Motherboard ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0) Review

The inventory of motherboards designed by ECS is quite ample for the user to get confused. There are various series with a number of models in each, and each of these series is replenishing with new products at enviable frequency. Still, 'Black' series differentiates itself from all other lines by an eye-catching design and remarkable performance. Motherboard ECS Z77H2-A2X is an outstanding representative of 'Black' series that is notable by premium design, premium implementation, and premium performance.

Design and Layout

The first thing that stands out a mile is the delivery box which features goldish coverage and speaks of the motherboard's high-end destination. The board itself is packed in an antistatic box, while all other components found their places in a separate box. This box contains DVD with dedicated software and drivers, user's manual, I/O shield, LucidLogix Virtu MVP Technology usage guideline, a set of plugs for USB and video sockets, six SATA cables with metallic clips and straight sockets, and a module for USB 3.0 ports.

ECS Z77H2-A2X is truly a 'golden' motherboard with goldish heatsinks, capacitors, CPU socket, rear interface panel, and inductors. To say more, the manufacturer followed 'Gold 4ever' principle that implies the employment of goldish color in all available places. Along with an ornamental aim, golden coverage proves to have real practical use: goldish spraying on socket contacts ensures better reliability and prolonged lifetime. The heatsinks on a processor converter have got a durable screw fixture and a copulative heat pipe. The emblem inflicted on the chipset heatsink changes color under the influence of temperature; this serves the caution about the overheating.

The motherboard houses a couple of PCI Express 2.0/3.0 x16 sockets for the connection of graphics adapters. Both sockets are able to divide the throughput and combine the cards in ATI CrossFire/Nvidia SLI modes. Expansion cards might be connected to a pair of PCI-e 2.0 x1 and two more PCI slots. The implementation of ASMedia ASM1061 controller enabled the integration of two additional SATA 6 Gb/sec ports. Two more SATA 6 Gb/sec ports are realized due to Intel Z77 Express logics. There are also eSATA, mini-PCI Express and mini-SATA ports on the rear plate of the board.

The entire list of interfaces found on the rear panel looks the following way:
— a set of video outputs: HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub;
— Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n module on Atheros AR9271 controller, Bluetooth v2.1+EDR on Atheros AR3011 controller;
— four USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports (based on ASMedia ASM1042 controller);
— local network gigabit Ethernet on Realtek RTL8111E controller;
— eSATA 3 Gb/sec port and optical S/PDIF port;
— five analog audio sockets based on Realtek ALC892 controller.

Specifications and BIOS

Motherboard Z77H2-A2X from ECS is developed in ATX form-factor and features 305x244 mm dimensions. It employs Intel LGA1155 CPU socket and operates under Intel Z77 Express system logics. The inventory includes 4 DIMM memory slots of two-channel DDR3-(2667-1067) SDRAM, the maximal capacity of which might achieve 32GB. The model supports multi-GPU technologies like ATI CrossFire, Nvidia SLI and LucidLogix Virtu MVP. Fans are connected by means of three slots, one of which is four-contact. Moreover, the motherboard has undergone ECS NONstop technology – preliminary 72-hour testing.

BIOS startup menu meets users with a simplified 'EZ Mode' where it's possible to choose interface language, upload parameters by default and arrange all boot files. In addition, the footer contains info like time and date, BIOS version, employed CPU and RAM capacity. All basic settings are available in 'Advanced Mode'.

'PC Health Status' section serves exclusively informative means, displaying data about fan rotation speed and voltage index. 'Smart Fan Function' option enables the adjustment of rotational speed (for two of three connected fans): Normal, Silent, Quiet. 'CPU Configuration' section allows the user to tune some processor technologies. 'Chipset' section enables the setting of graphics cards initialization order, of GPU and audio system operation. 'M.I.B. X' section is responsible for overclocking activity, memory and CPU operations, and voltage monitoring. Other sections include:
— 'Boot' is responsible for startup system parameters;
— 'Exit' allows turning to the simplified mode;
— 'Security' showcases user and administration passwords;
— 'Profile Configuration' enables the memorization of up to 8 passwords to BIOS settings.