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where did ecs cut corners on my boards ?

Coaxialgamer
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Go to solution Solved by braneopbru,

Electrolytic capacitors are a thing.

Yes, I'm aware. I was being facetious.

 

Nothing but the most absolute bottom of the barrel junk are using electrolytic capacitors.

 

 I assumed that my expertly edited picture would have made the lighthearted nature of my post evident.

 

 

Seriously speaking, I don't believe any corners are cut in any meaningful way. The basic hardware costs for most motherboards probably comes in very close to each other; they then set the retail price not based on the production costs, but based on what the target market is willing to pay.

 

Just look at the car market. Where does ford cut corners on making the F-150 compared to GM making the Sierra? Probably nowhere, but Ford consistently sells the F-150 for cheaper. Even in the same model line you see it. Most models can have their fully loaded version cost twice as much as the base version. I have a Cadillac ATS; the base model is $40,000, but you can build out an ATS-V to cost you over $90,00. Does it cost GM twice as much to build? Doubtful, but since the market will bear it, that's how it's priced.

 

Usually it's the customer service and support that'll suffer with companies like ECS, the hardware will be, for the most part, just as good as hardware from one of the big name vendors. You pay a premium for Apple hardware, but if you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with their service and support, you can tell where a lot of that money goes to.  

Posted

Title says it all . I have an ecs z77h2 a2x deluxe 2.0 (link :http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Detail.aspx?CategoryID=1&DetailID=1361&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=24&LanID=0).

People keep saying that ecs is even worse than biostar , but so far i have nothing bad to say about it.

It's stable , it let me oc my cpu pretty high (i can go up to 4.7ghz), it has a lots of features for the price ( extra sata 3 and usb 3.0 ports ,lcd error code viewer , firewire, mobo power / reset button) , integrated chips (audio , networking ) , the bios has a lot of features and it's very resistant to physical trauma ( i actually bent my mobo because i forgot to install standoffs).

The only problem is that it only has one case fan header .

The board isn't made with some ugly brown , green or gold pcb.

 

I got this board for 80$ when most z77 boards i was looking at were 130+ dollars.

 

My question is :where exactly were corners cut ?

I looked through the spec sheet ( granted , i'm sure what all those specs mean) and couldn't find anything ba to say about it .

Does this board have something bad going for it, like something i'll discover in a few months ( had the board for 9 months now) that will make me regret my decision ?

AMD Ryzen R7 1700 (3.8ghz) w/ NH-D14, EVGA RTX 2080 XC (stock), 4*4GB DDR4 3000MT/s RAM, Gigabyte AB350-Gaming-3 MB, CX750M PSU, 1.5TB SDD + 7TB HDD, Phanteks enthoo pro case

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No advertisements.

 

/s

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No advertisements.

 

/s

i know , i'm not defending them.

I'm just worried that somethin will bite me in the *** later on

AMD Ryzen R7 1700 (3.8ghz) w/ NH-D14, EVGA RTX 2080 XC (stock), 4*4GB DDR4 3000MT/s RAM, Gigabyte AB350-Gaming-3 MB, CX750M PSU, 1.5TB SDD + 7TB HDD, Phanteks enthoo pro case

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Probably with the capacitors, chokes, and power delivery components...

Those are usually the more prominent things that determine the quality of the board...

Mutsuki:

CPU: AMD A8 5600K @ 4.2GHz | Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 (rev. 1.0) | RAM: 2 x Kingston Low Profile 4GB 1333MHz | GPU: Sapphire R7 260X OC 2GB DDR5 2xDVI | HDD0: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 3.5" (SATA II) | HDD1: WD Elements (WD Blue 1TB 3.5" SATA II) connected via USB 2.0 | HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm (SATA II) | DVD: Samsung DVD+RW combo drive | PSU: FSP Hexa 600W | Case: Aerocool PGS V | Cooling: DeepCool Gammaxx S40 (stock fan), 2x 120mm Aerocool fan 1xDeepCool 120mm fan from a scrapped heatsink

eMachines D732Z | CPU: Intel Pentium D P6100 | GPU: Intel HD 3000 | RAM: 2x Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 1066MHz SODIMM | HDD: Hitachi 320GB 5600RPM

Acer ES13 | CPU: Intel Pentium N4200 | GPU:  Intel HD 505 | RAM: 1x 4GB (unidentified) DDR3L | HDD: (unidentified) 500GB 5600RPM

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It looks like it has 8+1 power delivery according to what I see.

Can't manage to see who makes the caps though.

You can still have 8+1 even with cheap components afaik... it could affect component lifespan tho...

Mutsuki:

CPU: AMD A8 5600K @ 4.2GHz | Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 (rev. 1.0) | RAM: 2 x Kingston Low Profile 4GB 1333MHz | GPU: Sapphire R7 260X OC 2GB DDR5 2xDVI | HDD0: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 3.5" (SATA II) | HDD1: WD Elements (WD Blue 1TB 3.5" SATA II) connected via USB 2.0 | HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm (SATA II) | DVD: Samsung DVD+RW combo drive | PSU: FSP Hexa 600W | Case: Aerocool PGS V | Cooling: DeepCool Gammaxx S40 (stock fan), 2x 120mm Aerocool fan 1xDeepCool 120mm fan from a scrapped heatsink

eMachines D732Z | CPU: Intel Pentium D P6100 | GPU: Intel HD 3000 | RAM: 2x Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 1066MHz SODIMM | HDD: Hitachi 320GB 5600RPM

Acer ES13 | CPU: Intel Pentium N4200 | GPU:  Intel HD 505 | RAM: 1x 4GB (unidentified) DDR3L | HDD: (unidentified) 500GB 5600RPM

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Any motherboard is fine. People just get over zealous with branding and shiny gamer stuffs

 

You can still have 8+1 even with cheap components afaik... it could affect component lifespan tho...

