Epox GXB-M GX Dual Slot-2

The Bad

For a dual Xeon motherboard, it is a bit unfortunate that Epox did not follow in Tyan's footsteps with outfitting the board with a more practical 6/1/1 expansion slot configuration.  It is even more unfortunate that the 6/1/1 configuration was not provided for after the decision not to include any form of on-board SCSI was made.  The latter may or may not be a con for you depending on the environment the GXB-M will be used in.

Very rarely will a dual or even a single Xeon server be used without some sort of SCSI disk setup, in the event that it doesn't require a SCSI disk setup the GXB-M is ideal since it doesn't give you anything you don't need.  In the event that it does in fact require a SCSI disk setup, then the GXB-M leaves you with one more purchase that you must make before your new system is up and running.

The availability of the GXB-M is also a downside in comparison to the "big boys" when it comes to high end workstation/server motherboards.  Chances are you're more likely to find a Supermicro, Tyan or even an ASUS motherboard of this class before you'll find a single Epox board, much less the GXB-M.  Depending on where you plan on purchasing the board from, that may or may not be a disadvantage.  It's very rare that a local hardware (the techie kind) store carries an Epox motherboard.

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 0

• Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

• USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: Mushkin SEC -GH PC100 SDRAM; Memory Man SEC -GH PC100 SDRAM
SDRAM Tested: 1 x 64MB Mushkin PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 64MB Memory-Man PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 256MB Corsair PC100 SDRAM DIMM (for compatibility testing only)

Manufacturer: The Memory Man
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.memory-man.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.mushkin.com

The Test

In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you shouldn't base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.

AnandTech Motherboard Testing Methodology