# What do you think about this motherboard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706 "2006-02-02T19:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/1 "2006-02-02T19:04:41Z")
I’m looking for Socket 939 motherboard to go with an AMD chipset I plan on purchasing (99% will be the 3700) I’m looking to play video games and have a media center, since my tv can also double as my monitor. Cheap is good, which is why I have decided on this: ECS K8T890-A V1.0A motherboard which can be found [here.](http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=14584930&search=+ECS+K8T890) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/2 "2006-02-02T19:15:10Z")
I wouldn’t get that if I were you. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that in te PC world, cheap is not good 90% of the time. Which isn’t to say you need to get a $300 mobo, but a mid-range one around $100 is generally the best bang for your buck. I’m not a fan of the VIA chipsets, I think the nForce ones are much more stable. [Here is a lovely motherboard.](http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1197993&CatId=1772) ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/3 "2006-02-02T21:49:55Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I wouldn’t get that if I were you. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that in te PC world, cheap is not good 90% of the time. Which isn’t to say you need to get a $300 mobo, but a mid-range one around $100 is generally the best bang for your buck. > > I’m not a fan of the VIA chipsets, I think the nForce ones are much more stable. Is it because it’s a VIA chipset that you don’t like it, or the fact that it’s cheap? The cheapest nForce ones I recall were ~$90. Thanks for the advice. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/4 "2006-02-02T22:11:02Z")
My current computer has an ECS K7S5A with a Duron chip on it. I bought it because it was cheap, and I’ve never had any problems with it in the 3+ years I’ve been using it. I also built a computer for my mother (using the same board and proc), which ran fine until the power supply she had blew and fried it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/5 "2006-02-02T22:25:04Z")
ECS sells the lowest end MBs around. Ones made by PCChips and similar ilk. It’s a total crapshoot. Some people get good working ones, others don’t. Upgrades are usually more problematic. I buy cheap sometimes, but not that cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-this-motherboard/342706/6 "2006-02-02T22:38:12Z")
I’ve used several cheap ECS motherboards (mostly the K7S5a mentioned by **ftg** ), in both my own computer and those of friends. (Fry’s was practically giving them away.) Three of them went bad within a couple of years, though they all lasted at least a year. Back when I was a student, minimizing cost was always the top priority, and I’d still rate these a worthwhile investment in that case. Now that I can afford to spend a bit more, reliability is worth more to me and I wouldn’t buy another one. If you really need to save money, a cheap ECS is not a bad way to go, but otherwise I’d spend a bit more for something better.