The high-end motherboard segment has always been the place where style and function come together to woo potential buyers. With functionality an already tough subject to decide on, there comes the looks of the board to add to the dilemma in choosing. Now in the case of looks, its always a personal choice. Where some opt for guns, military schemes and armors others prefer to go from abstract to simple and the variations are limitless. To make a statement you have to stand-out, and today’s review subject is trying to do just that. Clad in gold in nearly every metallic surface as well as the promise of rigorous QA testing, the Z77H2-A2X and the higher-end Z77H2-AX Golden Boards from ECS are the company’s most daring attempt to step into the enthusiast scene yet. We have the Z77H2-A2X today for review and we’re making this one extremely showy!
ECS (Elitegroup Computer Systems) has always thrived in the OEM and budget segment of the component market and they’ve been very good at it. Twenty-five years in the business should be enough testament to that. One thing that ECS as a company has yet to do is establish themselves as an enthusiast’s choice and their supposed attempt in this segment is their Black series of motherboards which has more or less floundered in the mid-range market for a couple of years now. More recently though, ECS has come full-circle and has intensified the marketing of their Black series, billing their most recent offerings in this series as Black Extreme which includes the X79R-AX which we’ve looked at before. Stepping up their game, the new Golden Board series from ECS -the Z77H2-AX & Z77H2-A2X– both from the Black Extreme line which support the new Intel 22nm Ivy Bridge processor is what ECS is banking on as their trump card to lift themselves from budget-brand status (not a bad thing in itself). We’ll check the Z77H2-A2X along with Intel’s new Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K unlocked processor and see if this Golden Board is more than just gaming bling. First, up some detailed specs and photos:
[toggle title=”SPECIFICATIONS”]| CPU | รยบรย LGA1155 socket for new 3rd Generation Intelรยฎรย Coreรขโยข i7 series processor/Intelรยฎรย Coreรขโยข i5 series processor/Intelรยฎรย Coreรขโยข i3 series processor/Intelรยฎรย Pentiumรยฎรย processors/Intelรยฎรย Celeronรยฎรย Processors รยบรย DMI 5.0GT/s รยบรย TDP: 125W รยบรย Note: Please go to ECS website for the latest CPU support list. |
| CHIPSET | รยบรย Intelรยฎรย Z77 Express Chipset |
| GRAPHICS | รยบรย Integrated DirectX 11 graphics processor |
| MEMORY | รยบรย Dual-channel DDR3 memory architecture รยบรย 4 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM socket support up to 32 GB รยบรย Support DDR3 up to 2800(OC)/2600(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1800(OC)/1600 DDR3 SDRAM รยบรย Note1: Please go to ECS website for the latest Memory support list. รยบรย Note2: DDR3_1 with DDR3_3 are the same channel, DDR3_2 with DDR3_4 are the same channel by Intel Specifications Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windowsรยฎรย 32-bit OS. For Windowsรยฎรย 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation |
| EXPANSION SLOT | รยบรย 2 x PCI Express Gen 3.0 x16 slots รยบรย 2 x PCI Express x1 slots รยบรย 2 x PCI slots รยบรย 1 x Mini PCI Express x1 slot รขโฌยขรย Supports Mini SATA รขโฌยขรย Supports Mini PCI Express รยบรย (When using two VGA cards, the bandwidth is x8 badnwidth; when using one VGA card, the bandwidth is x16.) |
| STORAGE | รยบรย Support by Intelรยฎรย Z77 รขโฌยขรย 2 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s devices (SATA2 1/ 2) รขโฌยขรย 2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/s devices (SATA3 3/ 4) รยบรย Support by ASMEDIA ASM1061 รขโฌยขรย 2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/s devices (SATA3 5/ 6) |
| AUDIO | รยบรย Realtek ALC892 8-Ch High Definition audio CODEC รยบรย Compliant with HD audio specification |
| LAN | รยบรย RealTek RTL 8111E Gigabit Lan |
| REAR PANEL I/O | รยบรย 4 x USB 3.0 ports รยบรย 4 x USB 2.0 Ports รยบรย 1 x D-sub(VGA) รยบรย 1 x HDMI Port รยบรย 1 x DVI Port รยบรย 1 x RJ45 LAN connector รยบรย 1 x Audio port (Line-in,4x Line-out, SPDIF out) รยบรย 1 x Wireless LAN Dongle รยบรย 1 x Bluetooth Dongle รยบรย 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port |
