI Express slot. Of course, these dual slot cards will physically render the first 32-bit PCI slot useless. We did not have any issues utilizing the first PCI slot with video cards containing single-slot cooling systems.

Returning to the CPU socket area, we find ample room for alternative cooling solutions. We utilized the stock AMD heat sink, but also verified that several aftermarket cooling systems such as the Zalman CNPS9500 would fit in this area during our tests. However, the amount of room in this area for the installation of larger air or water-cooling solutions could be problematic due to the location of the 24-pin ATX connector.

Epox places the 24-pin ATX connector and four-pin 12v auxiliary power connector at the top of the CPU socket area. The power connectors are located in an unusual position and could hamper airflow with cabling that crosses directly over the CPU heat sink/fan; although, we did not have any issues in our case due to the stock heat sink and cabling of our power supply. Epox utilized high quality capacitors and a robust three phase power design that provided excellent stability in both stock and overclocked conditions.

The rear panel contains the standard PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, parallel port, serial port, LAN port, and 4 USB ports. Located to the right of the parallel and serial ports are the first two USB 2.0 ports. Located next to this series of ports are the next two USB 2.0 ports with the RJ-45 LAN port on top. The audio panel is located next and consists of 3 ports that can be configured for 2, 4, and 6-channel audio connections. At the far left, just under the LPT port, you can also find a coax S/PDIF digital audio out port.