Saw This In Todays Fry,s Ad...

[hoov]

A Motherboard / cpu combo ECS K7S5A Motherboard and a AMD 2100+ cpu for $149.99 Its a good price but Is this a good motherboard?

 

[Ben88]

I got an Albatron KX400+ Pro and an XP 2000+ for $149 at frys.


"A Motherboard / cpu combo ECS K7S5A Motherboard and a AMD 2100+ cpu for $149.99 Its a good price but Is this a good motherboard?"

Thats a great deal if ECS makes mobos that are as good as albatron. I think i've read that ECS mobos are not the best overclockers, but I may be wrong.

 

[KAMAZON]

Originally posted by: hoov
A Motherboard / cpu combo ECS K7S5A Motherboard and a AMD 2100+ cpu for $149.99 Its a good price but Is this a good motherboard?

The better deal is the K7S5A+1.3 Duron for $79 in the So. Cali Frys, unless of course you're a hardcore gamer and your game could really use the XP.

 

[JeffBot]

If I am not mistaked the K7S5A is quite an old motherboard. It came out shortly after the VIA KT266 motherboards were released, prompting VIA to update to the KT266A. A great board for the time period, but it would be quite dated by now (no USB 2.0/ATA 133 etc.) Not bad for budget systems, but it is seems quite odd paired with a 2100+.

 

[QTPie]

This MB is ok. It has NIC and sound built-in. Has 2 DDR and 2 SDRAM slots which can't use both type at the same time; and that is the only thing I don't like about is. BTW, the width is wider than normal ATX board (can't fit in a mini ATX case)

 

[breweyez]

the K7S5A has a sis735 chipset...which is very quick....it came out before the kt266...and was a big hitter in its day(still a great board)....i still have one

 

[esun]

I'll say this: the board it stable. From what I've read, it is pretty fast as well (relative to the KT266/A and AMD 761 chipsets, which were popular during its release). I have one in my secondary computer (with a Duron I think 1.1 GHz) which I don't benchmark, so I can't really say much about that. It SUCKS for overclocking though, so don't buy it for that (you have to either use software or flash to an 'overclocking' BIOS, and even so you get jumps for the FSB like 100/105/112/115/120/133 or something, not 1-by-1 which is common on boards made for overclocking).

 

[hpfanatic]

You can't change the multiplier on this board, so if you have an unlocked XP, don't get this board.

 

[Mustanggt]

This same combo can be bought from newegg for $169 shipped all the time, frys charges me tax newegg does not so price at frys for me after tax would be around $160 $9 savings. and JeffBot is right about a odd match up, you dont put a 2100 on low budget mobo. I was thinking about getting this mobo for my wife her pc but i read to many horror stories about the ECS board.

 

[hoov]

Thanx guy,s or gal,s for your input. Trying to be politicly correct here. but I agree this is an older MB .
and I'm upgrading from a 900 Athalon/FIC AZ11E motherboard. not much of an upgrade as far as motherboards go.
will look for good buy,s on a KT333 MB

 

[foot]

This board is rock solid. Who cares if it doenst have USB 2.0? I used the 440BX for years because it was so stable. Id go for the power and simplicity of a tested chipset over bells and whistles anyday.

 

[hoov]

Good Point!

 

[Rokan]

I installed 1 on my dad's comp and 1 on my wife's comp... no problems or complaints. Good budget mobo.

 

[Royboy81]

Yes, good budget mobo. Kid has been fragging away on CS with it, a 1.0Ghz Duron and GF3ti200 with no problems. He wants something new/faster, but who doesn't? If you use headphones, and you want to use onboard sound, make sure you plug them into to amplified speakers (most are). The onboard sound has no amp!!! No amp, no sound from most, if not all, headphones (none that I have had anyway...) Or you can opt for a better sound card and disable the onboard sound. Most horror stories have fixes, like decent power supply or else it was user error. AMDMB.COM has a good discussion board on this and most other AMD mobos.

 

[RandyHarris]

I've been running this board with an AMD XP 1600+ since they both came out. Its a great setup, rock solid runs great. No its not the absolute fastest thing out there, but if you don't care and just want a nice inexpensive system that just works great then consider the K7S5A.

Having just said that, for only around $25 more you can get the MSI KT3 Ultra2 motherboard which is much newer with goodies like USB2, faster, and if like previous MSI boards, very stable.

 

[BurntCpu]

Both my son and I have the K7S5A paired with 1.1gig duron and a 1600xp been running these
boards now for over 9mos. only problem when i first got it I went the cheap route with 250w
power supply..fired up the browser and cpu fan would slow to a crawl, got 2 340w and been working like a dream ever since.

 

[HappyNic]

ECS K7S5A Motherboard is a great board. If you flash the bios to the lastest version it'll support all current AMD cpus,, up to 2600+ or something around there. you can also get a overclocker bios from www.ocworkbench.com to give you alittle bit boost. The only thing I don't like about this board is that you can't change multipliers, other than that this board is super stable for me. Give Sis chipsets a try.

 

[razorstone]

i have tried ecs mb, it's terrible

 

[RDMustang1]

Originally posted by: razorstone
i have tried ecs mb, it's terrible

If you're going to post a completely worthless post then why do it at all? You didn't specify WHICH ecs mobo is terrible or WHY.. Try posting more specifics next time...

 

[KSee777]

I currently am using a K7S5A with an Athlon TB 1.4 . I'm having absolutely no problems with the mobo itself. I run this comp close to 24 7 and never had any problems. I personaly think deals at Fry's is a good deal.