Which mobo is better???? Biostar - M7VIG Pro or ECS-K7S5A

[setar]

Which mobo is better???? Biostar - M7VIG Pro or ECS-K7S5A

 

[tcsenter]

Well the M7VIG Pro has only been shipping for a week...maybe two weeks at most. The K7S5A has been shipping for well over one year and is very mature. The M7VIG Pro obviously has the added ProSavage 8 integrated video, so that might be considered a plus, but its not a liability since it also comes with an AGP slot if the ProSavage isn't up to your requirements.

The M7VIG Pro is little more than a major PCB revision of the M7VIG, which has been shipping for about four or five months. I have the M7VIG and I've had no trouble with it at all.

Both support Duron up to 1.3GHz and XP up to 2600+. Each has SDR + DDR slots. Both have onboard audio and lan. Neither are stellar overclockers as overclocking options are limited.

The K7S5A has five PCI slots to the M7VIG's three; ATX vs. uATX. I've never used more than three PCI slots + AGP in a system so having five or six PCI slots is not a big attraction for me. YMMV.

I've run some benchmarks on the M7VIG with 256MB PC133 and 850 Duron processor. The KM266 is slightly faster than my previous KM133A motherboard with the same RAM and processor, about 6 - 10% depending on the subsystem tested, using an external graphics solution. But I suspect that I'm hindering full potential by not using DDR RAM. Sorry, I don't have any DDR to test, unless someone wants to make a donation? 😀

The M7VIG Pro has the added benefit of integrated USB2.0 which is really attractive. Both are very close in price. Decisions decisions....

 

[setar]

Thanks for the info tcsenter.....

 

[optimistic]

Thanks for reporting the benchies! Nice to hear there is some gain going with this newer chipset. I am also considering about buying this board (the M7VIG Pro) to replace an aging unstable KT133a board.

 

[tcsenter]

Thanks for reporting the benchies! Nice to hear there is some gain going with this newer chipset. I am also considering about buying this board (the M7VIG Pro) to replace an aging unstable KT133a board.

You will not see a large benefit over a KT133A unless you use DDR RAM with the KM266. You might measure a benefit with a benchmark, but you'll be hard pressed to see it by that 'seat-of-your-pants' subjective feeling.

 

[Peter]

... and besides (yet again) replacing the mainboard because "it is unstable" usually isn't the right thing to do. In the vast majority of cases, the root cause for the lack of stability is elsewhere - bad RAM is quite common, so are overstressed power supplies that age quickly, as well as clogged up CPU fans and heatsinks (especially with smokers).

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: Peter
... and besides (yet again) replacing the mainboard because "it is unstable" usually isn't the right thing to do. In the vast majority of cases, the root cause for the lack of stability is elsewhere - bad RAM is quite common, so are overstressed power supplies that age quickly, as well as clogged up CPU fans and heatsinks (especially with smokers).

Hmm, I was also thinking that going from ATX to MATX might alleviate any power problems I was having with powering a bigger mainboard.

 

[jonno]

I was also considering the M7VIG Pro as a replacement for my IWILL KK266plus which also uses a VIA® KT133A chipset

The IWILL has always been flaky. I recently installed windows XP Pro and am using a dual boot system with win98se as my second choice OS. After a lot of work, everything is OK except Photoshop7.0, which regularly crashes the system without warning just doing simple tasks with small files. It works perfectly in win98se, but I'd rather work in XP Pro. I've tried every available fix that I can find on the web, to no avail. 512MB Crucial PC133 RAM, Antec 300W ps with only 2 pci slots filled. Me thinks it's time to try a newer mobo. Any thoughts out there?

 

[tcsenter]

Hmm, I was also thinking that going from ATX to MATX might alleviate any power problems I was having with powering a bigger mainboard.

Bad thinking. mATX might reduce some trace length here and there, by putting the same # of devices on a smaller foot print, but it is your devices that consume power, their relative trace length or distance from each other is an insignificant factor here for power consumption. Timing and termination issues, maybe, but not power consumption.

