Epox + 8KDA3J = odyssey!

[imported_OnYX]

Hi there...

I'm not going to attack Epox here but I feel the urge to post my experience with the 8KDA3J mainboard. This should also be a warning for all who are planning to buy either an 8KDA3J or a 8KDA3+.

First of all I bought the 8KDA3J after reading a lot of good reviews on various online websites, among them anandtech.com. I was a bit surprised that none of them actually cared to test one particular feature this mainboard is said to support: Cool and Quiet. Apparently, this mainboard is only interesting for people who want to overclock their system for highest fps or whatever. I'm one of the few who bought this mainboard to benefit from its integrated hardware firewall and to save power during the nighttime.

FYI I was banned on the official Epox forum for posting facts that would keep customers from buying their hardware. link

1) Epox do not mention the strict requirements for a working C'n'Q. As a matter of fact C'n'Q will NOT work with more than 1 DIMM plugged in unless you use special DS/SS combinations, not even with a CPU of the latest stepping. To me it seems that Epox are not going to fix those issues.

2) The 8KDA3x boards are highly selective on Ram brands. Be sure to use DIMMs recommended by Epox only, else your monitor screen may stay black.

3) Quite a few users of the 8KDA3x are complaining about vcore deviations beyond AMD's specifications. BSODs are the result. In my case I was neither able to boot nor to reinstall an OS after a bios update.

4) Epox support seems to be pretty busy with replacing defective 8KDA3x boards since I havent got my board back for 3 weeks now and they told me it will take another 3 weeks at least.

I have ordered an equivalent board from MSI to replace the Epox board.

Thanks for reading.

 

[cowdog]

I've had no problems with an 8KDA3j, but I realize that there are some ongoing issues that are affecting many owners. I hope a subsequent bios release fixes some of these problems. This is my second Epox board, and I would consider buying another Epox board in the future. Sadly motherboard problems are common, but at least Epox is one of the few manufacturers who "typically" stays up with bios releases and has a good web pressence. They have been slow to deal with the 8KDA3+/J, however.

As for aoaforums, there can be good information there, especially for Epox boards, but the primary moderator is hyper sensitive and, sometimes, just plain bizarre. That's the way its been over there for years, and I simply choose to stay away. It is too bad that Epox affiliates themselves with that forum, because all they (Epox) end up doing is excluding Epox owners from a potentially good "official" resource due to the Draconian moderator. But that's just the way it is until that guy goes through therapy or something ... Hehe.

As an alternative, EpoxTech sometimes posts here at AT, while AT's membership is very helpful and knowledgable. There is an Epox forum at amdmb.com that I think has official Epox representation as well. nforcershq.com forums have been helpful for me in the past. At all 3 you can actually post and discuss real problems with Epox products without getting the axe. Amazing, eh?

 

[imported_OnYX]

Thank you for the info regarding the other Epox related forums. It took me really long to find aoaforums.com. In my opinion it's very important to have a place to discuss such problems these days. That's why I chose an MSI board to replace the Epox. Hopefully I'll have more luck this time....

 

[Steffenm]

I've had my 8KDA3J board for 3 weeks soon. I've been upgrading for about $800.


I had:
MSI KT3Ultra2
2x256MB Apacer PC2700
AMD Athlon XP 2100+

I Bought:
EPoX 8KDA3J
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
1x512MB Apacer..same as above.


...I thought I could save much money by keeping my current memory, the Apacer 2x256. But this proved to be wrong. The RAM was only stable while using the DIMM-suggestions showed in the manual. Which means:

1x512
1x256
or
1x512 and 1x256.. which meant I had wasted money, and could neither way put all my chips to use. This freaked me out and I thought I'd lost a lot of money. So I returned the 512MB-chip, and ran on 256MB RAM for a week or so. Then I ordered some real high-end PQI chips.
PQI Turbo Memory Platinum PC3200/1024DPU 2x512 with copper heatsink. These were very expensive but they work stable. I'm happy now

Conclusion:
It is true that the 8KDA3J board is very picky on RAM. But since PQI is not mentioned in the list of recommended RAM brands, it is not necessary to follow this list. Only make sure you spend a hell of a lot of money on your RAM... Then it should work.

These are the chips I bought: http://www.pqimemory.com/spec....dc/PQI3200-1024DPU.htm
They cost 2595 NOK, which is about $380. Shipping and handling excluded.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have had no problems with my 8KDA3J - perhaps I'm just lucky. I am running an A64 3000+ at 2200, and 2x512 MB Corsair Value RAM PC3200. No issues whatsoever.

 

[imported_OnYX]

hah, you won't believe it. The story seems to be over, finally. Two weeks ago I got a new 8KDA3J from Epox NL. Actually, my parents got it because in the meantime I moved from Europe to the US. Needless to say the shop in Germany where I bought this mainboard refused to take it back after such an "extended" period of waiting, but they offered to refund the current price of the 8KDA3J providing I have all the accessoirs that came with the board (which I still have). BTW the MSI board I was forced to buy as a replacement for the RMA'd Epox has been working flawlessly in the rig I left behind in Europe (=happy parents ). Not going to spend a single cent on Epox stuff anymore....