Hi there!
First time post here.
I would like to ask you guys which is the better NFORCE2 motherboard?
The EPOX EP-8RDA+ or the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe?
I'm after stabilty and overclockabilty...
Thanks to all replies in advance!

Hands down, A7N8x Deluxe. ASUS is always the best system board manufacturer.

Well...it really does depend on what your looking for!
If your looking for a board full of features, and possible for some overclocking then, go for the ASUS! But if your looking for some serious overclocking potential then the Epox would easily beat the ASUS there!

....also the EPOX is about £20 ($35) cheaper,

just depends what your looking for in the board

I'd ask for an opinion by someone who actually has one of them. See how they like it. I'm sure you've already read several reviews and the last thing you want is an opinion based on a review rather than actual usage.

Who's to say the Epox will overclock better than the ASUS? Budget boards usually have FSB steppings of like 133, 150, 166, etc. but all ASUS boards have 1MHz steppings.

The ASUS one has MUCH lower voltage possiblities, and MUCH lower FSB speeds, Epox going upto 250fsb with new BIOS, Asus still sitting at 211...

Using the OVERVOLT jumper (ASUS) you can reach 2V Vcore, which is overkill since you'll most likely fry a processor instantaneously with that voltage if you don't have like VapoChill or LN2 cooling.

And I doubt any amount of cooling would get today's processor FSB above 200(400)MHz. And ASUS goes up to 227MHz, BTW.

ASUS is more realistic.

It's not how high you possibly can overclock it, it's which board is more stable when overclocked. In this sense, the ASUS is king hands down.

These overclocking numbers are not for the standard air-cooling user, as 99% of us are. If phillai was this type of person, an extreme overclocker, he would know what kind of board he wants and wouldn't be asking us which is better.

Thanks for all your replies so far.

I'm still uncertain which one to go for though!

I am certainly not an extreme overclocker but I have my five case fans ready for which ever motherboard I'm gonna buy...

In favour for the EPOX EP-8RDA+ over the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe, I don't really need Serial ATA 'cause I got SCSI hard drives, dual LAN 'cause I got a dedicated 3COM 10/100 network card and SoundStorm sound 'cause I got an Audigy 2 already!

The main thing that puts me off ASUS is that I've had many problems with ASUS boards in the past and my friend absolutely swears by EPOX boards!

Does anyone have any bad points/experiences about any of these two boards?

Also has anyone seen any side by side reviews/comparisons for these two motherboards on the net?

Thanks once again!

"The CPU External FSB ranges from 100 MHz to 211 MHz, in 1 MHz increments from 100-200, and then 204, 207, and 211"

Please explain to me why the Asus is more realistic, and please show me some links showing it is more stable at higher clock speeds.....

And why wouldnt 200FSB+ speeds be possible with air-cooling, since we now have PCI/AGP locks on the boards, so as long as you decrease the multiplier you should quite easily be able to get to 200FSB with a good overclocker such as 2400+/2600+/2700+

As with all computer things, your experiences are purely subjective. I myself have never had one problem with an ASUS board, and I pretty much swear by them.

You can easily get the non-Deluxe version of the A7N8x. It's about $115, and doesn't have FireWire, SATA or RAID.

Truth be told, ASUS is better than EPoX. I think you will be more satisfied with the ASUS board. ASUS has built in failsafes, like their Q-Fan control, which adjusts the speed of the fans attached to the system board in accordance with system load. The EPoX, or any of their boards, have none of this.

Review them side by side yourself. Go to the EPoX website and look at the 8RDA+, then go to the ASUS website and check out what the A7N8x has to offer. Really look at the features, ASUS is brimming with them while the EPoX has just about none. EPoX doesn't even have something similar to ASUS' C.O.P.

Nforce2 Round-Up

In this review of all Nforce2 Mobo's, Asus and Epox came top 2...with ASUS receiving a "Silver Award", and Epox recieveing the highest possible "Gold Award"

Both appear to be top notch motherboards, have a read through the review to see what you think.... I personnally would spend the extra money and get the ASUS, if i were to get one of the two, simply due to the Asus having the "SoundStorm" which kicks ***

Though im waiting for a month or so, because i swear by ABIT, and im holding on until they bring out their second version of the NF7, which will include higher voltages, and 4 mounting holes around the CPU socket

I wouldn't get that Abit nForce2 system board, Cucumber - look at where the ATX power connector is. That's like the worst possible place to put that, and it serves no good purpose. It's the same with the EPoX. Then look at where the ATX power connector is on the ASUS - closer to where the PSU actually leads out.

Im not going to buy a motherboard soley on where the PSU connector is placed

Im waited paciently for the next rev. of the ABIT one... i love ABIT, plus im getting water-cooling in the coming months so i need a good Oc/er

*Edit* hmm, yer that is a pretty dumb place to put it though

Just wanna let you guys know that I opted for the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe mobo and it runs like a dream...
It's a really nice mobo and I'm very happy with it!

Good to know, you've made the right choice. I love ASUS, and so does every sane person to own a system board by them.

Statements like that will get you flamed or worse Veh. That is a VERY subjective view, as most of your Opinionated assumptions are. You need to get a little tact and try using a little more reason and a little less bias.

I do agree that Asus makes good boards and I have a few myself but I wouldn't go as far as to make comments like that.

People can feel free to flame me. Just email them to ignore@dont-read.nu.ll

:rolleyes:

OK, ASUS makes good boards. Happy?

I think you get offended to easily. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. He didn't say anything that I wouldn't take as 'just another shot'! I don't agree with him since we all know only a ***** would buy a Asus board!


If you haven't figured it out, that was a reverse 'shot'!

Is this a Ford vs Chevy thread?

Call me anything, but don't call me late for dinner..........

Hiya LateForDinnner, How you doing?

I've purchased the Abit NF7-S v2.0 with the latest nForce2 chipset core revision. I'm running it at 10x200 just now and thats with an SLK-800 and 80mm 1950rpm fan... wow... and I thought it was impossible with air cooling according to some sources :rolleyes: , and I'm working on stability with higher fsb through overvolting!, been up to 1.9Vcore so far, but need a faster fan to deal with the extra heat . Not to jump on the bash Veh bandwagon but if I'd read the post saying:

I would maybe take it as the truth, but since I have experience with running 200fsb on air cooling, and once I get a Thermaltake SFII 80mm fan I'm going to try for higher and move voltage.

I've also seen posts on a multitude of forums and websites with people reporting using 230fsb without using extreme cooling such as LN2 etc...

Basically if you don't know that something is indeed the truth, don't push it as the truth. A board full of half truths and guesses is of no use to anyone....

videobruce, if you had known the usual vehementi statements better, you could understand StormBringer better

*grin* to SB