Introduction

 

At first I want to thank ECS for providing me their H57H-MUS (V1.0A) motherboard for testing and reviewing.

 

 

Designed to support latest Intel CPUs with integrated graphics and built around Intel's latest H57 chipset, the H57H-MUS board from ECS also features a complete bundle composed of a USB 3.0 and SATA 6G expansion card, which makes the board a future-proof powerful computing platform, in a MATX board format.

 

 

About the company

“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”

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications

 

 

 

 

 

H57 Chipset Features

 

Intel® Flexible Display Interface


A innovative path for two independently controlled channels of integrated graphics display data to be transported to the Intel® 5 Series Chipset.

 

Support for HDMI, DisplayPort and DVI

 

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) delivers uncompressed HD video and uncompressed multi-channel audio in a single cable, supporting all HD formats including 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Dual-independent display expands the viewable workspace to two monitors.

 

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology

 

With additional hard drives added, Intel® Rapid Storage Technology provides quicker access to digital photo, video, and data files on single-drive or multi-drive systems with RAID 0, 5, and 10, and greater data protection against a hard disk drive failure with RAID 1, 5, and 10. Support for external SATA (eSATA) enables the full SATA interface speed outside the chassis, up to 3 Gb/s.

 

Intel® Rapid Recover Technology

 

Intel’s latest data protection technology provides a recovery point that can be used to quickly recover a system should a hard drive fail or if there is data corruption. The clone can also be mounted as a read-only volume to allow a user to recover individual files.

 

Intel® Remote PC Assist Technology

 

This technology enables you to make a fast call for help and request remote technical assistance if you encounter a problem with your PC, even when the OS, network software, or applications are not functioning.

 

Intel® High Definition Audio

 

Integrated audio support enables premium digital surround sound and delivers advanced features such as multiple audio streams and jack re-tasking.

 

Intel® Quiet System Technology

 

Intelligent system fan speed control algorithms use operating temperature ranges more efficiently to reduce system noise by minimizing fan speed changes.

 

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

 

Hi-Speed USB 2.0, provides greater enhancement in performance with a design data rate of up to 480 megabits per second (Mbps) with up to 14 USB 2.0 Ports.

 

USB 2.0 rate matching hub

 

Enables lower power requirements and manages the transition of the communication data rate from the high speed of the host controller to the lower speed of USB full speed/low speed devices.

 

Serial ATA (SATA) 3 Gb/s

 

High-speed storage interface supports faster transfer rate for improved data access with up to 6 SATA ports.

 

eSATA

 

SATA interface designed for use with external SATA devices. It provides a link for 3 Gb/s data speeds to eliminate bottlenecks found with current external storage solutions.

 

SATA port disable

 

Enables individual SATA ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through SATA ports. Especially targeted for eSATA ports.

 

PCI Express* 2.0 interface

 

Offers up to 2.5GT/s for fast access to peripheral devices and networking with up to 8 PCI Express* 2.0 x1 ports, configurable as x2 and x4 depending on motherboard designs.

 

USB port disable

 

Enables individual USB ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through USB ports.

 

Intel® integrated 10/100/1000 MAC

 

Support for the Intel® 82578DC Gigabit Network Connection.

 

Green technology

 

Intel integrates environmental performance goals into every aspect of design and manufacturing. Intel® 45nm high-k metal gate process technology is lead-free, and since 2008, Intel has produced halogen-free products.

 

 

 

 

The Black Series H57H-MUS motherboard from ECS comes in a nice designed cardboard box; on the frontal part we can see a big dragon, icons that tell us the supported CPUs, the fact that the board is Windows 7 compatible, the Dual Giga LAN with Teaming option, the GPS feature and the bundle which consists of a separate SATA 6G expansion and another one with USB 3.0:

 

 

 

 

 

On the back of the box, we can see a photo of the card and the expansion boards, with explanations; on the right part we get some product features explained in detail:

 

 

 

 

The box has a handle, so we can carry it very easy after buying it, outside the shop:

 

 

 

 

On the same part we get to see a sticker which shows us a summary of the board specifications and the included bundle:

 

 

 

 

When we first open up the box, we can see that its multiple layered. On top we can see the USB 3.0 and SATA 6G cards, and on the right, the Black Series logo:

 

 

 

 

On the second layer, we can see the board itself, and on the bottom of the box, the third layer, where we can find the rest of the bundle:

 

 

 

 

Here is what we can find in the box, besides the motherboard:

-4 SATA cables
-1 eSATA cable
-I/O shield
-a User's Guide
-the USB 3.0 and SATA 6G expansion cards
-low profile brackets for the expansion cards
-an extended guide to help building the computer from scratch
-expansion cards documentation
-a CD with drivers and utilities for the motherboard
-a CD with drivers for the expansion cards

