The EQS AB1S-RS690MKM board, bundle and warranty thoughts
EQS has followed the mATX form factor that lends itself well to the 690G chipset. There isn't a great deal of room around the socket but that's the price you pay for having separate bridges with an IGP-based AM2 motherboard.
4 DIMM slots provide up to 4GiB of system memory that's ideally run in dual-channel mode. Remember, the bandwidth is shared between the system and IGP, so more is always better.
The main power connector and floppy port are located in a decent location. However, there's only a single chassis fan header, which is a bit stingy.
It's all bit of a squeeze but EQS has added in the single ATA133 port between the SB600 southbridge and its 4 SATA2 ports.
AMD's documentation reveals that the 690G chipset has just an 8W TDP. That's why no additional cooling is required to keep the Xpress 1250 and SB600 cool. Indeed, we reckon that EQS could have gotten away with two low-profile heatsinks
EQS adds in FireWire400 support courtesy of the VT6307 2-port ASIC that's just behind the southbridge.
The high-definition audio from the SB600 is routed via a Realtek ALC882D Dolby Digital Live-supporting chip. It's a 7.1+2 setup, meaning regular 8-channel sound with an additional 2 independent stereo channels.
A couple of PCI slots are augmented by a single x1. Realtek, again, provides the all-in-one LOM (LAN On Motherboard) PCI-based Gigabit Ethernet controller.
We mentioned that it was up to AMD's partners to choose the exact specification of their 690G boards. EQS has opted to run with integrated, HDCP-supporting HDMI and regular VGA. It's a fair compromise between cost and connectivity, we suppose, and there's nothing stopping EQS from a launching a deluxe 690G model, replete with all the trimmings.
The majority of mATX boards have a somewhat cluttered layout, exacerbated in this instance by having separate north and southbridges. EQS's 690G can be considered reasonable with such spatial limitations in place: most ASICs and ports are intelligently positioned around the board.
Bundle
| Items |
Fly bracket with 2 x USB2.0 ports Bracket with S-Video and AV-Out 80-pin ATA100 cable and 34-pin floppy cable SATA cable, non-latching variety Board header for COM port I/O shield Driver CD Instruction manual |
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All the basics, as expected. Considering the multimedia nature of the board, we'd like to see some form of digital S/PDIF-Out
Availability, price and warranty
Initial availability is slated to be in 4 weeks' time, around 2 weeks after most other partners have their boards, in stock, at the usual e-tailers. Time to market for a new SKU is important and the EQS falls down here somewhat.The board will ship with an expected e-tail price of £49.25, making it one of the cheaper RS690(G) motherboards on offer.
EQS covers its board with a comprehensive warranty. The 3-year warranty starts on the date of purchase and is transferrable. Further, the warranty remains intact if you lose the receipt. Should that happen, the end date is based on the date of manufacture.
EQS has a service centre in the UK and has agreements in place with its distributors to turn faulty boards around, on average, in 7 working days. Most of EQS' boards are sold through smaller local stores and they may replace a faulty model immediately. EQS can also be contacted directly for warranty-related issues in the second and third years, and it promises to ship replacement models in as-new condition, meaning new brand-new cables and manuals. The same direct contact applies should the retailer go bust, so you'll always be covered for the 3-year period.