*** Official EPoX 8RDA/+ (nForce2) Thread ***

[screw3d]

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
Is there a revison to the 8rda+ that will have the nforce2 Ultra 400 chipset revision?
Or is it just going to be done on the 8rda3+?

I think all the newer 8RDA+'s are v1.1, but that's not an indicator if the northbridge uses the Crush18D (Ultra 400) chipset. However, most of the retailer (I got mine from Newegg) are selling boards with the newer revision of the chipset.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: marvie

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
Is there a revison to the 8rda+ that will have the nforce2 Ultra 400 chipset revision?
Or is it just going to be done on the 8rda3+?

I think all the newer 8RDA+'s are v1.1, but that's not an indicator if the northbridge uses the Crush18D (Ultra 400) chipset. However, most of the retailer (I got mine from Newegg) are selling boards with the newer revision of the chipset.

High volume dealers like NewEgg have long since sold out of the older A3/A3 boards and are now selling C1/A3 (the Ultra 400 chipset) boards. I was thinking of buying a new one and selling off my older A3/A3 board but with the Athlon64 looming on the horizon I don't dare! I'll just stick with my system, it's already so fast it amazes me sometimes. :heart:

 

[newuser]

Originally posted by: marvie

Originally posted by: newuser
I was all ready to order the 8RDA+, now I am having second thoughts. I want to run a AMD ATHLON XP 2500 "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU with pc3200 RAM 512MBx2 on this mobo, specifically "CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series" 512MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader $95x2 $190

Will this mobo be adequate even with some mild overclocking? I am a little concerned about the fsb rating on this mobo, will it be adequate? If so, will the memory I listed above work. If anyone knows for sure which pc3200 512MB ram will work, please let me know.
If not, what mobo should I go with?

The Corsair RAM would work perfectly with the 8RDA+. Don't worry about it!

The 8RDA+ is not only "adequate" with some "mild" overclocking, but it'll do some hardcore o/cing. For that price, you can't go wrong. However, if you wanna go for higher FSB, you might wanna look into other options that offers you to change the Vdd from the BIOS. You can do the Vdd mod for the 8RDA+ but it carries some risk of smoking your board (like what happened to mine )

Some of the other choices would be the Abit NF7-S, Asus, Soltek and lots more.

For the RAM, you could also go with TwinMOS and Kingston HyperX (no experience with this).

So that XMS corsair stuff will be adequate, I don't need the low latency model (like 30%more expensive )
thanks for the help

 

[Desisuperman]

I desperately need help with a few options in the bios for the epox 8rda+. I have read the manual but the manual doesn't go in detail about these options I have no idea what the following options do except that the decreasing the values in increases the performance and increasing the values increases the stability.

- T (RAS)
- T (RCD)
- T (RP
- CAS LATENCY

Plus i need soe clarity on the following options
- AGP SPREAD SPECTRUM
- FSB SPREAD SPECTRUM
- AGP FREQUENCY

Also, i want to OC my memory but i don't know where to start because I have never overclocked it before. Any suggestions or helpful advice on how to overclock my memory??

Thanks

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Desisuperman
I desperately need help with a few options in the bios for the epox 8rda+. I have read the manual but the manual doesn't go in detail about these options I have no idea what the following options do except that the decreasing the values in increases the performance and increasing the values increases the stability.

- T (RAS)
- T (RCD)
- T (RP
- CAS LATENCY

Plus i need soe clarity on the following options
- AGP SPREAD SPECTRUM
- FSB SPREAD SPECTRUM
- AGP FREQUENCY

Also, i want to OC my memory but i don't know where to start because I have never overclocked it before. Any suggestions or helpful advice on how to overclock my memory??

Thanks

Desisuperman, to help you set the proper RAM timings you will have to specify the exact memory you have installed in your system and how you placed it in the slots. With 768MB of DDR I can tell that you have at least 2 sticks and maybe 3. 3 is definitely not the optimal number of DIMMs to have installed in an nForce2 DCDDR motherboard, 2 IDENTICAL sticks is the best way to do it. Post what memory you have and I can help optimize your settings/configuration.

About AGP and FSB Spread Spectrum, leave them disabled. They fix EMI problems in electrically/magnetically noisy areas but they also induce their own instabilities. Unless you know you need them it is highly recommended that you leave them disabled. They are disabled on my system with no negative effect in performance or stability.

About AGP Frequency, set it to 66MHz and leave it alone. Many AGP cards do not like having the AGP bus overclocked. 66MHz is the default speed of the AGP bus.

About overclocking your memory, just as I said above, tell me what you have and I can help with this, too. I have to go to my daughter's Brownies award ceremony in a few mintues, but I'll be around later tonight. Post your infos and I'll post some suggestions.

 

[newuser]

You should find this link helpful

 

[Jii]

Originally posted by: marvie
I think all the newer 8RDA+'s are v1.1, but that's not an indicator if the northbridge uses the Crush18D (Ultra 400) chipset. However, most of the retailer (I got mine from Newegg) are selling boards with the newer revision of the chipset.

