**Official** Epox 8RDA+ Nforce2 Thread

[justshawnf]

I haven't had any 'hanging' issues, and mine came with standard, flat IDE cables (one Ultra ATA, the other ATA-33).

 

[Adul]

So where are the seti numbers dasm it!

 

[justshawnf]

Originally posted by: AdulSo where are the seti numbers dasm it!

How about these:

AR..........Time to Complete
0.417..........2:19
0.57............2:16
11.598........1:59
0.417..........2:17
0.417..........2:17

I used to get numbers like these with my 8kha and Athlon 1.4Gig T-Bird:
1.39...........4:04
0.417.........4:26
0.418.........4:29
0.418.........4:25

 

[Mustanggt]

Hi, I just installed my 8RDA+ with brand new XMS 3200 C2, and tbred 1800 and I am running at 187 FSB right now going up slowly no lock ups or reboots as of yet, the 1800 tbred is running at 1940 around there nice CPU hope it hits 2Ghz, This board is much faster than my 8KHA+ very nice so far.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: justshawnf

Originally posted by: AdulSo where are the seti numbers dasm it!

How about these:

AR..........Time to Complete
0.417..........2:19
0.57............2:16
11.598........1:59
0.417..........2:17
0.417..........2:17

I used to get numbers like these with my 8kha and Athlon 1.4Gig T-Bird:
1.39...........4:04
0.417.........4:26
0.418.........4:29
0.418.........4:25

HOLY SMOKES! :Q What's the full system spec on the nForce2 rig in question here?! Aaaaack, must... cut up... credit cards!! My 1600+ @ 1750MHz 166/166 on KT333 is cranking out 0.417AR's in about 3:17 (if I leave it alone), check 'em here.

That does it. We need a "green-with-envy" smilie!

edit: ok, I spotted your specs:

Epox 8rda+
Athlon 2400+ (11x200@1.7v)
Corsair 2x256 XMS PC3200C2 (4-2-2-2@2.77v)

Wow, I... I... Hmm, where's my credit card... and some tape...

 

[Mustanggt]

I was really nervous reading all the probs people were having with this board, but this board is outstanding so far, 190FSB and my Tbred 1800 running at 2Ghz not bad for a $69 CPU 1.7 V 33.5 temp

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: justshawnf

Originally posted by: AdulSo where are the seti numbers dasm it!

How about these:

AR..........Time to Complete
0.417..........2:19
0.57............2:16
11.598........1:59
0.417..........2:17
0.417..........2:17

I used to get numbers like these with my 8kha and Athlon 1.4Gig T-Bird:
1.39...........4:04
0.417.........4:26
0.418.........4:29
0.418.........4:25

drool! :Q

 

[SpideyCU]

Speaking of which..anyone notice that the temp readings from the BIOS are a little low? I was showing 55 degrees (Farenheit, of course) for board temp when it was actually closer to 65 in the room. I mean, I've got good airflow in the case, but it won't make the temp LOWER than what it is in the room. Makes me wonder if my reported processor temps are showing lower than they really are (idling around 38'ish, load 43'ish - this with a Taisol CGK760172 if anyone remembers them).

 

[neovan]

Just curious but what heatsink are you using to cool your CPU?

Thanks.

 

[justshawnf]

I noticed some temperature irregularities, at first, but then I downloaded the Epox USDM (there is also an older copy on the mobo driver CD) and the latest version of MBM (5.2.1.0 beta). I used USDM to sync MBM and all is well. At first my system temp was showing 24C, now it is where is should be, around 32C.

I'm using an SLK-800 on my processor (in case neovan's question was directed at me).

 

[Mustanggt]

Hey follks, not much feedback going on in this thread the guy that started it has not posted for quite awhile, I just updated to 12/10 bios and am up to 206FSB stable running 3d mark and p95, My mem benchmarks on this board are off the charts beating Intel I am loving this mobo so far.

 

[memo]

hey guys, i just got my epox 8rda+ up and running today with 2100+ and 512 PC2700. im having a couple of problems with it though . There is this awkard beep whenever i boot up, its right after the Geforce 3 screen comes up and right before it check the memory. its not a very long beep, sounds kinda like how an old computer back in the day would beep when booting up, is there anyway to disable this? is it a warning sign? i havent found anything in the manual that would state otherwise. also i cant benchmark it with 3dmark 2001 se, sometimes it loads up the first benchmark and sometimes it doesnt even run, it always dumps me to the desktop, i was thinking it was a heat issue but i have a thermaltake volcano 7+ cooling it and a case fan, plus i have to pci cards except in the farther from the agp slot. so i dont think its heat. any ideas? arghhhhhhh. thanks for the help guys.

 

[Fr0st]

bad ram?

 

[Mustanggt]

Yea might be ram? I have mine running at 211 FSB now rock stable I cant bring it down at that speed, this board is very impresive. strange but it seems quicker at lower FSB speeds I dont know why.

