Intel S1150 by stefan @ 2013-11-08
The Z87H3-A3X motherboard from ECS takes part of their entry-level DRONE series and is equipped with 6 power phases, Intel I217-V Gigabit LAN controller, ALC1150 with support of the Creative Sound Blaster Cinema software and 2-way Crossfire and SLI support. This all comes at an affordable price for more budget-oriented gamers.
At first I would like to thank ECS for offering me their GANK DRONE Z87H3-A3X motherboard for testing and reviewing.
"ECS, the Elitegroup Computer Systems, was established in 1987, and is approaching its 23rd year of business. More than two decades, ECS has overcome a great deal of obstacles facing new businesses and has experienced the joy of significant growth and development. Her main focus has expanded to not only motherboards, but also desktop and notebook computers, graphics cards and other mobile products. ECS is strongly committed to develop cutting-edge technology in order to generate innovative products under environmental friendly designs. ECS comprehensive system of quality control provides our clients with reassurance and fosters long term cooperation.
Green Touch, Good Life
ECS commits to protect the Earth by reducing the global environmental loading as the priority of her corporate sustainable strategy. Confronting more and more global environmental impacts; climate change, natural resources depletion and the crisis of ecological imbalance, ECS devotes the Green Solutions for the Earth sustainable development without compromising customer satisfaction. ECS expects bringing people with more Green Touch for a Good Life.
Starting from 2006, ECS has been implementing the “ECS Green Competitive Advantage and Quality Plan” and introduced Green Products through 4-stages of non-toxic management; including non-toxic suppliers, non-toxic material, non-toxic manufacturing & processing, and, non-toxic quality controls. Besides, ECS is recognized under the IECQQC080000 Certification in her two major manufacturing sites in China; Golden Elite Technology at Shenzhen and ESZ at Suzhou. That empowers ECS desire of providing end users with HSF (Hazardous Substance Free) products to ensure a quality green life.
As a top-down decision, ECS dedicates to offering clean and environmentally friendly computer products for consumers through product design, purchase, production, sale and services to the 3R environmental objectives – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The ECS engineering teams are engaged to create products under a Green concept by size reduction, product longevity, easy disassembly, recycle potential, substance restriction and energy saving. For example, ECS green motherboards apply to the three environmental directives – the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) promoted by the European Union; RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substance Directive) and EuP (Eco design of Energy-using Products Directive).
Nowadays, ECS integrates Green concept in her daily operation. From the headquarters on Taiwan to worldwide branches, ECS practices energy saving, water recycling, Green data center, planting and so on to reduce greenhouse gas emission for mitigating the climate change. With continuous efforts to conduct business in a sustainable way, ECS recognizes that we are dependent on the Earth and strive to improve the quality of life for people everywhere!
Global Network
The headquarters of ECS is located in Taipei Neihu Technology Park. We have offices in major cities around the world. We are committed to product development and expanding the scale of our business. With our branches all over the Americas, Europe, and Asia, ECS localizes sales and retail in order to provide immediate and convenient service for our customers.
-Taipei, Taiwan
-Tokyo, Japan
-Seoul, Korea
-Wijchen, Netherlands
-Fremont, USA
-Moscow, Russia
-Sao Paulo, Brazil
Manufacturing Sites
ECS adopts a vertical integration structure of design, component manufacturing, and system assembly. At present, ECS has established two manufacturing locations; well-developed supply chain capabilities, and well-monitored production links; and the capacity to adapt to the needs of the ever-changing market.
-Golden Elite Technology (Shenzhen), China
-ESZ (Suzhou), China"
Extreme Gaming Quality & Technologies
L337 HEATSINK | UNIQUE STYLE
L337 heatsink offers extreme cooling and heat dissipation of up to 10% more, and the style design represents the architectural home age of L337 spirit.
GOLDEN SOLID CAPS | 6X LIFE SPAN
Golden Solid Caps Offer up to 6X longer lifespan than standard electrolytic capacitors. They also offer better heat resistance with up to 200K hours of operation.
Intel® I217-V | GIGABIT LAN ETHERNET
Intel Ethernet Controller 1217-V features high performance with reduced CPU overhead, reduced power and energy savings.
2X Gaming Performance - Dual Gen3 PCI-Express
The most advanced multi-graphics processing technologies of 2 PCIe X16, supporting NVIDIA 2-way SLI and AMD 2-way CrossFireX to deliver up to 2X performance over a single GPU system.
MAGIX MX SUITE - Cover all of your multimedia needs
As an ECS customer you can download MAGIX multimedia tools designed to enhance your music, videos and photos for free. From music and website creation to video editing and photo management. Four products that cover all of your multimedia needs. Simply do more with your media than you ever thought possible.
4K Video Output
Intel Core HD Graphics with 4k display for premium gaming experience with 2.6x graphics improvements.
Sound Blaster Cinema Technology
Sound Blaster Cinema Technology gives you the true cinema quality sound you would get from a theater experience.
-SBX Surround
-SBX Crystalizer
-SBX Bass
-SBX Dialog Plus
-SBX Smart Volume
Please visit here to learn more about Sound Blaster Cinema Technology.
Durathon Technology - Motherboard quality you can trust.
When it comes to the quality and durability of your motherboard, ECS goes above and beyond industry standards to ensure that you have a motherboard that will last long and always continue to outperform the competition. Trust only motherboards built with Durathon Technology.
Intel® Smart Response Technology - Better, faster performance
Intel® Smart Response Technology accelerates the system response experience by putting frequently-used blocks of disk data on a solid-state drive (SSD), providing dramatically faster access to use data than the hard disk alone can provide.
ATI CrossFireX™ Technology Ready
Combining multi-GPU to deliver users a highest image quality and screen resolutions.
Motherboard Intelligent BIOS X (M.I.B X - Ultimate BIOS O.C interface)
Providing the most intelligent and convenient way to adjust the clock/ voltage settings of CPU and memory and get the extra performance in advanced.
ECS O.C profile offers 3 sets of O.C values for CPU and DRAM to reach higher performances in a quick, simple and safe way. It keeps users’ preferable BIOS settings to regain your last successful O.C configuration to create the most convenient O.C experience.
DirectX® 11.1 Support
The most important new feature of DirectX 11.1 is the stereoscopic 3D support. All of the power of tridimensional contents can be used by video makers and game developers to provide a more immersive and modern experience for the viewer.
Learn more about DirectX 11.1
ECS EZ BIOS
ECS EZ BIOS is an exclusive design and the most convenient tool to adjust BIOS in graphical interface. Designed with stunning user-friendly interface and easy-to-use function including Auto OC, boost priority, and security function, EZ BIOS can radically take full advantage of the performance, high-end gaming, multi-tasking and energy efficiency. The latest ECS EZ BIOS allow users to fully satisfy their growing demand with the unique operating designed.
Full Duplex Operation Support - USB 3.0
Ten times the transfer speed of USB2.0, running at speed up to amazing 4.9Gb/s.
Speedy Storage Interface - SATA 6G
Double the transfer speed of SATA 3.0 Gb/s, running at speed up to amazing 6.0Gb/s.
Anti-Static Design - ESD Protection
ESD protection design helps to avoid suffering permanent damage when subjected to momentary high voltages to increase the lifespan of motherboard. All ECS motherboards pass ESD International standard EC/EN 61000-4-2 Test and bring you stability and durability quality.
CyberLinkMedia Suite Bundled
Bundled the Ultimate HD & Blu-ray Player, Best Video Editing and Backup/Burn Software. (30 Days Trial Version)
These software are complete multimedia solutions in:
-HD playback
-Video Editing
-Media burning
eBLU BIOS Live Update Utility
Save time and hassle of searching for BIOS online and avoid complicated flashing steps.
Benefits:
?Time-saving?Smart and easy?Safe and secure?Free and upgradable
While the last time we have taken a look over the Domination series of motherboards from ECS, now we will concentrate on the entry-level variant for gamers, the GANK DRONE series and to be more precise, the Z87H3-A3X. The packaging is pretty much different compared to the high-end variant; the cardboard enclosure is not shiny and golden anymore, but sports a cleaner look, also trying to imitate carbon fiber:
On one of the box sides, we will get a description of the high-end (Domination), mainstream (Machine) and entry-level (Drone) series of boards, but also a description of the L337 boards from ECS:
On the bottom side of the enclosure we will be able to see the main product highlights:
By lifting the top cover, we will be able to uncover the layer where the board is stored:
The motherboard is also wrapped inside an anti-static bag:
The bundle we have received with this board is considerably smaller compared to the Domination series: one User Guide, the I/O Shield, a DVD with drivers and applications, one standard installation manual, a single SLI bridge but also two SATA cables:
Inside the manual we will be able to find all necessary information to get the system operational:
The design of the Z87H3-A3X is much less crowded and as expansion slots we have available four PCI-Express x1 slots and also two PCI-Express x16:
Near the PWM area we have one Intersil ISL6376 EAPP Hybrid Digital 6-Phase controller:
One fan header can be observed near the ATX 12V power connector:
The 6-phase power design is covered by an aluminum heatsink which sports an interesting design:
A secondary system fan connector is placed between the VRM and the first PCI-Express x1 slot:
Further down we will get to see the Intel I217-V Gigabit LAN controller:
The audio interface is offered by the Realtek ALC1150 High Definition Audio CODEC:
The 8-channel audio also features ESD protection:
On the bottom we have quite a few headers, but let’s take a closer look (from left to right):
-SPDIF out header
-F_AUDIO header
-Parallel port header
-COM port header
-Case open header
-Speaker header
-TPM header
-Front Panel header
-2x USB 2.0 headers
-System Fan header
In the vicinity of the last two PCI-Express x1 slots we can also find the SuperIO chip:
Along with the CMOS battery we also have one CLR_CMOS jumper:
The board comes equipped with 6 SATA3 ports facing upwards; there is something to mention though: when the eSATA port on the I/O is used, the SATA3 port 6 will become unavailable since they share the same resources:
The Z87 chipset is covered by a themed passive heatsink:
One USB 3.0 header is placed near another SYS_FAN header:
The DDR3 memory slots are colored the same as the rest of the connectors, in black and near them we also have the 24-pin ATX power connector:
Near the CPU socket we will find the last two fan headers; we are surprised to see that with an entry-level board ECS has decided to include more fan headers which are very handy in case we do not want to purchase and additional controller and we have an enclosure with a lot of fans:
On the I/O we have one PS/2 combo port, 4x USB 2.0 ports, one VGA and also one DVI port, one HDMI along one eSATA port, 4x USB 3.0 ports, one RJ45 port, the audio ports along with one Optical SPDIF output:
The BIOS interface is identical to the one we have seen with the Domination board; we are getting one EZ GUI where we get most of the monitoring live information like temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, but also the boot sequence priority. In order to go to the basic interface, we’ll have to navigate to the Advanced section:
From the Main menu area, we will be able to set the GUI language, but also alter the date/time:
The Advanced section is populated with multiple sub-menus:
PC Health Status also features a Smart Fan Function:
The Power Management Setup menu allows us to access the usual options like Resume By PS/2 mouse/keyboard and so on, enable/disable the EuP function or specify the Power LED type:
ACPI Settings menu is populated by only one option:
Inside the CPU Configuration menu, we can alter related states and CPU functions:
SATA Configuration menu allows modifying settings per each port:
The TPM status can be seen from the next menu:
The USB controllers can be disabled from the USB Configuration menu:
Super IO Configuration menu allows us to modify the settings for the Parallel and Serial ports:
Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect have dedicated menu sections:
The Port Configuration Menu area will allow us to configure the LAN interface manually:
The Chipset menu also comes with several sub-menus like System Agent Configuration, PCH Configuration and ME Configuration:
