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

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: Kwazulu

board must really rock to have this big of a demand

Hmm. If you are a senior member and realize that there has been this whole thread just for one motherboard, and you realize that there is higher than expected demand for this board because of whatever reason, you should have jumped in and purchased the board when someone posts its availability.

I for one expect and demand a lot from a customer point of view. I make myself knowledgeable about vendor reputations and service, and understand that within the daily business of things, Stuff happens.

My purchase of the MOBO from tcwo.com went flawlessly. They have gained my trust as a first time buyer from them, and I will deal with them again.

Hey, Junior, stop making associations between a member and their status here! Thank you! Yes, it's a great motherboard and who really cares if a user makes a nice observation about what this individual has read and how this thread has grown. People need to stop associating people with their rankings here.

I feel my contributions are very good towards to the progression of this group. However, every now and then, people find fault with what I post, or a comment I make. The first thing they point out is the "Elite" next to my name.

 

[davesaudio]

GagHalfrunt speaks:

One company is supposedly making all the boards, but nobody can
but nobody can confirm if Epox is making them for FIC or, more likely, FIC is making them for Epox.

if EPOX is part of the PCChips empire I would think they (EPOX/PCChips ) would be making the boards -suspect there is a bit of capacity there

I could be wrong, apparently my wife suggests I often am...

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: davesaudio
GagHalfrunt speaks:

One company is supposedly making all the boards, but nobody can
but nobody can confirm if Epox is making them for FIC or, more likely, FIC is making them for Epox.

if EPOX is part of the PCChips empire I would think they (EPOX/PCChips ) would be making the boards -suspect there is a bit of capacity there

I could be wrong, apparently my wife suggests I often am...

The Epox boards are DEFINITELY not made by PC Chips and Epox is DEFINITELY not part of the PC Chips "Empire". Whether or not some of the boards are made by FIC, I don't know. All I can say is that I have used the boards with both the sticker and without the sticker (supposedly what denotes FIC or not) and I have had hardly ANY failures. In fact, the ONLY two failures I had were with motherboards that DID NOT have a "8RDA+" sticker on them, sooooo.........

BTW: Anyone know where this "FIC makes Epox" rumor started?

 

[HoMeZ]

Hey jonny so there was really no difference AT ALL between the FIC and Epox boards you used?

 

[Poochy]

What does the LED do that is on the epox and not on the FIC?

It gives you various readout, "POST codes", during the boot sequence (e.g. if you're missing a keyboard, you'll see a specific code).

 

[Atif]

There's no big scandal here ladies and gentlemen. FIC and EPoX's design teams collaborated on their nForce2 and KT400 performance boards. In doing so, they both saved a nice chunk of change and were able to push their boards out the door faster than the competition.

FIC AN19E (KT400) = EPoX 8K9A2+ (KT400) Minus the Magic Light
FIC AU11 Chameleon (nForce2) = EPoX 8RDA+ (nForce2)

Peace

 

[SpideyCU]

I'm not privy to the inner dealings of business, and as such, I'm a bit confused by that. Why would one company design/build a board with another? Not that I'm questioning what you're saying, Atif, I know of the little "partnership" FIC and EPoX have had on this (though I'm not aware, at all, of who actually did what) - I'm just saying that it'd seem odd for EPoX to have put out a board so similar when one is going to be priced a few $$ less than the other. You've got inherent competition right there when you don't even have to compare the two because you know that they *should* be identical, in all aspects but the price.

Of course, my ponderings are rather pointless, since one can see the obvious demand and popularity for the EPoX. There aren't any FIC threads around here. I'm an engineer, not a business major. And I'm getting off-topic!

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: HoMeZ
Hey jonny so there was really no difference AT ALL between the FIC and Epox boards you used?

I'm not going to say EITHER board is an FIC until I confirm the rumor with a reliable source, but.....

There was no difference. They both have the post code LED too.

Here's another kicker: My oldest board, a sample from Epox before the boards were available, with a serial number of only "182" has the "8RDA+" silk screened on it. No sticker. Hmmmm......

