Packaging and Software
EPoX has produced an attractive package with the EP-5NVA+ SLI with a few nice extras.
There are two white rounded ATA133 cables, two white SATA cables with SATA power adapters, and finally a ribbon floppy cable (not like you will be needing it).
Two I/O brackets are included for USB 2.0 and Firewire.
There is an SLI bridge for your NVIDIA cards.
In the box is something I have never seen bundled with a motherboard before – a SATA to PATA adapter! By plugging in this device onto your motherboard, you can connect SATA devices to your old PATA channel. The adapter requires a little power to run, so a power cable is included.
The 5NVA+ SLI comes with a SATA to PATA adapter.
A screwdriver, MOSFET heatsinks, and a temperature probe round out the accessories. The temperature probe can be attached to anything you would like to monitor and the readings are displayed in the ThunderProbe software.
Use the probe to read the temperature of your components
(like a HDD or RAM).
The MOSFET heatsinks are a nice touch.
Software
The software included CD bundled with the 5NVA+ SLI contains all the drivers, EPoX utilities, and extra software needed to take advantage of the motherboard.
The EPoX bundles MagicBIOS, a Windows based BIOS updater which can download from the Internet and flash your BIOS; MagicScreen software that allows you to customize your POST image; and USDM which is a system health monitoring tool.
Thunderprobe is handy system health software bundled on
most current EPoX motherboards.
ThunderProbe is another utility from EPoX that monitors your fan RPM, voltages, and temperatures. It will even control your CPU fan and allow you to adjust your PWM or low-medium-high temperature settings.
Oddly, the ThunderProbe utility is not included on the CD even though the box comes with a big sticker advertising its presence. Luckily, this software is downloadable through the EPoX website.
Other bundled software includes WASAY ImageIt and ProMagic Plus (which I strongly recommend avoiding), and Norton’s Internet Security bundle.