Epox 8rda+

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Right, for starters, crackign board even if its physically given me the most chew ever, its been a bugger to get fitted and its quite cramped in my full tower case of all things, so much so that DIMM 1 is unusable meaning no 128but mem interface for me :(

However i have a problem, the onboard network card keeps showing a cable unplugged sign and my other NIC is not shown when i insert it. Am i missing a BIOS setting anywhere some one can help me with?

Secondly, does anyone know of a tweak site for the board

Cheers

--Jakk:t

[BipolarBill]

Did you get the chipset drivers loaded?

http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

Try the NIC in another slot. Clear CMOS if need be.

Win2K I assume? :p

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Hex-Pee

MI got the cable disconnect thiing sorted.. my ister hadnt turned the other machine on :whoopsie:

Anyone know of any tweak guides then as the BIOS is quite a bewilderign step up from a Kt133a i can tell you :o

--Jakk:t

[crucibelle]

Jakk:

http://members.cox.net/8rda/

http://www.systemcooling.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=417

http://www.8rda.com

----

Also, there is tons of great info to be found on the forums linked below:

http://www.amdforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9

http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=27

-----

First of all, if you haven't alread, you need to flash to the latest
official bios. Also, update the drivers to the newest version 2.03.

Real quick, some of the more important bios settings:

If you plan on overclocking, set "CPU interface" to Optimal instead of Agressive

Set your memory to 100%

Setting "System Performance" to "Expert" will allow you to access the full range of fsb frequencies (goes up to 250, I think).

Disable "CPU Thermal Throttling"

Disable all onboard things that you don't plan on using (ie:
firewire, serial ports, etc.)

If you notice video acting screwy or showing up as 1x on 3dmark, make sure AGP 8x is enabled, whether you have 8x capable card or not

As for RAM timings, try 6-3-3-2.0. if everything is kosher, try 6-2-2-2.0 or even 5-2-2-2.0. It all depends on the RAM though, as you probably already know. I have Crucial 2700 set at 6-2-2-2.0, but had to up vdimm to 2.77 (that's with moderate oc of fsb though - 166).

-jeanna :)

[BipolarBill]

Originally posted by crucibelle
Disable "CPU Thermal Throttling"...at your own risk. If the CPU fan fails, you're out a processor.

[crucibelle]

default CPU Thermal Throttling is 50% (I think) if you choose to leave it enabled (but there are range of percentages). There's also shutdown and warning temp options. :)

-jeanna

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Thanking you very much jeanna :)

--Jakk:t

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Oh, i have a question, how can i flash the BIOS if my HDD is an NTFS partition?

Can i use a normal win9x one with the flash files on board or not?

--Jakk:t

[BipolarBill]

Jakk - what does a boot floppy care about the file system on a hard drive?

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I know, thats why it worked :D

--Jakk:t


Edit: I seriously think im loosing my marbles this past week :(

[crucibelle]

You're welcome, Jakk!! ;) I'm glad you figured that NTFS thing out, cause I don't know a thing about it. :D

Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa


Edit: I seriously think im loosing my marbles this past week :(


Don't feel bad. I lost mine a long time ago and have yet to find'em... heheh :x

-jeanna

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Im really irritated i cant use 128bit dual memory channeling :(

As good as this board is i cant help but feel the layout is pretty bad. The IDE controllers are too far down the bottom of the board, which is an issue in a case as large as mine, and the DIMM 1 slot is far to close to the HDD bay's. Im a lil annoyed about that :(

--Jakk:t

[BipolarBill]

Oh, quit whining and buy a new case. It's good for the economy! ;)

[crucibelle]

Jakk - yeah, i think you should get another case - the EPoX deserves it... lol ;) I put my harddrive in one of the lower bays - towards the bottom of the case. I agree though, the IDE controllers are a little low. I had to put my CDRW in the second bay instead of the top one - not really a big deal to me though. The thing that is most bothersome to me is the placement of the psu connector. I have to run my wires around the back of my heatsink. I saw/read somewhere that you could run them over the top of the psu though, so I'm gonna try that and see if it works. Hope you get everything sorted, Jakk! ;)

-jeanna

[BadBadNeil]

