Upgrade - ECS K7S5A and XP1600+?

[ep66]

I'm looking at this combo for an upgrade, mwave is offering this combo (retail CPU) for $197.00, good deal? I'm not planning on O/C this thing, just a "budget" upgrade. Looks like this gives me plenty of bang for my buck, or does it? Would appreciate any advice (cheaper retailers?) etc.

Thanks...

Hmm, is there a price drop that I should wait for?

 

[Tomek]

I would go with an Epox 8KHA+ or another motherboard with the KT266A chipset

 

[John]

<< I would go with an Epox 8KHA+ or another motherboard with the KT266A chipset >>



Pabster, care to comment?

 

[nortexoid]

i'd go for it...currently that gives u the best bang for the buck upgrade...

u also don't get the accompanying via issues - MAJOR plus.

 

[N8Magic]

<< u also don't get the accompanying via issues - MAJOR plus. >>



I have had no problems with my Soltek KT266A board and Athlon XP1600+. The KT266A is a superior chipset performance wise, and the Soltek board can be had for ~$20.00 more than the ECS.

If you don't believe me, Tom's Hardware gave the Soltek KT266A mobo a VERY favorable review in their last motherboard roundup.

 

[t3chvest]

Well he said a *budget* upgrade. We would all love to have 8KHA+'s and Soyo Dragons... unfortunately not all of us are up to spending 160 on a motherboard....

ep66, I recently bought an ECS K7VTA3. It uses the KT266A chipset, and is on AMD's APPROVED motherboards list. I also bought an XP 1700.

mobo (RETAIL) - 75 shipped from PCBeyond
cpu (OEM w/ 1 year warranty!) - 160 shipped FTI Computer

The cpu was actually 138, but they charged me a bunch for shipping. However, it was the only OEM I could find with a 1 year warranty, which is well worth the extra money. The mobo is retail with 3 year warranty I think. Anyways, good luck, PM me if you have any questions

 

[Duvie]

I would go with the ECS K7S5a....I have 1 built 5 altogether and they are great boards for unbelievable value...Newer boards are likely to be newer revisions and void of early on ECS quality control issues...

The Kt266a is slightly faster and we are talking percentage points that border on neglible...

This is a via fan site so you will predominantly get ppl pushing there platform...

I feel the sis chipset is highly reliable and void of a lot of little glitches plagued by the via southbridge...

As a combo deal that is a tough price to beat...Are you getting a fan with that proc??? Or is it strictly an oem chip (usually just means cpu only with limited 30days to 1 year warranty)?

 

[foofoo]

hi,
from personal experience, i would reccomend against the ecs mb. my reccomendation would be for the shuttle ak31a. i've built 5-10 pcs with this mb and had no problems. i had nothing but problems with the ecs k7s5a, however.
my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

I have both the Shuttle AK31 rev.3 and the K7S5A. My vote goes for the Shuttle board as well. The advantages of the Shuttle are additional PCI, overclocking options, fastest DDR controller available, better manual, and solid layout. The AK35 offers RAID for a nominal fee as well. Try to find that integrated onto an ECS board...

 

[Pabster]

ECS K7S5A.

K7VTA V2 is only a few bucks more, and gives you an extra DDR slot, but you're stuck with KT266A. I can't recommend this chipset.