The System Agent Configuration menu allows us to configure the IGD Multi-Monitor and SA Audio Device options:
The PCH Configuration menu contains options for turning on or off the onboard audio, or reset the Case Open Warning setting:
ME Technology Configuration menu only has one option which we can set:
M.I.B. X does contain all the options for altering the system performance parameters:
From the CPU Overclocking Configuration menu we can set the CPU multiplier, different related options like Intel SpeedStep, Turbo Mode, Host Clock Ratio and so on:
The next menu allows setting the memory frequency and timings to the smallest detail:
The OverVoltage Configuration menu helps us to set custom voltages for keeping the system stable during overclocking:
Next we have the Boot menu for setting the priorities along with other miscellaneous options:
The UEFI interface also has the option to define one Administrator password or enable Secure Boot:
Finally, the Exit menu allows us to save or discard the settings we have just modified, but we also have one slot available for restoring the current settings at a later date (Save as User Defaults):
CPU: Intel I5 4670K Retail
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: ECS GANK Z87H3-AX GOLDEN
RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 2x4GB DDR2133 (@1600)
Video: HIS 7850 OC 2GB
Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
Surprisingly, we have obtained stability at the same voltage as on the BIOSTAR and Gigabyte boards, which means less than on the Domination Z87H3-AX:
With the latest version of AIDA64 utility, we can reveal more information regarding the motherboard, the CPU IMC and the Z87 chipset:
Motherboard
Haswell IMC
Z87 Chipset
After installing the stock Realtek audio drivers, we can go on and run the Sound Blaster Cinema software, which is also present on the DVD. The Cinema utility has been created in order to bring the same great audio experience found in live performances, movies and recording studios to the PC. The GUI is a simple console from where we can access different effects:
We have three different preset profiles and one custom available:
The installation DVD also comes with eBLU which helps us locate and download the latest BIOS version:
With the eDLU software, we will be redirected to the driver/software download page of the ECS website:
eOC software is another customization utility with multiple menus placed on top; the Monitor section details the current CPU and System temperatures:
From the Easy Tuning menu, we will be able to monitor the DIMM and PCH voltage values:
The Advanced Tuning menu lets us modify these voltages:
From the Options menu, we can save and load on boot the settings we have just modified:
eSF is another utility from ECS which allows setting and customizing different fan profiles:
By using a KingFast E-Drive 2.5'' SATAIII SLC 120GB SSD, we have performed ATTO runs in order to find the performance differences between the two motherboards:
In our RMAA loopback test, as expected, we see good performances but not as good as the variants with more advanced shielding.
The Z87H3-A3X motherboard from ECS has made a very good impression despite the fact that it is aimed at a considerably lower price point and we did not encounter the issues we have found on the Domination board. When looking at our sample photos, some may ask themselves where are the ADS (Anti-dust Shield) components; well, we have got in touch with the manufacturer and they responded that these will be included on the retail boards, but were omitted with the press samples.
While the UEFI interface is identical with the one on the Z87H3-AX GOLDEN, we did obtain better overclocking results, meaning that we were able to match the stable voltage value at 4.5GHz with the samples from Gigabyte and BIOSTAR, which also performed quite good.
The board comes with a single LAN interface from Intel, I217V and for the audio ECS has fitted one Realtek ALC1150 CODEC, which includes support for the Sound Blaster Cinema software, for enhancing the experience with the inclusion of SBX Surround, Crystalizer, Bass, Dialog Plus and Smart Volume.
Z87H3-A3X also comes equipped with 4xPCI-Express x1 slots for fitting devices like tuners, sound cards but also two Gen3 PCI-Express x16 slots which support 2-card SLI or Crossfire setups.
We were also happy with the inclusion of no less than 6 fan headers, so we won't fall short in case we need to connect more cooling.
We would like to see more revisions of the UEFI interface in order to eliminate the empty menus (we found one), but also the possibility to adjust the power limits, LLC levels, more slots for saving custom profiles and more.
The Z87H3-A3X board can be found online for about $155.
We would like to thank again to ECS for making this review possible!