ECS A970M-A Deluxe AM3+ $14.99 after MIR

[Leyawiin]

$44.99 - $30 MIR = $14.99

Pretty cheap for an AMD 970 chipset. Its not a great board by any stretch, but its more than adequate for a budget build. I put one together using an X4 980 BE I've had for a couple years in another PC and its running great. Yeah, it has some disgruntled reviews from the same couple of people over and over, but I had no issue. I'm running everything at stock - that CPU has a VID of 1.45v believe it or not. No sense in trying to OC it - it runs hot enough as it is. Oh, that rebate is in the form of an actual check, not a "rebate card". That's kind of rare these days.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135337

 

[Replay]

$5.39 shipping. Loaded with features for the money. Usually see stripped down uATX boards at this price point. Don't need it. Might bite anyway. Reviews are sketchy. Lots of bios complaints, maybe not all of the reviewers are idiots, so... dunno.

PCI Express x16 & x4, USB 3, 140 watt processor support, eSATA, Realtek ALC892.

 

[mdram]

never heard of ecs how are they?

 

[Leyawiin]

So far so good with mine. It gave me no issue upon assembling it and has very good sound quality. I actually kind of like the UEFI on this model - pretty straightforward and a fair number of options. I hope the rebate goes through without issue - $19.99 is just a silly low price for a full sized 970 board.

 

[msi1337]

They are motherboard manufacturer out of Taiwan. Typically the motherboards they make should only be used in budget builds. I have owned a few of them and had some good and bad experiences.. Bought two of them for $30 each. One of the mobos lasted 5+ years, the other 5 months. RMA process was not worth the hassle once you calculate postage, time, etc...

I personally don't care for rebates though, so I wouldn't even consider a low end motherboard after rebate.. spend the extra $30 and get a better one IMHO

 

[Leyawiin]

They are motherboard manufacturer out of Taiwan. Typically the motherboards they make should only be used in budget builds. I have owned a few of them and had some good and bad experiences.. Bought two of them for $30 each. One of the mobos lasted 5+ years, the other 5 months. RMA process was not worth the hassle once you calculate postage, time, etc...

I personally don't care for rebates though, so I wouldn't even consider a low end motherboard after rebate.. spend the extra $30 and get a better one IMHO

$49.99 is pretty low even without a rebate for that chipset. Plus the rebate is in a check so you can deposit it to cover the cost paid (unlike rebate "cards" that are only useful for buying more stuff). I really don't think I can go wrong for a spare parts build.

 

[nwo]

I really don't think I can go wrong for a spare parts build.

I am thinking about it.... :hmm:

But if a $40 single core sempron is the cheapest CPU I can put in there then no thanks. Are there any budget dual cores or quad cores that I can get? I really fell out of the loop of all the AMD sockets, so I have no clue which ones are (backwards?) compatible with what :$

 

[PingSpike]

I am thinking about it.... :hmm:

But if a $40 single core sempron is the cheapest CPU I can put in there then no thanks. Are there any budget dual cores or quad cores that I can get? I really fell out of the loop of all the AMD sockets, so I have no clue which ones are (backwards?) compatible with what :$

I think you can still anything AM3 in there right? If you're looking to get rolling cheap then a used processor is the way to go. I'm tempted to bite on this because AMD FX series support IOMMU/AMD-V but I kind of want a low power platform so I've been looking at richland with FM2 Asrock boards.

That said, working AMD-V depends upon bios support and I'm not sure I can count on that from an ECS board. And at $90 for the cheapest FX processor on newegg the whole platform isn't really entering super budget territory for me so I've waffled.

I have a $15 AR H61 ECS board in my HTPC that has worked fine.

 

[nwo]

I do not mind going used for the CPU, I just have no clue what AMD CPU/mobo compatibility is like these days. My point is that if this budget mobo + the cheapest half decent compatible CPU is gonna run me around $100 then I might as well go with a Micro Center combo deal instead for the same price, or heck even a Celeron + a decent H77 or H87 mobo comes out to ~$100.

 

[Mitch101]

Had a few ECS boards none of them lasted over a year. Arrived alive but short lived.

