ECS K7S5A Good? Bad?

[Guest]

Is anyone using this board? Is it reliable? It supports either DDR or SDRAM. How is it overclocking ability? TIA for your reply.

Vic

 

[CoOLMaNX]

i've read a lot of users posts on this board and many gave it two and a half thumbs up (they say it was a great board for a low price) and many have said it was horrible. i don't believe its good for overclocking also

didnt have one of em electronic pens so ill just type my name,<i>CoOoLMaNX</i>

 

[camieabz]

There are software options for overclocking, but you can do a lot better if that's all you want it for.

If you want a socket A mobo with decent performance for the price, then get the K7S5A. If you want lots of frills, don't.

<b><font color=blue>~ Whew! Finished...Now all I need is a Cyrix badge ~ </font color=blue> </b>

 

[kief]

I have not used the board in question myself, however everyone I have heard from says its a GREAT board ***IF*** you get a quality power supply and RAM. It does not like generic crap with bad output/timing.

Jesus saves, but Mario scores!!!

 

[arsend]

It will not overclock well, but a new version is coming out that will. It is called the <A HREF="http://www.ecsusa.com/K7S6A.cfm" target="_new">K7S6A</A>. Follow the link to find out more about it.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[Oct_7]

K7S5A is good and stable board. but not for overclocking.

[] [_] [--

 

[Guest]

why not go to ecs website for more detailed info?


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[HonestJhon]

the k7s6a isnt a new version, it is a whole different board.
it uses a different chipset, and has many different options, and no onboard lan :frown:
but the k7s6a is pretty cheap, and will overclock well.
i also think that the k7s6a supports ddr333, but i cant place my life on that.
im too tired right now to look it up...its like 4 am


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Guest]

BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD!!!!!
man i have only just got mine to turn on after 6 months of it not turning on, it only turns on now if i put the ram in and out whilst on/off - then it will only turn on - this is a really cheap crap motherboard and intend to get a gigabyte one as soon as i can afford it, anyone who thinks this motherboard is any good, dont go by the review as i did, its cheap for a reason - so unstable.. just dont go there, you'll thank me for it!!!

 

[oncleboris]

Actually, some people says it is a good board because they have no problems with, but it is FALSE: the K7S5A MIGHT be stable if you fall on a good sample, but after buying a crappy one who resets the CMOS for no reason every month or so, stops detecting IDE drives just for laughs (quite funny, ha ha), or simply refuses to boot, and seeing the number of people who report the same troubles on this forum, I would say your chance to fall on a lemon is definitely too high.

By learning the teachings of Zerthimon I have become stronger.

 

[WiseGuy1]

My friend and I both got one at the same time. His worked great from the start but I've just now got mine to do what I want. I had the problem (which is now documented fairly well) of not being able to do an immediate boot after complete shutdown and the onboard lan was a little flaky at first but it's all worked out now. I will agree that a good psu is needed. I had to access the cdrom from another computer on my network until I got a bigger psu because the system would get a little crazy when the cdrom started sucking power. If I had to do it all over again I would probably pass on it.

<A HREF="http://members.ud.com/services/teams/team.htm?id=510E6639-84A1-465D-A914-07BDB039E379" target="_new">UD</A>

 

[aspalmat]

Got to throw in my $0.02 here.

I have the K7S5A with the following:
XP 1800+
512 Mb Kingston PC2100 DDR
Leadtec A250 Geforce 4Ti 4400
Soundblaster Audigy Gamer
CD ROM and CD Burner
60 GB IBM 7200 RPM ATA100 Harddrive
Antec SX1040 Case with 400 watt PS and 4 80mm case fans
Windows XP Home Edition

I have had absolutely 0, Zero, Nada, Zip, No problems to date. The integrated NIC works flawlessly, and my 3DMark 2001 SE scores are about 8900, with no tweaking and nothing OC'd.

So, in my opinion, I think it is a good board. Or maybe I should say, I seemed to have got a good one!

 

[Xynok]

I have built 5 machines using this mobo, with everything from PC133 to DDR266, Duron 850 to XP2000. Getting ready to build 2 more this week using the board. I have had ZERO problems, and 4 of the machines have been running constantly for over 2 months, no problems at all. For the price, very hard to beat. I do use quality parts for everything else, so don't skimp on RAM or PSU...you have no excuse for what this board saves you. Are there better, faster, and perhaps more reliable mobos out there? Sure, but you PAY for them. At $50, so what if you DID have to replace it, but I doubt you will. Like anything, you can get a LEMON, but that doesn't mean anything. I have bought MSI and ABIT boards that were DOA more than a few times. Did that make that particular board or manufactuer suck? Nope, just got unlucky. If it happens, send it back, no biggie. For the range of options, and the price, I fail to see how you could go wrong with this board, unless it flat out fails to work out of the box. If it doesn't satisfy you, or breaks down, you're out $50. Say the same thing for any other board out there? Didn't think so. And if it comes up and runs stable for a year+, think of the money you saved. Win/win IMHO.

