Nice motherboard. I see it supports 32 GB of RAM. But only has 4 memory slots. I looked around a bit on a few computer parts sites, and couldn't find any RAM that was 8 GB per stick, only 2 X 4 GB kits. Not much 8GB per stick RAM available yet?
As a general statement, ECS has come a long way in the enthusiast space in just a couple years. For years I used their mATX boards in simple builds for people that just wanted something simple and reliable. The OEM's used them for a reason, it was not that they were just cheap, they were actually really consistent low frills boards. ECS boards just worked for a stock system. The problem was that they did nothing to address the enthusiast market, instead catering to bulk OEM customers and to builders that had modest needs for a simple but reliable system.
The ECS Black boards have remedied this, and I know the perception is that ECS is this cheap OEM vendor, but it's really not, they are one of the best motherboard manufacturers currently. I have absolutely zero hesitation recommending ECS Black boards for enthusiast builds. They are well constructed, reliable, and they generally look amazing. They are also trendsetting. The new monochrome color scheme that ECS has been using on their Black boards, allot of manufacturers are copying (I've seen boards from Gigabyte and Asus, that prove that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).
Man, reviews like this make me want to build an Intel box ... I feel like I'm going to the dark side.
I know right? I switched over for my current rig, as you just can't beat the i5 2500k in terms of gaming value. (also with a decent cooler and some tech knowledge you can run them at 4.5 ghz and 50C...I suspect Ivy will clock even better too)
I know bulldozer will be out soon enough, but then again, Ivy bridge is probably going to keep Intel ahead by a generation in pretty much the same manner they are now.
In case you dont want to watch of course, he ran the 2 cards at 8x in 3dmark11 to get a score of X3386
at 16x this increases to a stellar X3389.
(also PCIe is upgraded quite quickly, and the 2.0 8x is as fast as 1.0 16x. This could be a reason with 3.0 coming out to not hurry and make x16 x16 standard. Also it could be that like in the above video....you just dont use that extra bandwidth)
In case you dont want to watch of course, he ran the 2 cards at 8x in 3dmark11 to get a score of X3386
at 16x this increases to a stellar X3389.
(also PCIe is upgraded quite quickly, and the 2.0 8x is as fast as 1.0 16x. This could be a reason with 3.0 coming out to not hurry and make x16 x16 standard. Also it could be that like in the above video....you just dont use that extra bandwidth)
2 8X 2.0 slots are adequate for scaling. I'm running a pair of 6850's that way, and for the first time I'm actually playing Crysis in Ultra settings with some AA. It is glorious. I thought I was having some problems in F1 2010, but it's not crossfire, its how that game handles a six core CPU (not well).
mertesn
I am Bobby MillerYukon, OK Icrontian
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The ECS Black boards have remedied this, and I know the perception is that ECS is this cheap OEM vendor, but it's really not, they are one of the best motherboard manufacturers currently. I have absolutely zero hesitation recommending ECS Black boards for enthusiast builds. They are well constructed, reliable, and they generally look amazing. They are also trendsetting. The new monochrome color scheme that ECS has been using on their Black boards, allot of manufacturers are copying (I've seen boards from Gigabyte and Asus, that prove that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).
I know right? I switched over for my current rig, as you just can't beat the i5 2500k in terms of gaming value. (also with a decent cooler and some tech knowledge you can run them at 4.5 ghz and 50C...I suspect Ivy will clock even better too)
I know bulldozer will be out soon enough, but then again, Ivy bridge is probably going to keep Intel ahead by a generation in pretty much the same manner they are now.
(hugs my X58 board)
http://lesithdx.blogspot.com/2011/04/sli-using-dual-pcie-16x-vs-8x-how-much.html
In case you dont want to watch of course, he ran the 2 cards at 8x in 3dmark11 to get a score of X3386
at 16x this increases to a stellar X3389.
(also PCIe is upgraded quite quickly, and the 2.0 8x is as fast as 1.0 16x. This could be a reason with 3.0 coming out to not hurry and make x16 x16 standard. Also it could be that like in the above video....you just dont use that extra bandwidth)
2 8X 2.0 slots are adequate for scaling. I'm running a pair of 6850's that way, and for the first time I'm actually playing Crysis in Ultra settings with some AA. It is glorious. I thought I was having some problems in F1 2010, but it's not crossfire, its how that game handles a six core CPU (not well).