ECS K7SEM vs PC CHIPS 810LMR

[MCS]

Which one is better for a Duron 800, GF2 MX400 64MB, Crucial PC-133 and Windows XP?

Thanks

 

[Ziptar]

They are basically the same thing.... ECS owns PCChips... the BIOS is different though one is award the other is AMI... They look to be the same cost (ECS is a little Cheaper)... I would go with the ECS... Either way it's a cheap architecture board but for $60 odd bucks for all in one Video, Sound, (albeit crappy on both), Modem, and LAN I guess it's not bad....

If you already have a video card you might want to check out the ECS K7S5A (assuming you don't need a MicroATX Board). It is roughly the same cost as the K7SEM but uses the the SIS735 Chipset which is not a bad performer. It has bult in LAN and Audio. It has the AMR Slot for a Modem as Well. It also supports PC133 and DDR RAM so it leaves you a little room to upgrade and leapfrog to your next system...

 

[MCS]

So there is no difference in terms of sound chip, LAN etc? Which one has the Award BIOS? Are both boards stable? They are the same price where I am looking.

I need a board like this as I am building a mATX system for my front room, it does not have to be of amazing spec hence the Duron 800 and the MX400. Its going to be using my TV as a monitor, for an MP3/Divx player etc, and the occasional game at 640x480 but nothing heavy.

 

[Ziptar]

The sound is the same they both use AC97 they both have the realtek RTL8139C. The ECS uses the award Bios and the PCChips uses the AMI..


Oh yeah... as long as you are shopping around look for the Amptron K7- 810LM It is identical to the PC-Chips M810LMR uses AMI Bios as well...

and yet other variations on this motherboard/chipset....
Jetway 830CN
Shuttle MS21/MS21N
Asus A7S-VM
BCM IN730SE



I would still go with the ECS the quality of the PCB looks better than the pcchips it seems to be the cheapest of all and the most widely available....

 

[Peter]

Not really.

The M810LR uses the SiS chipset's internal LAN engine - you get lower ping and zero PCI bus load, as opposed to the PCI Realtek chip on the K7SEM.

Both boards do use the chipset integrated sound engine, however the M810LR has a 4-channel codec.

Finally, you get an AMR modem card for free with the M810LMR, and this board has been on the market for the longest time.

As for quality, ECS and PC-Chips are two different outlets of the same company.

But, MCS, why on earth would you want to buy a mainboard with integrated VGA, only to stuff a graphics card right away? Think again! You'd rather want to use something like PC-Chips M831LR.

regards, Peter

 

[MCS]

Hmmm. I just wanted to find a mATX board which had an AGP slot and onboard LAN and sound. I thought they ALL had video onboard and was planning on disabling it. I need to TV out capability you see. I am not sure which of the boards you both mentioned are available to me here in the UK, but I am definitely still shopping around and am open to all suggestion, thanks

Can I assume that either of you have had direct experience with any these boards?

 

[VTrider]

MCS:

I've built 4 systems around the ECS K7SEM in the last 5 months and am very happy with it's performance. All the machines installed without any hitches, and are still running very stable and reliable.
It's a nice basic onboard video/sound Matx board for nothing fancy kinda use, I don't really have anything to bad to say about it. Hope this helps...

-VTrider

 

[adlep]

EEHHHH!
ECS is using AMI bios as well
ECS is not using the Award Bios
for all of you smart a...es

 

[lsman]

newegg has a chaintech 7SID (sis735 chipset) m-ATX for $71 + 6 shipping

 

[skyking]

If you are planning to use a vid card anyway, my vote goes for the chaintech 7SID. Not overclockable, but very stable with the 735 chip. I have one, and the only bummer is the lack of onboard LAN.

 

[MCS]

Chaintech looks nice but I wanted onboard LAN ideally.

I much prefer Award BIOS if that is what the PC Chips has, but it doesn't matter too much as I will probably visit the BIOS all of once

 

[Peter]

So my suggestion still stands - use the M831LR. SiS 735 chipset w/ LAN and sound, no graphics, AGP slot, DDR and SDRAM slots. The little sister of the popular M830LR aka ECS K7S5A.

regards, Peter

 

[MCS]

I would but I can't find it anywhere here in the UK.

 

[Peter]

Try ECS K7S5M then. Same thing.

 

[MCS]

Having looked around at all the online places in the UK I could think of, it really was a battle between the original two boards I specified. I went with the 810LMR in the end, it appears to have better LAN and sound, but other than that it is essentially the same as the ECS one. As long as it all works in harmony with the Duron and MX400 I have ordered for it, and is stable running WinXP, then that's all I need. I do need to any advanced features or overclocking/tweaking. Thanks for your comments all!

 

[kmmatney]

Your setup would also make a nice MAME arcade gaming system

I've been thinking about making a mATX system for the very same reasons. DVD, playing MP3s, but MAME and Nintendo emulation arcading as well.

 

[MCS]

I have been wanting to stick a box in the living room for a while now, I even had a system prep'd for the job but the GF wasn't happen about me putting an ugly big tower case in there humming away...I agreed with her in the end, so the mATX was the way to go. Just hoping that the MX400 will be good for some 640x480 gaming action.

I hadn't thought of emulation but now that you mention that's a damn good idea

 

[Peter]

Now that you're getting the M810LR, you might as well give it a go using the integrated VGA
- it isn't all bad, and at 640x480 it'll be well fast enough for anything. MAME included.

regards, Peter

 

[MCS]

I didn't intend to ever use any of the onboard video of any of the boards for the simple reason that I need TV Out. Or does that board have TV out??

 

[Peter]

In theory, yes. In real life, no.

The original SiS idea has been that the AGP slot actually has two functions: It can take a complete AGP VGA solution, replacing the integrated video - but it can also take a special "secondary display companion" card, which would have the SiS 301 secondary display companion chip, and enable the chipset integrated VGA to serve a second head - either an LCD, a CRT or a TV set.

Since noone bothered make such a card so far, the only SiS chipset machines to have TV-out are those booksize PCs and notebooks - because if you want any of the SiS chipsets to drive an LCD panel, you need the 301 anyway and the TV-out is sort of free then.

regards, Peter

 

[MCS]

It's a shame I couldn't find the M831LR here in the UK. In actual fact, I have spent many hours looking and cannot find available ANY Sis735 based mATX motherboards ANYWHERE.