EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 Review : 240Mhz FSB!

Zardon · Jan 9, 2003, 05:06 PM

VR-Zone has posted a review on the EPoX 8RDA+ board based on the nForce2 SPP chipset. This board has fast becoming the overclockers' favorite board so i have checked out in details the overclockability of this board. The BIOS allows FSB adjustment from 100-250Mhz in 1Mhz intervals, VCore up to 2.2V, VDIMM up to 2.9V and best of all the ability to locked the AGP/PCI bus frequency. As such, i am able to increase the FSB all the way to 225Mhz at 2-2-2-5 memory timings after VDD mod and the max FSB attained is 240Mhz!

Details here

OnDborder · Jan 11, 2003, 09:59 PM

What were the system specs that you ran that 240 on?

muzz · Jan 12, 2003, 04:34 AM

It is a great board. I can tell ya that from personal experience.

nForcer · Jan 12, 2003, 07:18 AM

240 nice. Can someone explain to me why AMD is still running slower FSB's than Intel? I think they are developing up to 800Mhz FSB for thier new P4. Why hasn't AMD followed persuit?

Dom · Jan 12, 2003, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nForcer
240 nice. Can someone explain to me why AMD is still running slower FSB's than Intel? I think they are developing up to 800Mhz FSB for thier new P4. Why hasn't AMD followed persuit?

I believe it has to do with multipliers. The P4 has a 400 & 533Mhz FSB. The 400Mhz bus runs on 4 multipliers @ 100Mhz and the 533Mhz bus runs on 4 multipliers @ 133Mhz. The Athlon XP has a 266 & a 333Mhz bus. The 266 bus runs on 2 multipliers @ 133Mhz & the 333 bus runs on 2 multipliers @ 166Mhz.

So the P4's FSB's are 100 & 133Mhz as compared to the Athlon XP's @ 133 & 166Mhz.

Necrosis · Jan 12, 2003, 07:53 AM

I read about this board over at Bit-Tech. It sounds like it maybe the board to pickup. Cheaper than the Asus board plus packed with the same features.

OnDborder · Jan 13, 2003, 04:07 AM

Did I forget to say "please"?

Dom · Jan 13, 2003, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by OnDborder
Did I forget to say "please"?

Hardware Test Setup

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (15.0x133, 12.0x166, 10.0x200Mhz)
Corsair XMS3200 256MB DDR SDRAM x 2
EPoX 8K9A2+ (KT400)
EPoX 8RDA+ (nForce2) - 8RDA2C31.bin
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 40GB ATA133 Hard Drive
ASUS V9280S GeForce4 Ti4200-8X - Benchmarking
Gigabyte Maya II Radeon 9700 - Overclocking
Software Test Setup

Windows XP Professional SP1
VIA 4-in-1 4.45 Hyperion
Detonator 42.01
Desktop resolution 1024x768x32
DirectX 8.1

nForcer · Jan 13, 2003, 07:21 AM

Yeah, I forgot about the whole multiplier thing, That makes sense now. So theoreticly, if/when Intel releases thier 800Mhz FSB CPU's how much of an advantage will they have over AMD in terms of speed? Some say a LOT, some say not much, and I'm not sure what to think. Any thoughts?

Dom · Jan 13, 2003, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nForcer
Yeah, I forgot about the whole multiplier thing, That makes sense now. So theoreticly, if/when Intel releases thier 800Mhz FSB CPU's how much of an advantage will they have over AMD in terms of speed? Some say a LOT, some say not much, and I'm not sure what to think. Any thoughts?

I imagine it still would be on 4 multipliers, so it would be a 200Mhz bus. AMD is supposed to be coming out with a 400Mhz bus processor. It too like Intel's new bus would be 200Mhz. The P4 would have the edge untill the new XP's come out.

Monkeyboy · Jan 13, 2003, 08:33 AM

Intel were originally going to use 667MHz as their next bus speed, but decided to skip it and go for the 800MHz one to compete with the upcoming Athlon 64, which also has an 800MHz bus.

And guys, this won't be 200Mhz that's been quad-pumped, this will be a straightforward 800MHz pipeline, not just for the FSB but to connect ALL components in the system, inc. memory, graphics etc. HyperTransport baby, yeah!

Vampyromaniac · Jan 13, 2003, 08:49 AM

Do you have a source? Cuz I doubt that . . .

Dom · Jan 13, 2003, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vampyromaniac
Do you have a source? Cuz I doubt that . . .

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-980206.html

Vampyromaniac · Jan 13, 2003, 11:51 PM

That one doesn't say it's not multiplied . . .

Dom · Jan 13, 2003, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vampyromaniac
That one doesn't say it's not multiplied . . .

I thought you were talking about the 667MHz bus.

Vampyromaniac · Jan 14, 2003, 12:00 AM

Opps, sorry!