My 8RDA+ is a v1.1, but how do I check the revision of the chipset? Is it printed somewhere on the board or do I need to rip off the Northbridge heatsink to check it out?

 

[Megatomic]

The EPoX 8RDA+ Ver. 2.0 has been released, I saw this over at Overclockers.com forums. What new features does Ver. 2.0 bring to the table you ask?

1) Adjustable Vdd (1.60V, 1.80V, and 2.0V)
2) nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset

Aside from that it is the 8RDA+ that many have come to know and love. :heart: I'll buy one to go with a 400MHz FSB Barton.

 

[Desisuperman]

Desisuperman, to help you set the proper RAM timings you will have to specify the exact memory you have installed in your system and how you placed it in the slots. With 768MB of DDR I can tell that you have at least 2 sticks and maybe 3. 3 is definitely not the optimal number of DIMMs to have installed in an nForce2 DCDDR motherboard, 2 IDENTICAL sticks is the best way to do it. Post what memory you have and I can help optimize your settings/configuration.

About AGP and FSB Spread Spectrum, leave them disabled. They fix EMI problems in electrically/magnetically noisy areas but they also induce their own instabilities. Unless you know you need them it is highly recommended that you leave them disabled. They are disabled on my system with no negative effect in performance or stability.

About AGP Frequency, set it to 66MHz and leave it alone. Many AGP cards do not like having the AGP bus overclocked. 66MHz is the default speed of the AGP bus.

About overclocking your memory, just as I said above, tell me what you have and I can help with this, too. I have to go to my daughter's Brownies award ceremony in a few mintues, but I'll be around later tonight. Post your infos and I'll post some suggestions.

I ain't exactly sure what type of memory i have but i'm guessing it's pc2100 133mhz bus. I have a stick of 256 and a stick of 512in DIMM'S 2, 3 (BANK 1)

Thanks Megatomic, appreciate the help!

 

[Jii]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
The EPoX 8RDA+ Ver. 2.0 has been released, I saw this over at Overclockers.com forums. What new features does Ver. 2.0 bring to the table you ask?

1) Adjustable Vdd (1.60V, 1.80V, and 2.0V)
2) nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset

Aside from that it is the 8RDA+ that many have come to know and love. :heart: I'll buy one to go with a 400MHz FSB Barton.

Damnit... Just got my 8RDA+ and it's of v1.1 :frown:. If that's all it has to offer besides what 1.1 has, I have no need for a replacement. These things seem to get outdated right out of the box.

 

[Megatomic]

Desisuperman, well in your case I'd run the memory in single channel mode by installing them in DIMM slots 2 and 3 just as you have already done. As for timings, without knowing what memory you have by brand/model I can't recommend any timing settigs other than:

1) You should set System Performance to be Expert
2) You should set FSB Frequency to 133MHz
3) You should set CPU Interface to Aggressive
4) You should set Memory Frequency to 100%
5) You should set Memory Timings to Aggressive

I think this will give you maximum performance at stock settings. If you ever decide to buy fast RAM you will then be able to take advantage of higher FSB settings and some real performance. In the meantime this should get you rolling along at a good clip.

 

[MARMADUKE]

WOW..
Lots of new people in this thread now!
8rda+ 2.0..hmmm...maybe i'll get another mobo..lol
Memory Timings set to Aggressive is ok unless you raise the FSB, when you overclock with the 8rda you should always use expert settings or you will get a C1 memory error, if you have pc2100 in a 8rda then you need to upgrade to pc3200/pc3700 or run your mobo in first gear like Megatomic does J/K..Hiya old buddy..:}

The 8rda should be run @ 200 FSB or higher...:}

CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series" 512MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader $95x2 $190 @ newegg-Dont waste your money on heatspreaders, the TwinMOS-CH-5 that I sell @ amdforums blows that corsair away and is much cheaper!
-CH-5 REVIEW

 

[Megatomic]

Hey, my system is not in first gear!! It's an automatic....

Seriously, running at DDR333 when my chip is only DDR266 at the default multiplier with a very low Vcore is VERY nice for me. I'm happy with my speed and performance. :heart:

 

[MARMADUKE]

I have a XP2600+ "B" 333 that does 466 @ 1.80V no problem

 

[ww4397]

Hey guys.

I'm in the process of OCing my 8RDA+ to find its max capability with my new 1700+. However, when I run Prime95, after about 2-3 hours the program stops with the following error from WindowsXP:

PRIME95 Application has encountered a problem and needs to close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience.

The strange thing is that Prime95 itself hasen't ended with its usual: "Hardware error, expecting 0.4 got 0.4993456364...blah, blah, blah).

What does this indicate? The *program* is not *ending* with an error (it just stops) but *windows* is *crashing* to the desktop with the above error.



Thanks.

 

[quincy2002]

ww4397: what memory/speed are you running? I've gotten prime95 errors like that, thought it was the CPU, but it turned out it was the memory. If your mem is OC'd too much that may be the problem.

 

[Dill]

I just installed mine the other night, and clocked my 1800+ B up to 2000 mhz, which is all it would do stable for now until I dump the 300 watt Antec out of it (I've had bad luck with Antec) and try a 360 watt Enermax I have sitting around. That, or I put my PC2100 in it instead of the PC2700 I know I have....hehe.

