Epox 8rda3+

[cruise950]

Hi to the Forum
Does any body know of any incapatability issues or any other issues concerning the Epox 8rda3+ mobo, also the active north bridge i understand is not really enough in the cooling department, will a Thermaltake crystal orb do the trick there, your thoughts please. Also the ram i will be using onthis board is Geil 512meg pc3200/400. x 2.

The system will be
Epox 8RDA3+
Geil 512meg pc3200 x 2
leadtek a340 128meg fx5200 graphics card
W/D 7200RPM 80gig H/D
Thermaltake crystal orb over north bridge
thermal right fans both at back and front of box.

thanks..cruise :)

[ElrichMeister]

are you overclocking the fsb over 200mhz? if not then the stock should be fine

[omga14]

pm rithemking. i think he has one and can tell you all you'll need to know. oh yeah, WECLOME TO THE FORUMS! :D

[bluegreenshxt]

i really dont think you need the cooling over the northbridge if you dont overclock...but i would rather go with the abit nf-7 or nf7-s...much better board..

what processor you puttin in it?? and what will this comp be used for??

oh and btw....dont get geil memory :(...dont get me wrong...mine run perfectly fine...at the rated speed...with the max rated voltage of 2.9 (thats kinda HOT)...and it would only overclock 1 mhz on tight timings..LOL...better off gettin 2 sticks of samsung or generic mem...

[cruise950]

Hi again
Thanks for the wellcome, yes I forgot to mention the processor, Athlon 2700xp, I won't be overclocking the comp, it is being used a gaming machine, although as you would all say get a better graphics card, it's not that easy telling the wife I want the leadlek 6800 ultra, $1000.00 Australian,
like i like living in the house,,LOL,,well thats fine that the north bridge stock cooling will do the job, and the ram yeah I thought $275.00 for 2 x 512 meg sticks Australian with heat sinks as standard, a bit cheap..

Thank you for replying it helps a lot...cheers cruise.. :)

[therealwesty]

Welcome to PCStats!

If you aren't overclocking the stock cooler on the EpoX should be sufficient.

rithemking had a nasty run with a bad EpoX board and some very poor PR. The replacement board he finally (after a huge hassle) got from them has been working great last I heard. I'll let him share some more detail if he wants.

As others have mentioned the Abit NF7-S would be a great alternative, myself, I am partial to the Asus A7N8X Deluxe. The main thing to look for is the nForce2 chipset and enough onboard features to keep you happy. nForce2 is the top performer for AthlonXP systems for both overclocking and running at the stock speeds.

[cruise950]

Hi Westy
Thanks for the info. The reason I am going Epox is that I have been to 2 sites that have done reviews on the board as well as a range of other boards within the same review to show differences in strengths and cons and the Epox 8RDA3+ outshone them all. I know they are not as popular as others on the marketbut I think that I will be happy. Thanks for showing your interest...cheers cruisse :)

[bluegreenshxt]

hmm...i would rather have the 9600xt 128mb and only 2x256mb ram...will probably have more performance in games...

also you should really consider overclocking with a 2500 mobile and a thermalright heatsink + fan...3200+ speeds are basically gauranteed...and it will have cooler temp's than your stock hsf...just a suggestion tho...its mighty easy to oc those because you dont really have to be safe...it will do 11x200 at the stock voltage for desktop xp's (1.65v) for sure