| INTERNAL I/O CONNECTORS & HEADERS | รยบรย 1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector รยบรย 1 x 8-pin ATX Power Supply Connector รยบรย 1 x 4-pin CPU_FAN connector รยบรย 1 x 3-pin SYS_FAN connector รยบรย 1 x 3-pin PWR_FAN connector รยบรย 1 x USB 2.0 header support additional 2 USB ports with EZ charger technology รยบรย 1 x USB 3.0 header supports additional 2 USB 3.0 Ports รยบรย 2 x Serial ATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2 1/ 2) รยบรย 4 x Serial ATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 3/ 4/ 5/ 6) รยบรย 1 x COM header รยบรย 1 x Clear CMOS header รยบรย 1 x Case Open header รยบรย 1 x Buzzer รยบรย 1 x SPDIF out header รยบรย 1 x Front panel audio header รยบรย 1 x debug post LED รยบรย 1 x Power on button รยบรย 1 x Reset button |
| SYSTEM BIOS | รยบรย AMI BIOS with 64Mb SPI Flash ROM รยบรย Support ECS M.I.B X Utility รยบรย Supports Plug and Play รยบรย Supports ACPI & DMI รยบรย Supports Plug and Play, STR (S3) / STD (S4) , Hardware monitor รยบรย Audio, LAN, can be disabled in BIOS รยบรย F7 hot key for boot up devices option รยบรย Support over-clocking รยบรย Supports Dual Display (Intel has Three Display) รยบรย Support GUI UEFI BIOS รยบรย Support Milti-language BIOS Utility รยบรย Support eBLU รยบรย Support eOC รยบรย Support eDLU รยบรย Support eSF รยบรย Support EZ Charger |
| FORM FACTOR | รยบรย ATX Size, 305mm*244mm |
We don’t really put much stock regarding packaging but we do enjoy pointing out details in the marketing used by some companies, and having a good laugh at some. Rare though are the times when a packaging has left this reviewer in awe after gazing upon the packaging. Clad in a glossy golden box, ECS has packaged the Z77H2-A2X in a simple box lacking any huge prints and marketing except the model name of the product and Black Extreme series logo on both front and back sides of the box.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7189 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7184 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]Both front and back of the box are flaps which when lifted show us the marketing highlights as well as a window to let us peek on what’s inside. The front flap reveals a golden knight with the lines “ECS Golden Board, the First and Only” in bold print on it. Actually Gigabyte tried the gold theme on their UD7s but not to this extent so I’m giving you this one ECS. More feature and marketing adorn this side including the places where ECS’s has put their golden touch. Adjacent to the flap is the window where we can see the board itself. Like the X79R-AX, ECS is playing safe once again and wraps the board in anti-static material obscuring the view from this window. It’s not a bad thing though we’d appreciate something more visible. The rear flap is adorned in heavy feature and marketing highlights.
The small sides and top are just as simple as everything else with only the logo and model name present. The top cover has a handle, similar to the majority of high-end board packaging, which allows easy carrying. It also gives you an excuse to decline the plastic bag in the store.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7190 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7191 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]Inside the main packaging is another cardboard box, clad in black, which holds two more cardboard boxes which in turn hold the motherboard and the package contents together. ECS has spared no expense in wrapping this thing up.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7192 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7193 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]Included in the package are 6 SATA cables, a 2-way SLI bridge, a chrome gold backplate, an antenna for the internal Wi-FI, port covers for the rear connections, a front USB3.0 panel and rear expansion port cover, a User Guide, a VirtuMVP manual and a quick start guide leaflet as well as an installation disc.