It seems my chip will boot at 11, 11.5, 12, 12.5 etc multipliers...must have gotten an unlocked one?

 

[ww4397]

Originally posted by: quincy2002
ww4397: what memory/speed are you running? I've gotten prime95 errors like that, thought it was the CPU, but it turned out it was the memory. If your mem is OC'd too much that may be the problem.

Thanks for the reply quincy2002,

I'm running a (very) slightly OC'd 512MB stick of Kbyte PC2700 at 168MHz using the 8RDA+ "Turbo" timings (I don't recall the specific numeric values). I wish I had some better memory to try but I would think that 168MHz isn't pushing it too far. BTW, I'm using a 11.5 multiplier to get a final 1700+ cpu speed of 1,932MHz. Also, I'm running RAM and FSB in synch (100%).

The OS error, rather than a Prime95 program error, continues to mystify me.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Dill
It seems my chip will boot at 11, 11.5, 12, 12.5 etc multipliers...must have gotten an unlocked one?

All the Tbred "B"s are, I think the "A" chips are as well. That was one of the selling points that I actually bought into.

 

[pspada]

I got a question for you that have had the 8RDA+ for a while: What do you think of the onboard sound (Soundstorm) compared to say the Soundbastard Live! 5.1 PCI card?

 

[Megatomic]

Soundbastard??? :Q LOL!

Anyways, I like the onboard sound of my 8RDA+ almost as much as the sound of old TBSC. The low CPU utilization of the NVidia APU is what really won me over. Newer drivers are going to make even more attractive - qualitywise.

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
Soundbastard??? :Q LOL!

Anyways, I like the onboard sound of my 8RDA+ almost as much as the sound of old TBSC. The low CPU utilization of the NVidia APU is what really won me over. Newer drivers are going to make even more attractive - qualitywise.

Ya like that? I've been calling the Soundbastards for years, along with calling the Microsloth product Winblows.
TBSC, that's the Turble Beach sound card, right? But since the SB Live 5.1 has it's own processor, shouldn't that give at least as low CPU utilization as the NVidia APU? And good as Soundwarm may be, could not the SB Live produce better sound, as it is specifically desgined to do so, rather than a DSP solution?

 

[merlocka]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Elvis2
I'm thinking about building a second system around a 2500+ Barton. Will this work on an Epox 8RDA+? Is Crucial pc2700 ram good 'nuff?
Any issues with an ATI 9700 Pro? I was seduced by the dark side 6 mos. ago and have recently started hearing amd calling be back home

Elvis, the 2500+ is perfectly at home on the 8RDA+, you will enjoy that combo. As to the Crucial, avoid it like it is Satan on the 8RDA+. Rather, get some Kingston HyperX, TwinMOS, or Samsung for inexpensive memory that works on the board. Of course, go for the Corsair or Mushkin Black if you need high end memory as they are the top of the pile in memory. And your 9700 Pro should be fine as well. There are lots of people are running on that combo here.

You'll have a really fast gaming computer my man.

Hmmm on the Crucial. I musta missed this post before I ordered.

Anyway, I just picked got a C1 ver 1.1 board from Newegg with 2 512MB Crucial PC2700 C2.5. I'm not planning on much overclocking, going for stability and I've never had a problem with Crucial before.

I did read in the A7n8X threads that there was a batch of crucial PC2700 which had a problem in nF2 dual channel but that the new stuff is fixed. Hopefully singe I have a gig of it.

So far, memtest has run OK 3 passes at default settings. The memory settings were done "auto" not SPD, not sure if that's the proper way.

Bout to install WinXP... hope all goes well. Haven't rebuild a machine for a while... this is replacing a KT133 board hope im not rusty.

 

[Megatomic]

Merlocka, I'd heard that Crucial had made some chip changes and that their compatability issues have diminished a lot. And since you are not planning on doing much overclocking I think you are gonna be ok. But man oh man, if you'd gotten the Crucial back when we all ran into the memory compatability issues a few months back you'd be in for some trouble. :Q Good luck and have fun, I love building computers.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: pspada
Ya like that? I've been calling the Soundbastards for years, along with calling the Microsloth product Winblows.
TBSC, that's the Turble Beach sound card, right? But since the SB Live 5.1 has it's own processor, shouldn't that give at least as low CPU utilization as the NVidia APU? And good as Soundwarm may be, could not the SB Live produce better sound, as it is specifically desgined to do so, rather than a DSP solution?

Personally I've never liked the sound produced by SB Live! cards. I have one in my computer at work and it is craptacular at best. But it's better than the AC'97 provided by the onboard sound of the ASUS TUV4X. That and I despise Creative for running Aureal Semi. out of business. I was sooo in love with A3D back in the day. I was an early adopter of both A3D 1.0 and 2.0.

As a result, I go out of my way to recommend solutions that compete with Creative Labs. Sorry if this post is disjointed, I am VERY tired. I just finished a week of mid shifts and I am adjusting to days today. :disgust: