• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

ECS K7S5A + Antec 300W SmartPower PSU?

K

karmasalad

Senior member
Looking to build a cheap system with a bunch of spare parts I have lying around. I've pretty much decided on the ECS mobo and the Antec SX 630 II combo. However, before I go ahead with the purchase, I'd like to make sure they'll go well together.

I've read a lot on how the K7S5A is really picky about the power supply. Anybody out there have any experience with this combo on their system? I can't find any information on whether the psu is AMD approved or not, and I don't want to run into a situation where I end up having to spend more money to buy another psu or mobo.

Thanks! 🙂
 
You're good to go! I used the K7S5A with the greediest of all the 1.4 T-Bird with a Sparkle 300w that had a 3.3v&5v output of 20w less than your smartpower with no problems, even overclocked to 1.54ghz.
 
I don't believe AMD puts out an official lists any more as to what specific models of PSU are recommended. There are too many variables (and models) these days that go into stability related to system power. You have to keep in mind, it's not always the total wattage a PSU is capable of that plays a key factor, but rather it's operating behavior, stability, and/or quality of construction.

The Antecs are very reliable and powerful PSU's. They are highly recommended for most AMD/Intel systems in general, however I would have to say that my own experience with an Antec 300w pp303x (newer v2.04 version) and K7S5A was not completely problem free. It suffered from a very annoying "cold reboot" problem where if I were to start up the PC after a period of inactivity, it would require a few taps of the reset switch to get it finally going. Once started up though, it was as stable as can be with ample power to spare.

I solved the problem by not getting a more powerful PSU, but rather an older, weaker one (Powerman/Sparkle FSP300-60BT). Although the Antec had a higher combined wattage rating over the Powerman/Sparkle (160w vs 150w), the older PSU was able to initialize quicker than the Antec and solved the "cold boot" problem. The K7S5A just didn't like the addition few seconds that it took for the Antec to "warm up". The Antec, on the other hand, was clearly superior to the Powerman when ran with my old Abit KT7-Raid and later, my Epox 8k7a+.

I rebuilt another box recently out of my K7S5A. This time, I used a 250w AOpen PSU with it. No problems at all, rock solid. Moral of the story, before spending another $60-80 on a 400-500w PSU, swap out the one you have with another one if you have it. If you do need to buy another one, don't worry about getting another one that is either the same total watts or even lower. Chances are, you don't really need the additional juice.

My specs if need a comparison.
 
Why not save some time and $$ and get the Sparkle FSP300-60BTVS 300 watt PS. Unfortunately NewEgg has them on "Auto-Notify" at the moment but you can find them elsewhere for under $35-38. I've built a few K7S5A's with this PS and it works like a charm. Anyway, just another opinion thrown into the pot.
 
I did notice that this new SmartPower unit in the Performance2 case has been beefed up over the old ones. It has 220W on 3.3V + 5V, instead of 180W for the last one (and 160W for the one before that). What kind of CPU are you planning to run with it? Will it stay built or will you upgrade later?
 
Upon Further Review:And because I actually looked at the specs on the PS (doh), nevermind what I said about getting the Sparkle. As DAPUNISHER said, "you're good to go".
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
I did notice that this new SmartPower unit in the Performance2 case has been beefed up over the old ones. It has 220W on 3.3V + 5V, instead of 180W for the last one (and 160W for the one before that). What kind of CPU are you planning to run with it? Will it stay built or will you upgrade later?
Click to expand...

Right now I'm just planning on throwing in a 1.2 GHz Duron as I don't have much money to spend on stuff now. Other parts I already have that are going into it will be:

- Maxtor 40GB hd
- SoundBlaster PCI 128
- Matrox Millennium PCI 16MB card
- Netgear FA311TX NIC
- Adaptec 29160 SCSI card (for an external Plextor 12x SCSI CD-RW)
- a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

Been doing quite a bit of research on the motherboard, and I've seen a ton of people having a variety of problems with it (as well as many who haven't had any). Are these problems primarily stemming from an inadequate PSU that they're using or does ECS have poor quality control?

I've started looking at the MSI K7T Turbo2 mobo as an alternative. From what I've been able to gather, it's rock solid stable. It doesn't support DDR, but I only have SDRAM to throw into this build anyway. Plus, I doubt I'll really notice the difference b/t DDR and SDRAM with the basic apps I'll be running. The only downside is that it's based on an older VIA chipset and it costs $20 more at Newegg.

Thoughts/recommendations?
 
Hi,

I thought I would share my experience with the K7S5A. This motherboard is junk, I don't mean to offend anyone, but that has been my experience.

The ram support is terrible. I had two 128 meg 133 dimms installed and experienced crashes in 3d games constantly. I then bought a stick of DDR ram and tried that alone. The motherboard then had all kinds of cmos battery problems and usually would not even boot. I would turn it on and all that would happen was the fans coming on.

