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

[mboy]

twinmos/winbond isnt really expensive. 120 for 512mb which isnt all that bad for pc3200. I didnt do anything to miy setup except put some AS3 under the stock NB cooler. NO mods of any sort and I am at 200fsb and 2.3ghz NO problem.

 

[SpideyCU]

That's pretty good. If I have some free time over the summer I might toy with adding SB3 to my northbridge, as well as other things. But for the time being I just wanted to get to 166 stable, grr. Stupid RAM issues.

 

[Megatomic]

Download the official 8RDA+ 3402 BIOS HERE!

Fixed my link, that danged FTP gets me every time.

 

[Jeff7]

HTML link of the fixes

 

[burrens]

Anybody with an Antec sonata and 8rda+ tried hooking up the front panel firewire and audio?

 

[Vodcaca]

I am a newbie at building a pc & i am stumped at a

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps (a2tsb) problem after power-up (error code FF). Please help.

i am assembling 4 8RDA+ rigs,

Each of the 4 rigs have the same hardware below, but different casing & PSU (400-450W).

Similar Hw:
XP2200+ (+ stock HSF)
8RDA+ (BIOS 03/05/2003)
Maxtor 60GB HDD ATA/133.
GF4 MX 440
1 x 215-Kingston ValueRAM PC2700.


rig 1 in aircon room (CPU running at 38/39C). first time boot up, the

BIOS was set at default multiplier(13.5) x FSB100 @ 1350Mhz. So, I

modified it to 9.0 x 200FSB @ 1800Mhz (2200+).
I installed win2k. No problem. Then I changed the system to aggresive

mode. Left it running for 3 days. Worked fine. I even played with

different multiplier & FSB, no problem.

rig 2 in aircon room (CPU running at 39/40C). I configured the BIOS at

11.5 x 166FSB @ 1916Mhz. System aggresive mode. I installed winXP Pro.

It beeped continously once (after i modified the FSB setting, but after

reboot, it worked fine. Worked fine for 2 days now.

Problem: rig 3 in a non-aircon room (CPU running at 42/43C). I

configured at 9.0 x 200FSB. It keep beeping

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps (a2tsb) right after power-up. I have to

power-off for a short while, then power-on. Then whatever setting I

tried (100/133/166/200FSB & various multiplier setting @ below

1800Mhz). It keep beeping (a2tsb)) after power-up. I cleared the CMOS &

left it overnight. Next day, it worked fine for the whole day. But when

I tried to change the system mode to aggresive, it started beeping

a2tsb again after reboot. I waited a while and power-up again. Then its

working fine. Using it now for the past 6 hours.

Problem: rig 4 in a same non-aircon room (CPU running at 42/43C). Again

it keep beeping a2tsb countinously, right after power-up. The error number is FF, while it is beeping.
Re-insert RAM, CPU, Videocard. Same a2tsb.
When I removed the RAM and power-up, it beeped short beeps (RAM

missing), then it ALSO (at the same time) beeped the

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps.
I removed the mobo to outside the casing and powered-up. Same a2tsb.
Removed all except mobo, CPU, RAM. Same a2tsb.
After clear CMOS, with 13.5 x 100FSB, could boot into installed WInxP

pro. But after reboot, same a2tsb. Same result after 3 trys.
I tried another new 8RDA+ mobo with the same symptoms as the last mobo.
I am now stuck.


Question 1: what is the stock/normal multiplier and FSB for XP2200+ @

1800Mhz? Am I accidentally overclocking?

Question 2: What is the alternating-2-tone-short-beeps? Right after

power-up, while monitor still black.

COuld it be BIOS? RAM? Casing?
I don't think the mobo is at fault, cos all 5 from same batch. I

thought it could be heat (ie; aircon&non-aircon)?

Help pls.

 

[Boobers]

Hey MBOY,
Thanks for the tip about the new BIOS.
I flashed BIOS v3402 and the problem is gone.

The system runs very well, indeed. I've had more time to tweek, and my Barton 2500+ is now running at 12x180 w/ DualDDR and "Aggressive" memory timings set in the BIOS. I'm using 2 sticks of 256Mb Original Samsung DDR3200 that I saw for $40 each. Not bad... I LOVE this motherboard! :beer:

 

[mboy]

Originally posted by: Boobers
Hey MBOY,
Thanks for the tip about the new BIOS.
I flashed BIOS v3402 and the problem is gone.

