ECS PN2 SLI2+ Extreme Motherboard Review

[Capper]

Over the past two years, no company has made larger strides than ECS. No longer the industry patsy, ECS hopes their newest flagship board, the PN2 SLI2+ Extreme firmly establishes the company as a viable alternative for enthusiasts.

I've watched with some amusement as people have chided ECS for using the "Extreme" moniker on their boards. While by no means in the same league as ASUS, DFI, and others when its comes to shear overclocking power, a name is simply marketing. If names were meant to be literal and represent the actual performance, then most companies producing components would be in trouble. Arctic Cooling would have to change their "Freezer" CPU Cooler to the "Slightly better than Stock Cooler", the Bigfoot "Killer NIC" would probably be named the "Overpriced NIC", etc (no slight to those companies, just trying to make a point). Honestly, a name is a name. I personally have been greatly impressed by ECS motherboards over the past year for what they are; a modestly priced alternative with a damned fine bundle, suitable for those who dabble in modest overclocking, but don't live by it.

ECS PN2 SLI2+ Extreme Motherboard Review

[simple_inhibition]

sweet review! ECS has been doing great things these past few years. i just wish people would get past the earlier times in ECS' history :(

[Capper]

Thanks, I hope you guys like the new format. I wanted to get away from the typical 10+ pages of fluff that everyone does, and really just get down to what people want to see. All of the benchmarking is cut down to one page, and we focus on whats important....I'd be willing to bet most people read the first and last page of most reviews around the web.....and maybe browse the benchmarking/overclocking sections......by keeping the review short and sweet, I think we'll keep people's attention, and get our point across

[Jokerswild]

Great review Rich, your pretty good at writing for a old guy.

[stinger608]

Great review Rich!!! And to boot, here we are on the front page of pcstats!!!!


PCSTATS - Get The 'Stats and Stay Informed!

[Quakindude]

Holy crap! First page at PC Stats! Wheee!

Great review Rich. I love the new format. The new chart is so easy to read and discern differences among other brands. Good job there brother! Sounds like you have a keeper there!

[gvblake22]

WOW, an ECS board that isn't purple!!

Looks like a great board. I know all the ECS boards I've tested have been extremely stable and easy to use. Bravo to ECS for fighting their way into the mainstream enthusiast motherboard market to give us some more viable product choices!

[fps justin]

Nice review caps!

So if i get the conclusion right...

DFI 975x is good for games.
Foxconn 975x is good for benchmarks.
ECS PN2 SLIs+ has the highest max FSB.

[Tyreal]

I really like this board..... Just when I thought the P5B could overclock well, the ECS comes and trumps it with 8 more mhz. It's going for 278 dollars here at NCIX so it's definately not a budget motherboard.

I still remember the time I went to the computer store to buy a motherboard and the guy asked me why I was buying this brand. He insisted I get asus because it is "So much better". I left.

[Capper]

Originally Posted by fps justin

Nice review caps!

So if i get the conclusion right...

DFI 975x is good for games.
Foxconn 975x is good for benchmarks.
ECS PN2 SLIs+ has the highest max FSB.

eh, the test results at stock speed are close enough that it really doesn't matter.....if you have SLI, or want SLI, or want a great overclocking experience, this is a wise choice. This board has been in my system for a month now, except for the testing, and its been nothing short of incredible