Epox nForce2 8RDA/8RDA+ - from low $100's on up, still kickin'

[SpideyCU]

8RDA+ @ AIC Micro - ~$106 + free ground shipping. Non-plus version for $92 shipped. Reseller Ratings

8RDA+ @ NewEgg - $102 shipped, stock comes and goes swiftly because of NewEgg's reputation. Non-plus version for $93 shipped. Reseller Ratings. Don't blame me if by the time you read this, the price has changed AGAIN.

8RDA+ @ TCWO - $108 & $7.95 Fedex ground shipping. Reseller Ratings. Non-plus version for $99 & $7.95 Fedex ground shipping.

8RDA+ @ mwave - Has the non-plus version for $87.33 and ~$9 ground shipping, depending on location - 8RDA+ for $98.44 and similar shipping amount. Reseller Ratings

8RDA+ @ CensusPC - $99 plus ~$11'ish on shipping. Non-plus version for $89, same shipping costs. EPoX official reseller. Reseller Ratings

8RDA+ @ GameVE - $111 shipped. Non-plus version is here for $92 shipped.
Reseller Ratings.

Pick whichever one you need based on price, availability and rating. If the numbers aren't up-to-the-minute, sorry, I can only update so often. The links are all right there if you want to check. However, let me know if anything is linked incorrectly, or something of that nature.

EPoX's $5.99 rounded cable deal has expired, but rounded cables are now cheap at most places. Just check some store like SVC for good prices and reasonable shipping.

 

[wfay]

the 2nd $130 mobo seems to lack Firewire too, and neither have the integrated GF4MX. it does have 10/100 LAN. they both seem to include the 6-ch sound.

the Epox mobo with Firewire seems to be the EP-8RGA+. 8rga

here's link to Epox for 8RDA+. 8rda

It seems to me that you are paying $30 for the 10/100 port, which is not worth it to me at all considering i have hmm 5 extras here... or am i missing something major??

 

[SpideyCU]

The 8RGA+ isn't "the one with firewire", it's the one with integrated video (although a version of it will indeed have Firewire as an option). I'm almost positive the "better" 8RDA+ here has firewire, since it's listed as an option in the manual.

As for the sound, I'm certain that the $130 one has the fancy Soundstorm on it while the $99 one is the bare essentials package. Where's Insane3D when you need details on the Epox mobos? So hard to get the exact details when a listing happens to leave a spec or two out.

 

[chizow]

The extra bells and whistle board may be the way to go for those interested in a future GeForce FX with dual-slot cooler. Just a heads up

Chiz

 

[chibchakan]

Originally posted by: SpideyCU
Where's Insane3D when you need details on the Epox mobos? So hard to get the exact details when a listing happens to leave a spec or two out.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[SpideyCU]

Originally posted by: chizow
The extra bells and whistle board may be the way to go for those interested in a future GeForce FX with dual-slot cooler. Just a heads up

I very much like having my PCI slots empty. If I get the better board, the only thing I'll end up needing is my TV tuner card. No NIC, no sound card, no firewire card...nice and open!

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: SpideyCU

Originally posted by: chizow
The extra bells and whistle board may be the way to go for those interested in a future GeForce FX with dual-slot cooler. Just a heads up

I very much like having my PCI slots empty. If I get the better board, the only thing I'll end up needing is my TV tuner card. No NIC, no sound card, no firewire card...nice and open!

And easier to mod and upgrade

Chiz

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: SpideyCU

Originally posted by: chizow
The extra bells and whistle board may be the way to go for those interested in a future GeForce FX with dual-slot cooler. Just a heads up

I very much like having my PCI slots empty. If I get the better board, the only thing I'll end up needing is my TV tuner card. No NIC, no sound card, no firewire card...nice and open!

And easier to mod and upgrade

Chiz

Yup, that's what I want (and need.) Time to put some of these PCI cards aside.

 

[SpideyCU]

Just a note, Lynn Computer Products has the 8RDA+ (the + version is the one with the extra features) for $115 plus $15 shipping, making it the same price as GameVE, but Lynn has a Reseller Rating of 7.84 (somewhat better).

 

[BalAtWork]

Question,

Little clear info on this board. It says the realtek chip for sound. Is this the implementation of the Soundfury OR is it a seperate sound chip?

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: BalAtWork
Question,

Little clear info on this board. It says the realtek chip for sound. Is this the implementation of the Soundfury OR is it a seperate sound chip?

From what I've read, it's a separate sound chip. Given the fact that the nForce2 has built-in sound, I can't figure out why they are adding the stand-alone Realtek chipset. Maybe, somebody can give us a bit more background on this.

 

[c627627]

Well get a load of this:
I asked Epox about EP-8RDA not being on their web site and Epox said:
Where are you located? EP-8RDA is not sold in the North American region. Only EP-8RDA+ is sold.

whaa?

Plus, there was no reply to my other question to them, so I sent it again:
More importantly, I would be grateful if you can also let me know about whether Epox nForce 2 will support 400FSB Athlon XP Bartons anounced yesterday, or is going to be limited to Atlon XP Thoroughbred 333FSB processors as my purchase depends on it. I'm assuming you heard that Bartons will have 400FSB instead of 333FSB and as it was assumed that Bartons will have 333FSB earlier, the web site still says that nForce2 support is limited to 333FSB which now means there's no Barton support. As the news of 400FSB Barton spreads, a lot of people will wonder about that.

 

[SpideyCU]

Well, first off, the FSB can manually be set up to 200 MHz (400 DDR). However, a simple BIOS update will permit it to auto-set correctly for the Bartons.

