Epox 8RDA3+ ver1.1 and Abit NF-7S head to head ..

[Neoprene]

Hi ,

First of all hats off to all those who have helped me go from being a noob on here to getting the basics of OC`ing.

I had bought an Epox 8RDA3+ VER 1.1 as at the time it was Epox`s newest board , and began to overclock. However , I reached an impasse @2.3 ghz , no combination of Vcore, Vdimm or VDD would allow me to take my OC further. I tried every BIOS and still no improvement. I was one of the lucky ones , my RAM did not cause problems as it did with many on the 8RDA3+. Also my temps were creeping at load towards the 58C mark , even with the case side off. Not good. And I had reseated the heatsink many times and reapplied ( thinly and evenly ) AS 3 with no improvement. System temps were approaching 38C too !

I felt my chip could take more , so decided to take the plunge and buy an Abit NF-7S ver 2.0 , as I was impressed by others with OC`s on this board. I used EXACTLY the same components in both boards .RAM settings were identical . And slowly began my OC . I`m now finally Prime 95 stable @ 2.42 GHZ with the same VCore which my 8RDA3+ could only match @ 2.3 . Northbridge temps with the active cooling are 28C . I realise this is due to the active cooling. And CPU temps with the case side on are 50C .. a tad warm but this is air cooling.

I think the chip can go even further but I`m a bit tired of constant Priming and would really like to play games again which is what my system is really for

So for those of u who asked ..which board ?? Both are good boards, but I found the Abit could OC further and with less stability issues. Why ? hmm well not sure. I`m not so sure that the active NB cooling made a big difference .. maybe the ver 2.0 of the 8RDA3+ will prove me wrong. BIOS flashing via windows on both systems was easy. Installation no problem for either board, tho the ABIT now connected seems a bit neater layout wise. I miss the 8RDA3+ post LED tho

I have to admit I expected an even better OC at lower voltages from the Abit , but it still managed to get me higher than b4 , and I reckon it will go further. Roll on 2.5 GHZ !

[Daniel ~]

Let's see how front page likes your work! Thanks Neo.!

http://www.aoaforums.com/

[Neoprene]

Originally Posted by Daniel ~

Let's see how front page likes your work! Thanks Neo.!

http://www.aoaforums.com/

Hi ,

Well thanks for the front page post ! I didnt think it deserved it lol, I havent been as stringent as pro reviewers using exact benchmarking statistics . Just some anecdotal info , but the Abit board did perform better with the same components than the Epox . Now we need an 8RDA3+ ver 2.0 comparison to round it out

Cheers again !

Gerry

[Daniel ~]

We look for actual user experiences, this was yours.":O}

[Nate-X]

Bah I knew I should of returned mine to get an NF-7S!

[mookydooky]

Originally Posted by Nate-X

Bah I knew I should of returned mine to get an NF-7S!

One of mine just died. I don't think I'm gonna get another Abit. They just die too often...

[bldegle2]

Originally Posted by mookydooky

One of mine just died. I don't think I'm gonna get another Abit. They just die too often...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


i had one die too, but the RMA'd board is doing just fine. the dieing may have been caused by some insane clocking by me. after trying several other boards from different manu's, none compare to the ABIT's.

i stuck with the ABIT, is hauls a$$.

i have had Epox boards die too, but that doesn't keep me away from them forever, Epox just doesn't offer what ABIT has right now.

baldy

[bradmax57]

Im onto my third abit now but is fine at last