Yes, you can afford an Athlon...... (K7-S5A Motherboard Socket A)

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Product:	K7-S5A Motherboard Socket A
Date:	12/03/02 (1057 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent price, DDR and SDRAM memory support, Packed with features for the money

Disadvantages: Very little or no overclocking ability, Graphics card seating fussy

Elite's K7S5A Socket A motherboard makes upgrading to a lean, mean Athlon machine more than just an anorak-wearing technohead's wet dream.

The board should fit any ATX case and takes all Athlon, Athlon XP and Duron Socket A Chips, right up to the XP 2000, giving you some serious future proofing.

I've built an Athlon 1400 system, an Athlon 1333 and a Duron 800 using this motherboard and have had excellent results.

Another excellent feature is the fact that it accepts either DDR or SDRAM memory, so you can utilise your PC100 or PC133 memory from your older machine when you upgrade the board and chip, to save some cash. The board will take up to 1 gig of either type of memory (though not both types simultaneously).

It supports front-side bus speeds of 200/266, which covers Duron and Athlon chips, and uses the SiS 735 chipset, which supports 4X AGP graphics.

The board also supports Ultra DMA 33/66 and 100, so you shouldn't have a problem with compatibility of your existing hard drive.

All models of this board also come with on-board sound, which is actually perfectly adequate for most gaming, and even audio applications. Some models also come with a network card built in, which is an added bonus if you want to use a broadband internet connection from the likes of Telewest.

Other features include PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, two USB ports, paralell port and two serial ports. A further 2 USB ports can be added with a module that connects to the mainboard.

The only issue I have come across is that of graphics card seating. You have to be sure that the card is properly pushed in, or the card won't be recognised. Even if you think you have pushed it in enough, you might find yourself having to open up again and give it another push! On boot-up, if it's not seated correctly, you will hear eight beeps and no graphic information.

The real beauty of this board is that
it is a cheap way of straddling the gig-gap. For £55.00, plus the cost of your chip of choice (say, £100 for a 1.4 gig Athlon), you could have yourself a very fast machine, without having to replace most of your components or even your case.

Alternatively, you could buy the board and a cheap Duron (eg. an 800mhz for around £40) and in a few months time, when XP and larger Athlon chips are hitting the second-hand market, you could upgrade further and the board will still be good.

All in all it's a winner and you can't beat it on price and features. Bring on the speed.

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