**Official** Epox 8RDA+ Nforce2 Thread

[Insane3D]

Hey guys...got everything all up and running. I'm running some tests, but all seems stable @ 200mhz FSB, DDR400, 2.2ghz on my 2400+. I'm gonna let Prime run for a bit before I do some hardcore tweaking. So far this board is pretty damn nice.

The Epox does use the Nvidia Nforce sound, and it is pretty powerful indeed. I'll be back in a bit with more results..

 

[Technonut]

Hey guys...got everything all up and running. I'm running some tests, but all seems stable @ 200mhz FSB, DDR400, 2.2ghz on my 2400+.

Sounds good.... Be sure to include comparison benchmarks against your 8K5A2+. Personally, I am still holding out for the KT400A. VIA has a new AGP Driver for the KT400 that is looking good... The KT400A should be even better.

I have word from VIA that they are planning a massive re-marketing of their drivers and the AGP 4.40 driver will be included in that initial release in a couple of weeks. They are going to have new IDE drivers as well as other improvements for the KT400 chipset and you can expect us to have another look at those drivers when they are available to us, in full.

For now, I can say that VIA has done a good job patching up one of the sore spots I found on their KT400 chipset. They are now competitive with NVIDIA on every benchmark that we have thrown at it. That leaves NVIDIA in a spot to once again think of a way to overtake the performance champion position.

EDIT: I am also interested in knowing what your PCI bus speed is at 200FSB on the 8RDA+??

 

[Mem]

VIA has a new AGP Driver for the KT400 that is looking good...

I`ve the new AGP 4.40 driver installed on my KT266A board(Epox 8KHA+) it`s rock solid and the driver has AGP 3.0 support,too bad I don`t have a KT400 board .



Here`s link to the new VIA AGP 4.40 driver for those that want to try it click here .

 

[Caper]

I have been playing with my 8RDA+ since monday.
XP2400+
1X512 Mb XMS3500C2
211x11 using 2.0-2-2-5 stable.
208x11.5 max stable OC on the CPU using 1.95 vcore, pretty nice considering I use aircooling.
Havent bench yet, I´ll take that later.

 

[TourGuide]

Well boys,

I bailed on my A7N8X, and ordered one of these mofos. I can't wait to get it!!

8RDA+ here I come!! I just hope that issue I saw with the Corsair XMS3502C2 was an isolated problem as those are the sticks I ordered to work with my Epox.

 

[Insane3D]

Ok, I've settled in @ 195mhz FSB for the moment. I can run 200 and higher, but it didn't meet my stability requirements, so I backed it down a bit.

Here are some benches..

3D Mark 2001 (Build 330):

Score

3D Mark Detail

Sandra 2003 Pro:

CPU Benchmark

Multimedia Benchmark

Memory Bench (195mhz, CL2 4-2-2)

Disk Benchmark


I am really enjoying working with this board so far. The sound quality of the MCP-T is not only excellent, it is also very powerful. I also love having absolutely no PCI cards. I'm going to "burn in" at this speed for awhile an maybe try for a bit more later.

 

[AbRASiON]

Where's the obligatory (sp?) shot of WCPUID?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: AbRASiON
Where's the obligatory (sp?) shot of WCPUID?

You mean this?

 

[AbRASiON]

You mean this?

[/quote]


Tbred b, why oh why won't they release 1700 models - the cheapest Tbred B is way way too expensive for me on a budget !

 

[SpideyCU]

The best thing I like about this board so far is the entertainment value thrown in for free! For example, the label for the custom I/O panel reads:

"Caution:
Prevent to be hurt by the sharp I/O shield, please MUST wear glove before you want to install the shield into your chassis"



Anyhow, the board has been a champ for me, and has met or exceeded most of my expectations. I have run into one little quirky problem, though. Sometimes when I'm in the BIOS setup, everything will just...hang. I won't be able to move around the menus, nothing. I know it's not my keyboard because when it locked up for me in the PC Health Status screen once, the numbers froze and didn't change.

It's not a big deal, but, I do wonder why it happens occasionally for me. Outside of that, it's been as solid as my old 8K7A. Anyone else experience something similar?

 

[JustStarting]

Insane- with all your performance prowess, why aren't you strutting a 9700Pro or a Ti4600?? Imagine how you could stack up against this (no that's not the highest FSB I could get with my 8K5A2+, but it's what I run comfortably). C'mon, step up!! You do have a sweeet rig there!! I'm going to build a box based of the 8RDA+ for my inlaws using the onboard video. They don't need the bang!!

 

[PROFuzioN]

Building a new rig; just bought the epox mobo, my question is what type of DDR is best for Nforce 2 boards?

Quote from anandtech:

"The DualDDR memory controllers in the nForce2 IGP/SPP support DDR266, 333 and 400 modules. Support for DDR333 and DDR400 really only matters, once again, when integrated graphics is enabled. NVIDIA?s own internal testing has also revealed that when the FSB and memory buses are operating synchronously (i.e. both running at 133MHz DDR), the nForce2 is in its fastest state."

So is DDR266 the ram to get for Nforce2? Is there any reason to get DDR333 or 400? How come some of you are running with 400?

 

[Mustanggt]

nevermind

 

[SpideyCU]

Pro, if you get a newer Athlon that runs at the 166 MHz FSB, then DDR333 is optimal. But a lot of people overclock their FSB and, in that case, faster memory is useful.