The system runs very well, indeed. I've had more time to tweek, and my Barton 2500+ is now running at 12x180 w/ DualDDR and "Aggressive" memory timings set in the BIOS. I'm using 2 sticks of 256Mb Original Samsung DDR3200 that I saw for $40 each. Not bad... I LOVE this motherboard! :beer:

 

[TrypleCheeseburger]

I'm getting really crappy memory & cpu scores in Sandra. I've got the 8RDA+, AXP1700 (stock so far) and 512mb of Corsair PC2700. I'm using win2k and it's tweaked out pretty much. My old KT333 scored far better it seems.

I've got the mem set to 100% instead of by SPD and it actually got SLOWER. I've tried 133/133 and 166/166 but that takes my CPU up to 1.833 ghz and it still doesnt seem as fast as it should be. What gives?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Vodcaca
I am a newbie at building a pc & i am stumped at a

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps (a2tsb) problem after power-up (error code FF). Please help.

i am assembling 4 8RDA+ rigs,

Each of the 4 rigs have the same hardware below, but different casing & PSU (400-450W).

Similar Hw:
XP2200+ (+ stock HSF)
8RDA+ (BIOS 03/05/2003)
Maxtor 60GB HDD ATA/133.
GF4 MX 440
1 x 215-Kingston ValueRAM PC2700.


rig 1 in aircon room (CPU running at 38/39C). first time boot up, the

BIOS was set at default multiplier(13.5) x FSB100 @ 1350Mhz. So, I

modified it to 9.0 x 200FSB @ 1800Mhz (2200+).
I installed win2k. No problem. Then I changed the system to aggresive

mode. Left it running for 3 days. Worked fine. I even played with

different multiplier & FSB, no problem.

rig 2 in aircon room (CPU running at 39/40C). I configured the BIOS at

11.5 x 166FSB @ 1916Mhz. System aggresive mode. I installed winXP Pro.

It beeped continously once (after i modified the FSB setting, but after

reboot, it worked fine. Worked fine for 2 days now.

Problem: rig 3 in a non-aircon room (CPU running at 42/43C). I

configured at 9.0 x 200FSB. It keep beeping

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps (a2tsb) right after power-up. I have to

power-off for a short while, then power-on. Then whatever setting I

tried (100/133/166/200FSB & various multiplier setting @ below

1800Mhz). It keep beeping (a2tsb)) after power-up. I cleared the CMOS &

left it overnight. Next day, it worked fine for the whole day. But when

I tried to change the system mode to aggresive, it started beeping

a2tsb again after reboot. I waited a while and power-up again. Then its

working fine. Using it now for the past 6 hours.

Problem: rig 4 in a same non-aircon room (CPU running at 42/43C). Again

it keep beeping a2tsb countinously, right after power-up. The error number is FF, while it is beeping.
Re-insert RAM, CPU, Videocard. Same a2tsb.
When I removed the RAM and power-up, it beeped short beeps (RAM

missing), then it ALSO (at the same time) beeped the

alternating-2-tone-short-beeps.
I removed the mobo to outside the casing and powered-up. Same a2tsb.
Removed all except mobo, CPU, RAM. Same a2tsb.
After clear CMOS, with 13.5 x 100FSB, could boot into installed WInxP

pro. But after reboot, same a2tsb. Same result after 3 trys.
I tried another new 8RDA+ mobo with the same symptoms as the last mobo.
I am now stuck.


Question 1: what is the stock/normal multiplier and FSB for XP2200+ @

1800Mhz? Am I accidentally overclocking?

Question 2: What is the alternating-2-tone-short-beeps? Right after

power-up, while monitor still black.

COuld it be BIOS? RAM? Casing?
I don't think the mobo is at fault, cos all 5 from same batch. I

thought it could be heat (ie; aircon&non-aircon)?

Help pls.

