Thank you guys! Here is the *beast*

[Overkiller]

Epox Motherboard for AMD Processors 8RDA3+ Retail : $119.00
^^^^^^
i assume that it is better than the old 8rda+


Processor:

AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL : $94

Ram:
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, Low Latency (Twin Pack) 1GB(2 x 512MB) 2x(64MX64) PC-3200LLPT
With Platinum - Silver Heat Spreaders.Retail :
$283.50

Case/PSU:
ANTEC Performance PLUS Model PLUS1080AMG- with Antec Original TRUE 430W P4 Power Supply ATX12V Retail
$118.99

Cooling:
slk 800 and smart fan II is a nice combo for cooling:

~$75?\
Arctic Silver 3 Thermal Compound 6 GRAMS
Price: $13.95 $11.95 Sale!
Ceramique High Density Thermal Compound 22 GRAMS
Price: $10.95




Total: ~$691

This is w/out shippin / handling.... Before i buy i will have to quadruple check the specific week the cpu is from and stepping ...hopefully this beast will be bought within 2 weeks depending on when my car situation is resolved (lol..have to buy a new one :*( )...

Please Critique the essensils such as Case w/ the PSU <-- is it good enough? and also which compound!

This is a major upgrade (i.e. every 2 years) so it is quite important. thx all! and judging by the specs..i do believe an o/c is in order..cough cough..

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: Overkiller
Epox Motherboard for AMD Processors 8RDA3+ Retail : $119.00
^^^^^^
i assume that it is better than the old 8rda+


Processor:

AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL : $94

Ram:
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, Low Latency (Twin Pack) 1GB(2 x 512MB) 2x(64MX64) PC-3200LLPT
With Platinum - Silver Heat Spreaders.Retail :
$283.50

Case/PSU:
ANTEC Performance PLUS Model PLUS1080AMG- with Antec Original TRUE 430W P4 Power Supply ATX12V Retail
$118.99

Cooling:
slk 800 and smart fan II is a nice combo for cooling:

~$75?\
Arctic Silver 3 Thermal Compound 6 GRAMS
Price: $13.95 $11.95 Sale!
Ceramique High Density Thermal Compound 22 GRAMS
Price: $10.95




Total: ~$691

This is w/out shippin / handling.... Before i buy i will have to quadruple check the specific week the cpu is from and stepping ...hopefully this beast will be bought within 2 weeks depending on when my car situation is resolved (lol..have to buy a new one :*( )...

Please Critique the essensils such as Case w/ the PSU <-- is it good enough? and also which compound!

This is a major upgrade (i.e. every 2 years) so it is quite important. thx all! and judging by the specs..i do believe an o/c is in order..cough cough..

everything looks good!

what about your video card?

the difference between the 3 and the non3 8rda+ is that the 8rda3+ has more features like... SATA raid and stuff... so if you don't need or want that stuff, i'd actual go with the 8rda+.... i also hear that there is a rev 2.0 8rda+ out that has an adjustable vdd voltage which is essential for hitting those high fsb's with your ram (assumming it can handle it)

but yeah... looks great to me... good luck with it!

 

[Bound_Vortex]

-I don't know much about the 8rd3a+, but by looking at the difference between that and the 8rda, the main diff is SATA....8rd3a has it 8rda doesn't. If that is something you will be using then great, but the newer revs of the 8rda+ (with the C1 northbridge stepping) are great for 200+ fsb. Also from the pic of the 8rd3a from newegg, it looks like epox has added some cooling to the southbridge, albeit small. But it doesn't appear their are mounting holes for a different heatsink on the southbridge (i.e. to use a passive zalman attaching with pushpins and using AS3). Maybe the stock cooling doesn't need more, I have no idea.

-Great choice on the RAM, but for some reason I was remembering the LL variety of corsair having problems with nforce boards...I have XMS PC3200 sticks of 512 (non-LL) in my 8rda+ and they work flawlessly at 200 fsb. Also they would be $100 less than the LL variety..

-You can't go wrong with a Antec true psu, and 430 watts is plenty. The case looks good. IMO, $100+ should get you a removable mobo tray, but if you aren't used to one, it's a solid case.

-I've used nothing but AS3 and I love it. It works, and I have no urge to try something different. Some say it's messy, but I don't find it to be. Great stuff.

-Excellent choice for cpu, I am planning on building a comp with it in a month or so

-No video card. Was it omitted or forgotten?

You should be able to o/c this bad boy to 11x200 fairly easily, maybe on default vcore. That performance at +/- $600 is a great deal.


Edit: damnit, slow in the draw

Also, I just read your other post regarding this...the new rev of 8rda+ supports 400 MHz fsb and pc3200, and is an incredible buy at $85

 

[pspada]

Besides, I've heard of folks having problems with the 8RDA3+. Probably be fixed in a bios update, but still....:Q

 

[Corporate Thug]

let us know how your C goes

 

[compudog]

Looks sweet! Good luck on the build and keep us all posted. The 2500+ is a fantastic CPU for the money.

 

[pelikan]

The 8RDA+ has soundstorm, the 8RDA3+ doesn't have soundstorm and its onboard sound sucks, so depending on what you want....

 

[FluxCap]

Yep, sound is the biggest issue.

 

[Overkiller]

well i Already have this:

19" Viewsonic Pf790 Aperature grill .24-.25mm pitch
Labtech pulse 424
TDK 48X cd-r/rw
16X pioneer DVD-115
Who knows floppy
Sound blaster live 5.1 (replaced by onboard nforce sound)
and.....radeon 9700PRO

so i'm taking out all those from my current 1.2 ghz tbred, 768 MB Pc-133, asus a7v-133C , inwin- q500 case w/ 250 watt psu! 8|


so the new epox rda boards are not worth it.? how can i guarantee that the 85$ vanilla epox boards are of the newer revision EP-8RDA+ ?,,all it says is that it supports pc3200......doesn't say which revision # (at least @ newegg.com)...

[edit] forgot to add this piece:
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $82

 

[screw3d]

Since you mentioned that you r gonna replace your SB Live with "nforce" sound, I assume that you'll want Soundstorm? 8RDA3+ doesn't use southbridge that supports Soundstorm..so you'll have to stick with 8RDA+. As for the revision, most likely at this time you'll get the v1.1 A1/C1 chipset (in fact I can almost guarantee you), but as of now I don't think anybody here has seen the newer v2.0 boards yet.

Good luck!

 

[squidman]

8rda+ only got the codec...it aint got the MCP-T, just the mcp.

 

[screw3d]

Originally posted by: squidman
8rda+ only got the codec...it aint got the MCP-T, just the mcp.

U mean the 8RDA3+ ?