[/tab] [tab] [one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7194 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7196 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]The Z77H2-A2X is a full-sized ATX motherboard for Intel processors in the LGA1155 package. The PCB of this motherboard is clad in pure black with only the gold parts showing any contrast of color to the entire layout of the board. The same can be said with the rear of the motherboard with only the backplate of the socket showing any large distinction of color.
[singlepic id=7202 w=600รย h=300 float=center]We start our closer inspection with the rear expansion ports. Starting from the left we have the internal Bluetooth dongle with 2 USB ports. Next to these are the VGA and DVI connectors followed by the Wi-Fi dongle accompanied by 2 USB ports and 1 eSATA port. Next up are 2 pairs of USB3.0 ports with the HDMI on the first row which then leads up to the audio connectors for 8-channel output audio and an optical SPDIF port.
[singlepic id=7204 w=600รย h=300 float=center]We move on to the socket area and immediately noticeable is the abudance of gold in this part. From the golden heatsinks covering the VRM all to the way to chokes, capacitors and the socket itself, this is definitely one blinged-up motherboard which ECS is offering. The main heatsink cools the 8-phase VRM which gives this board ample juice but might be a bit short for demanding OCers. There are voltage checkpoints on the top edge of the board for reading certain voltages straight off the board for more technical users.
[singlepic id=7205 w=600รย h=300 float=center]Sticking to the color scheme, the DIMM slots are all in black. Being dual-channel, the paired slots are next to each other instead of the alternate arrangement some vendors opt to. Nice attention to detail here as this makes it easier to pair DIMMs and not break the color scheme but some people do prefer to even out their DIMMs when using only one pair but this is up to the user. The the 24-pin socket is on this edge of the board which is a great spot for easy cable management.
[singlepic id=7206 w=600รย h=300 float=center]Further below on the right edge of the board are the SATA ports, 6 in total, 2 of which are SATA2 and the remaining are all SATA6 with one pair powered off the ASMedia ASM1061 controller. Below these is the LED Port80 read-out display which is always a nice touch and makes troubleshooting easy. A mini-PCIe port is also present on this board though we’re not sure if it supports mSATA devices. Above the SATA ports are the onboard Power and Reset button as well as a built-in speaker. The chipset heatsink is treated with ECS’ Qooltech IV technology which changes color based on temps. Sadly though, this place will most likely be obscured by long graphics cards or the heat of the chipset itself won’t reach temps that should show some variance in the Qooltech’s thermoreactive coloring.
[singlepic id=7207 w=600รย h=300 float=center]The lower edge connectivities are the standard affair: front panel LEDs and switches, front panel USB3.0 connector, and a single front USB2.0 header amongst other things. Checking out the other edge we have the front HD audio connector, an SPDIF header and a COM port header for legacy connections with a single 3-pin fan header rounding up this side.
[singlepic id=7208 w=600รย h=300 float=center]The ECS Z77H2-A2X features 2 PCI-e x16 slots, 2 PCI-e x1 slots and 2 legacy PCI slots. The board features PCI-e 3.0 which doubles the bandwidth of the older PCI-e 2.0 standard. The Z77H2-A2X supports both Crossfire and SLI.
[/tab] [tab]As standard with every modern motherboards released in the past year, UEFI BIOS have become the staple but this doesn’t mean that everyone’s doing it right as we’ll discuss later.