 

[HoMeZ]

Thanks jonny I'm going to save me some $9 and buy the FIC. How much did you get your FU11 board for and where did you buy it from? What IDE cable lenght are you guys using? Did anyone get on the free IDE cable from epox? Is it worth it?

 

[HoMeZ]

If you look at the specs for the FIC board it says AUDIO Realtek ALC650 5.1 Channel Codec , but if you look at the specs for the Epox board it says Sound Realtek ALC650E 6-channel full-duplex integrated sound. Does that mean they have different integrated sound cards if yes which one is better?
The onboard LAN is also different FIC has Onboard LAN Realtek RTL 8201L while Epox has Network 1 x Realtek RTL8201 PHY. Is there a difference between these? If yes which LAN is better?
I got this info from FIC and Epox's website. FIC AU11 Epox

 

[clarkmo]

Originally posted by: HoMeZ
If you look at the specs for the FIC board it says AUDIO Realtek ALC650 5.1 Channel Codec , but if you look at the specs for the Epox board it says Sound Realtek ALC650E 6-channel full-duplex integrated sound. Does that mean they have different integrated sound cards if yes which one is better?
The onboard LAN is also different FIC has Onboard LAN Realtek RTL 8201L while Epox has Network 1 x Realtek RTL8201 PHY. Is there a difference between these? If yes which LAN is better?
I got this info from FIC and Epox's website. FIC AU11 Epox

Tis nomenclature only. Same stuff but I'd hate to think I was using a FIC board instead of an Epox. I'm sure this is only a rumor, else, where's the facts, thank you.

 

[clarkmo]

Originally posted by: TCWGM
GagHalfrunt-

Thank you for the E-commerce Business 101 lesson. You are the customer, and certainly are entitled to your opinion on how a business should be run.

There is no spin-doctoring here - Either we meet the customers expectations or we do not.

For those customers that we are able to meet their expectations, we appreciate your business.

You met mine, BUT, I know most e commerce sites charge your card before actual shipping. I also believe it is illegal to do so.
You wouldn't have to credit anything if you didn't charge anything. Of course, it may not be a charge, just a pre-authorization but that wasn't stated so I'll assume it's a charge. Any ideas on the subject? By the way. you guys treated me great in our dealings so don't get the wrong idea. This question is more about ecommerce, I suppose.

 

[HoMeZ]

Originally posted by: clarkmo

Originally posted by: HoMeZ
If you look at the specs for the FIC board it says AUDIO Realtek ALC650 5.1 Channel Codec , but if you look at the specs for the Epox board it says Sound Realtek ALC650E 6-channel full-duplex integrated sound. Does that mean they have different integrated sound cards if yes which one is better?
The onboard LAN is also different FIC has Onboard LAN Realtek RTL 8201L while Epox has Network 1 x Realtek RTL8201 PHY. Is there a difference between these? If yes which LAN is better?
I got this info from FIC and Epox's website. FIC AU11 Epox

Tis nomenclature only. Same stuff but I'd hate to think I was using a FIC board instead of an Epox. I'm sure this is only a rumor, else, where's the facts, thank you.

So 5.1 Channel Code = 6-channel full-duplex?

 

[SpideyCU]

You're getting hung up on details. They're both using nVidia's sound system for their "sound card", and both are using the Realtek to filter it into an analog signal. Just because two different companies decide to describe it slightly differently doesn't mean the base hardware is different - this is just semantics.

I'm unsure why you'd ask if there's a difference between the networking capabilities - you listed it yourself, both use the Realtek RTL8201. Exact same company (Realtek), exact same spec number (RTL 8201) on the part. And since both use the same nForce2 chipset, it's got the same brains behind it. Where's the confusion?

 

[HoMeZ]

One has L and the other has PH. heh I'm really new at this so I don't want to mess anything up so sorry if I sound really dumb, but THANKS SOOOO MUCH for helping me out.

