ECS K7S5A
AMD AthlonXP 1800+
Corsair DDR2700 512MB x2
430Watt PSU

When the CPU/memory frequency is set to 100MHz/100MHz it is totally reliable, however: when the frequency is set to 133MHz/133MHz (which it should be) it regularly wont fire up. The system appears to cycle attempting to start, with the optical device access lights flashing and the heads seeking.

Ive mentioned the PSU output as Id presumed that this was the issue, but its continued to happen with different power supplies and with all expansion cards and other power sapping features removed.

If anyone can help me shed any light on this Id be grateful.....


Simon

 

i think its because the xp1800 chip can only run on 100mhz try changing the bios so that the chip runs at 100 and the ram runs at 133

 

When its set to 100MHz the CPU runs at about 1150MHz instead of approximately 1500MHz which is the correct speed.....

 

Simple answer? Because that motherboard is steaming heap of donkey excrement. If anyone asks me for help with a computer, my very first question is always: is it an ECS motherboard? Guess what: about 50% of the time it's that very board. Toss it: you can get a good socket A m/b for £60 or less.


M

 

...well Id wondered; it was bought about three years ago just after it appeared an AMD's approved list. Elite system boards used to be on a par with MSI and Gigabyte and the amount of OEM work they had substantiated this; recently they seem to have more in common with their PCChips kit.....

Simon

 

Is there a chance that a BIOS upgrade for your mobo may be able to sort things out? Or you could try to relax the timings of the memory, eg CAS ratings etc.

 

Perhaps; but the timings are spot on according to Corsair's website. Im leaving the BIOS until last if I can, as K7S5As got worse rather than better!

 

OH I have no experience of ECS.....

But, as you may be about to purchase a Socket A mobo. Please, please stay away from Asus A7N8X-Deluxe Rev 2's. I have been through 4 of them in the last 2.5 years (each one taking 3 months to change!!!!). Total waste of space. I know they are meant to be one of the best, but there are lots and lots of people who are having problems with these now

 

could it be that you have a gig of ram? try taking a stick out, or mayb the mother wasnt designed to take pc2700 at that speed get the specs of the motherboard and check the max speed you can put in

 

Thats possible too; Ive checked the manual and Elite's site and Corsair have confirmed that their kit will run on the K7S5A in this config.

 

What problems have you had with this board? I've got one and never had any issues with it?

 

Do you have any way of checking the RAM? I had a similar problem this week after the recent storms fried a stick of my memory. Dropping the FSB to a lower frequency allowed the machine to boot but attempting to run any "intensive" applications resulted in a Blue Screen. At the very least you could try running a few diagnostic tools with the CPU running at a reduced rate to see if you can troubleshoot the fault.

Try downloading and running this to see if it detects any errors (you'll need to burn the downloadable iso to a bootable CD/Floppy). Alternatively, remove one memory module, then the other to see if you can get the machine to boot correctly with either 512MB module installed...

K.

 

Ditto

 

Elite have never been on a par with MSI or even Gigabyte: it's just a lot of high-street (and computer fair) vendors will tell you that they are, because ECS boards have the biggest margin so they like selling them. They're also the cheapest. I know from experience at fairs that most punters simply want to pay the least money, so the seller will give them a line of b*ll*cks about how it's just as good as Big Name brand. It isn't.

And yes, they are the largest OEM motherboard manufacturer - for the same reason: they are cheap. Unlike most boards which are made in Taiwan, ECS are made in mainland China. And the fact that OEMs use them is not much of recommendation - this means they are probably inside Dells...


As for the problems, the two main ones are:

1) The machine won't boot, usually hanging part way, before the monitor comes on. The other company with a history of the same problem is Shuttle. Guess who makes all Shuttle's motherboards? - yep, ECS.

2) You "lose" drives. Suddenly only the main partition of the C:\ drive is visible and accessible, and any other drives, especially HDDs, no longer show up in My Computer, and do not exist to a DOS prompt.


M

 

I've done a few of the same K7S5A boards, some work fine others experience the exact same problem you have and more. Have a look at the ECS USA forums and wonder and the incredible amount of posts about these boards The newer revisions were much better but the older ones were just plain awful.

 

i have had a simaler problem where i had to clock back to 100 MHz from stock it turned out the memory was shot i only had it for 3 months and i had to get some more lucky for me i hadn't messed with the memory i got pc4400 OCZ gold. if you can try some more memory i would recommend that.

 

Ive never been to a computer fair in my life, nor a high street computer shop ffs! I think its fair to say that Elite were similar in quality to Microstar and Gigabyte, both of whom also seem to be trading on their past reputation. Not so long ago I was a Tech. Sales Rep. for a large computer manufacturer and Elite's OEM kit caused me a lot less trouble than MSI's...

With regard to the Corsair memory; Ive checked it and its stable at a BF of 133MHz on a reference machine.

I think now, that the top quality memory DIMMs and the now far from top quality Elite system board arent fully compatible, but Id welcome any other suggestions. I thought that the days of dubious compatibility were long past; they didnt mention this in my A+ exam.....

Simon

 

Elite are owned by PCChips

stevie