[singlepic id=7172 w=600รย h=300 float=center]We are greeted by large buttons in ECS’s UEFI. This is called EZ mode and I will say it right now, there is nothing easy in this interface. First up, the highlighter is hard to see, you can barely make-out which icon is highlighted. Furthermore, there is barely any functionality to this part of the interface except for changing language settings, resetting to default settings, booting from a selected drive and the most important and useful, going int the Advanced options. I have no idea if we’ve missed anything, but there is no way to boot directly into Advanced mode. You have to bear going through EZ mode before going into Advanced mode which is a letdown because the X79R-AX booted had this functionality.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7173 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7174 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]In Advanced mode, we have several tabs that allows us to alter some things in our system. First up is the Main tab which allows fiddling around the Language as well as Date & Time. The Advanced tab has more in-depth options such as enabling the internal devices like LAN and USB3.0, changing CPU features like virtualization, HyperThreading etc. Choosing AHCI mode in the SATA configuration brings up per port options as well as the mSATA feature we were wondering about. We’ll probably get to once we get an mSATA device.
[singlepic id=7176 w=600รย h=300 float=center]Chipset options lets us change options most importantly turning on the internal GPU.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7177 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7178 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7179 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7180 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]ECS’ overclocking options is under the M.I.B. X tab, a tad bit over the top for our taste but what’s important is function irregardless of what’s it called. Lots of dropdown lists here for editing voltages in offset mode. The ECS Z77H2-A2X doesn’t have Preset profiles like the X79R-AX but retains the Quick OC feature. We’ll get into that later in the Overclocking section of this review.
[one_half last=”no”][singlepic id=7181 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half] [one_half last=”yes”][singlepic id=7183 w=260 h=180 float=center][/one_half]The boot tab allows editing of boot device priorities while the security tab allows setting of password to control and limit access to the system or BIOS. Rounding off this section is the Exit tab with Profile options that gives us multiple profiles for making easy changes in our UEFI setup. One can also boot directly off a chosen drive in the bottom of this page.
[/tab] [/tabs]TEST SETUP & OVERCLOCKING
| Processor | Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3960X 3.3Ghz (Turbo up to 3.9Ghz),รย Intel Ivy Bridge i7-3770K 3.5Ghz (Turbo up to 3.9Ghz), Intel Sandy Bridge i7-2600K 3.4Ghz (Turbo up to 3.8Ghz) |
| Motherboards | ECS X79R-AX, Intel DX79SI, AsRock X79 Extreme3, Intel DP67BG |
| Cooling | Intel RTS2011LC ALC by Asetek, Corsair H80 |
| Power Supply | Silverstone Strider Plus ST65F-P 650W |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX Genesis Quad-Channel DDR3-1600 |
| Video Cards | Palit Jetstream GTX670 |
| Hard Drive | Kingston HyperX SSD 120GB, Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB |
| Operating System | Windows 7 64-bit SP1 |
We would like to thank ECS, and Kingston Technologies Inc. for providing the parts and equipment for this review.
This is the first Z77 motherboard review material we have so comparative scores with other products are scant as of this writing. We will however update all the graphs once we get more Z77 motherboards to show you, the readers, a much more comprehensive performance gauge of the ECS Z77H2-A2X Golden Board.
Overclocking the ECS Z77H2-A2X is no simple affair. As previously experienced with ECS UEFI BIOS, we have a hard time trying to configure the system to overclock to our taste. With the lack of presets, most noobies will most likely dabble in the Quick OC feature. Though functional, the Quick OC feature is too aggressive shoving our i7-3770K to 48x which was too unstable at the automatic voltage set by the BIOS. ECS’ UEFI also lacks fine voltage control, leaving the user with only offset values that get put on top of automatic voltages set by the motherboard. The core voltage though has an option for allowing manual voltage settings. Still, the option for setting custom voltages for undervolting would be a very nice feature.
It takes a while for one to get used to the M.I.B. X tuning options but considering the limited options you have, there’s not much of a learning curve here provided you know the settings to be changed. We managed to overclock our sample to a stable 4.6Ghz and this is what we’ll stick with as tuning the sample any higher puts our already hot Ivy Bridge chip ever so closer to its temperature limit under load.
