Conclusion
This content was originally featured on Amdmb.com and has been converted to PC Perspective’s website. Some color changes and flaws may appear.
The SiS 745 chipset, even when running at its 166 MHz memory speed, isn’t nearly as fast as the KT333 chipset reference board we have here. There is really no other way around that conclusion from the numbers we saw. VIA’s implementation of the DDR333 technology is obviously better than SiS’s.However, I think the one place that the ECS K7S6A motherboard falls into place is in competition with the KT266A chipset. In nearly all the tests we showed you here, the SiS 745 chipset is right on par, sometimes ahead and sometimes behind, with the performance and speed of the KT266A chipset. In this case, the K7S6A looks like a good option for anyone looking to expand into the realm of DDR333 without paying the high costs of the current KT333 chipset motherboards.
Just looking at prices on both Pricewatch and our own Amdmb.com Pricegrabber, I found the ECS K7S6A for around $75. The only KT333 chipset motherboard I found for sale was the Gigabyte brand for around $275. That is a $200 difference! If you are on a budget (and aren’t we all) that price difference is just too large to ignore. What gains are you getting for $200? Most KT266A boards are cheaper but still 50-100% more expensive than the K7S6A.
If you find that you simply don’t want to go with SiS’s 745 chipset, and instead would like to look at an inexpensive KT266A solution, I suggest you try out ECS’s own K7VTA3 motherboard.
No Amdmb.com Pricegrabber prices available on the K7S6A yet.