Originally posted by crucibelle
Jakk - yeah, i think you should get another case - the EPoX deserves it... lol ;) I put my harddrive in one of the lower bays - towards the bottom of the case. I agree though, the IDE controllers are a little low. I had to put my CDRW in the second bay instead of the top one - not really a big deal to me though. The thing that is most bothersome to me is the placement of the psu connector. I have to run my wires around the back of my heatsink. I saw/read somewhere that you could run them over the top of the psu though, so I'm gonna try that and see if it works. Hope you get everything sorted, Jakk! ;)

-jeanna

lol i had the same problems with mine. I wish the IDE connectors where higher up or something and the floppy was above the IDE's since typically your floppy drive is mounted above the hard drives. Everything connected with some forcing but its a messy install becuse of x crossing PS wires everywhere and IDE cables. I was trying to do a neat install but after about 4 hours of connecting and disconnecting I gave up on neatness....

neatness aside my case is completely badass and everything is SUPER FAST. Have had no problems with the board to date and im sticking with the orginal bios and drivers.

:D

[causticVapor]

I'm lucky that I have a midi case -- the HDD is on the bottom and nowhere near the memory sticks. I could have a dual memory channel had a person bound to contract not bugged out and gotten me another stick of RAM. :rolleyes:

Must be some very awkward cases you guys have -- The mobo is big, I will admit, but it fits into my case. And there's ample room to the right of it with three optical drives installed. :confused:

BTW -- Jakk -- what is your NB stepping? And I'm hoping your board is rev 1.1... If any of the #s on the northbridge end in A3 then you're one happy bugger; you'll be able to reach 200 FSB with ease. And while you're at it, put heatsinks on the southbridge and voltage regulator MOSFETs. Don't forget the rectangular vreg chip above them as well. More heat will be dumped into your case afterward, but the stability will be worth it.

And don't cry -- there isn't that much of a gain with dual memory channels, and your 2400+ should make it to 2.3-2.5. (I'm hoping it's AIUHB)

Let's see how it goes. :t

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Im not to boshed about hitting 200 FSB, iwanna brign it up to 166FSB for now (i like to stick to standard settings :x) and then when i startto really need the performance maybe go for 200FSB

--Jakk:t

[causticVapor]

"Im not to boshed about hitting 200 FSB...."

Bah fudgemunions.... :p

All ye party lepers.... :D

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Im sceptical as to wether my PC2700 would make it to 200FSB also :confused:

--Jakk:t

[CrypticFiend]

If you plan on overclocking, set "CPU interface" to Optimal instead of AgressiveHmm... are you sure? Because when I tried to overclock my 8RDA with that set to optimal, it only gave me 3 FSB speed choices. Definitely not what you need for OCing.

But I definitely like this board... especially with the overclocking it's let me do. I kid you not, I have my 1700+ running at 2.3GHz. This board doesn't even give it a rating much beyond 2.1GHz, so it just lists it as 2300MHz in POST. Oh, and that's with Crucial PC2100 ram. My FSB is at 184. I would never have believed this ram could do that.

Anyways, good luck!

[Bigjakkstaffa]

The crucial PC2100 ECC stuff matches the regular PC2700 in terms of how high it will overclock

--Jakk:t

[crucibelle]

Cryptic Fiend - Yes, I'm sure. ;) The only thing that changes what FSB speeds are available is the option "System Performance". CPU interface has no effect on that. What BIOS are you using? I use the latest official BIOS.

-jeanna

[crucibelle]

Cryptic Fiend - Here is a pic of my BIOS. I just picked a random FSB speed. System Performance is set to Expert and CPU interface to Optimal. :)

-jeanna

[Bigjakkstaffa]

You running at 229 FSB Jeanna?! :eek:

If so, nice one :D

--Jakk:t

[crucibelle]

Jakk - no, no.. i think my comp would probably blow up if I tried to do that... lol :D I just set it to that to illustrate to Cryptic Fiend that a full range of FSB speeds were available with CPU interface set to "Optimal". I ony run my FSB at 166 - not in to the "extreme overclocking" thing. :D

BTW, I'm using Crucial PC 2700 and it runs well at rated speed, but I don't think it would do much better than that (not on my comp, anyhow). I don't mind that it only runs 166 mhz (that's what I wanted), but to pass Prime95, I have relax the timings. I was kinda hoping I could run it at faster timings. Of course, maybe the RAM is not the problem. Could be my CPU, or psu (I guess??) I don't know. Everything else is stable at 6-2-2-2.0 though, so I leave it there. How important is Prime95? Is it absolutely necessary to be able to pass this thing? I'm thinking maybe I need to relax my timings even though everything else is stable? :confused: :confused: :confused:

-jeanna

[Bigjakkstaffa]

..what on earth is prime 95 :confused:

--Jakk:t

[crucibelle]

Jakk - here is some info I copied from the "stress.txt" included with the Prime95 program:
-------

Today's computers are not perfect. Even brand new systems from major
manufacturers can have hidden flaws. If any of several key components such
as CPU, memory, cooling, etc. are not up to spec, it can lead to incorrect
calculations and/or unexplained system crashes.

