ECS X58B-A motherboard review - 1 - A Slightly Dark Introduction

So the Core i7 launch surely dropped a bomb or two on new performance levels. As you know there will be three processors released. The one downside right now is that Intel is forcing you to upgrade to the X58 chipset, and while the X58 motherboard chipset is absolutely stunning, it's also their most expensive chipset ever, making your upgrade a pretty expensive one.

ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, eVGA... some of the names that launched an X58 motherboard. The problem here is that the prices will start at 300 USD and can range up to 399 USD for a mainboard.

Now here's something interesting. ECS is, as far as I am concerned, up and coming. We really like their products, but they are not the best when it comes to tweakability and overclocking. What they are however strong at are loads of features, diverse cool looking motherboards at an aggressive price.

Typically in the high-end segment, the lack of tweaking options is something that would bite them in their toosh. However with X58 things become a little more interesting. See, if you are not planning on a massive overclock and, to keep costs down, are thinking of opting for a decent set of affordable DDR3 1333 memory, ECS might very well have an answer for you.

They released a drop-dead gorgeous looking X58 motherboard. It's feature rich, has a few hidden Easter eggs and get this... it's only 250 USD. Now this motherboard is a Black Edition, meaning black PCB, a solid color schema connector wise, extra hidden features like micro switches for power/reset and even CMOS CLEAR, optical audio TOSLINK outputs, copper heatpipe passive cooling, dual Gigabit Ethernet and heck, it's even SLI certified for two way SLI.

So if you are looking at a baseline performing product that is diverse and pretty snazzy looking... check this review out I'd say. Next page please, but not before we show what we are dealing with today.

Okay, ready? You may open you eyes...