ECS K7S5A. Any good?

[Workin']

<< Perhaps you do this same thing incorrectly for every system you assemble, but it is only critical with the ECS mb's. >>

It's not exactly rocket science. You just plug in the parts and it works. Wait, that's what went wrong with the ECS! I plugged in other parts! LOL. Out of dozens of motherboard models I've used in hundreds of computers, this is the only board I've ever had with these problems. The basic trouble was that they would work fine for a while and then just quit booting. Half lost their CMOS data a few times then died, the other half just died. No changes to hardware or software, the computers were not even moved after their initial set up. Replacing batteries did not solve the problem for any of them. 1 of the 6 is working OK last I heard (I sold it to a guy here and he used a Duron and SDRAM, all mine were tbirds w/DDR), 1 still loses it's CMOS a few times a week even with a new battery, the others are goners. Even with special help from Pabster the dead ones could not be revived, and no explanation (reasonable or unreasonable) of their demise could be determined.

<< you spend lots of time saying that it is the fault of the ECS mb. >>

If all the same components work with one motherboard and not another, is it unreasonable to blame the motherboard? I don't think so.

<< You even go to lengths to warn people away from the ECS mb's >>

Tha't to offset Pabster's zealotry!

<< without really knowing what the issue is. >>

See above - no issue could be determined, even by the "expert".

<edit> I'm also sick of retyping all the problems, it gets old retyping everything everytime someone thinks they can unravel the mystery or somehow show that I did something wrong with stuff I don't even have anymore. I think I'll just let the ECS worshippers stay in their own circle of hell (or heaven)
and move on to something more productive. I was hesitant to even make my first post in this thread because it has been rehashed so many times and I was worried that it would inevitably come to this. I learned my lesson and since I no longer have the garbage boards I'll leave the discussion to the true believers who deserve whatever problems they get.

 

[MrChicken]

"I second this. One of the problems is there is strength in numbers, and it seems that the pro-ECS zealots outnumber the pro-VIA zealots, and this is somehow supposed to put ECS in the right all the time, while making VIA the spawn of Satan? Opinions like those are what can ruin this forum sometimes. This makes it hard to convey correct information to those seeking it."

Oh how true that is. Look at the old 3dfx and nVidia wars everywhere including AT.
OTOH, zealots are made out of happy customers. ECS is brand new and if they still outnumber the VIA zealots, there is something to consider.

I go with good stuff, and a company is only as good as the stuff it makes.

I have many different MB's and no loyalty to any brand. I've owned Abit, Tyan, ECS, Pcchips. Asus. shuttle, and MSI. I try to go with what is good when I need it, not by track records. A manufacturer that produces 10 good products in a row may be more likely than another to produce another good product, but that isnt always the case, their 11th could be a real dog. Blind brand loyalty brings you grief sooner or later.

Another thing to consider is what you are going to do with them. As an example, the ECS may run great as is, with onboard lan and sound and not good with add on cards. It would be fair to assume that the onboard configuration was tested more thoroughly than any other combination of lan and sound cards by the maker. It is for that reason I try only to buy combo MB's when I intend to use the onboard components. If I am going to add lan, sound video to a MB, I try to buy a MB without those built in.

 

[Tom]

AZGamer

What are the "general issues with the SiS 735 chipset" you refer too ?

 

[IFICUDIWUD]

I have no problem w/ your opinion of bitter techs.. as you stated you were one for a number of years.. My education is not the reason I am a technician as opposed to being an engeneer.. I have been a technician for the last 22 years because I enjoy the challenge of walking up to broken things and walking away from operational things. Besides I like the atmosphere better.. and it pays better and allows me the opportunity to laugh at the unsuspecting engs. who share your opinion but wouldn't know a ma from a Ma!! "It looks good on paper but come on out here and let me show ya how it 's done in the real world.." One of my favorites..lol.. As far as taking it with a grain of salt.. The attitude of superiorty is no surprise to me. It's actually refreshing to know you are not a nut, just atypical
Peace

 

[Workin']

<< It's actually refreshing to know you are not a nut, just atypical >>

Yeah, but which is worse?