I wanted to see a source about the system clock being 800MHz and not 200MHz (making FSB 200x4)

If they stay with their CPU multipliers being whole numbers and .5's, their chips would be 3200MHz, 3600MHz, 4000MHz, 4400MHz . . . . the biggest jumps in clock speeds we've ever seen

Unless they add smaller CPU multiplier steps

OnDborder · Jan 15, 2003, 02:34 AM

Sorry,I must have misunderstood..I thought that Zardon ran the 240 on his own..

Thanks for the reply..

Quote:

Originally posted by Dom
Hardware Test Setup

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (15.0x133, 12.0x166, 10.0x200Mhz)
Corsair XMS3200 256MB DDR SDRAM x 2
EPoX 8K9A2+ (KT400)
EPoX 8RDA+ (nForce2) - 8RDA2C31.bin
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 40GB ATA133 Hard Drive
ASUS V9280S GeForce4 Ti4200-8X - Benchmarking
Gigabyte Maya II Radeon 9700 - Overclocking
Software Test Setup

Windows XP Professional SP1
VIA 4-in-1 4.45 Hyperion
Detonator 42.01
Desktop resolution 1024x768x32
DirectX 8.1

Jan 9, 2003, 05:06 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 Review : 240Mhz FSB! VR-Zone has posted a review on the EPoX 8RDA+ board based on the nForce2 SPP chipset. This board has fast becoming the overclockers' favorite board so i have checked out in details the overclockability of this board. The BIOS allows FSB adjustment from 100-250Mhz in 1Mhz intervals, VCore up to 2.2V, VDIMM up to 2.9V and best of all the ability to locked the AGP/PCI bus frequency. As such, i am able to increase the FSB all the way to 225Mhz at 2-2-2-5 memory timings after VDD mod and the max FSB attained is 240Mhz! Details here

Jan 11, 2003, 09:59 PM	#2
OnDborder DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 222 Rep Power: 0	What were the system specs that you ran that 240 on? __________________ "I was so insane with wanting to get even, I willingly believed anything" “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” Asus P5B-deluxe/6400/wc 2gigZ Crucial 6400 Evga8800gtx X-Fi Elite Pro 150gb Raptor/WDsata250 Silverstone 750

Jan 13, 2003, 04:07 AM	#7
OnDborder DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 222 Rep Power: 0	Did I forget to say "please"? __________________ "I was so insane with wanting to get even, I willingly believed anything" “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” Asus P5B-deluxe/6400/wc 2gigZ Crucial 6400 Evga8800gtx X-Fi Elite Pro 150gb Raptor/WDsata250 Silverstone 750

Jan 13, 2003, 08:49 AM	#12
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	Do you have a source? Cuz I doubt that . . . __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Jan 14, 2003, 12:00 AM	#16
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	Opps, sorry! I wanted to see a source about the system clock being 800MHz and not 200MHz (making FSB 200x4) If they stay with their CPU multipliers being whole numbers and .5's, their chips would be 3200MHz, 3600MHz, 4000MHz, 4400MHz . . . . the biggest jumps in clock speeds we've ever seen Unless they add smaller CPU multiplier steps __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Jan 12, 2003, 04:34 AM	#3
muzz DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: MA. USA Posts: 29 Rep Power: 0	It is a great board. I can tell ya that from personal experience.

Jan 12, 2003, 07:18 AM	#4
nForcer Twice the fun! Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,404 Rep Power: 0	240 nice. Can someone explain to me why AMD is still running slower FSB's than Intel? I think they are developing up to 800Mhz FSB for thier new P4. Why hasn't AMD followed persuit?

Jan 12, 2003, 07:53 AM	#6
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I read about this board over at Bit-Tech. It sounds like it maybe the board to pickup. Cheaper than the Asus board plus packed with the same features.

Jan 13, 2003, 07:21 AM	#9
nForcer Twice the fun! Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,404 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, I forgot about the whole multiplier thing, That makes sense now. So theoreticly, if/when Intel releases thier 800Mhz FSB CPU's how much of an advantage will they have over AMD in terms of speed? Some say a LOT, some say not much, and I'm not sure what to think. Any thoughts?

Jan 13, 2003, 08:33 AM	#11
Monkeyboy DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Vista: the woe starts now! Posts: 113 Rep Power: 0	Intel were originally going to use 667MHz as their next bus speed, but decided to skip it and go for the 800MHz one to compete with the upcoming Athlon 64, which also has an 800MHz bus. And guys, this won't be 200Mhz that's been quad-pumped, this will be a straightforward 800MHz pipeline, not just for the FSB but to connect ALL components in the system, inc. memory, graphics etc. HyperTransport baby, yeah!

Jan 13, 2003, 11:51 PM	#14
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	That one doesn't say it's not multiplied . . .