RMAed EP-8RDA..

Hello, overclockers,

I have contacted and talked to the tech support guy numerous times, asking whether or not I can replace my defective motherboard with the '+' version of the 8rda. Unfortunately, he told me they weren't even gonna start thinking about it until after theyve tested the mobo. Not trusting they'd actually test it with my setup, I sent them an email telling them what problems Im having, and my take on the situation. If you all dont mind, you can spend the next few minutes reading my email to them. Happy reading

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OK,

I just got off the phone with the tech support guy, and he told me you guys were going to test the motherboard before youll make a decision about whether or not to ship me a replacement. I am glad to hear you guys are actually going to take the trouble to do that. But before you all go ahead and decide whether the motherboard is indeed defective, I'd like you guys to know the problems I'm having right now, and test accordingly.

number 1: my system will NOT shutdown after installation of nForce2 drivers, unless done so manually(power off button on case). If I uncheck 'automatically restart' in my computer(right click)/properties/advanced/startup and recovery/system failure, i will just get a blue screen indicating some conflict with nv_agp.sys and ill have to power off my pc manually thereafter.

#2: My system will NOT post if my voyetra turtle beach santa cruz pci sound card is properly inserted in any of the PCI slots. No image on boot, just a few beeps.

#3: 3rd ram slot will not allow my 256MB of Kingston ddr333 non-ecc ram to be inserted, no matter how hard I push.

#4: Even though my motherboard was jumpered 133mhz/166mhz for the cpu fsb, my system started up with 100mhz fsb, with BIOS detecting my cpu as an xp1500+. Even though this problem was easily corrected, it makes me wonder why my cpu didnt start up with 133mhz fsb when the motherboard was jumpered correctly...

This is my setup, if it'll better help in your diagnosing of the probloems:

AMD Athlon XP 2100+(tbred b)
EPoX 8RDA(the defective motherboard i shipped out)
256MB Kingston ddr333 ram (non-ecc)
PNY 64MB GeForce2 MX400 video card (PCI)
Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1 channel pci sound card
Toshiba 16x48x DVD-ROM

Now I would like you guys to know what i think the causes of the problems might be. Firs of all, since the Blue screen indicates a problem with nv_agp.sys, I believe the problem might lie with nForce2 driver thinking I'm using an AGP card, when in fact Im using a PCI. But this shouldnt be a problem at all, as I already have 'init display graphics set to PCI first in BIOS. problem #2: i really do not know what might be causing this problem. I already had the onboard AC97 audio disabled in BIOS. Problem #3: bad design, maybe? and problem #4.....again, i dont know.

All these problems(except for problem #3) just go back to what I strongly think may be causing these conflicts. A bad BIOS. I think the BIOS might be corrupted or something, and this is not uncommon for EPOX motherboards. You can see all related information @ www.8rda.com , a website dedicated for the 8rda mainboard.

Please test the motherboard on these problems. Please do not just plug things in and watch it boot up, then tell me theres not a problem with it and ship it back. I wrote such a long email only to let you guys know what really is going on. Again, i really appreciate your tech support guy emailing me back and forth and answering my inquiries. Your customer service is surely top-notch.

Sincerely,

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btw, I am using a 450watt psu...

no suggestions?

id just try a new battery in the mobo and a bios flash.
mine will boot at 15x100 also after a failed oc.part of the watchdog thingy i think.

but yes id say its acting screwy also.and if those dont fixt it id rma it also.especially if no mods were done to it.

thx for your reply,

in case you didnt notice, my thread's titled 'RMAed board', which means its been RMAed. hehe.

No, no mods were done to it, and yes, before I sent it back, my last atempt was a BIOS flash, whic didnt work.