ecs K7S5A???

[BigMoe]

so i've heard lots about the ecs K7S5A mobo's about 50-50 good/bad. Question what board is ok and with last longer than 3 months version 1.0, 1.3 or ecs K7S5A-2 version 1.0?

 

[Buz2b]

Question what board is ok and with last longer than 3 months version 1.0, 1.3 or ecs K7S5A-2 version 1.0?

Care to "translate" that a bit for us? Not making "fun" at the lack of english usage, just want to understand the question correctly.

 

[KouklatheCat]

I have an ECS K7S5A (im not sure which revision but I just bought it about two months ago) and it (knock on wood) is working great. It is has been a good, fast and stable board for me. I put one in a system for two friends and they have been pleased thus far (I installed theirs about the same time I got mine).

 

[TheCorm]

I have used a number of K7S5A boards, all the revisions you stated there (I take it the last one is the one with onboard LAN yes) and I reckon it's a brilliant board....a real bargain without being slow....as I have stated before, it's on par with the KT266.

You might like to consider the K7S6A as it has the SiS 745 chipset and supports PC2700 DDR Memory....but see my article in this section on positive and negative points.

Corm

 

[vanfant]

I have been using a K7S5A w/lan for over a year. It has been solid as a rock runing Win 2000 and Linux.

David

 

[incallisto]

I have three systems running the K7S5A (latest revision and one first revision). They run flawlessly and I've never had a crash or issue with them on Windows 2000, Linux, or Windows XP Professional. I'm running Athlon XPs in two and a Duron in one. Each system has 512MB of Crucial PC2100 DDR. Very solid boards for the price.

 

[KouklatheCat]

Just bought another K7S5A for a Duron 850 and miscelanous parts I had laying around. It is up and running like a Swiss watch.

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: KouklatheCat
Just bought another K7S5A for a Duron 850 and miscelanous parts I had laying around. It is up and running like a Swiss watch.

Too many times this is the "norm" but all that gets reported is the "troublesome" install. Consequently, many think that this reflects on the boards' quality. The analogy that has been (almost) worn out is that this is like a doctor's office; how many "well" people do you see in a doctor's office?
To answer the (now clearer) question(s), if you get almost any revision other than 1.0 (BTW, I built one for my father that was a 1.0 and it is perfectly fine as of this date) then you should be fine. The very first revision had some quirks that caused it to have problems later with the XP processors. So, if you are using an XP CPU, don't get a rev 1.0. Then again, how many can there be on the market today??

 

[JackBurton]

I just put together a system today with this board and it rocks!! Here are the specs:

XP 1600+
K7S5A
Crucial 512MB (256MB X 2) PC133 CAS2
SB Live!
Sparkle 300W PSU
80GB WD SE hard drive
LiteOn 8/4/32 CDRW

 

[mamz10k]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
I just put together a system today with this board and it rocks!! Here are the specs:

XP 1600+
K7S5A
Crucial 512MB (256MB X 2) PC133 CAS2
SB Live!
Sparkle 300W PSU
80GB WD SE hard drive
LiteOn 8/4/32 CDRW

Hey, I hav eone of these boards on the way right now and have read about problems with not-top-quality 300W power supplies. EG, the 3.3V should be 28 amps for "best luck". Would you mind telling me what it says for 3.3V on your power supply? The one I have is only 20 amps, and I i have a feeling I'll need a new one.

 

[Buz2b]

The one I have is only 20 amps, and I i have a feeling I'll need a new one.

That would be a "correct feeling". The Sparkle runs @ 28 amps on the 3.3. That is an excellent "budget" PS for this board. I have used it at least a few times (one very recently) for this board. Mind you, there are better PS's, but for the money this one is a winner; especially when paired with the ECS board.

 

[mamz10k]

Originally posted by: Buz2b
That would be a "correct feeling". The Sparkle runs @ 28 amps on the 3.3. That is an excellent "budget" PS for this board. I have used it at least a few times (one very recently) for this board. Mind you, there are better PS's, but for the money this one is a winner; especially when paired with the ECS board.

Allright, thanks for the tip on a "budget" PSU... only $27 at newegg

I may go for the 350W version @ $42 though... I do have 3 hard drives after all, and who knows what the future may bring?

 

[joe4324]

An EXCELENT resource for K7S5A owners can be found at ocworkbench there are Thousands of K7S5A owners who post here, they actually had to archive the forum once already because it had so many posts on it. You'll see alot of people having problems, but often you'll see a "whos works great?" post and literally hundreds of people come from the woodwork to brag about there sucess stories.

