Should I get a ECS K7S5A? Yes or No?

[chechi]

I want a mobo that supports DDR. I have $100 to spend.
Here is my currant system:
1.4 AMD T-Bird
Asus A7V133
512pc133 RAM
Geforce 4 Ti-4600
SB Audigy

Should I get it, yes or no? What is a good alternative if no?

 

[SonicTron]

ECS K7S5A doesn't work with Ti 4600 because the IDE ports get in the way


You should try to pick up a decent KT266A board or spend a bit more and pick up an nForce 415 board.

 

[chechi]

Hmm that sucks, but I am looking at a picture of the mobo, and I see the potential for a problem, but then again, it looks like it could be alright depending on which way the ide cable goes.

 

[iamme]

If you have $100 to spend, get an Abit, Epox, or IWill.

If you only have $50, then buy the ECS.

I've returned one K7S5A, and now I'm having trouble with another. Just my personal experience.

 

[chechi]

I dont really know about mobo, so when you suggest Abit, Epox, or IWill, I dont know where to start. What models and such, ect. I am shopping on newegg.com too by the way.

 

[tinman101]

Abit KR7a or Epox 8KHA+ both outstanding boards and the Epox can be had for a C-note or less.

 

[Boonesmi]

some good motherboards based on the via kt266a chipset for under $100... hehe listed in order of my preference

EPOX EP-8KHA+ $91.00
SOLTEK SL-75DRV4 $92.00
SHUTTLE AK31A $76.00

my first choice would be the
SOYO K7V DRAGON+ $142.00
but it cost well over $100


prices taken from newegg.com

 

[CoDerEd]

I'm not sure but I think Epox has problem with GF4 too, it's the capasitor that too close or
something like that, and my personal experiance and some from the forum Abit has problem
with Audigy(Creative in general)

SOLTEK SL-75DRV4 $92.00
SHUTTLE AK31A $76.00

Those two is good for under $100 I believe,
If you want to spend little bit more I suggest
IWIL XP-333 I believe it's around $110
it support DDR PC2700 and the best on overclock
it has 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, and 1/6 PCI divider while most
mobo including my KR7A only has 1/3 and 1/4

"...we should never forget about the Iwill XP333-R. The board offers a lot of room for overclocking, and its performance is on par with the KR7-RAID. It does not have the same level of flexibility withe KR7-RAID in terms of memory bandwidth, but it does overclock better and it has very nice integrated audio device. Both boards offer the Highpoint HPT372 RAID controller, which is a plus, but keep in mind that the XP333-R runs at around $40 cheaper than the KR7-RAID." -- anandtech.com


well good luck on mobo hunting

 

[bowie71]

No, because you have $100, don't be so cheap to built a system, unless having no enough money, like me,.. buy EPOX 8KHA+ or IWILL XP333,... I don't think you don't have extra 10-15 dollar to buy IWILL mobo... GOOD LUCK

 

[oldfoof]

EPOX 8KHA+ 100%

 

[CoDerEd]

See this thread.

 

[ShadowK]

I work as a tech/system builder and I have built at least 70+ systems with the ECS K7S5A. It has one of the most anemic chipsets for AMD processors but its also one of the cheapes and most stable boards i have seen (for the price),

most of the problems I have found with them are in the install

1. make sure the CMOS has been cleared and the jumper is set back to normal
2. the AGP connectors on so of the boards are a bit odd (some video cards don't seat properly the first time they are put in )
3. the latest BIOS update helps


my 2cents
ITS A GREAT BOARD for the price
stable
not overclocking frendly though

 

[SilverBack]

I wouldn't call the system performance on this particular board "anemic".
The performance with DDR ram is actually quite good for the price.
It's faster than the AMD 760 and VIA KT266 ( not 266a ) boards ( all SDR boards as well ) and it is indeed very stable.
Like the guy above said though, there are really no overclocking features to speak of.


Oh yeah, GF4 4600 boards DO fit this motherboard, I know I have tried. The Secondary IDE is indeed under the card, but by no means keeps you from using either one.
If you want to pull the cable you just take the video card out.