Which one of thes three boards would you pick?

[ahsia]

I am building a machine for a friend, and here is what is important to him:

Stability/Performance/Price

So I narrowed it down to three boards, since price is an issue for him.

1. ECS K7S5A

2. SHUTTLE AK31A

3. EPOX EP-8KHA+

I know ECS is cheap, but I have heard about stability issues. Some say it is not very stable, some say it is rock solid. I know the EPoX board is excellent, but it is also the most expensive one of the three. Seems like Shuttle AK31A is well received. So which one will it be, guys?

 

[johndoe52]

I'd say the Epox board. The ECS board worked fine for me but I've seen a lot of people with problems with that board. Not sure of the shuttle board but I'd still go epox.

 

[Rainguy]

That Shuttle is a rock solid board. It is the board I use the most for my customer builds where they don't want to spend a fortune. No issues at all and no RMA's

I'd pass on the ECS....doesn't compare to the other two in my experience.

 

[oldfoof]

Epox 8KHA+

No doubt a-bout-it!

 

[Prfstrkr]

I would not be hesitated for any teeny tiny moment to choose Epox rather than the other two

 

[bowie71]

I'm a happy ECS user, but I'll pick shuttle rather than Epox or K7S5A cause the criterions are price, performance and stability, I know Epox is stable and perform good but Shuttle is as good as Epox with a cheaper price. Anyway, it's also because shuttle is made by ECS,..

--------
Do you dare to have a mobo with one less capasitor like mine?....

 

[Peter]

The ECS isn't as tolerant against wimpy power supplies as the others, that's all.

Get components that really are OK, and then concentrate on getting everything right during assembly
- that's the secret in how to build a stable system.

Whatever you choose, do a thorough RAM test. There is so much bad or flaky stuff in the channel
currently, I'd never accept any DIMM without a few hours of error-free memtest86-ing. www.memtest86.com.

regards, Peter

 

[CoDerEd]

ECS K7S5A

 

[CyNics]

Epox 8KHA+
No doubt about that.
Stable, fast and excellent support

 

[Underclocked]

Ditto above, in fact - buy the combo I'm selling. Went to 1.8A at 2.4GHz. More of a sidegrade than upgrade but it is a little more quiet.

 

[AA0]

I would say the epox for a few reasons, stability is the first. The shuttle board has known stability issues with all the DIMMs full. ECS has issues of every type. Although both ECS and Epox need a good psu, epox boards are terrible on the 5v line often.

 

[ChrisADuffy]

<< Epox 8KHA+ >>



Agreed.

 

[CraigRT]

ECS? no..

Shuttle, Yeah, but the 8KHA+ is better...

 

[Boonesmi]

by far my first choice would be the 8kha+

 

[Hendrik]

Definitely ECS K7S5A.

If stability is your first priority, you'd be out of your mind to go with any VIA based motherboard. Even if it works ok at first, eventually it will catch up with you.

As people have already said, the K7S5A needs a stable, clean power supply - contrary to what people think, it does not need a big power supply (350W or more). Mine works very well with a Silencer 235W (PC Power & Cooling).

 

[CraigRT]

<< If stability is your first priority, you'd be out of your mind to go with any VIA based motherboard. Even if it works ok at first, eventually it will catch up with you. >>



lies.. the K7S5A is not better than either of the other 2 boards... if it was, you would see everyone voting for it, and no one would spend more money to buy more expensive boards. but they are better... the SiS 735 is not bad... it's the ECS name that makes it suck. BTW VIA is fine too.. I've been running VIA based boards now for the better portion of a year.. pretty much bliss... not a single glitch or problem, and they are fast and stable... I'd not hesitate one bit to buy either of these other 2 boards for a nice budget AMD rig.. I wouldn't even upgrade my mobo if it was going to be made by ECS.

8KHA+ or AK31A hands down.

 

[ahsia]

Although I REALLY appreciate all the responses, seems people have different opinions on this topic. Even though I do have gripes with VIA chipsets, because I use to own one, and I know the trouble with the 4-in-1's and other stuff that shows, I have heard MANY good things about the EPoX and Shuttle. ECS seems like a popular board, but I am scared about the problems I've heard, even if it comes with the integrated LAN.

So I am still torn.... here are a few more questions for you:

1. Will a good, AMD approved power supply really make some of the problems the ECS K7S5A has had go away?

2. Will I have to worry about the 4-in-1 driver issues with the EPoX and Shuttle?

3. What do I need to look out for if I do get either the EPoX or Shuttle board? (Is there a FAQ I can read on what to look out for?)

Thanks again for all the responses!

 

[Hendrik]

I want to limit myself to your first question (but I know I won't succeed).

Get a PSU of around 300W by one of these brands: Enermax, Antec or PC Power & Cooling (I think the last of these is the best, but it's also the most expensive: about $65 for 235W). In combination with such a PSU, the ECS K7S5A is going to give you nothing but pleasure.

I have now built two systems with it, and I haven't had any stability or compatibility issues at all - an incredible contrast with all VIA based motherboards I have ever used, with all of which any innocent hardware installation (a new video card, a PCI card, a USB device, you name it) could turn into a troubleshooting nightmare.

Ignore the VIA fanboys, do yourself a favor and get the ECS.

 

[CraigRT]

<< Ignore the VIA fanboys, do yourself a favor and get the ECS >>

\

Fine, I won't argue anymore.. because their price is so good, buy like 5 so you don't have to go to the store every time you have a DOA or dead mobo..

It's worth it right. since they are so cheap, you can just replace it after a few months or whenever it decides to die, well they suck until they die too.. i had the misfortune of setting up a K7S5A PC.. i have NO idea why people skimp on the most important thing in the PC... the mainboard.. companies like ECS should stay out of an anything but OEM market... BOOOOOOOO!

 

[Hendrik]

Yield:

i had the misfortune of setting up a K7S5A PC..

What was the setup (PSU, CPU?), and what was the problem?

I just had the pleasure of putting together my second K7S5A PC, on both occasions set-up was smooth as silk.

I'd love to find out how the K7S5A has acquired its reputation for being tricky. I suspect it's because people use sub-standard PSU's; I've also heard that there may be problems with the 1.4 GHz Thunderbird. I've been using Athlon XP's and first-rate PSU's only.

 

[Stanman]

SHUTTLE AK31A and EPOX EP-8KHA+ are both good boards, I have them both. The thing is ANY Shuttle or Epox or for that matter any one of the other 25+ boards that I have running here now are better than the ECS. It is complete junk. I had three of them DOA and the fourth worked about two weeks. I threw it in the trash where it belongs and was glad to see it go.



<< companies like ECS should stay out of an anything but OEM market... BOOOOOOOO! >>


Oh yeah, and by the way they are worse than any of the OEMs.

 

[Boonesmi]

current via chipsets are actually very high qualtiy (in my opinion)

just install the OS, install the 4in1's, install the rest of the drivers for all your hardware... thats it