Inside Elitegroup Computer Systems: From Taipei to Shen Zhen
by Kristopher Kubicki on October 4, 2003 12:39 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Dragontop and ECSM
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to visit ECS’ Dragontop facilities. Another one of the ways ECS keeps its costs so low is by manufacturing most of its own connectors for the motherboard. Dragontop is a joint venture with AMP, perhaps one of the largest component manufacturers for PC motherboards. Once again, our PC Chips friend, Johnson Chiang, saw an opportunity and jumped all over it when a Hong Kong company put the factory up for sale in the mid nineties. Since we didn’t get a chance to see it, there isn’t really much to talk about. However, if you get a new motherboard and see AMP or ECS written on any of the components, you’ll know it is thanks to another one of Johnson’s factory.
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We are back in factory #20, and its time to cut those motherboard plates in half. While the whole facility has over 60 SMT lines, the floor we were on only contains 12. These are massive machines capable of soldering hundreds of machines an hour. The 60 lines we mentioned are capable of soldering 120,000+ boards per month.
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The next part is fairly fun to watch as well. Most motherboards are constructed in line assembly setups. About 25 workers will sit in a line and plug a few components into the predrilled board. Remember, the SMT machines have already connected north bridges, LAN and other chips. The few connectors and sockets left just slide into the board like some kind of unusual LEGO set. A final worker verifies that the components are all set in place, and then the assembly line puts the board in an oven.
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At this point, the boards continue down an elevator to one more floor where they will be tested for quality. Much to my surprise, the Quality Assurance (QA, but ECS also calls it Manual Inspection) portion of the factory seemed to consume the most time and energy. Below, you can see a worker testing the motherboard CPU socket for correct voltages. This is one of five or so specific component tests.
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Here, a worker actually assembles a full system and starts it up to run. Each component of the motherboard is tested from LAN to CPU. It only took about 5 minutes for this worker to assemble the unit, run about 10 DOS-based tests on it, and then disassemble it. If you ever felt like winning one of those CNET system builder contests, you could get one of these ECS girls to be a pretty sure ringer.
Below, a worker tests the network components of a motherboard.
A specially designed video card that can be removed and inserted into a motherboard without damaging the pins on the motherboard or the card.
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Shalmanese - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
"In any case, the factory itself does seem extremely considering all of the manual labor around. "seem extremely what?
Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
I am using an ECS board AMD XP 2400 CPU. Works well (no problem with Windows 98, XP, or Linux). Cheap too ~$67. I built another for mom and it works great too. ECS provides computer motherboards that are affordable and work great (very stable) and that's what most families of the world want/need.It's good to put people to work by buying ECS. Or else, they would starve because companies will move elsewhere (e.g., India) where labor is cheaper to cut costs (that's why motherboard factories moved from Taiwan to China in the first place).
It may not be perfect wages compared to the U.S. but I'm sure the workers over there appreciate it and the nice clean factories. Living costs are lower too over there.
In the U.S., workers complain too much and half ass too much that's why all companies are shipping the jobs overseas where people work harder, better, and complain less. Sucks for U.S. workers but tough luck for there laziness. Look at Ford and all american cars (sucks bigtime--100% breakdown within 1 year). I know none of you computer users would ever want americans to build motherboards or else all computers would breakdown in a few months and still cost a lot. And every year workers would play the stupid Strike game delaying products. No, no consumers wants lazy, clumsy, greedy game playing americans workers messing with our computer parts.
I would do the same (hire hardworking overseas workers) if I ran a corporation. Why pay premium wages to lazy half ass workers who complain all the time and threaten lawsuits and call in sick every month so they can watch a ball game and file fake workers comp claims which is typical of american workers?
BTW, I went to a post office where there were 4 asian clerk and 1 american clerk. The asian workers were polite and very very efficient and competant easily servicing 1 client a minute (max). The lazy, incompetant american worker took 10 minute per client and kept needing to ask questions from the supervisor. I think that anyone running a business if they saw this difference in work efficiency/competancy would only hire asians since they are most efficent and competant and result in best business profits (for shareholders) and lowest costs and best products for consumers.
I know lazy americans might get angry but if you think rationally, you know I am right and that's what most businessmen think.
Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
Nice! I've always wondered where that crappy motherboard in my Grandma's eMachine came from.AgaBooga - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
Its good to see the QA put into their parts, I wonder if any other motherboard vendors will read this article and improve if they aren't as good as ECS in terms of testing. If their parts go through this much testing, then why do people sometimes have to RMA a board like this?Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
Forgot to tell about PC Chips history with fake cache on motherboards back in the 486-days...ECS is one of the companies that pay as little as they can to the workers.
Some of their series really have a RMA-problems... but they are cheap. The manufacture a lot for others -- some are good, others are typical ECS-quality.
Seems to me like a big "Thank you for the trip"-article....
Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
After the fake cache scandal pc chips was involved with in the earily pentium motherboard days, i'd swore to never touch any of their products again. Be it ecs, amptron, alton, houston tech, etc etc etc.Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
"I emailed Anand if we could get polo shirts with that motto on it, but I did not get a response."Anyone who appreciates irony has to be in hysterics over this line.
Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
if ECS went public 10 yrs after creation, why is it 1994 and not 1997 in the first paragraph?DAVIDS - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
Very informative article. It's amazing that many of the workers get only $150/month. I sure hope their room and board is included.Anonymous User - Saturday, October 4, 2003 - link
This is a great article that provides information that i cant find everywhere else.Good job Kristopher!
I never would have imagined that the bulk of the ECS workforce were women.