 

[SpideyCU]

In case neovan was talking to me: Taisol CGK760172, which can be seen here: http://www.taisol.com/cgk760172.html - I find the temps odd because it's a few degrees C lower than what my old mobo was reporting. I might snatch up the 12/10 BIOS mentioned above and see what changes are made with installation of USDM.

 

[Insane3D]

I've got an update...

I've loaded the new 12/10 bios, and I am now running 200mhz FSB, 2.2ghz. Here is some updated benchmarks...

Sandra 2003 Pro

CPU Bench

Multimedia Bench

Memory Bench (4-2-2, CL2)

3D Mark

Score

Details

Project Link



WCPUID

My 8K5A2+ had slightly higher memory scores at the same FSB, but this board feels a bit faster. My 3D Mark score is the highest I have ever received with a Radeon 8500, and my Seti times are a good deal quicker. This machine is currently spitting out 10 work units a day...not bad at all...

Here are the completion times for my last 10 work units...

2.305
1.987
1.987
2.305
1.988
1.987
2.002
2.005
2.004
2.025

Work units with a AR of 0.4 or lower take about 2.3 hours, while anything above 1.0 takes right around or below 2 hours flat. My 8K5A2+ @ 200mhz FSB would do no better than about 2.5hr with the 0.4 work units...


Also, one more thing...the sound. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion about the sound on the Epox board, and how good it is. I have been amused by the people who argue just because a Realtek CODEC is used it sounds like crap...of course, they have never heard it....but they KNOW.

The sound quality is on par, or slightly better than my Philips AE and SE cards, and the control panel is very powerful and configurable. Here are some shots of the sound on my system that I hope will help clear up the confusion..


Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #1

Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #2

Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #3

Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #4

Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #5

Nvidia Soundstorm Control Panel #6

And finally...a pic of my Device Manager...

Device Manager (Notice no Realtek drivers to be found)

I am really enjoying this board, and it's nice to have absolutely no PCI cards. The sound is great with my 8.2 Klipsch setup...

 

[Bagheera786]

Insane3D, was your ability to hit 200MHz a product of the new 12/10 bios, or did you just tinker till it worked? What else did the new bios include?

 

[RanDum72]

My 8K5A2+ had slightly higher memory scores at the same FSB, but this board feels a bit faster. My 3D Mark score is the highest I have ever received with a Radeon 8500, and my Seti times are a good deal quicker. This machine is currently spitting out 10 work units a day...not bad at all...

See, this confirms my argument that speed is not measured by SiSandra scores or high the FSB is.

 

[Cybordolphin]

Does the Epox allow you to unlock the multiplier on the 1600 XP AGOIA cpu? Or do you need to mod the chip? And also...
Does it lock the PCI freq/bus speed?

 

[jpbushido99]

For some reason my Epox 8RDA+ MB died after the first day of OCing it, pushing XP 1700 and DDR2100 to 166fsb. People have been having so much luck with the board so I thought this should be no sweat, especially since I am using OCZ memory. So I had to go back to my lowly ABIT KR7A, and I sent my board back to MWAVE for a replacement board, and the ETA of the new Epox boards are on 30th......THE 30th!!!!!! So I had to get a refund, and now since I am angered, and other people have been having similar problems Nforcershq I think I will have to go for the over priced and over hyped ASUS Nforce2 board, but of course when prices start to hover around reasonable. I guess I will have to wait until 2003, unless anybody has any other ideas???

:disgust::disgust::disgust::disgust::|:disgust::|:disgust::|:disgust::|:|:disgust::|

 

[RanDum72]

People have been having so much luck with the board so I thought this should be no sweat, especially since I am using OCZ memory.

That may be your problem right there, OCZ memory....

 

[Mustanggt]

Does anyone know what the story is on the pci lock on this board? I have been reading alot of mixed answers on this, some say there is no lock and only 1/5 divider if this is true then alot of people will be buying new hard drives soon I hope its not true. I need to find out soon so I can decide if I should RMA board back to newegg.

 

[Mustanggt]

I dont even think my harddrive would run at 1/5 divider at 211FSB , so I cant see how people can say theres only 1/5 divider?

 

[Technonut]

I dont even think my harddrive would run at 1/5 divider at 211FSB , so I cant see how people can say theres only 1/5 divider?

What kind of hard drive do you have? I have had the 8K5A2+ running at 210 before (with other PCI cards installed) without HD corruption, and it has a 1/5 divider. For everyday use I run at 200. I have done the same with ABIT boards.

This type of issue has haunted EPoX before with other boards that people swore had another divider kick in at a certain FSB. It turned out that they did not.

It does not help EPoX much by not allowing their own techs to discuss whether this feature is present on the 8RDA+ at the AOA Forums. They are actually banning people that press the issue demanding a answer in their EPoX forums...... :Q I am tempted to purchase one just to install my PC Geiger to know for sure, but I suspect that there is only a maximum 1/5 divider present.

 

[mechBgon]

The nForce IDE controllers are built into the southbridge. They're on the Hypertransport bus, not the PCI bus. Where I'd expect problems is when you were overclocking the PCI bus and using the PCI-based SerialATA controller, or another PCI-based disk controller, either SCSI or IDE.