Overclocking is the practice of trying to increase the speed of the CPU and
memory in an effort to make a machine faster at little cost. Typically,
overclocking involves pushing their machine to the limits and then backing
off just a little bit.

For these reasons, both non-overclockers and overclockers need programs
that test the stability of their computers. This is done by running
programs that put a heavy load on the computer. Though not originally
designed for this purpose, this program is one of a few programs that
are excellent at stress testing a computer.


RESOURCES
---------

This program is a good stress test for the CPU, memory, caches, CPU
cooling, and case cooling. The torture test runs continuously, comparing
your computer's results to results that are known to be correct. Any
mismatch and you've got a problem! Note that the torture test sometimes
reads from and writes to disk but cannot be considered a stress test for
hard drives.

You'll need other programs to stress video cards, PCI bus, disk access,
networking and other important components. In addition, this is only one
of several good programs that are freely available. Some people report
better finding problems only when running two or more stress test programs
concurrently. You may need to raise prime95's priority when running two
stress test programs so that each gets about 50% of the CPU time.

Forums are a great place to learn about available stability test programs
and to get advice on what to do when a problem is found.

The currently popular stability test programs are (sorry, I don't have
web addresses for these):
Prime95 (this program's torture test)
3DMark2001
CPU Stability test
Sisoft sandra
Quake
Folding@Home
Seti@home
Genome@home

Several useful websites for help (look for overclocking community or forum):
http://www.overclockers.com
http://www.arstechnica.com
http://www.hardocp.com
http://www.anandtech.com
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.sharkyextreme.com
Also try the alt.comp.hardware.overclocking Usenet newsgroup.

Utility programs you may find useful (I'm sure there are others - look around):
Motherboard monitor from http://mbm.livewiredev.com
Memtest86 from http://www.memtest86.com
TaskInfo2002 from http://www.iarsn.com/


WHAT TO DO IF A PROBLEM IS FOUND?
---------------------------------

The exact cause of a hardware problem can be very hard to find.

If you are not overclocking, the most likely cause is an overheating CPU
or memory DIMMs that are not quite up to spec. Another possibility is
you might need a better power supply. Try running MotherBoard monitor
and browse the forums above to see if your CPU is running too hot.
If so, make sure the heat sink is properly attached, fans are operational,
and air flow inside the case is good. For isolating memory problems, try
swapping memory DIMMs with a co-worker's or friend's machine. If the errors
go away, then you can be fairly confidant that memory was the cause of
the trouble. A power supply problem can often be identified by a dangerous
drop in the voltages when prime95 starts running. Once again the overclocker
forums are a good resource for what voltages are acceptable.

If you are overclocking then try increasing the core voltage, reduce the
CPU speed, reduce the front side bus speed, or change the memory timings
(CAS latency). Also try asking for help in one of the forums above - they
may have other ideas to try.


CAN I IGNORE THE PROBLEM?
-------------------------

Ignoring the problem is a matter of personal preference. There are
two schools of thought on this subject.

It is likely that most programs you run will not stress your computer
enough to cause a wrong result or system crash. A few games stress your
machine and a system crash could result. Stay away from distributed
computing projects where an incorrect calculation might cause you to
return wrong results. You are not helping these projects by returning
bad data! In conclusion, if you are comfortable with a small risk of
an occasional system crash then feel free to live a little dangerously!

The second school of thought is, "Why run a stress test if you are going
to ignore the results?" These people want a guaranteed 100% rock solid
machine. Passing these stability tests gives them the ability to run
CPU intensive programs with confidence.

[causticVapor]

In a nutshell, Prime95 is an excellent app when in search for a Mer-something Prime. It's also good for CPU stability testing.

