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Epox 8RDA6+ PRO Socket A Motherboard Review
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO Socket A Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
Goodies include a built in hardware firewall, and nVidia's special nVRAID software which bridges RAID on both Serial ATA and regular Parallel IDE drives at the same time!
 84% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Epox Aug 10 2004   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Epox 8RDA6+ Pro

Benchmarks: X2: The Threat, UT2003

X2: The Threat Source: Egosoft

A completely rewritten 3D engine based on DirectX8 encompasses many visual effects such as volumetric Nebulae (gas clouds) that have a real impact in the game (you can hide in them), many new engine, shield, weapon and explosion effects. Objects cast real dynamic 3D shadows! Dynamic DP3 bump mapping allows a previously unseen level of detail.

X2: The Threat Benchmark Results 640x480-32bit
Motherboard FPS Ranking

DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B

114.023

Gigabyte GA-7VT600-RZ

102.873
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO 111.148
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO (216/432) 119.694

It should be pretty obvious by now, if you're a gamer and want to go with a K7 system, get yourself a nForce2 based motherboard! The VIA KT600 chipset just can't keep up.

Unreal Tournament 2003

Source: Epic

Unreal Tournament 2003 is the sequel to 1999's multiple 'Game of the Year' award winner. It uses the very latest Unreal Engine technology - where graphics, sound and game play are taken beyond the bleeding edge. Unreal Tournament 2003 employs the use of Vertex as well as Pixel Shaders and it's recommended that you use a DirectX 8 videocard to get the most out of the game.

UT2003 - 640x480
Flyby FPS Ranking

DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B

238.66

Gigabyte GA-7VT600-RZ

212.11
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO 236.67
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO (216/432) 247.12
Botmatch FPS Ranking

DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B

78.65

Gigabyte GA-7VT600-RZ

71.22
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO 75.39
Epox 8RDA6+ PRO (216/432) 78.01

The UT2003 benchmark confirms what the other tests have been saying, the Epox 8RDA6+ PRO is a very fast AthlonXP motherboard!

The end of an era...

With the K7 processor close to the end of its life, Epox have decided to have one last kick at the can... and viola, the 8RDA6+ PRO is born.

Based on the nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset and the new nVidia MCP Gigabit/Serial ATA compatible southbridge, the 8RDA6+ PRO is a very capable motherboard that is full of features.

It features native Serial ATA/IDE RAID, Gigabit ethernet, 7.1 audio, an additional Serial ATA RAID controller, IEEE 1394a and of course the Port 80 diagnostics card. Everything is well laid out and we have no real complaints, which is impressive. I guess it can be annoying to have to remove the videocard (if you have a long one) when installing memory, but that's the price you pay for having six PCI slots. Enthusiasts should enjoy the voltage controls in the BIOS too.

Overall, the performance of the Epox 8RDA6+ PRO was good. It kept up with the DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B in all the benchmarks, and that's pretty much the fastest nForce2 motherboard you can get. We were limited to a maximum FSB of 216 MHz which is a bit disappointing considering it's Epox, but I guess you can't win them all. If you're looking for your last Socket 462 motherboard, you might like what you see in the Epox 8RDA6+ PRO!

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Related Articles

Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...

1. Gigabyte GA-7VT600-RZ Motherboard Review
2. DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B Motherboard Review
3. Albatron KX18D Pro II Motherboard Review
4. Gigabyte GA-7VT600 1394 VIA KT600 Motherboard
5. Massive nVidia nForce2 Motherboard Roundup

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Motherboards Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: Epox 8RDA6+ Pro
 Pg 1.  Epox 8RDA6+ PRO Socket A Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  The 8RDA6+ Pro motherboard and CPU socket
 Pg 3.  BIOS and System Spec's
 Pg 4.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2002, Winbench 99
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra, Super PI
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: PCMark2002, 3DMark2001
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: AquaMark3, Comanche 4
 Pg 8.  — Benchmarks: X2: The Threat, UT2003

 
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