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Onboard Peripheral Testing
There was a time when an item such as onboard sound, or onboard LAN would have been considered a luxury item, but that is no longer the case. Almost every enthusiast motherboard nowadays, no matter the chipset, have all the fancy stuff, so the question is, does the Epox 8RDA+ stand out? One advantage it should have over non-nForce2 boards is the Hypertransport, which should allow for less CPU usage since the PCI bus will not get congested.
Audio Testing
We downloaded and installed to test its CPU utilization. Here's a screen grab (click to enlarge)...
CPU utilization was extremely low though all the tests, scoring a bit better than the CMedia, but a little worse than the Metis reviewed recently. In terms of sound quality, using our Logitech Z-560s, it sounded very good. Compared to the standard Realtek ALC650s I've tested in the past, games had more depth than I was used to. Compared to the Audigy I typically use, I had a hard time differentiating between the two. Certainly, if your PCI solution is lacking, or you don't have a sound card, with the nForce2, you probably have nothing to worry about.
LAN Testing
We used to test the networking speed, and Windows Task Manager for CPU usage. We copied a variety of install files, varying in size of 300kb to as much as 70MB per file from the Epox machine, to our Shuttle XPC.
 
Download (left), Upload (right)
Download speeds averaged about 8.8MB/sec, and upload speeds about 9.3MB/sec. Previous tests with the MSI Metis had similar results, thus the nForce2 MAC doesn't hold any special advantage in terms of speed. CPU usage was another story though, as the 8RDA+ averaged about 7% CPU, whereas the Metis was closer to 18%.
Hard Drive Tests
Firing up HD Tach resulted in 10% CPU Utilization, and 14.2ms access times. I was actually very disappointed with these results as the KT400 scored 5% CPU Utilization. In real world use, I don't notice much difference, but 5 tests with HD Tach netted the same results.
Final Words
Epox did one fine job with the 8RDA+. With support for 333FSB CPUs, ATA133, quality sound and LAN, six PCI slots, and an extremely overclockable package, you're looking at a board that should have a long lifespan.
That being said, the board isn't without its problems. CPU utilization with its hard drive controller is fairly high. The BIOS is excellent, in that you have loads of options, but the method Epox uses to select things such as FSB or AGP speeds is a little annoying. If my CPU is running at 100FSB (a common occurrence since testing the OC abilities often required a CMOS reboot), and I want to go back to 210, I would have to cycle through 110 settings until I get to it. The ability to key in a value would be much more convenient.
Although the nForce2 MAC is decent, Gigabit LAN would have been more forward looking. Same can be said for the lack of Serial ATA. Since there aren't many SATA drives, other than those by Seagate, out in force, this isn't a concern now, but 6 months from now, that may be another story. Having a RAID controller would have been a bonus, but it would have added to the cost of this board, which also happens to be one of the better bargains out there.
Overclocking, cycling through FSB settings aside, couldn't have gone more smoothly. We hit a wall at 230FSB, but I'm certain some watercooling would have allowed us to go a bit higher. With the ability to unlock TBreds, without bridge connecting, will make it very easy for people, inexperienced at unlocking, to overclock. Keep in mind this only works for TBreds, and not Palominos. The PCI is locked at 33MHz, and the AGP and memory speeds are adjustable, eliminating a hurdle in the quest for the perfect overclock. Stability was excellent as well, with nary a hiccup during the OC tests.
Equipped with a quality heatsink and fan, some fast ram, and a TBred, you'll have yourself a very speedy system. Add an ATi Radeon 9700, which happens to work just fine on a nVidia board, and you'll have a system that will run Carmack's next brain child with ease. Well, I'm sure 640x480 will run well...
Pros: Overclocking ability is excellent, feature packed, nForce2 peripherals will likely retire the stuff you currently use.
Cons: BIOS overclocking should be streamlined, no SATA, no 2nd MAC, high CPU utilization with hard drive controller.
Bottom Line: If you're looking for the fastest AMD platform on the market, the nForce2 is definitely the way to go. You'll have to be careful though, since it's up to the manufacturer to include whatever nF2 features they want. The 8RDA+ includes most of them, and if overclocking is your bag, you won't be dissapointed with it.
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Epox 8RDA+: Although they are no strangers to motherboards, the 8RDA+ marks the first time Epox have worked with nVidia. With the nForce2 getting a lot of good press, we take a look at Epox's nForce2 solution, and determine if this motherboard is worth consideration.
