Solid Socket A Performer for a Little Moolah.
Written: May 28 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Supports SDR and DDR RAM; onboard LAN; great SiS chipset
Cons: This board can be finicky with RAM; I've had no problems.
The Bottom Line: Building a good basic machine based on AMD? Start here.
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| kbaxter's Full Review: EliteGroup K7S5A Motherboard |
I've now built three machines with this board, and one with the K7S5A Pro. I've been more than happy with every one of them and they are all still running strong.
One reason I like this board is that it is very affordable and you can start with a little investment. Plug in a Duron uP and some SDR RAM to start. Use a low-end video card and the onboard sound and LAN. For a minimal investment, you've got a great performing PC.
Want more? Up the RAM and switch to DDR. Replace the Duron with an XP2000+. Buy up to a Ti4200 video card. NOW, you've got a killer gaming platform that won't disappoint. Add a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card and you'll be even happier with the results.
The board is a bit dated, given some of the newer chipsets from nVidia and others. Yet it is still a great value if you're not looking for state-of-the-art performance.
Now, some people have found this board to be unstable. My suspicion for many of these situations is: a power supply that doesn't have enough suds; poor quality or mismatched memory; an OS other than WinXP Pro. So don't try to put this in some cheapie case with a power supply of questionable heritage. Buy some good quality RAM from Crucial and go with one stick if you can. Install WinXP and make sure that all your gear is running the latest drivers.
Then enjoy.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 56.00
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Epinions.com ID:
kbaxter
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Location: Eastern WA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Absolute technophile and trustworthy voice of reason.
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