(I feel like a broken record for saying so many times, Buz2b is probably sick of hear me by now ~ )

But, I've built over 15+ systems out of this board (possibly 20) over half of them were the earlier revisions and I've only replaced a few Cmos batteries and updated a few ECSD's in the bios manually when something seemed a bit off,

Now I did heed the advice that was all over the net when I jumped onto the k7s5a band wagon, I bought decent quality power supplies and almost exclusivly crucial ram (it was super cheap back then... now with this new stuff that is cheap I dont knwo what its like) and havent had any major problems with ANY of them.

I give it 2 thumbs up, but its now begining to show its age. but I still feel it fills the niche it was ment for better then any board on the market.

 

[Buz2b]

(I feel like a broken record for saying so many times, Buz2b is probably sick of hear me by now ~ )

Not in the least!! Never a problem to trade posts with a fellow ECS builder because the advice given will be "from the source". Heck, you've built more of them than I have. :Q I think I'm up to 7 or 8. But, it's worth repeating: A good quality PS (like the "budget" Sparkle) and some decent RAM, goes a long way towards making the process pretty painless.

 

[KouklatheCat]

I was a bit leary when I first got this board from reading all the negative stuff I saw on the internet. The K7S5A has surprised the heck out of me. Its one heck of a good, inexpensive board. I love it.....

I really like the fact that is has on-board LAN and you can start out with a Duron/ PC 133 and later upgrade to an XP and PC 2100.

 

[Buz2b]

I really like the fact that is has on-board LAN and you can start out with a Duron/ PC 133 and later upgrade to an XP and PC 2100.

That's it in a "nutshell". Upgrade heaven!

 

[KouklatheCat]

Buz 2b,

Why didnt you tell me about this board sooner......LOL

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: KouklatheCat
Buz 2b,

Why didnt you tell me about this board sooner......LOL

If I had told you, I'd have had to kill you!

 

[KouklatheCat]

true but the government pays me well, gives me body armor, free guns and ammo.....Actually when I was first looking at this board you did recommend it.....LOL

 

[Buz2b]

Actually when I was first looking at this board you did recommend it.....LOL

(He blushes to a bright crimson color and collects his thoughts) Bbbbbbbbut, you must have pity on us poor "seasoned" citizens. Well, not quite there but close enough to hide behind any available niche. So, ......yeah, OK, .............then right, you took my wonderful, "expert" advice and used it to better yourself. Uhhhh, well...............sort of anyway.

Good to hear it worked well for you; especially nice with the free body armor, guns and ammo. Those "perks" are hard to find nowadays.

 

[joe4324]

My only hope is that in the future I can continue to obtain mobos that offer this kind of value and upgrade ability for future chipsets and processors. With Asus building a new oem geared company up and with ECS sucess in the mobo market (Largely due to the K7S5A) I feel very confident that companies are begining to realize that they too can push millions and millions of units if the price is right and the performance is there (features help too!).

If the future doesnt hold any more K7S5A like products it will be a very dark one for me. I LOVE offering this kind of value to clients I build systems for. I can actually feel good about the upgrade path I've set them on and in a worst case senario if it puked a year down the road I can be replaced for very little $, wich is attractive to both of us!

 

[Peter]

There's an awakening going on with the other manufacturers, they are realizing that they have been catering to the wrong crowd - there are very few enthusiasts willing to fork out $$$ for a board with all the bells and whistles, while there are many many people who want a working computer to get stuff done on, not toyed around with ...

ASUS has hastily spun off an OEM unit making simple and cheap boards the way ECS (and even more so their OEM outlet PC-Chips) did all the time, others (like Shuttle and Abit) simply have ECS make their stuff.

Computers have become a commodity, and the mainbaord market is going that direction too. PC-Chips have been the driving force behind that, and their approach is here to stay. Their president stated a few years ago, "We don't want to be one of the top five mainboard makers in a few years. Our goal is to be one of the remaining five."

The shakeout has begun ...

regards, Peter

 

[Macro2]

Well said Peter.

The K7S5a will go down in history as a board that changed motherbord manufacturors for good.

 

[VTrider]

Where's my flag? j/k


These are some powerful words, I agree with the last three posts fully







-VTrider

 

[Confused]

Uhm, it rules!



I recently upgraded from a 1GHz Athlon with PC133 to DDR, then yesterday up to an 1800+.

With the CheepoMan o/cing BIOS from OCWorkBench, i have both CPUs running at 146.7MHz FSB, for a nice overclock on them both!


Great board, i cannot complain, great upgradeability, cheap, and good performer as well!