 

[Cybordolphin]

Geeez... that's nice. I ordered a board from GameVe a while back, and they were out of stock. I called and the guy on the phone says the order was cancelled (I did not want to wait). I just got charged today from GameVe on my CC for the motherboard. I already purchased one elsewhere.

Hmmmm...... wonder what's up? Perhaps some "creative" financing going on? I wonder how long it will take them to reverse the charge? :|

 

[HoMeZ]

Is the round cable Epox is giving for free some special cable? Round cables at www.svc.com are like $6 or $5.

 

[Pothead]

Originally posted by: HoMeZ
Is the round cable Epox is giving for free some special cable? Round cables at www.svc.com are like $6 or $5.

Yeah but you're still going to pay shipping at SVC.

 

[HoMeZ]

Since the cable epox is giving out is 18", I take it a 18" cable will be enough to connect a dvd rom and a cdrw in this case.

 

[Cybordolphin]

Just got a call from GameVe (fast response!)..... looks like they shipped a board to me anyway. Even though I cancelled. Hmmm.... maybe they knew that I would keep the sucker! Oh well..... Kinda wanna try out an ASUS.... but spose I will find a home for this one.

 

[zoiks]

TCWO just shipped my board. WOOHOO!

 

[HoMeZ]

No more free shipping from TCWO.

 

[turbodiesel]

Excellent experience with mwave... my board was shipped the SAME day I ordered it, should be here tomorrow. I give them two thumbs up for great communication, they told me when they were processing my order and also emailed me once it was shipped. Highly recommend mwave.

 

[Atif]

I'm not privy to the inner dealings of business, and as such, I'm a bit confused by that. Why would one company design/build a board with another? Not that I'm questioning what you're saying, Atif, I know of the little "partnership" FIC and EPoX have had on this (though I'm not aware, at all, of who actually did what) - I'm just saying that it'd seem odd for EPoX to have put out a board so similar when one is going to be priced a few $$ less than the other. You've got inherent competition right there when you don't even have to compare the two because you know that they *should* be identical, in all aspects but the price.

No offense taken sir. I see where you're coming from, and I agree for the most part. I don't work for either company, therefore I can only hypothesize that the cost savings in R&D on these boards do much good for both companies. Also, the BIOSes for the boards are tweaked slightly differently between the two. Perhaps with the time saved in co-designing the boards allows them to leapfrog the competition in getting these boards to retail shelves. As such, they are left only competing with one another.

Related to the BIOSes being different, the intended market is also different. EPoX tends to cater to the hardcore enthusiast, where FIC picks up most of the mainstream sales.

I can't tell you much more, however, I will be speaking with EPoX tomorrow, so I'll be sure to find out more.

Peace

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: AthlonMafia
Excellent experience with mwave... my board was shipped the SAME day I ordered it, should be here tomorrow. I give them two thumbs up for great communication, they told me when they were processing my order and also emailed me once it was shipped. Highly recommend mwave.

Ditto, high marks to Mwave, much better communication than TCWO.

Back to TCWO who so neatly sidestepped the question since the answer would no doubt be embarrassing to them. I'll ask it again, just so we all understand.

TCWO, you claim that there is no benefit to you by your current shady and underhanded billing practices when anyone who understands simple enconomics knows otherwise. Do you deny that it is financially better for you to lead customers to place an order for an item that you know is out of stock rather than purchasing elsewhere? Do you deny that you do get free use of the money for however many days it takes you to notify the customer and for them to cancel? Isn't it true that a customer whose billing cycle splits between the billing and the subsequent credit does wind up either eating the financing charges or giving out an interest free loan?

Since we all already know the answers to those questions, let me ask again why you prebill for items you know are out of stock? C'mon, no ducking the question, just answer honestly. If such prebilling is potentially damaging to the customer and of no benefit to you, why do you do it and why do you intend to keep doing it? Let's get away from finance, cash flow and business theory and get right down to integrity. Do you in fact have enough integrity to end this blatantly dishonest practice or is the money you make by perpetuating it more important to you than your customers are?