If you happen to be using shims between the CPU and heatsink, that could be the problem. Also, make sure to set the RAM to run at 100% of the CPU's bus speed, so it's running synchronously with the CPU. Welcome to the Forums

 

[tontod]

Originally posted by: dinde
can anyone help me with the 8rda+ error codes? i just built a system and "7F" was displayed on the leds. anyone know what this is? i cant seem to find it in the manual.

I think I remember having this problem. Make sure your video card is installed properly. Took me a while to figure that out. It wasnt properly seated in its slot.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: mboy
twinmos/winbond isnt really expensive. 120 for 512mb which isnt all that bad for pc3200. I didnt do anything to miy setup except put some AS3 under the stock NB cooler. NO mods of any sort and I am at 200fsb and 2.3ghz NO problem.

Wow, this thread has grown! I haven't been to Motherboards in awhile. Just thought I'd check in.

I also have this board and have done the AS3 mod to the Northbridge. There's been a HUGE difference in how warm the HS gets! It used to just get warm, now it's REALLY warm, which means that the stock bubblegum pad was doing a lousy job at transferring heat from the chip to the HS.

I have run my FSB at 200MHz w/o a problem. I have a single 512mb stick of Corsair XMS3200C2. I've had no incompatibility issues with this memory at all. I am currently running 12x180@1.700 volts. I really didn't see that much of an improvement at 200FSB vs. 180FSB, so I clocked it down a little. Why run at redline all the time? Besides, my particular XP2100 B-TBred isn't very happy at much above 2.1GHz anyway.

I am still tickled pink w/this mobo. Great onboard sound. No more SBlive! issues. No PCI cards at all. A+++

 

[iamme]

Does anyone have booting problems?

My PC is stable with Prime95 (about 24 hours straight) and Memtest86 shows no errors. But, rebooting and starting up my PC shows random results. About 50% of the time it will boot up to windows fine. The other times it will hang at the BIOS screen. When I look up the various error codes in the manual, it shows up as "Reserved". Right out of the box, I was fiddling with overclocking and thought the BIOS screen lockups were because I was o'clocking. I just put everything at defaults to test for stability and still get them

My setup:

8RDA+ (latest BIOS)
Athlon B 2100+ (stock speed)
2 x Infineon 512MB PC2700 (stock)
ATI Radeon 8500
431W Enermax PS

Any ideas?

 

[Jombo]

Originally posted by: burrens
Anybody with an Antec sonata and 8rda+ tried hooking up the front panel firewire and audio?

the firewire seems a bit tricky, so i decided not to use it, the manual didn't really show how to break down the different plugs.

as for the audio plug, you can use the "box" w/ 8 pins rather than the individual connectors attached to it. they are basically the same, but make note of the white pin that's inserted, it just might be misplaced and pluggin in the wrong port. (in my case it was) if you look closely, there is one pin missing in the 8 pin layout for the audio. just match it up w/ the pic in the. pm me if you got other questions.

sonata's a pretty cool case, now i gotta find a quieter hd to match ^ ^ i like the hd mounts on it too

 

[roncarter]

hey guys.. i have this mobo and OCed it but am pretty new to it. The only settings that I have changed is the FSB in the bios. Im currently running Crucial pc2700 ram. If I run my fsb at normal 133, my ram says its 333. But when I run it over 180 FSB, it says its 266 or something like that. But its not 333 anymore. Isnt pc2700 suppose to be 333? Why does it change?

 

[Killrose]

Originally posted by: roncarter
hey guys.. i have this mobo and OCed it but am pretty new to it. The only settings that I have changed is the FSB in the bios. Im currently running Crucial pc2700 ram. If I run my fsb at normal 133, my ram says its 333. But when I run it over 180 FSB, it says its 266 or something like that. But its not 333 anymore. Isnt pc2700 suppose to be 333? Why does it change?

It's just the way the motherboard bios is reporting it. You've confused it by overriding the SPD function with overclocking. Yes PC2700 is 333 DDR rated.

 

[MichaelD]

Heh, I just built a system for my GF around this board. It came with the March 2003 BIOS, and I was getting the red screen "do not power off, BiOS update in progress" screen.

Also, it wasn't detecting the IDE devices on bootup about 10% of the time.

So I flashed it to the Apr 2003 BiOS (3402, I think...) and the red screen is gone, but still have the detection probs. *shrug* Hit ctrl-alt-del, reboot and it's fine.