If your power supply is so marginal that it cannot adequately power an ATX board, it will not adequately power a mATX board, unless you were also planned to ditch a couple higher-draw PCI cards in favor of integrated hardware when you go from ATX to mATX?

 

[Peter]

Originally posted by: optimistic

Originally posted by: Peter
... and besides (yet again) replacing the mainboard because "it is unstable" usually isn't the right thing to do. In the vast majority of cases, the root cause for the lack of stability is elsewhere - bad RAM is quite common, so are overstressed power supplies that age quickly, as well as clogged up CPU fans and heatsinks (especially with smokers).

Hmm, I was also thinking that going from ATX to MATX might alleviate any power problems I was having with powering a bigger mainboard.

Size doesn't matter here. It's the components that draw the power, not the traces on the board or the empty slots. Sure, if you aim low in general (like when you're using an integrated-everything mainboard and a low spec CPU), power goes down. By doing the same thing on a physically smaller footprint, power consumption doesn't change.

 

[optimistic]

Okay thanks guys, I'll try attacking the problem from a differnt direction.

 

[tcsenter]

Okay thanks guys, I'll try attacking the problem from a differnt direction.

There is always a possibility of a failing capacitor, flakey voltage regular, or power source on the motherboard. It happens. But I would test out my RAM and other components before blaming the motherboard.

 

[Peter]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Okay thanks guys, I'll try attacking the problem from a differnt direction.

There is always a possibility of a failing capacitor, flakey voltage regular, or power source on the motherboard. It happens.

That's why I said "usually" above. Yes that does happen, but it's rare. Very rare compared to bad RAM, poor cooling, and weak PSUs.

 

[Boogak]

I've had my K7S5A for about a year and a half now and I just bought and installed a M7VIG (non-pro) a few weeks ago for my HTPC. Both are good boards for budget, non-overclocking use with a upgrade path to DDR if you're wanting to use SDRAM. Performance wise, I can't tell a difference between the two for everyday tasks. However I have read that the KM266 chipset in the M7VIG and M7VIG Pro is based off the KT266 chipset and not the KT266A, so the SiS735 chipset of the K7S5A may be a bit faster (at least with DDR, unsure with SDRAM).

I guess if you're wanting more integrated stuff, the M7VIG would be a better buy with integrated video (albeit a crappy ProSavage chipset which would not be very useful for gaming), better integrated sound (6 channel c-media vs. 2 channel on the K7S5A), and integrated USB 2.0. If you need room for expansion, get the K7S5A with more PCI slots.

 

[Peter]

K7S5A has had 4-channel sound for quite a while now ... and it's just being refreshed, v5.x (aka K7S5A pro) has an additional USB 2.0 controller on the PCI bus, with 4 ports, and the chipset's USB 1.1 controller's six ports are on expansion headers. Everything else (except for the legacy game port) is still there.

Of course, USB 2.0 on PCI is noticeably slower than chipset integrated USB 2.0. Still, nice move.

 

[DieHardware]

v5.x (aka K7S5A pro) has an additional USB 2.0 controller on the PCI bus

What's this!?...USB 2 on a K7S5A? Is it on a bracket or the two rear ports or...?

 

[Peter]

VIA USB2 controller in the upper left corner in front of the last PCI slot, ATX connector plate changed to have 4x USB2 and no more legacy game port, 6x USB1 on internal headers for either front USB or rear slot bracket thingies. Go look at the picture yourself at www.ecs.com.tw

 

[tcsenter]

and it's just being refreshed, v5.x (aka K7S5A pro) has an additional USB 2.0 controller on the PCI bus, with 4 ports, and the chipset's USB 1.1 controller's six ports are on expansion headers. Everything else (except for the legacy game port) is still there.

Of course, USB 2.0 on PCI is noticeably slower than chipset integrated USB 2.0. Still, nice move.

Hmm, SIS745 is now quite mature, has SIS stopped producing it or is the cost still high? One would think if ECS wanted to really give the K7S5A a boost and extend market life, migrate it to SIS745's DDR333, add USB2.0, 6-channel sound, and charge the same. JMHO!