X-bit labs

ECS 755-A2 Socket754 Mainboard on SiS755 Chipset Review (page 4)

Category: Mainboards

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 02/21/2004 | 12:59 PM ]

PCB Design

The design of ECS 755-A2 is unusual because the engineers’ primary task was to make the solution as inexpensive as possible. The PCB is small, only 220mm wide, you can rarely see such PCBs nowadays. This dramatic reduction of the PCB size affected the components layout. The main surprise is the DIMM slots being placed along the right edge of the PCB: only Soltek used to place memory slots this way. However, I have to stress that these slots are too close to the processor socket, and you may find it hard to install massive coolers that expand to the top like those from Zalman. Moreover, with the processor Socket 754 located this way we put the memory modules under a stream of hot air from the CPU cooler. It’s no good for the memory as well as for the processor cooling (airflow is hindered).

As for the major connectors, IDE connectors and the ATX power supply connector are placed pretty conveniently on the PCB. The 12V power connector is usually shifted by manufacturers to the back part of the mainboard, while engineers from Elitegroup found a way to squeeze this connector in front of the Socket 754: this way the power cable won’t prevent proper airflows.

The FDD connector is not very conveniently placed: it is on the left part of the PCB, but it’s even worse with the onboard USB connectors. They stand before the first PCI slot (which is the closest to the AGP port), so there may be problems if you try to connect anything to them and use a graphics card with a massive cooling system at the same time.

The chipset’s North Bridge has a small passive aluminum heatsink on, which usually remains cool. The mainboard offers only two connectors for attaching system fans, which is rather insufficient according to the today’s standards.

The back panel of the mainboard has a standard layout, but without the second COM port (it is not even soldered onboard). Evidently, Elitegroup intends to use this PCB design for future products on the integrated SiS760 chipset, which is pin-compatible with the SiS755. There are only three audio jacks at the back panel: audio inputs are combined with audio outputs.