 
And yet there are still some motherboards out there that lasted even more than 5-10 years no problem. Unless you are doing some crazy benchmarking or work in extreme condition, most motherboards will do just fine.
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Any motherboard is fine. People just get over zealous with branding and shiny gamer stuffs

 

 

And yet there are still some motherboards out there that lasted even more than 5-10 years no problem. Unless you are doing some crazy benchmarking or work in extreme condition, most motherboards will do just fine.

This is so true, i have a few prebuilt grade 775 motherboard that have been used for a decade now, still no problems.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/451339-help-me-find-him/
 
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Customer support and probably power delivery

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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Bro the board has 8+1 power delivery with solid state capacitors, I'm not saying its designed like the power delivery of a 990FX board but its good enough for moderate overclocking.

hey I didn't say its bad I just said its probably one of the areas they did spend as much on.

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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hey I didn't say its bad I just said its probably one of the areas they did spend as much on.

 

It looks like they did for sure, to me it looks like they just don't spend anything on marketing, and have a bad rap from there 30$ boards.

 

They make some dope boards now that i'm actually browsing there stuff.

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/451339-help-me-find-him/
 
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It looks like they did for sure, to me it looks like they just don't spend anything on marketing, and have a bad rap from there 30$ boards.

 

They make some dope boards now that i'm actually browsing there stuff.

so does asrock and Asus and gigabyte but until they sort out their customer support eh

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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Electrolytic capacitors are a thing.

Yes, I'm aware. I was being facetious.

 

Nothing but the most absolute bottom of the barrel junk are using electrolytic capacitors.

 

 I assumed that my expertly edited picture would have made the lighthearted nature of my post evident.

 

 

Seriously speaking, I don't believe any corners are cut in any meaningful way. The basic hardware costs for most motherboards probably comes in very close to each other; they then set the retail price not based on the production costs, but based on what the target market is willing to pay.

 

Just look at the car market. Where does ford cut corners on making the F-150 compared to GM making the Sierra? Probably nowhere, but Ford consistently sells the F-150 for cheaper. Even in the same model line you see it. Most models can have their fully loaded version cost twice as much as the base version. I have a Cadillac ATS; the base model is $40,000, but you can build out an ATS-V to cost you over $90,00. Does it cost GM twice as much to build? Doubtful, but since the market will bear it, that's how it's priced.

 

Usually it's the customer service and support that'll suffer with companies like ECS, the hardware will be, for the most part, just as good as hardware from one of the big name vendors. You pay a premium for Apple hardware, but if you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with their service and support, you can tell where a lot of that money goes to.  

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Yes but more is always better and easier on the components, it also had solid caps so it should last longer then some other boards or there.

Not necessarily for the first part. Generally high phase count boards are achieved by halving the PWM signal/switching frequency with the use of doublers and just adding another MOFSET and inductor. It doesn't actually do anything (although it's a cheap way to add lots of phases). Doubling only works properly if you also add another driver. And it's also quite possible to have lots of phases and then just cheap out on low amperage inductors to reduce the output per phase anyway.

 

Some technical documentation:

http://www.irf.com/product-info/datasheets/data/ir3599.pdf

 

As for corners cut. ECS don't spend much on marketing and they also invest less into support.

LGA775 Overclocking Guide - LGA771 to LGA 775 mod - Rigs in spoiler - Subzero Overclocker - HWBOT - Sandybridge-E Frequency WR Holder

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Probably with the capacitors, chokes, and power delivery components...

Those are usually the more prominent things that determine the quality of the board...

Possibly, but if you compare volume pricing for passive components on a site like Mouser you'll tend to see that the only real split is between 'high end' and bog standard.  Often it is simply not possible to go cheaper than standard.

 

I tend not to go with product lines geared towards manufacturers because of the aforementioned issues of customer support and/or warranty service.  If you go direct from ECS, Foxconn, Biostar, etc. and never have a problem you have come out way ahead.  But if things aren't right getting them made right can be near, if not impossible.

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ok thank you everyone.

From what i understand , i shouldn't be too worried.

AMD Ryzen R7 1700 (3.8ghz) w/ NH-D14, EVGA RTX 2080 XC (stock), 4*4GB DDR4 3000MT/s RAM, Gigabyte AB350-Gaming-3 MB, CX750M PSU, 1.5TB SDD + 7TB HDD, Phanteks enthoo pro case

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ok thank you everyone.

From what i understand , i shouldn't be too worried.

Yeah, these guys turn out product by the cargo shipload.  If they had major problems they'd be out of business already.  The odds are in your favor.

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Yeah, these guys turn out product by the cargo shipload. If they had major problems they'd be out of business already. The odds

favor.

I think they stopped making consumer grade motherboards.

When i first bought it, it was meant to be a cheap replacement for my ga z68x ud3h b3, but im actually pretty satisfied with it

AMD Ryzen R7 1700 (3.8ghz) w/ NH-D14, EVGA RTX 2080 XC (stock), 4*4GB DDR4 3000MT/s RAM, Gigabyte AB350-Gaming-3 MB, CX750M PSU, 1.5TB SDD + 7TB HDD, Phanteks enthoo pro case

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