Although it may be a new name to some, ECS has been around for quite some time, mainly in the OEM and system assembler markets. This version 3 of their popular Socket A based K7VTA3 motherboard comes with the VIA KT333 chipset and DDR333 support. Compared to some of the other boards in this review, the K7VTA3 isn't really designed to be an overclockers board, which makes it quite easy and straightforward to setup.

The board itself is tidily laid out with plenty of space around each component. Even the CPU socket has enough space around it to fit a larger aftermarket cooler, and the DIMM slots are far enough away from the AGP slot as not to interfere with the memory locking latches. A nice design touch is that small metal tabs have been installed on each side of the CPU socket, protecting the motherboard from scratches caused by the slip of a screwdriver when mounting the cooler.

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There are also two fan connectors on the board, both of which are controlled by the hardware monitoring system. On the downside, the ATX power connector is positioned behind the audio and game ports so the power cables have to be contorted around the CPU.

The installation CD, besides having all the drivers needed for the board, has a useful collection of utilities on it; a program for flashing the BIOS, Adobe Acrobat Reader, online user's manual, PC-Cillin, CDghost, MediaRing Talk, Genesys, and Language Genius. This is a simple, workmanlike board with a price to match.