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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: theblt on March 09, 2003, 07:54:09 pm

Title: How about this configuration?
Post by: theblt on March 09, 2003, 07:54:09 pm
(From NewEgg)
ECS K7S5A PRO USB 2.0 SiS
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: rampy on March 09, 2003, 10:14:20 pm
one note:  you picked an OEM processor which doesn't come with a fan / heatsink

There's a biostar mobo that's a few dollars less (but has less pci slots, and has onboard video and no agp slot... but has an isa slot) EDIT one drawback is that it uses sdram memory chips...

my total was 107 beans with the same processor ...

*Shrug* you can find cheaper combo's via pricewatch, but the sellers are super shady according to http://www.resellerratings.com  

of course YMMV with bobo generic cheezwhiz motherboards....
rampy

BTW newegg is awesome - decent prices and good service

Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: SNAAAKE on March 09, 2003, 10:24:17 pm
i had good experience with bio star motherboard..i bought one couple of days ago..cant remember which one but supports cpu upto xp 2100,sdr/ddr,onboard sound/videe,agp,3 pci.

Also bought a cool masters fan and OEM duron 1300 mhz cpu..its all good for total of $95.motherboard was like $55 and cpu around $30.Fan was $10.

Perfect mame setup.unless you are not happy with 1.3 ghz cpu and you want a better one.
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: BombProofPlane on March 09, 2003, 11:16:59 pm
frys got amd 2000+ with mobo for 109 i got 4 months ago for 99 but its good
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: SNAAAKE on March 09, 2003, 11:29:45 pm
frys got amd 2000+ with mobo for 109 i got 4 months ago for 99 but its good

FRYS  ???
Got a link or somethin?

Looks like a VERY good deal..WOW :D
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: BombProofPlane on March 09, 2003, 11:41:27 pm
um you gotta go to the actual store they are only in a few areas mostly in ca http://frys.com/
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: Chris on March 10, 2003, 09:18:04 am
In my office, we use the K7S5A for all of our business PC's.  It seems to work well and be very stable, but we don't push the PCs so I can't give a good idea of performance.  The new Pro version has six USB ports, excellent for a cabinet.

--Chris
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: Warborg on March 10, 2003, 04:03:44 pm
In my office, we use the K7S5A for all of our business PC's.  It seems to work well and be very stable, but we don't push the PCs so I can't give a good idea of performance.  The new Pro version has six USB ports, excellent for a cabinet.

--Chris

Additionally, the K7S5A Pro has USB 2.0, not 1.1 (yes, I know it's backwards compatible)...

The ECS boards are OK budget boards, I ran one for a while until I upgraded to my Soyo Dragon Plus.  The ECS isn't fast, isn't feature-rich, and depending on your hardware can sometimes be a little quirky...  But for a budget board it's not bad...  The main thing is not to use off-brand hardware with it, try to stick to mainstream stuff.  Also, from what I have been told by Chaintech and a couple of other sources, don't try to run high-end video cards (such as the GF4 4600's) in this board, as even though the AGP socket is rated for 1.5v according to ECS, it has a hard time with power-hungry cards which can cause hardware failures due to the AGP slot not being able to handle the constant draw...
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: canardo on March 10, 2003, 05:45:45 pm
I have a ECS ks75a motherboard in my main machine running ddr and a geforce gts xp2200+

it runs a lot better than the abit board KT7 that it has since replaced due to be rock solid and able to run sdram or ddr

throughly recommended here
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: clok on March 10, 2003, 06:15:50 pm
Currently have (3) ECS ks75a boards.
1 with a 2200XP 512DDR G4 Ti200 OCed to 500 specs
1 with a 1400TB 512PC133 G3 TI200 (oced)
1 with a 1000Duron 128PC133 Matrox M2 (arcade Cab)

Havent had a problem with any (in fact my Cab has 42 days
uptime currently) this board is a great board (IMHO) for the price, and since it is the  #1 sold AMD board out (cant remeber where I read that) , there is alot of info on it (check this out)
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/ecs/k7s5aguide/

(caution, i do not recommend the things on this page (but they all worked for me))

It wont perform like a $200 board (or in fact some of the $100 newer boards) but being able to use older RAM or Newer is a big Plus in my book if you ever upgrade again.
If you look at a few reviews it holds up well side by side with much more costly boards (IMHO 2-10% slower then a board that costs 2X as much isnt bad). This is the board i put in all the quicky computers I build since i know its going to work, and work well.

Horror story: Bad stick of ram stuck in my brand new KS75A board, machine wouldnt boot up, smelled hot, couldnt find where heat was comming from, left machine on for 20 minutes, no fires, but wouldnt boot, swapped everything out that i could think of... bumped ram chip after about 2 hours of fumbling around, burned my hand, chip was actually melting. Pulled chip out, put new chip in, KS75A has had no problems yet (I burn DVD's with this so it has run for 5-10 hours straight many times).

I cant say enough good about this cheap board. Of COurse this is only my opinion... AND!!!! im talking about the older board not the newer one ( building another machine soon so will take a look at it soon).

Clok
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: SirPoonga on March 10, 2003, 06:19:04 pm
I have a ECS ks75a motherboard in my main machine running ddr and a geforce gts xp2200+

it runs a lot better than the abit board KT7 that it has since replaced due to be rock solid and able to run sdram or ddr

throughly recommended here

that seems backwards.  abits are solid boards.  I've known about 5 ecs boards that stopped working after 3 months.
Title: Re:How about this configuration?
Post by: Warborg on March 10, 2003, 06:38:25 pm
I have a ECS ks75a motherboard in my main machine running ddr and a geforce gts xp2200+

it runs a lot better than the abit board KT7 that it has since replaced due to be rock solid and able to run sdram or ddr

throughly recommended here

that seems backwards.  abits are solid boards.  I've known about 5 ecs boards that stopped working after 3 months.

Agreed...  Abit's are usually very solid boards and I don't go for a K7S5A outperforming it all things being equal...  The ECS is a great budget board, but it IS still a budget board.  I would think there was a problem or misconfiguration with his rig and the Abit board...