<< Your actions are more like a "parts swapper" than someone with two engineering degrees. >>

deadparrotdude, I get really tired of typing out the whole sordid story and all the details every time this subject comes up. It was an opinion, not a statistical analysis, just like everyone else here. If every post has to contain an explicit rundown of every action taken since the Earth cooled, because lack of detail implies lack of experience, knowledge, or whatever, then this is becoming a sad place indeed. And there is no shortage of people who will argue with you over the meaning of the word "the" if it will help deflect attention from their logically flawed, intellectually weak, or technically incorrect statements.

 

[MrChicken]

Workin', good reply, thanks.

I do have a different opinion on this,
"If all the same components work with one motherboard and not another, is it unreasonable to blame the motherboard? I don't think so."

That's only true if it is the same exact type of component. What this may be is a work around and not a fix. While the swap makes the system work, the swapped out piece may not really be the cause of the problem. As an example, one part may work well outside of standard voltages, lets say it works even if the +5.0 is at +4.0. Swapping that part into system may make a system work that has low voltages, but that does not mean that the original part is bad.

But I see how you feel, esp when time is money. Sometimes you just have to take yes for an answer and move on.

 

[Workin']

MrChicken I see what you are saying, and I suppose anything is possible, but that sounds less likely than a bad batch or 2 of mobos. <shrug> It is sometimes easier to just move on, especially when it is not your "bread and butter" livelihood. I don't build PC's for a living, I am a consultant (no flames about that, please) and only build PC's for special clients, friends, and family - that's why I didn't do some big compatability test as someone derided me for earlier. But I have built a few hundred PC's since 1987.

 

[lgilmor2]

I've had this mobo since October. This board has been rock solid for me. I have the Athlon 1.4ghz/266 processor on it. No problems whatsoever for me with this setup.

 

[Tom]

Workin'

Thanks for posting the additional information, I think it is useful for anyone who might happen to read this thread. It certainly does seem as if you either got a very bad batch of boards, or that the K7S5A had/has a compatability problem with some component you used.(which unless there was something really odd should have been discovered by ECS during their testing).

BTW, to anyone, I have, and use fairly regularly, an ECS K7S5A(sis735 chipset), and a Shuttle AK31 3.1(Via KT266a chipset), and like them both. After reading the messages in this thread I looked through some of the other recent threads and became aware of the ongoing "battle" over these chipsets. I think I better understand now why some of the posts in this thread were made.

One thing I always try to do when buying anything is to make sure that the place I'm buying it from has a good return policy so that I'll have at least some recourse if I end up with a lemon. I think this is particularly useful in the area of computer parts where there are so many possible pitfalls.

 

[Workin']

<< It certainly does seem as if you either got a very bad batch of boards, or that the K7S5A had/has a compatability problem with some component you used. >>

Must have been bad batches or something, all the other components were pretty standard stuff. For anyone who might be interested, here's a brief list of the parts that were used in various combinations:

1.4GHz tbird (3 machines)
1.0GHz tbird (3 machines)
Radeon VIVO 64MB DDR AGP (3 machines)
Radeon VE AGP (1 machine)
Leadtek GeForce2 GTS Pro 32MB AGP (2)
Crucial PC2100 256MB DDR DIMMS (1 stick in 3 machines, 2 in the rest)
Maxtor 60GB 7200RPM ATA100 (5)
Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM ATA100 (1)
Lite-on 16x CDRW (all)
Lite-on 16x DVD-ROM (5)
AOpen 16x DVD-ROM (1)
Sony 3.5" floppies (all)
Adaptec 2930 SCSI card (2)
and now what everyone is dying to know, what PSU's?
Codegen 350xx 300W AMD-approved (3)
Enermax 465VE-FC 431W AMD-approved (1)
Enlight 300W AMD-approved (2)

Nothing strange or exotic there. If anybody has any theories, be my guest (although I don't have any of the stuff anymore). Pabster and I tried to get 'em going, but got no love. And we know Pabster is the expert, heck, you don't even have to ask him, he'll just tell you Sometimes we forget that this can be fun (albeit expensive), even if we occasionally have to wear fire-proof suits!