PERFORMANCE
[tabs tab1=”SANDRA” tab2=”wPrime” tab3=”Cinebench” tab4=”SuperPI” tab5=”3DMark 06″ tab6=”Video Conversion”] [tab]SiSoft’s SANDRA is a benchmarking, testing and system information application which provides plenty of options in gaining information regarding your system. For this test, we gauge the raw computational power of the CPU with the Processor Arithmetic benchmark based on the Whetstone and Dhrystone test. Both tests run completely within the processor so it gives a good picture of how a processor performs.
[singlepic id=7238 w=550รย h=600 float=center] [singlepic id=7241 w=550รย h=600 float=center]Immediately evident in this benchmark is the improvement from the old Sandy Bridge processor. Overclocking our processor yields much more desirable figures which inches the i7-3770K closer to the current flagship of Intel: the Sandy Bridge E i7-3960X.
[/tab] [tab]wPrime is a multi-threaded benchmarking application designed to measure the raw computational power of a CPU. It can be configured to run on a custom number of threads to accomodate multi-core CPUs.
[singlepic id=7240 w=550รย h=600 float=center]Nice numbers across the board from our test systems.
[/tab] [tab]Maxon offers a nice benchmark tool called Cinebench which really stresses your entire system to render a very complex scene. The output score is completely unique to Cinebench but allows us to have a rough idea of how the CPU works with 3D rendering tasks.
[singlepic id=7242 w=550รย h=600 float=center]We get very good results from the i7-3770K and ECS Z77H2-A2X combo compared to the previous generation of processors from Intel although the hexacore i7-3960X still leads holds on to its performance crown.
[/tab] [tab]SuperPI is another benchmarking tool that utilizes the pure computational power of a CPU. This test however is purely single-threaded and shows us the performance of a single core which gives us a good picture of how a processor performs on similar tasks. Click for bigger graph:D
[singlepic id=7248 w=550รย h=600 float=center]Looking at the higher value tests, we see that our test system gives us much better performance than the flagship i7-3960X which can be attributed to the improved efficiency of the newer Ivy Bridge CPUs.
[/tab] [tab]3D Mark06 is a benchmarking software designed to measure the performance of a system in DirectX9 applications. The test has long been updated with newer version of the software for more modern use but the CPU test is still relevant and still gives us a good image of system performance by loading the CPU with logic, path-finding and physics computation tasks. We’ve included the LucidLogix VirtuMVP scores for this test as well to see how this technology leverages supported applications. We only use the CPU benchmarks for this test.
[singlepic id=7244 w=550รย h=600 float=center]This test proves that LucidLogix VirtuMVP solution actually has an impact in in these kinds of tests so its a nice feature to have.
[/tab] [tab]We use two different software to get our result for this test: first is Xilisoft Media Converter which utilizes multi-core processors in encoding videos and has support for CUDA and AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing technologies. The second one is Cyberlink MediaEspresso which is optimized for Intel QuickSync and both GPU technologies mentioned above. We use Xilisoft for the majority of tests with only the QuickSync results taken from MediaEspresso. We use a 150MB 1080p MP4 video and convert it to standard iOS format.
[singlepic id=7239 w=550รย h=600 float=center]Very impressive performance here from our test system, easily ousting the performance crown from the i7-3960X on both stock and overclocked tests. We also see the much lauded performance of applications that can utilize Intel QuickSync which as you can see from the graphs, is way beyond what standard CPU encoding can do.
[/tab] [/tabs]GAME TESTS
[tabs tab1=”Unigine Heaven 3.0″ tab2=”3DMark Vantage” tab3=”3DMark 11″ tab4=”Battlefield 3″] [tab]Ungine’s Heaven benchmark is a DirectX application designed to measure the performance of a system in game-like loads. We’ll be including VirtuMVP results from this point onward.