Some people have been able to reach 250MHz FSB with an A3 northbridge VDD modded.:eek:

I have an A3 northbridge and with no VDD mod, it can reach 207-208 stable. Anything above that won't POST, but looks promising. :D

Your PC2700 just might reach 200 FSB with PC2700 @ 2.9v. It's just more likely with PC3200. :t

[CrypticFiend]

jeanna - you're probably right on that, but I do seem to recall some issue I ran into with the CPU interface set to "optimal" vs "agressive" that didn't let me OC.
The crucial PC2100 ECC stuff matches the regular PC2700 in terms of how high it will overclockThat's interesting to know. I do indeed have the ECC stuff... at the time I bought I had no idea what the difference was between the two. But since then, I'd thought ECC was only necessary for some mobos, and useless otherwise. But if you're right (and I believe you are, because I've never heard of normal Crucial PC2100 that could be OCed this far) then ECC is definitely worth the extra cost. I'll keep that in mind for the next time I buy some.

Thanks for the info on Prime95. I'd read about it somewhere, and wanted to download it, but I couldn't remember where I read about it nor what it was called. Now I know what to look for... I want to use that to verify completely my system's stability at 2.3 GHz. I'm still skeptical that it'll be show as completely stable when faced with a serious test, like P95.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I dont 'do' volatges anymore, i once ended up wazzing a BIOS chip because of it and had to wait about two month for a replacment :( :mad:

I liek to stick to the simple things now, FSB and multiplier aslong as the CPU comes unlocked

--Jakk:t

[crucibelle]

Originally posted by CrypticFiend
jeanna - you're probably right on that, but I do seem to recall some issue I ran into with the CPU interface set to "optimal" vs "agressive" that didn't let me OC.


Cryptic - I do recall someone over at amdmb.com saying that setting it to "Agressive" stopped his instability probs when OC'ing, so I guess it's a matter of trial and error. I've noticed that most people, however, have more luck with the "optimal" setting. I guess you just have to play around with it to see what what works best in your particular situation :D. Prime95 is pretty tough, I can run Sandra burn-in and Seti just fine, but Prime... arrggg!! I hate Prime95!!!! :D :r

-jeanna

[GenearlFoxz]

G`day mates ... thought i might stick to the Aussie Steriotype :P
i got meself a 8rda+ the other day and it runz GREAT "touches wood" unfortunatally me case is a Aopen HQ08 and me memory slots are covered under me hdd's :( but iam buying a new Xaser III 2000a soon so ey hope i aint got any problems with that one i got meself some extra long ide cables and made rounded ones :D so i can put me drives RIGGGHHT up the top

Anyways Cheers Blokes
Catch yas l8tr

[Bigjakkstaffa]

me memory slots are covered under me hdd's

Its a bugger isnt it :(

--Jakk:t

[GenearlFoxz]

Ah yeah i rekkon ey
hrmm just noticed why i failed english spelt me nick wrong d:P
ahhhh well

but yeah Besides the obvious fact of a ****ed up ram slot placement me board runs fine with me Xp 2400+ d:) gunna buy me a radeon next but aint sure when the new Geforce comes out so i think ill just sit back and buy a 200 gig hdd d:)

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Yeah man i tried to get the RAM into DIMM 1 and it sparked offa the HDD :eek:

I was crappign on myself, took it out and it was all okay though *heaves a sigh of relief*

--Jakk:t

[CrypticFiend]

Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa
Yeah man i tried to get the RAM into DIMM 1 and it sparked offa the HDD :eek:

I was crappign on myself, took it out and it was all okay though *heaves a sigh of relief*

--Jakk:t
Whew, that was close! Ya gotta hate it when that happens! Dude, you need a bigger case. :)

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I dont think its possible to get much bigger :eek:

Full tower case about 3 feet tall, 5x5inch bays and 4x3.5inch bays,

Put it this way i wouldnt liked to have installed iton a midi/mini case :eek:

--Jakk:t

[GenearlFoxz]

S*** man that would have been close ..

Meh iam buying an Thermaltake Xaser III 2000a the hard drive bays on that are sideways so the cables dont hang ova ya motherboard and stuff ey .. but they dont come out in Australia till mid march d:(

[causticVapor]

What kind of mutant contorted cases do you guys have? I'm in a midtower and have plenty of room to spare to the right of the DIMM slot. :rolleyes: :confused:

[GenearlFoxz]

i got an Aopen HQ08 or something like that full tower what case have you got ?

[causticVapor]

It's a Koolance PC2-C.





A brit and Aussie conversing eh mates... :p :x :r :D