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  • Impulses - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Not sure most enthusiasts would miss ECS, but good for them.
  • cruzinforit - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I've had and used more than a couple of ECS boards over the years. I had an ECS K7S5A that still works beautifully. I got lucky with mine, the G-Luxon caps are still functioning and haven't puked electrolyte even after all these years. I've used them in builds for other people, and I even have an ECS H61 mini-ITX board in my HTPC which works beautifully.
  • abhaxus - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I miss the days of the K7S5A. Was a simpler time.
  • Samus - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    The K7S5A was a legendary enthusiast board in its own right, but that was over a decade ago...they have become less relevant mostly because of ASRock.
  • WorldWithoutMadness - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Nobody would miss them except the customers whose products are still in warranty period.
    But hey, at least their product can be found in the market unlike proper spec'ed AMD laptop
  • twin - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    To be fair, leaving a market doesn't mean not honoring the warranty.
  • SpartyOn - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I've used plenty of ECS boards over the years for non-critical desktop builds; internet browsing machines, low-end gaming boxes, cheap HTPCs and the like. I've always found the consumer product to be great value for the price.

    Sure, the BIOS's are straight out of 1999 and they tend to be basic, both in their capabilities and appearance, but at the extreme budget price point, I've always found the ECS motherboards to have less board flex, booting issues and longevity problems than low-end models from MSI, and even to a degree Gigabyte and Asus, depending on the board.

    Granted, I haven't purchased one in at least a year, so maybe things have changed a bit, but count me in the camp of people pleased to hear that they're not going away.
  • Samus - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Haha, I actually like their clunky BIOSes because these days some of these UEFI interfaces are wack.
  • StrangerGuy - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    It's always funny to see the elite zGaMeRz OC crowd dissing on low-end boards when these already have all the necessary features needed for a legit gaming system. Put the $200+ mobos with crappy PSUs and cooling that these $50 mobos usually end up with and I won't be remotely surprised to see former fail just as often. I have build several gaming PCs with ~$50 mobos and all easily breezed past the 3-year old warranty period without a single failure.
  • bill.rookard - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I've got an ECS board, and it's pretty solid. Not the greatest, not the latest features, but it works just fine for what it's for (basic office/internet box).

    That being said, they really need to work on their English translations.
  • Achaios - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    "Sunny Yang"? Hong-Kong Chinese or Singaporean Chinese? He is the Pres of major Corp. and he still can't express himself passably in written English? I have met Filipino Merchant Marines (A/B's who get paid $1k a month) who can write better English than him. Honestly, it is somewhat hard to respect somebody who is the Pres of a major Corp if they are unable to express themselves properly in written English. (English is not my mother tongue either)
  • garbagedisposal - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Your comment is incredibly stupid.
    A president of an Asian company doesn't need to have great English.
    If you're able to understand him, then it's already passable. Go talk to a linguist. Also, the fact that some random Pinoys can speak great English has no bearing on whether some Chinese/Taiwanese should be able to do the same (what were you even thinking?). Grow some brain cells.
  • Oxford Guy - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Grammar and spelling trolls are always going to be a facet of the Internet. The fact that they aren't the CEO of ECS says it all. They'd rather type toothless criticism on a message board than be out there actually doing something.

    The point of communication in business is understanding, not fine art. If you want sweeping poetic English, stick to Shakespeare.
  • Samus - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I honestly can't take his comment seriously because it would appear he can't even spell the word "President"
  • bji - Monday, June 29, 2015 - link

    Well that's just stupid. Whether or not you agree with his point, he clearly was abbreviating President to Pres.
  • bji - Monday, June 29, 2015 - link

    I disagree. Releasing a poorly written press release in any language is unprofessional. Also your false dichotomy is silly. Nobody wants "sweeping poetic English". There is a third choice here between "sweeping poetic English" and "terrible English". That choice is "good English proofread by someone with decent English language skills".
  • Oxford Guy - Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - link

    When you're the CEO of a major tech company let us know that your precision English got you there.
  • bji - Saturday, July 11, 2015 - link

    That is such a stupid response. So only CEOs of companies can have opinions about CEOs of companies?
  • Chuck Lee - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    He is from Taiwan and lives in Taiwan. How about you ? can't even write proper English either. Who the heck are you to judge someone by their language skill specially not their primary language. He is the president of ECS, how about you dumb ass ?!?! can you write proper Chinese and English ? if you can't then STFU !
  • webdoctors - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    There's no excuse for the poor English in that letter. He's representing the company and doing a poor job of it, that letter was pretty painful to read. I've lived in TW and can tell you he can easily find many companies and freelancers to do quick and simple translation work for press releases and customer facing e-mails.

