ECS A55F-M4(1.0) FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: it does what a motherboard is supposed to do.

Cons: this is a pretty big con.. the board does not have any kind of back plate on the bottom of it to prevent the board of bending. the stock heatsink was enough to bend the board enough to stop posting. this is a serious flaw. i had to RMA this board. i was shocked to see how far the board had bent in just one week of use with the stock heatsink. i was sure to buy a metal backplate for the second board so that it would not happen again.. its been more than a month now, so i'm sure that the problem is solved.

Other Thoughts: this board was for a HTPC and the board sits horizontally inside the case, if your computer is a tower where the board sits vertically this might not happen. but it is a serious problem.

Pros: Great price (at the time I got it for $20 after rebate), Simple, Easy to install.

Cons: REBATE TOOK OVER 3 MONTHS TO COME.

Pros: Great board, I normally buy gigabyte but I was on a budget with this build, Everything worked great easy burn-in. board has great features that you would pay extra for on any other motherboard.

Cons: none

Pros: Plain board simple board. Built cheap system for my father. A4 330, 4gb ram. Apparently i went to cheap

Cons: Died just under 3 months of of use. Sound cut off a couple nights ago. Next morning wouldn't turn on. Sent in RMA request today. Cant wait for another fine piece of equipment.

Other Thoughts: Hate the fact i have to pay shipping for a RMA on such a cheap item. Is it even worth it?

Manufacturer Response:

We are sorry to hear about the issues you have had with your system. For this week we have not received any new cases for this model motherboard. Please contact us so we can look into your issue and help ensure that your case is proceeding as it should.

When contacting us, you can refer to case #ECD13031510007

I or any of my team members here at technical support will be able to help you.
Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

Thank you,
Andy
Phone# 1-510-456-9836
Email: andy_K@ecsusa.com

External Link(s):

Elite Member 99-hour service|

Pros: Low price, works (so far), expandable pci-e slots, no 90 degrees side sata port which benefited slim cases.

Cons: The 4 pin cpu power socket is too close to one of the capacitor next to it, as result the capacitor is blocking the plug.

Pros: None, the thing survived long enough to install the OS and then died.

Cons: Where to begin. The onboard video was the first to go. Thinking it might have been an issue with the bios, I took the coin battery out of the mobo and tried resetting the bios. No dice. I then moved to taking a working PCIe video card and installing it. Still no video. The motherboard would not POST with the card in the slot.

Other Thoughts: I have tried to contact tech support and still have yet to hear back from them (going on 2 weeks). I then tried contacting Andy (andy_K@ecsusa.com) since I found him responding to issues on here, but have yet to hear back from him. What a joke. If this is the way their customer service is, there is no way I will be a return customer.

Manufacturer Response:

Please accept my apology for any inconvenience caused. Based on our record, you submit the case at 02/08/2013 with the case# 13020810023. We have already replied to you at the same day with some suggestion how to solve your issue. Please kindly check the following link in order to review your case:

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Support/Technical_Support_List.aspx?MenuID=50&LanID=9

On 02/15/2013, we received your follow up email and we also updated your same case#. In addition, our support phone number was provided in the case note. 510-226-7333 Option 6. Based on our company policy, the response time is within 1-2 business days.

Again, we're sorry for the mis-communication. If you need RMA service, you can directly request 99-hours VIP service from the following link:

http://www.ecsusa.com/ecswebsite/member/loginpage.aspx

When contacting us, you can refer to case #13020810023

I or any of my team members here at technical support will be able to help you.
Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

Thank you,
Andy
Phone# 1-510-456-9836
Email: andy_K@ecsusa.com

External Link(s):

Elite member 99-hour service|

Pros: Runs a A8-3850 just fine for HTPC. HDMI port is very nice to have. Stable and has been running for about a month non stop now without any issues.

Cons: Updated the bios and noticed a pretty bad grammar error in the boot options section. Its pretty inappropriate and I am not to sure if its a joke or they actually had a typo. None the less the board works fine.

Other Thoughts: Good for HTPC.

Pros: Nice basic motherboard
HDMI
Crossfire capable

Cons: First motherboard died with 72 hours (-1 Egg)
No CPU Retention backplate

Other Thoughts: RMA for first motherboard issued quickly

RMA department didn't answer the phone

Andy K. of the Technical Support Department was extremely helpful and rectified my issues with the RMA Department. Thanks, Andy

Replacement motherboard works like a charm.

Factoring in the cost to ship the dead motherboard back to ECS made the NewEgg deal less of a deal.

Lets see how long it takes to receive the rebate.

Pros: great sound, great graphics, all in one board

Cons: can't get sound to come through the hdmi to the tv, Might be the TV

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated. We need your feedback in order to improve the quality of our products and service.

For your sound issues, please verify in your device manager you have drivers installed for VIA and HDMI audio.
Ensure that the HDMI audio is set as your default playback device. You can check this from your Control Panel.

If you continue to have issues with your sound, please do contact us and we will work with you to find a solution.

When contacting us, you can refer to case #ECD13020410013

I or any of my team members here at technical support will be able to help you.
Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

Thank you,
Andy
Phone# 1-510-456-9836
Email: andy_K@ecsusa.com

External Link(s):

Elite Member 99-hour service|

Pros: Easy to install. Click bios. AMD dual graphics. Low price. Very small

Cons: None at all

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated. We need your feedback in order to improve the quality of our products and service.

*** Please take a few minutes to review our products. We want to hear from you! ***

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this or any ECS products, please contact us. We are here to help.

I or any of my team members here at technical support will be able to help you.
Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

Thank you,
Andy
Phone# 1-510-771-0284
Email: andy_K@ecsusa.com