ECS vs Jetway Pro

[darthsidious]

So, I'm looking to build a new computer soon, and don't plan to upgrade or game really (except for some old RTS games).So should I get the ECS RS-480-M or spend a little more, and get the Jetway JetWay A210GDMS-Pro board. Do either have any Bios issues running at stock (I've heard some of the Overclocking feautures on both have had bios issues). Which one is a better performer at stock speeds. And finally, does the southbridge of the ECS really suck compared to the one on the Jetway? How bad is the SATA performance compared to the nforce4 solutions?

Also, does anyone have any clue as to when the RS482 based motherboards are coming out?

Thanks

Jetway Board Link

ECS Board Link

 

[o1die]

I'm interested too. But as to go with ecs or Jetway, I'd go with ecs. Jetway may or may not have the board manual available yet. You may need a bios update at some point. Neither company is the greatest for tech support, but ecs is bigger, so at least you have a chance of some communication with them. If you still want the Jetway, try sending them a detailed email with a question similar to mine "when will you have the manual for xxx posted at your website"? See if you get any response.

 

[darthsidious]

thanks

Do you know if either board has any stability issues at stock speeds?

 

[o1die]

The Ecs rs480 had one bad post about stability, but that could be anything. I would search for another brand if you can find it. I used Jetway once for an old k6 400, and had no problems with it. Check newegg's return policy for either brand. Ecs charges about a $30 fee to return anything. And use a good brand power supply, such as thermaltake, antec, sparkle (fortron) or enermax.

 

[darthsidious]

Well, I read that the MSI board is a lower performer than the ECS board. As far as newegg's return policy goes, it seems you can return stuff for a 15% restocking fee.

I'd really like it if someone could give me an idea of which of the RS480 based boards is the most stable/trouble free/better performing at stock speeds(I don't really care about o/cing comparisions)

Thanks for the input so far

 

[darthsidious]

Oh yeah, I'm going to be using a Fortron Source PSU (400W dual rail)

 

[ND40oz]

Originally posted by: o1die
I'm interested too. But as to go with ecs or Jetway, I'd go with ecs. Jetway may or may not have the board manual available yet. You may need a bios update at some point. Neither company is the greatest for tech support, but ecs is bigger, so at least you have a chance of some communication with them. If you still want the Jetway, try sending them a detailed email with a question similar to mine "when will you have the manual for xxx posted at your website"? See if you get any response.

Who cares if the manual is posted online, it comes in the box and it's a good manual. Jetway will email you back within 24 hours when you email them. I actually have the GDMS-Pro and am currently running the rev. 2 bios which has been modded by one of the members at the hard forums. They released the third rev. of the bios a week or two ago. So there have been 3 official revisions of the bios since the board started shipping in June. I think that's pretty good support thus far. Please don't bad mouth a board or the company that makes it if you have never dealt with them.

 

[darthsidious]

So how has your experience with the board been? Any stability issues? And does the onboard video ram actually help by a significant amount? How hard/easy was it to setup (This will be a first time build).

Also as newegg is OOS on the board, do you know any other reputable dealers it is available at?

 

[ND40oz]

Not sure where they are available at besides newegg, I bought mine there. It was easy to setup except the first one I got was DOA. Had to RMA it, after speaking with Jetway through email to confirm it wasn't me doing something wrong. Second one I had in the case in 30 min from when I opened the box. Stable all the way to 267, although after 250 you may start to see weird things happen. Currently only the 5x and 4x HT mulipliers work, so that may cause the instability above 250. My 3000+ clocked up to 2.4, but I leave it now at 2.25 (9x250) unless i want to crank it up. You can overclock the onboard video, stock it is at 250, can take it all the way to 350. With it at 350 and the processor at 2.25, I got 1770 in 3dmark03, I didn't bother with 05. That is the best score for the chip in 3dmark03 on the ORB, atleast it was the last time I checked.

There is also a 5 page thread on this board somewhere here in motherboards.