    His cheapness is reflected in their product quality, and I'd be concerned doing business with someone I couldn't communicate with properly.
  • Oxford Guy - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Let's see the quality of your Mandarin, bud. Also, let's see your resume that is strong enough to become ECS' CEO. Until then, ring off.
  • Impulses - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I wouldn't hold a poorly translated/written CEO letter against ECS, I don't even think it reflects that badly on the suit writing it, but I do think webdoctors has a point... The guy could/should just get someone to proof or translate for him, it's not that hard but it can have a big impact.

    That being said, this release might've been rushed in light of the rumors or whatever, not an excuse but still... English isn't my first language either btw.
  • royalcrown - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    Hey, at least he wrote it himself, that's something a lot of suits wouldn't bother with.
  • chrnochime - Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - link

    Nice going with that run-on sentence in your second sentence bud. Come back and diss him when you can write something that doesn't contain blatantly obvious grammar mistake AND speak/write perfect Mandarin okay? LOL
  • Nandie - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    Poorly written press release does not inspire confidence in your products which have never been highly regarded in the first place. There are situations where English mistakes(like forums) are forgivable and can be overlook but not in press releases. It is embarrassing and laughable.
  • fluxtatic - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    Please. You should see the half-coherent drivel I deal with from people higher up in the company I work for, and none of them speak/write anything but English.
  • chrnochime - Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - link

    Right, and I have lower confidence in MB products because their head honcho isn't a native English speaker and their PR team somehow let those grammar errors slip through. Oh the humanity!!
  • royalcrown - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    Well, don't give him too hard a time unless your chinese is as good as his.
  • Achaios - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    This affair with Yang's poor English strongly reminds me of my trips to the fleshpots of China, SE Asia and the Philipines and my interactions with the girls thereof in "Pidgin English": "ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME", "ME WANT YOU", "YOU SPIK GUD ENGLAND" and the like.

    The people who comment in this website are not just riff-raff you know. Many of us have had long careers in diverse industries and have occupied senior positions in different companies. As it has already been pointed out, writing a communiqué in pidgin English to address an English-speaking audience is a bad business choice. It makes you look bad, it makes you look cheap, it makes you look like a dilettante.

    For those guys who still didn't get it, English is not my native tongue either. I speak four other languages besides my mother tongue, almost as good as I speak English.
  • bji - Monday, June 29, 2015 - link

    Your point is fine but I don't think it's necessary to bring in the comparison to your experiences during your "trips to the fleshpots of China" (whatever those are, I assume some sort of prostitution thing). That seems kind of like a cheap shot to me.

    I actually agree in spirit with your comment though. If you're going to write a press release in English, using bad English is unprofessional. Either don't write it in English, or get a good proofreader to correct it for you. That's what I'd do if I had to write a press release in a foreign tongue, and it only makes common sense. And not doing so *does* reflect poorly on the professionalism of your organization.
  • chrnochime - Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - link

    And you're proud of that somehow? Good to know.
  • chrnochime - Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - link

    And YOU are criticizing him? I could say the same for the capitalization of the word president(oh wait it, it's pres, without that period at the end) in your second sentence being a complete eyesore also. As the saying goes, the pot calling the kettle black. LOL get off your high horse.
  • Flunk - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I've bought quite a few ECS boards and installed them for friends and family members. It's a good bargain brand, not a lot of features but the boards tend to work correctly. Their branding is always terrible though, horrible graphics and text is always full of spelling and grammar errors. I've never even heard of the L337 Gaming brand but it's so laughable I'm not sure I'd even consider it based on name alone.
  • ZipSpeed - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    About 15 years ago, I bought an ECS motherboard with the intention of, "If I can get three years out of this board, I'll be happy". Fast forward to today, and the computer is still operating one of my instruments here at work.
  • Impulses - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    I bought one with the same intention and my experience was quite the opposite... PoS burst some caps within two years. That being said, I don't hold a single lemon or sparse anecdotal evidence (positive or negative) against most brands. I've had Abit (blast from the past!) and ASUS boards die on me too.
  • dave_the_nerd - Thursday, June 25, 2015 - link

    ...ECS was still in the motherboard market?
  • Thatguy97 - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    ecs mase good athlon xp (socket a) boards back in the day
  • Peichen - Friday, June 26, 2015 - link

    I had a K7S5A board flashed with overclock BIOS (Cheapo?). Good board that worked for 4 years or so but started having problem keeping BIOS setting. Change the CMOS battery didn't help and since I only paid $50 for it I just upgrade to something else.

    ECS is still one of the big 4 OEMs along with ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. It just doesn't have the best retail presents.
  • daftshadow - Sunday, June 28, 2015 - link

    I've only owned one ECS motherboard back in the day; early 2000s, and it never broke down. Worked beautifully until I upgraded to a different brand with a more gaming-centric motherboard. I think in general, ECS motherboards look bland even for gaming enthusiast ones. For me, one of the criteria is having nice aesthetics.
  • bji - Monday, June 29, 2015 - link

    What is "the knee competition" in the motherboard industry? Is it sensical in a way that I don't understand? If not, does anyone have any theory on what Mr. Yang was trying to say here?

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