K7S5A version?

[gerald_weigel]

I know I don't have the K7S5A Pro, but how do I tell if I have the K7S5A V1.X or the K7S5A V3.X? The board is green, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with anything.

[JPMiller]

Well Im not familiar with any green versions of the K7S5A but if it is, then you should find the version no# silkscreened at the bottom left hand corner of the the board at the edge, near the PCI slots.

[gerald_weigel]

Thanks a bunch, I believe I have the 3.X version. I'm at work so I can't check the mobo now, BUT I did look at the manual for V1.x and V3.x (off the ECS website) and the manual I have is the V3.X.

But I'll check the board when I get home.

[JPMiller]

This is the definitive guide to tweaking your infamous K7S5A ....If nothing else you should do the chipset heatsink mod and the cheepoman bios upgrade, it will do wonders for stability and performance.
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/ecs/k7s5aguide/

[nukes]

I second that. I'm gonna do the heatsink mod when I get some superglue. It just pulls off, right? No clips?

[JPMiller]

No clips...just twist and pull...clean off the gunk from both chipset and heatsink and lap the underside of the heatsink...( that is if your reusing the stock one)
If your reusing the stock HS then you must lap it...these ridiculous things aren't even flat and when you sand it down it will become obvious how poorly this made contact with the surface of the chip.
I personally always replace it with a better heatsink and a small fan as well.
Use a Very thin aplication of thermal goop ( whatever you choose to use)...and only apply it to the chipset...I leave two opposite corners free of goop and use just a dot of superglue gel ( the gel works better and doesn't get as messy as the runny standard kind)
then immediatly center heatsink and press very firmy onto board...place some thing with some weight on it and leave it alone for 20-30 min.
when your confident it has set, give it a bit of a tug to make sure it worked well...Ive had to redo 1 or 2 in past for various reasons.
Good luck!

[nukes]

You mean I've got to pull the board? I'd need to empty my case to do that!
What do you suggest using for cleaning the chip and HS?

[JPMiller]

Not necessarily...If you clear out some space around it...say ram and cards...you should have enough room.
I use razor blade and then mineral spirits.

[nukes]

http://www.techimo.com/photo/showgal...p?ppuser=71418
Look at the pics there. There won't be enough room with the HDs and IDE cables, no matter how flat they are, plus the CPU heatsink is a big mutha.