 

[mrpuck]

I am sending my 3rd board back today. I am clueless as to why they keep failing and have been working with mobo's for a long time.
Everytime I sent it back the DDR ram slots failed. The PC then will no longer booth with 256 DDR Ram installed. SDRAM it still posts with but not DDR Ram. I am using Crucial memory, and have replaced that as well to be safe. Still same problems. Board works for 2 weeks then finally one day crashes and for good.

What different "versions" of this board are there that I hear people discussing? How can I tell if I have an older revision that supposedly had more problems?

-Jason

 

[MrChicken]

Mrpuck, dont get offended.... Was the pc unplugged when you put the ram in it?

 

[beaver]

<< I used this board last weekend to upgrade my 13-year-old grandson from a Celeron 466MHz to an Athlon 1.33GHz. (Nice Christmas present, eh?) With 512MB PC-133 SDRAM and a Voodoo 3 video card the system is extremely stable. It was very easy to setup, using WinXP Pro for the OS. As others noted, this mobo isn't for overclockers but then I paid something like $57 for it (from newegg) and you can't beat that. >>




Hi, My PC system config as 1.4GHz AMD T-bird, SDRAM PC133 256MB (not DDR as expected), Antec 300W, WinME OS and Vision TNT2 AGP 2D/3D and ATI TV card, plus built-in AC97 and NIC.
It runs so far.
New Issue?
1. It's running actually SLOW! much slower than my P800EB, I can tell difference between my P800EB and the AMD1.4GHz when both are running an excel macro. Does anybody here observe the problem or it's my system problem only?
I am hating the K7S5A system. It's not so fast as expected and I know performance of AMD1.4GHz. So I doubt the ECS board.
2. The transfer of network is also quite slow. I have to wait for a while after my clicking any file on the LAN. It's even slower than transfer between my P300 and P800EB. Supposed a 100/10M NIC should run same rate on any qualified system.

Any help, please.

Beaver

 

[Tom]

beaver,

2 things that could be the problem, first, make sure that the bus speed is 133mhz and not 100mhz, settable in the bios; and secondly, when changing motherboards in a system it is sometimes necessary to reinstall the operating system from scratch to be sure that there aren't any drivers left over from the original motherboard.

 

[The_Lurker]

Well, been running my ECS K7S5A for a week. What's my conclusion? it's a good board for the money, but not a great board. It's lack luster feature and performance in 3d appz (namely 3dmark 2k1, all other seem ok, but then again i only play CS and Q3, doens't really strain my card or board). Also, i have problems updating to the newest BIOS and updating to the 1.08d AGP drivers. OC'ing is definately out of the question with this board, and being an avid oc'er, i kind of wish i went w/ a Asus A7V-133 so that i can oc this Duron (since i know it runs at 1.1ghz ). All in all though, a great value for an avid computer user that isn't striving for the most frarmes, or mhz out of their hardware.

 

[mrpuck]

Yes I installed the mobo with the memory on a table while it was unplugged. No offence taken.... Sometimes it's the little things.
But like I said it just stopped working after working perfectly for almost 2 weeks. Yes it was running at 133/133, and I know I have the correct memory and chip. I unplugged everything and removed the DDR Ram and put a SDRAM stick in there and it booted fine but hung on 133/133 bus speeds after getting into windows. When I moved it down to 100/100 the SDRAM worked fine and has been now for a few days but unfortunately I am not running at full potential. I have tried other DDR Ram chips with no progress.
I am not an ECS hater and actually tried them because of the good reviews I read, but this board is starting to cost me more then it was worth sending it back each time with me footing the bill. If I can't figure this out soon I will have to give up on it and take a loss.

Did anyone have more information about 2 different revision K75SA boards? I am wondering if the company I bought it from keeps sending me the bogus boards if there were some recalled at all?