- Store ran out of ECS mb's, gave me ASRock instead... good or bad?

[The Cerebral Ass ©]

I purchased an integrated ECS AMD L7VMM2 motherboard from a computer store.

When I went to pick it up 2 days later, I noticed the motherboard they gave
me was not the one I ordered. They gave me an ASRock K7VM4. It wouldn't be
such a big deal if not for the fact that they were going to pawn this off on
me without saying anything. I had to notice it myself and ask for an
explanation.

They told me the ECS L7VMM2 was discontinued, so they used the ASRock. The
girl even said "it's just as good, it's just an Asus" which I assume was
just a slip, because I don't see any mention of Asus on the box.

Tired, annoyed with the 90 minute wait, I said fine and left... but made
sure I brought a copy of the original receipt with the original mb model
with me. Just in case.

My question is... is the ASRock K7VM4 in every way equal to the ECS L7VMM2?
Better yet, is it superior in any way?

Did I come out on the losing or winning end of this exchange?

Thanks!

 

[Pen]

Asrock is the "budget" arm of Asus. I've heard nothing but
good things about them. Both boards are low end, but ECS
has a lousy reputation among posters here.

 

[Stacey]

I purchased an integrated ECS AMD L7VMM2 motherboard from a computer
store.

They told me the ECS L7VMM2 was discontinued, so they used the ASRock.

My question is... is the ASRock K7VM4 in every way equal to the ECS
L7VMM2? Better yet, is it superior in any way?

The L7VMM2 is a =REAL= POS, has an very old, very buggy Via KM266 chipset.
The K7VM4 has the new KT400 chipset which is much better. I still wouldn't
have bought either as Via chipsets seem to always be the ones I have
problems with but of the 2 they did you a HUGE favor not selling you that
ECS board. Asrock is supposed to be asus's budget line.

http://www.asrock.com/product/product_k7vm4.htm

http://www.ecs.com.tw/products/pd_spec.asp?product_id=321

Did I come out on the losing or winning end of this exchange?

You won big time.

 

[kony]

The L7VMM2 is a =REAL= POS, has an very old, very buggy Via KM266 chipset.
The K7VM4 has the new KT400 chipset which is much better. I still wouldn't
have bought either as Via chipsets seem to always be the ones I have
problems with but of the 2 they did you a HUGE favor not selling you that
ECS board. Asrock is supposed to be asus's budget line.

http://www.asrock.com/product/product_k7vm4.htm

http://www.ecs.com.tw/products/pd_spec.asp?product_id=321

What bugs with KM266?

I'd agree though, that the OP got a better system by omission of the
ECS board. I see those and Biostar boards failing more often than
anything else, though there may be other junk boards with similar or
worse failure rates that simply don't have as much market penetration
and so fewer reports of failure, or maybe it's the crap power supplies
often used in these low-end systems, but the OP may be facing that
issue still.


Dave

 

[The Cerebral Ass ©]

That's exactly the type of answer I was looking (and hoping) for, Stacey.
Thanks! Most people just told me "They switched WHAT without warning you?
That's illegal! Sue them!"

Had I objected to the bait-and-switch I would have insisted on an inferior
mb out of principle alone, which is just silly. Good to know.

 

[Stacey]

What bugs with KM266?

Fun with 4in1 drivers? That alone is not worth fooling with them..

 

[kony]

Fun with 4in1 drivers? That alone is not worth fooling with them..

They never gave me any problems on a KM266, neither with onboard video
or a few Geforce 3/4 cards... , just installed them (4in1) and "done".


Dave