Overclocking

You'll probably not be too surprised to here that the 8RGA+ is an overclocking demon. Epox listened very closely to the crticisms levelled at it over the 8RDA and took steps to keep everyone happy, not least of which being the addition of VDD adjustment. The CPU I have available for testing isn't the greatest overclocker so I was more keen to shoot for a reasonable FSB than overall performance. I again hit some problems with Corsair's TWINX which seems to have some major compatability problems with this board, managing to reach only 160MHz before refusing to progress. In the end I removed the TWINX and replaced it with a single 512MB stick of Corsair XMS3500 CAS2.0 which did the trick but which also inevitably lowered the performance a touch.

I've been fiddling with the board since I tested and have managed to hit 221MHz stable and 226MHz a little temperamentaly but with more voltage on the memory and chipset than I'd normally be happy running at long term. At the time of testing however I managed to hit a still impressive 210MHz with almost no trouble at all.

3DMark 2001

Even the move to single channel memory isn't enough to peg back the score and the improvement is clear. 1300 3DMarks is certainly a worthwhile performance hike.

15x133MHz

9.5x210MHz

 

 

This test was run using the High Quality Option @ 1600x1200
This test was run using the Direct3D Rendering Engine
This test was run using the full version of Unreal Tournament 2003
This test was run using the Custom_MaxDetail.ini provided by [H]ard|OCP

 

Unreal Tournament 2003

In this case we can see how the move from dual channel memory to a single stick has stunted performance and leaves the two sets of results very similar.

Legend

15x133
9.5x210

Conclusion

The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two catergories we've used are:

The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

The Mainstream User ~

For the mainstream user the 8RGA+ offers a fast, reliable and fuss free way to get the very most from your AMD processor. Epox boards have become fabled for reliable operation at very good prices but the trade-off is that you get very little beyond the absolute basics in the box. If the bundled software matters to you then the 8RGA+ will be a disappointement. If future-proofing features like Serial-ATA are things you'd like your next motherboard to be equipped with ready for when Serial-ATA hard drives become available in quantity the the 8RGA+ can't help you. The 8RGA+ offers reasonable onboard video suitable for normal 2D duties and enough 3D muscle for some moderate duty gaming but more importantly as your needs or your experience increases so this motherboard will grow with you. As a complete package it's far from the best around and the inclusion of just a single IDE cable smacks of penny pinching but at least you know what you're getting is damned good!

The Enthusiast ~

For the more advanced user, if what you're looking for is more overclocking headroom and BIOS tweaking options than is healthy then the 8RGA+ may be what you've been waiting for. With some very hefty FSB settings perfectly achievable provided your memory is up to the task the 8RGA+ is a great foundation for that extreme water or air cooled gaming system. It's not the most fully featured motherboard around and in terms of its flexibility out of the box, the lack of S-ATA and more advanced audio connectivity may be a problem to you and you may find you need to lay out more money to bring the board to where you want it in pure specification terms. My guess however is that those who buy Epox primarily do so to squeeze their systems until the pips squeak and in the case of the 8RGA+ that's a whole lot of squeezing. Integrated graphics may still be for for girls but the 8RGA+ is so much more than that! No fruity coloured PCB, no RAID, no active IGP cooling, no in-box-bundle surprises, just honest to goodness performance that seems tailored to fit the needs of the demanding hardware aficionado.

As always we value your coments which can be made over at out forums.