 

[Mustanggt]

I ordered one hope its better than what I have.

 

[NicColt]

Do I understand you correctly ???

>The 2400+ is running @ 2.2ghz, 200mhz FSB (11 x 200), default vcore right now in my Epox 8K5A2+...
>Ok, I've settled in @ 195mhz FSB for the moment. I can run 200 and higher, but it didn't meet my stability requirements,

While running at x200 with the same cpu and memory, you went from a board that doesn't officially support DDR400 which was more stable than a board that does support DDR400 which is less stable?

 

[joe4324]

Insane, tell me more about the audio. we now know that it uses the MCP of the Nforce, but the outputs are from the realtek 350 or what ever the sound chip is called. I'm curious to knowabout over audio feidelity, how the lows feel and sound, the highs. have you tried to record with it? how does it sound there? I'm very curious to try Nforce audio for sound production, if its up to par. I cant afford the REAL cards and no were can I find a Via ENVY2496

 

[Herkulese]

Here is another review that sheds a little light on the qustion of whether or not duel channel memory helps memory bandwidth for systems without onboard AGP.

 

[SpideyCU]

joe, personally, I will just say that the audio on this board is actually a noticable improvement for me over the old SB Live which I've been using for, oh, coming up on 5 years now. I'm using the same set of speakers as before so I know that's not the cause - the details seem more pronounced. I'm not an audiophile so I can't describe it in great detail, but I like it. A lot. I haven't done recording yet, the only recording I'll be doing is when I'm capturing video.

If Insane or anyone else can more eloquently describe the audio as you requested, they should. Though, I think I remember someone linking up an audio review of the nForce2 in another thread somewhere...

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: NicColt
Do I understand you correctly ???

>The 2400+ is running @ 2.2ghz, 200mhz FSB (11 x 200), default vcore right now in my Epox 8K5A2+...
>Ok, I've settled in @ 195mhz FSB for the moment. I can run 200 and higher, but it didn't meet my stability requirements,

While running at x200 with the same cpu and memory, you went from a board that doesn't officially support DDR400 which was more stable than a board that does support DDR400 which is less stable?

That jumps out at me as well and is causing me to believe that this chipset's performance characteristics thus far are less exciting than the hype had me hoping Perhaps bios updates will help extract more performance and stability from it.

 

[Elcs]

Does the EP-8RDA+ have the AGP/PCI bus lock?

Would be nice to know.... im considering downgrading processor (in a sense) and possibly getting this board, give the old one to my old man and get his system rock solid and performing like a champion.

 

[NicColt]

>Perhaps bios updates will help extract more performance and stability from it.

It could also do with cooling or the power supply. I was really hoping to run a 2400 and over at 200FSB even if it means 10x200

 

[RanDum72]

That jumps out at me as well and is causing me to believe that this chipset's performance characteristics thus far are less exciting than the hype had me hoping Perhaps bios updates will help extract more performance and stability from it.

What exactly is your definition of performance? OC'ing capability or actual performance numbers measured by benchmarks and actual use? You can OC a motherboard a few mhz higher but that doesn't mean it will perform faster. You have to back down on memory timings, insert latencies, etc... just to reach those few extra mhz but at a cost. So it runs at 195fsb, 5mhz slower than the 200mhz of the other board. So what? It still blows it away in terms of actual performance.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: NicColt
Do I understand you correctly ???

>The 2400+ is running @ 2.2ghz, 200mhz FSB (11 x 200), default vcore right now in my Epox 8K5A2+...
>Ok, I've settled in @ 195mhz FSB for the moment. I can run 200 and higher, but it didn't meet my stability requirements,

While running at x200 with the same cpu and memory, you went from a board that doesn't officially support DDR400 which was more stable than a board that does support DDR400 which is less stable?

That jumps out at me as well and is causing me to believe that this chipset's performance characteristics thus far are less exciting than the hype had me hoping Perhaps bios updates will help extract more performance and stability from it.

I'm looking at the graphs showing the nForce2 way out in front of both KT333 and KT400 boards and wondering what's not to like. Has everyone missed the fact that in a lot of areas, it cleans house on good KT333 and KT400 boards? And not only that, it runs three DIMMs at 2-2-4 timings at up to 420MHz (A7N8X-Deluxe). Granted, we'd like to see that matched with a 210MHz FSB. Well, Michael at LostCircuits got his A7N8X up to the max of 211MHz FSB, go have a look.

Honestly, a chunk of Intel's performance lead just got eaten, not by AMD, but by nVidia. If they are true to their history, they'll keep tweaking their drivers and we'll see the performance creep higher yet as time goes by. This is good for all of us.

Parting thought: if you're still not convinced, go back and read some of the reviews of KT400 when it came out. People were using a magnifying glass to try to see areas where it ran any faster than KT333. nForce2 outperforms them convincingly. I can stand 20 feet from my monitor and see those nForce2 benchies stickin' out in front in the graphs.

 

[NicColt]

>So it runs at 195fsb, 5mhz slower than the 200mhz of the other board. So what? It still blows it away in terms of actual performance.

no no no don't get me wrong I'm not disputing the performance of the board but wouldn't you prefer to have it running in sync with memory at ddr400 at let's say 10.5 x 200 instead of 11x195 ? are you saying that it can't reach 200 even at 10x ? I just though for sure that this board would reach 200 easy.

I just think that having the FSB and the memory in sync at 400 would be better.