Some good info can be found here. I originally discovered this thread through rickn posting a link on the General Hardware forums.

Now, as for the + and non+ versions, I think this is just more confusion on the seller's part. The 8RDA is indeed not listed on their US site, just the 8RDA+. Just yesterday, the non+ version was pulled from Pricewatch listings. Coincidence? Perhaps the merchants were informed that they won't be receiving like the non+ version, contrary to what they thought? Who knows?

 

[c627627]

Well $wise the difference is huge: 30%. I mean if you got a sound card & a lan card, it's perfect.
Is Epox not allowing sites to sell the non+ version? $130 is too much, but I can spring up $99 for an upgrade mobo.

However, a simple BIOS update will permit it to auto-set correctly for the Bartons.

So, even though Epox web site says 333FSB is max, with appropriate BIOS upgrade, when 400FSB Bartons come out, they'll be able to go in this mobo, right?

FSB can manually be set up to 200 MHz (400 DDR)

Does this mean you won't be able to use 400FSB Bartons with PC2100 DDR RAM?


EDIT: After finding out more info, I changed my mind, the + version is totally worth it.

 

[SpideyCU]

Originally posted by: c627627
Does this mean you won't be able to use 400FSB Bartons with PC2100 DDR RAM?

You can set the bus speeds asyncronously, so I don't think it should be a problem.

 

[jamautosound]

Keeping an eye on this thread. Hopefully some other deals will pop up once it starts shipping.

 

[SpideyCU]

Well now this is interesting. Lynn Computers, which I linked above, also has the non+ version ($105 + $15 shipping), but again, it's not showing up on Pricewatch. However, United Micro claims to have the 8RDA2+ ($128 + $13 shipping), but who knows WHAT these companies mean at this point. The 8RDA2+ (with extra features like on-board RAID) isn't supposed to come out until later. Do they mean the 8RDA+?

Anyhow, I've called a few dealers who have ths 8RDA+ available for pre-order, they claim it'll be in, the latest, by early next week. Guess we'll have to wait and see. I'll try and keep up with the best dealers and prices in this thread once this period of apparent uncertainty passes.

 

[c627627]

Thank you SpideyCU at least we now know that cheapo 8RDA will be selling in the US.

There are four different nForce 2 chipset combinations, as nVIDIA offers two north bridge and two south bridge chips.

North bridge 1: IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor), GeForce4 MX 440.
North bridge 2: SPP (System Platform Processor), no graphics.

South bridge 1 is MCP-T: APU (Audio Processing Unit) sound, Firewire, two network controllers.
South bridge 2 is MCP: one network controller

So 8RDA is SPP-MCP version then.

Gameve page says no LAN for it though. Aren't "network conroller" and LAN the same thing + I'm trying to piece out what 8RDA is missing:
1. NO integrated video
2. NO IEEE 1394
3. NO Lan (?)
4. Has sound but lower quality
Can anyone add to this.

P.S. Got a reply from EPOX re my above posted question about the upcoming 400FSB AMD Athlon XP (Barton) compatibility:

"...I do not have any information about the non-plus versoin as its not posted on any other Epox sites. The board will support 200/266/333 FSB processors. I will not comment on any processors or frequencies not published on the AMD website.
Thank you for your interest in EPoX products... bla"

 

[T2T III]

"...I do not have any information about the non-plus versoin as its not posted on any other Epox sites. The board will support 200/266/333 FSB processors. I will not comment on any processors or frequencies not published on the AMD website.
Thank you for your interest in EPoX products... bla"

The belief is that the nForce2 boards will support the Barton with a bios update. However, the VIA KT400-based boards will not. So, we'll have to wait until January for the KT400a boards to allow this function.

 

[SpideyCU]

c627627, to add confusion to what Epox is supposedly doing with these boards, the 8RDA claims to have no network connections (as you mentioned), while the 8RDA+ has ONE network port. Go figure! I can't wait until people actually get their hands on these boards to clear it all up.

Edit: modified the first post to reflect the result of phone calls.

 

[webfoot]

Epox 8RDA+
What no RAID?

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: webfoot
Epox 8RDA+
What no RAID?

Read through this thread thoroughly. The 8RDA2+ should be out in the near-future which should allow for RAID functionality.

 

[lazarus000]

also i found this little blurb around town, not sure its worth much but it could explain the confusion about whether the
mobo is going to be sold here or not.

=======================
Epox EP-8RDA+
Wednesday, November 20, 2002

The Epox EP-8RDA motherboard will not be produced. EP-8RDA+ will be the released product model number
=======================

also the picture looks like it has the 4 mounting hole by the socket even though AMD took them out of their spec sheet. But
the picture is so small. Can anyone verify whether they will have them?


i thought this new round of mobo's where suppose to start using hypertransport.... or have i just lost my brain pan.

 

[lazarus000]

they also are going to have the Asus version of basically the same motherboard.

ASUS ASU-A7N8X/DX/1394/SA nForce 2 Mainboard

it's $10 bucks more, but you get serial hard drive and a few upgrades in the extra connections(lan etc) $140.

less than i expected...

(i wonder how long before we get hypertransport ...sigh... )

 

[SpideyCU]

I'm still waiting on the Epox for a few reasons. I won't need dual-LAN capabilities - just the one port. Serial ATA connections would be nice, given the smaller cable, but that means purchasing a serial-to-parallel adapter to use with my current drives.

8RDA+ should be coming in stock this week. Unless all these different merchants LIED to me. They shall pay...oh, I'm sorry, did I get villianous just there?