 

 

 

 

The User's Guide of the board is well explained with drawings, tables and text, to be able to install the board without any problems:

 

 

 

 

The expansion cards documentation is also well explained:

 

 

 

 

The USB 3.0 expansion card is code named U3N2 Ver. 1.0. It fits in a PCI-E x1 Gen2 slot and is able to deliver data transfers up to ten times faster than the older Hi-Speed USB 2.0 standard, with optimized power efficiency:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the features and specifications for this expansion card:

 

 

 

 

The card features the same NEC D720200F1 chip that we've seen on the ASUS expansion card I have reviewed in the past, with the Brando USB 3.0 enclosures:

 

 

 

 

On the back of the card, we can see a sticker with its code name and a serial number:

 

 

 

 

On the external bracket we can find 2 USB 3.0 connectors:

 

 

 

 

This motherboard does also come with a SATA 6G expansion card, with the S6M2 Ver.1.0 code name. This one provides speeds up to 10 times faster than current USB 2.0 and 1394a standards and provides one internal and one external SATA ports for more flexible expansion of storage devices:

 

 

 

 

Here are the full features and specifications for this expansion card:

 

 

 

 

The card does have the Marvell 88SE9128 controller on-board:

 

 

 

 

The card does have on its side an internal SATA connector, colored in red:

 

 

 

 

 

On the external bracket, we can find an eSATA connector:

 

 

 

 

On the back of the board, we can find a sticker with the code name and a serial number:

 

 

 

 

The motherboard preserves the color theme from the other ECS motherboards I have reviewed in the past. Even if the board is in the MATX format, there are not out of place connectors or overcrowded components. I would have preferred though, to see some more fan headers on the board:

 

 

 

 

On the bottom left corner of the PCB, we can find the ALC892 8 channel audio codec from Realtek:

 

 

 

 

Near it, we can find one of the Realtek 8111DL Gigabit LAN controllers:

 

 

 

 

Further up, we can find the second Realtek 8111DL Gigabit LAN controller and the DPS/GPS LEDs, which show us if the CPU includes the Intel HD Graphic processor inside:

 

 

 

 

Near the motherboards' VRM, we can find the JMicron JMB360, which takes care of the eSATA port:

 

 

 

 

The motherboard does feature one red PCI Express x16 slot, one yellow PCI Express x1 slot, another yellow PCI Express x4 slot and a black PCI slot; between the red and the yellow slots, we do find the CMOS battery, the LED status display and the Super I/O chip; on the bottom of the PCB, we can find the front audio header, the SPDIF header, a power fan header, the Power and Reset buttons:

 

 

 

 

Further to the right, we can find 3 USB 2.0 orange headers, a case lock header and a front panel header; a little buzzer can be found between the SATA connectors and the third USB 2.0 header:

 

 

 

On the right part of the PCB we can find 6 SATA ports, the Power/Standby SMD LEDs, the BIOS chip and the Clear CMOS button:

 

 

 

 

 

On the top right corner of the PCB, we can find the memory slots, the 24-pin ATX main power connector and a system fan header:

 

 

 

 

Between the VRM cooling system and the memory slots we can find the CPU fan header:

 

 

 

 

On the top left corner of the PCB, the 8-pin ATX +12V power connector can be found together with the IPS LEDs, which will light up gradually, depending on the load level:

 

 

 

 

The VRM cooling system looks very nice and we can find not one, but two heat-pipes between the 2 heatsinks:

 

 

 

 

The chipset is being cooled with the help of a passive heatsink, with the same paint color as the VRM heatsinks:

 

 

 

 

This board does have the following external ports:

-VGA port
-DVI port
-2 USB 2.0 ports together with a HDMI port
-2 USB 2.0 ports together with an eSATA port
-2 separate LAN/2 USB ports
-5 audio ports together with an Optical SPDIF port

 

 

 

 

The BIOS main menu is alike many AMI BIOSes I have presented in the past, from other motherboards. Only the overclocking menu name seems to differ, the MB Intelligent BIOS III:

 

 

 

In the Standard CMOS Setup menu, we can set the system date, time, but we can also see the installed HDDs in the SATA and eSATA port:

 

 

 

 

In the Advanced Setup menu, we can enable/disable the Thermal Management, enable/disable the CPU features like C1E, VT or EIST, set the boot devices or enable/disable the eJIFFY function, which is the Linux bootable distribution from ECS, that can be set to start before the normal OS:

 

 

 

 

In the Advanced Chipset Setup menu, we can set the PAVP mode ( Protected Audio Video Path ) and the Memory Remap Feature:

 

 

 

 

In the Integrated Peripherals menu, we can set the SATA configuration, the SATA mode, enable/disable the onboard chips like both the LAN controllers, the audio codec and so on:

 

 

 

 

In the Power Management Setup menu, we can set the usual power management features:

 

 

 

 

In the PCI/PnP Setup menu, we only have one option, to set what display adapter to initialize first:

 

 

 

 

In the PC Health Status menu, we can set the Smart Fan Function, the Shutdown temperature; here we can also see the CPU, System temperature and the fan speeds, along with the voltages; we can also enable/disable the case open warning:

 

 

 

 

In the M.I.B. III menu, most of the options are disabled by default, till we enable them. Here we can set the CPU ratio, the DRAM frequency, the DRAM timings, the CPU Host clock or the PCI-E clock:

 

 

 

 

In the same screen, we can set the voltages for the CPU, CPU VTT, DIMM or CPU VAXG. On the bottom we can see the summary of the options we have set:

 

 

 

 

Test Setup:

 

CPU : Intel I5 750 Retail
Motherboard : ECS H57H-MUS
RAM : G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM
Video : ATI RADEON 4890 1GB OEM
Power Supply : Cooler Master UCP 700W
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10

 

Here is how the fully assembled testbench did look like:

 

 

 

 

The Intelligent Power Saving (IPS_LED) feature is represented by a row of different color LEDs, that show the level of load:

 

-Green 1 and 2 -> Light Load
-Yellow 1 and 2 -> Normal Load
-Red 1 and 2 -> Full Load

 

In the 4GHz tests I've done, the red LEDs stayed lit up most of the times, so the energy saved was very little:

 

 

 

 

I could clock the CPU at 4GHz without stability problems. Here is the CPU-Z at that speed:

 

 

 

 

Also, here is the CPU-Z validation:

 

 

 

 

To test the system stability, before the benchmarks I have ran LinX and encountered no errors at all:

 

 

 

 

After obtaining a fully stable 4GHz clock speed, I have taken some BIOS shots, for people to see around which voltage, memory timings and host clock values this speed could be obtained:

Here is some more detailed motherboard information, with the help of the Everest Ultimate utility:

To test the USB 3.0 expansion card, I have used a Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200RPM HDD and the Brando USB 3.0 2.5'' SATA HDD Enclosure. Here are the results I have obtained, compared with the previously tested ASUS card:

 

 

 

 

3DMARK 2001

 

 

 

3DMARK 2003

 

 

 

 

3DMARK 2005

 

 

 

 

3DMARK 2006

 

 

 

 

3DMARK Vantage

 

 

 

 

PCMARK 2005

 

 

 

 

PCMARK Vantage

 

 

 

 

Furmark

 

 

 

 

Cinebench R10 x64

 

 

 

 

CrystalMark

 

 

 

 

SuperPI 32MB

 

 

 

 

Street Fighter 4

 

 

 

 

 

Left 4 Dead

 

 

 

 

Crysis

 

 

 

 

World in Conflict

 

 

 

 

Unreal Tournament 3

 

 

 

 

Counterstrike : Source

 

 

 

 

Farcry 2

 

 

 

 

Devil May Cry 4

 

 

 

The board worked perfectly at overclocked speeds and I did not have any installation issues at all. The bundle included is big enough and completes the board with the newest USB 3.0 and SATA 6G features. The VRM cooling system looks very nice and it was only warm, even during the most stressful tests, at 4GHz. The board is MATX, so it won't take a lot of space inside the case.

 

The results I have obtained in the tests with this board are very good and sometimes it surpassed some boards with the P55 chipset. I have some observations to make, that I have written down during the test period:

- the motherboard does not have a PS/2 keyboard port, which could have been useful for people that still use old keyboards. Also, with many USB keyboards I had problems in the past because they were not initializing fast enough and I could not enter the BIOS mode

- the overclocking BIOS is still not ergonomic enough. I would have preferred to see one like on ASUS, Foxconn or ASRock boards, where we can see how the memory speeds do modify on the fly, when we set the host clock. In this case, to be able to set the RAM at 1600MHz, when I set the CPU host clock at 200MHz, I had to set the RAM speed in BIOS at 1066MHz

- the XMP profiles support did not worked great, even if it says in the product specifications that they are supported; to test them, I have set the XMP profile in the BIOS, did a reboot and the system did not want to boot successfully any more

- like on the ECS boards I have tested in the past, the voltages we see as options in BIOS are written in increments, not full values, which isn't too helpful

- the board does not feature a failed overclock recovery; if the system is unable to boot, it will not enter a failsafe mode, but will continue to start and stop in a continuous loop

- considering this motherboard comes with 2 expansion cards, we can install only one if we do use a dual slot video card and none can be installed in the case the video card is tri-slot. The only case we can use both cards is to buy a single slot video card.

 

 

I would like to thank again to ECS for allowing us to test their products.