[singlepic id=7246 w=550รย h=600 float=center] [/tab] [tab]3DMark Vantage is the successor to 3DMark 06 and is targeted for DirectX10 compliant devices. Similar to our 3DMark 06 test, we only take the CPU scores using the Performance preset. [singlepic id=7243 w=550รย h=600 float=center] [/tab] [tab]Contrary to our other Futuremark benchmarks, we run the full Extreme and Performance benchmarks suite of this application.
[singlepic id=7245 w=550รย h=600 float=center] [/tab] [tab]Battlefield 3 is the latest intallment in the highly-acclaimed FPS franchise from EA. Battlefield 3 puts players in modern combat situations with highly detailed environment and in-game graphics, whose Ultra detail settings, can bring most systems to their knees. We’ve included results from using the IGP in this test which was just plain horror to experience.
[singlepic id=7247รย w=550รย h=600 float=center] [/tab] [/tabs]CONCLUSION
Considerations for choosing a motherboard usually resides in 3 key factors: performance, functionality and looks. Performance across motherboards based on the same chipset will almost always be within a short magin between each competing product. Even more so when they’re based on the same chipset. This is where overclocking options, board quality and stability come in as they give the most value for the end-user in this respect. Then there’s functionality and features which round out the motherboards offerings. A board that overclocks great but has limited connectivity and expansion slots isn’t going to be top consideration for the majority of consumers. Then finally there’s looks, which no matter how vain and subjective always usually dictates what users end up buying. Its hard to sell a stable, overclocking board with 8 PCI-e slots and 8 USB3.0 ports if its got a crappy looking PCB and heatsink styling.
[singlepic id=7203 w=320 h=240 float=center]With all those mentioned, the point is there is always a junction at which these factors meet. So does ECS’ Golden Board get close to it? Well we can like it all we want but there will be people out there that won’t dig the golden theme. Its just the way things go in the world. The good news for those who do prefer it is the board performs very nicely and we’ll hopefully get the chance to compare it to other Z77 boards in the high-end range soon (*wink wink* MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, ASRock *wink wink*). The built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity is also a nice touch as well as the inclusion of 6 USB3.0 ports amongst others.
Everything’s not all sunny with the Z77H2-A2X Golden Board though. Once again we’ve had to deal with ECS’ poor UEFI BIOS interface and its laundry list of annoyances. First off is the mouse compatibility. We seriously can never use any mouse properly with this BIOS so this feature is remotely usable. Secondly is the EZ mode which is nothing close to easy with its hard to read icons and inability to be switched off. Moving on to the most important matter is the overclocking options. This motherboard can go so much further with a finely-tuned BIOS with some serious overclocking options. The lack of voltage fine tuning as well as custom Turbo Mode ratios amongst other missing options really put this board down in the OC department and that is truly sad considering the potential this board has. Another issue we’ve encountered is this board just won’t get up from S3 Standby. In short, every problem we have is a BIOS issue. On a more hardware related note, we would’ve preferred 2 front USB2.0 headers as some people have expansion tray device that use these beside those included in the case.
[singlepic id=7194 w=320 h=240 float=center]Negative thoughts aside, everything seems to be going right for ECS with this board. If this is their attempt at shaking off their budget-brand image, they’re certainly on the right track. Priced at around $210 dollars, the ECS Z77H2-A2X Golden Board goes up against a lot of competing enthusiast boards, most of which though are barely the top brass of their companies product port-folios and lack the built-in functionality that the Z77H2-A2X has as well as the bling bling swagger. In closing, the Z77H2-A2X from ECS is a good motherboard for gamers, power users and professionals who require a decent motherboard with some extra features and has OC potential, too. ECS states that these boards go through their Non-Stop program, which is an extensive screening and testing phase that the products undergo before heading out of the factory which tells us that ECS is confident on these boards’ quality, too. We do hope that ECS puts more attention and thought into their UEFI BIOS and overclocking options. This might just put them on the good list of enthusiasts but for now, all we can do is wait.
[singlepic id=7255 w=300 h=225 float=center]