nForce2 6-way Motherboard Roundup - December 2002

Epox 8RDA+: Board Layout

There weren't too many layout issues to point out with the 8RDA+, but there were a few that we feel are necessary to point out.

On the left-hand side of the motherboard is where we see Epox decided to place the ATX (20-pin) connector. This is not the optimal position to place the connector since the thick ATX wires can easily become a nuisance since it'll obstruct the installation/uninstallation of the HSF in addition to any other components that can be modified around that area. If you're using an especially large HSF, the positioning of the ATX connector is an even bigger inconvenience.

All three onboard fan headers are placed well. The chassis and power fan headers are placed at the very edge of the right-hand portion of the motherboard. This way, fan wires won't have to travel far to their destination. The third fan header however (the CPU fan header) was placed a bit too close to the CPU clamps and DIMM connectors. This makes it somewhat difficult to sneak your fingers in this area to unplug the CPU fan line, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue unless you have large fingers.

We were surprised to see the Primary and Secondary IDE connectors placed in such an awkward position in relation to the AGP slot. Instead of the Primary and Secondary IDE connectors being positioned horizontally on the motherboard, they are placed vertically. Not only that, but the IDE connectors are placed below our installed video card. All in all this is quite a bad layout decision, as you likely be forced to maneuver your IDE cables in every which way to get them to reach an optical drive at the top of your case. The cables will probably also be hitting the video card on their way up.

Another poor layout decision was the placement of the DIMM connectors. The DIMM connectors are nearly touching the video card we used (GeForce4 Ti4600). The main reason we don't like DIMM connectors placed so close to the video card is because you're forced to uninstall your video card if you want to install any additional memory, which is simply a hassle.

Both the USB and FireWire headers are positioned fairly well. In fact, they're placed right next to each other, at the lower half of the mid-section of the motherboard. By positioning these headers in this manner, you're not going to encounter any case clutter, as you the USB and FireWire bracket wires will be taking up the PCI slots you decide to take up, and not any other neighboring PCI slots or other components.