 

[Ranulf]

never heard of ecs how are they?

Damn young whippersnappers.

ECS' K7S5a was the cheapo budget overclocking capable board that got them some name recognition over ten years ago. I think I still have one sitting around with a 1ghz Duron in it. It ran fine but yeah... budget.

 

[mvbighead]

I am thinking about it.... :hmm:

But if a $40 single core sempron is the cheapest CPU I can put in there then no thanks. Are there any budget dual cores or quad cores that I can get? I really fell out of the loop of all the AMD sockets, so I have no clue which ones are (backwards?) compatible with what :$

If you live near a Microcenter, pair that with:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=058503#

 

[nwo]

If you live near a Microcenter, pair that with:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=058503#

I do!

I just thought of the same thing when I looked at the MC deal earlier today...

:hmm:

edit: just blew $140 on an open box Asus 270... so I guess I'll have to stash away the wallet for a while and restrain myself from going with this CPU + mobo deal.

 

[mvbighead]

Meh, in situations like this one... if it was going to save me in the long run, I'd move forward. Heck, you'd be looking at $80 out of pocket (plus cooler). Pretty darn good deal if you can put it to use.

 

[Leyawiin]

That is a good deal - wish MC was all over the place (nearest one to me is eight hours drive!). I agree though - $80 with an eventual $30 dollar rebate check - $50 for a capable enough new CPU and Mobo is about as good as one can do for a budget build.

 

[nwo]

That is a good deal - wish MC was all over the place (nearest one to me is eight hours drive!). I agree though - $80 with an eventual $30 dollar rebate check - $50 for a capable enough new CPU and Mobo is about as good as one can do for a budget build.

Eh, you suckered me into it.

$90-$30 rebate=$60 for a quad core AMD.... The main decision maker for me was that I was baffled that this CPU is the same price as a single core sempron. So to me, it was a no brainer choice, even if I decide not to stick with it. It also gives me a use for one of the two BNIB HSF I have. Besides, I was a huge AMD fan a decade ago, and I wouldn't mind making one of my dozen rigs AMD for once

Now I gotta start hunting for a good RAM deal :sneaky:

edit: oh and also... gotta love shop runner (free membership) for letting me avoid the $5 shipping charge :biggrin:

 

[Leyawiin]

Good luck! I've been gaming the heck out of mine with a mild OC on the Phenom II of 3.9 ghz. Been rock solid so far. Sent the rebate stuff in a few days ago - fingers crossed it all goes well.

 

[Doomer]

After reading the reviews, all I can say is I would buy it for 20 bucks if there was no rebate involved.

 

[KillerBee]

good to know ECS still in business
not much for overclocking but does the job if need to go cheap

 

[Leyawiin]

After reading the reviews, all I can say is I would buy it for 20 bucks if there was no rebate involved.

Newegg reviews... unless from a very large sample... can be utterly worthless if you get a couple disgruntled people with an ax to grind. A number of the one star reviews are from the same person posting two reviews.

 

[nwo]

Newegg reviews... unless from a very large sample... can be utterly worthless if you get a couple disgruntled people with an ax to grind. A number of the one star reviews are from the same person posting two reviews.

I've seen newegg reviews of people bashing video cards because of their low hashrate. For instance, 200kH/s on a Radeon 265... It was obviously a troll review and thankfully newegg took it down. However, you can't catch them all.

You can't take any online retailer reviews too seriously.

 

[SunRey]

Thank You!

 

[Leyawiin]

Newegg lowered it to $44.99 ($14.99 after MIR)!

 

[Replay]

FREE SHIPPING TOO!

OK, I'm in. Next up, get one of those cheap Microcenter quads.

 

[nwo]

Newegg lowered it to $44.99 ($14.99 after MIR)!

WTF....

They lower it on the day they ship my order out... Thanks newegg

Time to get my 5 bucks back via chat support :biggrin:

I'd order another one because at $15 after MIR it's a steal, regardless of how good or bad the motherboard is. Too bad it's still the same rebate offer though so I wouldn't be able to file another claim