The solution I finally found was to use ONE 256 meg 133 dimm. I couldn't even use the DDR memory slots. I'm not the only one who has experienced these problems, I found out: http://pub65.ezboard.com/bk7s5amotherboardforum

anyway, unless you already have one laying around, I highly recommend you NOT use this motherboard.

good luck

:disgust:
 
I don't mean to offend anyone, but that has been my experience
Click to expand...
None taken and I hope you aren't offended either but I have built several systems with this board and, other than "user" mistakes (Oops! 😱 that means ME!), I have not had any trouble. Yes, you do need a decent quality PS but why would you build any system without one. Memory troubles? Well, in the very first part of the manual (and on the website) they publicize the tested and approved RAM. There are others that will work but you can consider this the "safe" list. I am not trying to start a flame war (trust me, I have been in way too many about this board), but I have been building systems with this board since the beginning of it's release and sometimes you get weary of remarks like, "This motherboard is junk", when all that has to be done is to pay attention to detail. And I am NOT accusing someone of not doing this either.
Let me put it to you in this manner. If you want to lose the opportunity to upgrade in the future to DDR; if you are not one that will "pay attention" to his "hard earned money" investment; if you don't give a darn about quality and just want to be cheap; then by all means, get a different MB. The K7S5A is NOT the one for you. It is an excellent price/performance MB but if you are intent on cheap only, don't do it. Seriously.
As to the MSI board, I will say that it is also a good one. I built one for my wife because they had one heck of a deal on refurbs once at NewEgg at just the right time when she was in need. She does not need the added performance of DDR though. Yes, there will be a noticeable difference if you do anything that is memory intensive. And later on, when you want to get a bit more out of your system for a minimal investment; you're stuck. No DDR. And BTW, the onboard sound stinks. This suits my wife just fine. Her web surfing, use of Office Apps and light use of digital photography do not tax the system. Only you can decide if that is going to be an "ok" route for you to take.
 
Hi,

What DDR ram are you using? Even though I'm "getting by" on this 133 ram, I would like to buy a couple 512 ddr's in the future... what brand do you use? If the recommended brand works better maybe I'll get it. Also, have you ever had the "disappearing cmos" problem? That's what I had when I tried to use SimpleTech DDR memory. Umm... sorry to get off topic, by the way, but if the guy decides on this mb he should know anyway.

thanks, good info, by the way.
 
Crucial DDR has worked just fine for me. I believe it is also on the "acceptable list" but I have not used 512 MB sticks though; only 256 MB. I'm sure you can check with Crucial on the compatibility but I'm pretty sure I remember some others that had used it. Just don't get ECC or registered RAM.
The "disappearing CMOS" trouble is mostly linked to the poor quality CMOS batteries that the ECS board shipped with for a while. Just replacing it with a good quality one from RS (or where ever), takes care of that. Again though, not a big issue with this board. In fact, I never had that trouble with the 6 or so (actually I think it is 8 now) units I have built with that board.
if the guy decides on this mb he should know anyway
Click to expand...
Information is great but only as long as it is accurate and on point. The K7S5A board went through a lot of critisism for a time; there were those that seemed to love to hate it. Heck, there were problems with the AMD 761 chipset and running SB Live cards for a while (and I own one-A7M266) which I to me was a much bigger, clearly documented problem. But with the ECS board it seems many tried to push their agenda to keep others from buying the board (not accusing you in any way of this BTW). Well, here we are over a year into it and that board is still around, still cranking out good numbers and still one of the better price/performance boards that is still on the market; especially when you consider it's "age". Ahh, I'm starting to ramble a bit. Bottom line is that it is a good board that allows you to save some money while also offering decent performance. Not the fastest around right now but certainly was for a while and "hangs in there" pretty well today for most except the pure hardcore power user. The added bonus of being able to delay the switch to DDR is just icing on the cake.
 
I tried getting a new battery at Radio Shack and I still had the problem. There is a fix I found on the net, but it involves soldering a resister to the MB which I don't want to attempt.
 
There is a fix I found on the net, but it involves soldering a resister to the MB which I don't want to attempt
Click to expand...
That is a bogus "problem" and "fix" and I don't recommend you try it. What I said was true; if you have a CMOS that resets on this MB you should replace the battery. If you truely cannot solve a problem with a MB using conventional means and without physically modifying the board, either RMA it or trash it. I don't care what or who makes the board. You could do all kinds of crazy and drastic things to "fix" many different makes and models of MB's. The bottom line is if you don't get a product you cannot use by normal means; send it back. I will not (re)start another debate here.
 
That is a bogus "problem" and "fix" and I don't recommend you try it.
Click to expand...