 

[Kartanzjan]

Stay away from this mobo. I have installed 3 of them, and ALL of them have ressetted the Cmos every month or so. If anybody out there knows how to rectify the problems, please do so, thanks

 

[camieabz]

400W PSU. If not, maybe a chipset cooler or BIOS upgrade. Depends on the problem.

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[Kartanzjan]

All three systems have different power supplies. Ranging from 250w to 300w. One in particular is giving me trouble with cooling problems (CPU temp 52C), and I already changed the cooler(don't tell me what make, all I know is that it has a copper heat dissipator). But it would not restart from a complete shutdown (at least not before 4-6min). I am really perplexed with the situation. I do not really wish to upgrade the bios( scared in doing it)! This pc in particular has an 1200MHz Thunderbird CPU, temperatures are equal to another one but it seems that it is suffering more in terms of temperatures. Cmos loss is happening every 3 to 4 weeks on all systems. I have already changed battries but to no avail. Could you elaborate more on the subject? Thank for any comments.

 

[HonestJhon]

replacing the cmos battery should fix this.
or you have bad ram?
but since you have tried the battery, and have more than one system that is doing the same thing, i dont know.
maybe someone is resetting the cmos? and not telling you?
i have had this happen to me, and it drove me insane for a while, until finally someone admitted to messing around with the bios, and the cmos reset jumper.other than that, i can only think of updating the bios.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Kartanzjan]

Thanks for your comment, but I have to leave out the messing around since one of them made it right in front of my eyes. Regarding the bios, I would prefer to leave it as a last option.

 

[HonestJhon]

why leave the bios as a last option?
it is quite easy to flash a bios, and will give you more stability, USUALLY, and might fix this problem.
but it is up to you, and it is your computers...


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[bdaley]

All I can say is that I've had mine since Sept. and it's been flawless. Unbelievable performance and stability for the price.

If it was the total POS some people would have you believe, do you think they'd be able to sell any at this point?

I saw one guy post that he is afraid to update the BIOS, well I've updated mine as each new BIOS version came out and I've never had any problems.

Maybe I'm just lucky? Maybe, but then I know a lot of other people who have been "lucky" too.

If you're that concerned, spend more and buy another board.

Good luck whatever you do.

"There's no such thing as gravity, the Earth just sucks"

 

[Xynok]

From AMD's website:

<A HREF="http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_1039^4038|27_ATX,00.html" target="_new">AMD PSUs</A>

Note that the VAST majority of PSUs listed are 300w or MORE (only 7 listed below 300w). This board does not like cheap or weak PSUs or RAM. Use a 400w (350w absolute minimum) Enermax or Sparkle PSU, and Crucial, Corsair, or anything with Infineon chips for RAM. Also, Update the BIOS. Just do it.

I've built 7 machines now using this board, and the ONLY problem I have run into was when I tried to use Generic PC133 RAM (would only work if set bus to 100). 4 of these machines have been running almost 3 full months contstantly with ZERO problems.

 

[Kartanzjan]

It seems that nobody is scared in flashing the bios. It may be that I have never done it, but I have heard that a wrong flash can leave you with a dead Board! Anyway, it seems that the problem is not due to just one fault, the power supply may be a big issue and I will try it with the bios flash. As you say, "Live, Learn, then build your own computer!- ". Thanks to all Guys.

 

[Xynok]

Go here <A HREF="http://www.ecsusa.com/ecsusa/www.ecs.com.tw/download/flash.htm" target="_new">Flash Utility</A> and DL the AMI Flash Utility (aminf332.exe), then go here <A HREF="http://www.ecsusa.com/ecsusa/www.ecs.com.tw/download/k7s5a.htm" target="_new">K7S5A BIOS</A> and DL the latest BIOS (s5a020206 -or- s5a020206lan if you have the one with NIC onboard).

Next, make a boot disk (My Computer, Rt-Clk A:\ Drive with disk inside, choose Format, copy system files). Then, extract the .rom file from the BIOS file you DL'd by Dbl-Clking it. Now, copy the Flash Utility and the .rom file onto the boot disk you just made. Leave disk in drive, and reboot. It will boot to an A:\ prompt. At prompt type: aminf332 020206L.rom (or no "L" if board doesn't have onboard NIC, there is a space between Flash Utility and .rom file). Let it do its thing, and it will reboot. Take disk out. Done. Now configure BIOS like you normally do.

 

[Kartanzjan]

Thanks, Xynok.
And thanks to all.

 

[camieabz]

I too have never flashed a BIOS. Afraid? I suppose I am a bit. To me, a BIOS flashing is a last resort. I would closely examine the reported updates that a BIOS provides. I see reams of posts about problems after updating drivers and BIOS, and it seems to me some people either don't know what they're doing, or don't appreciate the repercussions of a failed job.

I've said it from the start with these mobos, and with one or two rare exceptions, the PSU has been the problem.

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