I'm not RMAing the board. Once it's up, it's purrrrrrrrrr-fect.

 

[ozias]

OK

I recently purchased the 8rda+, but have been trying to decide which RAM to purchase. I have been leaning towards Twinmos/Winbond from MemoryX, but I wanted to get a better idea of what most people prefer or works better for them. I have seen Marmaduke list Crucial, Kingstons Hyper-X and Twinmos as good RAM for this mobo, and they don't seem to have any problem for this board.
I have the newer revision of 1.1 with the newer NB and SB, dated 0307 and 0306 respectively. I have all of the things I need except the RAM and I am not to concerned about how much I spend on it, I am just looking to get the best RAM for this board and would like any input from other people who already have their machines setup.

TIA,
ozias

 

[roncarter]

hey guys... just a quick question .. i want your opinions.


I have crucial pc2700 ram and the 1800+ processor.. Tbred B and default voltage is 1.5 and the default multiplier is 11.5.

I was wondering what settings you think is better for overall peformance. I have 2 that seem to be running very stable.

185 FSB and 11.5 multplier.

or

200 FSB and 11 multplier

Im running the memory at 100%. not too sure what this means but it keeps the memory at 333 instead of 266.

Let me know what you guys think

 

[Blooz1]

I'd go with the 11 x200, which is the settings I'm running at the moment. You'll get slightly better overall performance from the higher FSB....

 

[MARMADUKE]

I use corsair..
crucial and kingston are not good with 8rda

 

[mboy]

Originally posted by: ozias
OK

I recently purchased the 8rda+, but have been trying to decide which RAM to purchase. I have been leaning towards Twinmos/Winbond from MemoryX, but I wanted to get a better idea of what most people prefer or works better for them. I have seen Marmaduke list Crucial, Kingstons Hyper-X and Twinmos as good RAM for this mobo, and they don't seem to have any problem for this board.
I have the newer revision of 1.1 with the newer NB and SB, dated 0307 and 0306 respectively. I have all of the things I need except the RAM and I am not to concerned about how much I spend on it, I am just looking to get the best RAM for this board and would like any input from other people who already have their machines setup.

TIA,
ozias

Twinmos/winbond here from memoryx=200fsbx11.5 synch and 24hr prime95 stable.
My buddy with an older xp2100 tbred and an 8rda+ that is about 2 months older then mine is running it at 11.5x195 synch stable as well.

 

[Killrose]

Originally posted by: MARMADUKE
I use corsair..
crucial and kingston are not good with 8rda

I'm not having any problems with my (2) sticks of HyperX PC3500. Never had any problems with my (2) 128mb sticks of Samsung PC2700 in use with (1) 256mb stick either.

 

[Blooz1]

I'm also running Twinmos/Winbond, 512Mb PC3200 at 11x200, Prime stable for 13 hours.

 

[farscape]

Said that I would get back when I got 2k up and loaded:

Let's see:

The good points:
On-board sound is great.
Fastest NIC I have ever had.


The bad points:
SSSLLLOOOOWWWW HD access - doesn't matter what ide driver is installed.
If I can get the burner to work - I smoke along at SINGLE speed. Plextor12/10/32, latest firmware update, latest Nero or Roxio
Won't let go of programs - hangs forever.

8rda+
AMD 2400XP
512 2700 DDR - MWave branded mem - passes memtest
40 gig WD 7200
10 gig WD 5400
12/10/32 plextor burner
Pioneer DVD
Enermax 350W PS
nforce2 mx 400

tried 98SE, (w/drivers 2.00 and 2.03), 2K server(w/drivers 2.00), 2k Pro w/service pack 3 (w/drivers 2.03 and the 'beta' 2.03 and MS IDE), and in despiration one time - ME.

NOT OC'd - default settings in Bios - as recommended on 8rdafaq.com.

Boots fine - no error messages, BSODs, downloads >250kbs, everything is working but running like its wearing cement overshoes. The kt133 that this is supposed to replace was zippy in comparision.

I heard that these boards could sometimes be finnicky, but this one is getting really close to being thrown against a wall. NEVER have had so many problems and issues setting up a computer.