This problem is not "bogus" and is not unique to just my motherboard. Apparently, a lot of users of this motherboard experience the problem.

Here is a page on it:
http://www.geocities.com/mrathlon2000/

Here is a forum where you can read about other users with the problem:
http://pub65.ezboard.com/bk7s5amotherboardforum

I think it stems from an incompatibility with the DDR ram I was using as it went away when I switched back to PC133 ram. I don't care to send it back because I would get one with the exact same problem. Pretending this motherboard doesn't have some problems doesn't do anyone any good.
 
Hmm i was gonna put a link to the monster k7s5a thread a few months back, but when i did a search for the mobo, it came back with 28 pages of threads!! Most all of them are complaints/problem related.. I couldnt find the big thread in all that mess.

If I were looking at that kind of evidence alone, Im positive I would conclude that this board is a pos.

However, I was one of the early ppl who purchased this board, way back when and I slogged thru all of the problems, from low battery warning to psu issues. With the help of buz and others here I have been running this mobo problem free for almost a year.

And I mean problem free. I have never had a more stable setup... ever.
I dont think ive had an os related crash since I got it up and running. Win xp on 1.4 tbird, 1 stick of 512m ddr kingston ram running 24/7 in a non airconditioned room with a cat in it.

Back to the issue at hand, I started with exactly the same setup, an antec 1030 that came with that 300w psu. I had to yank it and Im running a codgen 340watter. I know codgen has had a bad rep too, but it was the best psu I could afford. (I was out of work then... one of the reasons I got such a cheap ass mobo!).

So the quick answer is my personal experience leads me to believe that you would have some problems with that setup. I highly reccomend getting a more powerful psu.

Otherwise, once you get this board up and running right, it is a thing of beauty.
It is the primary reason i am looking at getting the 648 chipset over the 845g/e.
K
 
Perhaps I'd better give a further explanation so you don't feel I am personally attacking you. By Bogus, I mean just as I said below, that if you have a board that you cannot use in a "normal" fashion and without making physical changes to, then that board should be returned. The "problem" is Bogus in my view because if you really and truely cannot run it correctly, then it is a defective board; not a "known issue or problem with a fix". So I guess you can say I have a problem with the "sky is falling" attitude of many (present company excluded at this time) that shout to the high heavens about "known defects" or "documented deficiancies" when the simple answer is that, just like even ASUS, Epox, etc have from time to time. Heck, as kki000 stated, we were around back in the beginning with this board. There were no less than 2 mega threads on it at that time. 99+% of all problems with that board were either user or setup related. Many were solved fairly easily but there were also some that could not be solved. At that point the answer was to RMA. Period. No adding resistors here or modifying the board there were needed. Yes, there were troubles with some of the (poor quality) CMOS batteries but those seem to have worked out of the system now. You can take ANY make of MB with a defect or flaw and potentially "fix" it by messing about with the electronics somehow (if you are knowledgable in that area). The bottom line is that that board should be replaced though; not altered. The fact that you chose not do replace it and to do the modifications does not make it a "known" issue of defect in the board. You made the choice. In fact by your own words: "I think it stems from an incompatibility with the DDR ram I was using " you helped create the problem. In the manual and on the website, ECS lists known compatible RAM.
Bottom line (again?!?) is I respect your choice to do whatever you felt you had to do. I also respect your right of free speech and your choice to give opinions, either way, on anything you choose. Please remember though, exaggerating, overstating or implications of known problems does no one any good.
BTW, there is an excellent Forum for the ECS board over at OC Workbench BBS. You will see some of the same problem posting and solving there and they have one of the best FAQ's for this board that there is.
 
thanks for the link to that forum. I've started a new thread on this message board about the k7s5a if you want to check it out.
 
I looked around and although I didn't see your exact name and didn't know what topic you posted. I saw a couple that might be yours but maybe you could let me/us know where it is.

EDIT:I thought you meant you started a thread on the OC Workbench ECS Forum. Why didn't you try it there? They have quite a database and collection of users there. However, it will be interesting to see what your "new" thread turns up.
 
There is another forum devoted to the K7S5A which might be of interest:

http://pub65.ezboard.com/bk7s5amotherboardforum

This group migrated away from OCWorkbench forums due to censorship issues there.

But getting back to the topic question, my 1-1/2 cents: I think the Antec SX830II should be fine with the K7S5A and the 1.2 Duron. I?ve built two K7S5A?s which had a CompUSA 300 W PSU, an Antec SX830 (303X PSU), and an Antec KS-282 (303XP PSU) which replaced the CompUSA case. Both of these worked fine with my 900 and 1 ghz Tbirds.

