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The final verdict? The ECS K7AMA is a motherboard with a lot of potential. Its performance is excellent in all respects, matching the level of performance expected from the ALiMAGiK 1 platform. The support of both SDRAM and DDR-RAM is a boon to the end-user, and the K7AMA did not crash once under any of the stability tests. To top if off, there is the nice software bundle which includes PC-Cillin 2000 and MediaRing Talk, as well as the sexy black PCB and gold ECS North Bridge heatsink (though an active cooling solution would've been preferred). Lastly, ECS hits below the belt with a killer price, just US$80 or about US$20 cheaper than the closest competitor, the Soyo SY-K7ADA which doesn't even include
integrated networking.
Unfortunately, areas in which the K7AMA falls short are overclocking and component placement. The DIMM slots are a little too close to the AGP slot, and the IDE headers obstruct full-length PCI cards as well as airflow from the lower-front case fan/s. Furthermore, the K7AMA is devoid of any means of selecting the FSB (besides 100MHz and 133MHz), or adjusting the CPU's clock multiplier or core voltage. Also, while a 1/4/0/1 (AGP/PCI/ISA/AMR) expansion configuration is enough for most users (considering that networking is already integrated), power users would have preferred to do away with the onboard sound and the AMR slot, replacing it with an additional PCI slot or an ISA slot for legacy support.
If you don't intend to overclock, and want a nice looking ALiMAGiK 1 motherboard, with rock solid stability and solid integrated 10/100 networking, all at the lowest price on the market, then the ECS K7AMA just might be the ticket. In this case, the ECS K7AMA comes Recommended.
However, if you want an overclocking ALiMAGiK 1 platform, then you might have to look elsewhere.
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