However, I do not recommend the K7S5A if this is to be the primary system in the home or if this will be a first-time project for the owner (although I?ve read of many horror stories from experienced builders with this board). This board is sensitive to how the memory chips and video card are inserted into their sockets. Also, once I had to reseat the video card after I installed a sound card?.it seems any physical force applied on the board can upset the electrical contact with the video card or memory. I also did a spring cleaning recently in which I removed the entire board from the case?.and when I reinstalled it, I got the infamous black no-post screen. The problem was solved by reseating the memory chips.

One last observation is that when this board crashes hard (e.g., overclocking the FSB), you can lose your CMOS settings which can be a nuisance more than anything else.

By comparison, I?ve also built more recent systems with the Shuttle AK35GT2 and the Soltek SL75DRV4. These do not seem to have the sensitivity to mechanical disturbances that I?ve observed with the ECS board. I?m not sure if the ECS board is made with thinner or softer PCB which causes this problem (purely speculation on my part). Also, I don?t lose the CMOS settings when they crash (again due to overclocking experiments).

Overall, I think the ECS board is a good value if you get it up and running and then leave it alone.

(I hope Buz2B doesn't flame me for this post).

 
(I hope Buz2B doesn't flame me for this post).
Click to expand...
Cute! 😀
Copperpipe, you needn't fear me. I'm a likeable kind of guy!!
Actually you expressed yourself well and made some valid points. I respect that as I am sure others do also. Case in point:
do not recommend the K7S5A if this is to be the primary system in the home or if this will be a first-time project for the owner
Click to expand...
An excellent point. The "problem" with this board is that it was (and still is) so inexpensive. Many, many people took it upon themselves to make it their first system build. They figure since it was so inexpensive they could "save some bucks" and build a kick a$$ system of their own. Wrong. This board was a completely different design that eliminated the Northbridge/Southbridge situation. It had (has) different idiosyncrasies that make it a bit touchy about some things: Power supplies and compatible memory are the prime example. No, you didn't have to spend mega bucks on a high end PS, but you needed to have one that would deliver minimally excepted AMD requirements. You also didn't have to spend mega bucks on fancy overpriced RAM but you did need to pay close attention to the quality and compatibility of that RAM. Sadly, many folks chose not to do so and blame(d) the MB for this.
As to your comment that you wouldn't have it as "the primary system in the home", I would have to disagree here. I have several clients that are currently running this system as just that; their primary home or business system. Of course, I built it for them also. 😉😀 (OK, terrible self centered plug there!) 😱
Lastly, your comment about the sensitivity of the MB to movement or "adjustments". That might, in itself be a somewhat valid point, as the board has ALWAYS been known to be sensitive to proper seating of the RAM and AGP video cards. In comparison though, I just spent several hours trying to get an Epox 8KHA+ MB to boot; only to find that the exact same problem was to blame..... the video card wasn't seated, even though I had done it twice. After I installed a couple of other cards (that worked BTW), I reinstalled the original card that origingally stopped the boot process and it worked fine.
Moral of the story; it can happen to the best of them.🙂
Thank you for your well thought out reply.
 
Thanks for your comments, Buz. After reading your reply, I think I will change my recommendation: I do not recommend the K7S5A if this is to be the primary system in the home AND if this will be a first-time build for the owner. I think it is OK for first-time builders to install the ECS board as long as they are aware of the problems they might encounter and the expensive solutions (new power supply or better memory) that may be required. But then the costly upgrades would probably be worthwhile investments for future systems, so it isn't like you'd be throwing your money away.

To be honest, I bought my first ECS board about a year ago as a "gamble" after reading about all the positive comments (before the influx of many negative ones) coupled with its low price. This inexpensive high-performance board just seemed too good to be true. But I felt that I needed a new challenge and the K7S5A seemed to offer that. Luckily, my first ECS build was trouble free and I ended up a few weeks later upgrading my other K6 system.

It now seems that there are a number of economical high performance motherboards in addition to the K7S5A. Undoubtedly, the K7S5A has had an impact on the motherboard market that has benefited the consumer.

Just one more bit of advice to karmasalad: if you decide to buy this board, I strongly recommend that you buy it from a reputable company that will not hassle you with RMA's in case you have to exchange it. Also, after you get it up and running, be sure to test it out fully using all of your software (games are good for this) as well as the usual diagnostics that everyone uses (Sandra, Burnintest, etc.) to be completely satisfied with your purchase. This is all just common sense.

 
First of I want to say that I have an XP 1600 with this mobo and an Anter 300W PS and it runs as smooth as it can get. No problems whats so ever. It is a cheap setup and I love it!

When it comes to DDR and SDR ram (at leas in this mobo) check out the FiringSquad research and benchmarks. DDR means squat, and from what it seems like you do get couple of extra frames but I'd say 10fps does not justify replacing all of my Micron 512MB SDR RAM - maybe you think/are different.
Link here
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top