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ECS PN2-SLI2+ Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionIn an effort to improve their standing in the high-end motherboard market, ECS launched the newest member to its 'Extreme' motherboard line up - the ECS PN2 SLI2+. Based on NVIDIA's...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Introduction
In an effort to improve their standing in the high-end motherboard market, ECS launched the newest member to its 'Extreme' motherboard line up - the ECS PN2 SLI2+. Based on NVIDIA's nForce 680i SLI, the PN2 SLI2+ aims to be the ultimate motherboard for the Intel Core 2 platforms, succeeding the short reign of the PN1 SLI2, which was based on the older nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition.
The ECS PN2 SLI2+ motherboard (haven't we seen this one before?). |
What's more, the PN2 SLI2+ is another board that follows the stock NVIDIA OEM design, which doesn't really come as a surprise since it is no real secret who NVIDIA's contract manufacturers are. Instead of developing and qualifying a new product, ECS makes use of the existing design to their advantage, which not only includes the board, but NVIDIA's BIOS as well. Gone is the familiar purple PCB and gone is the 'Extreme' plaque. To all extents, the PN2 SLI2+ we received is the same board as the recently reviewed Biostar TF680i SLI Deluxe, down to the same BIOS revision. The difference? An Elitegroup brand sticker to differentiate it from others. So, the question that remains is whether the same board can be different. Let's find out shall we?
While the board inside the box might be of OEM design, it is still part of the ECS Extreme family and being that, the PN2 SLI2+ comes with a generous bundle of peripherals as listed below:
6 x SATA data cables
3 x SATA power converter cables (dual plugs)
1 x 80-conductor Ultra ATA data cable
1 x floppy drive data cable
1 x RJ-45 cable
IEEE 1394a (2 ports) and USB 2.0 (2 ports) bracket
External SATA (1 port) bracket
Optional chipset cooler fan
I/O shield
Driver CD and diskettes
User's manuals and guides
ECS PN2 SLI2+ Technical Specifications
| CPUSupport | - Supports90nm/65nm LGA775 processor package
- Supports IntelCore 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo / Core 2 Extreme
- SupportsIntel PentiumD / Pentium Processor Extreme Edition
- SupportsIntel Pentium 4 / Pentium 4 Extreme Edition
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| Chipset | - NVIDIAnForce 680i SLI SPP
- 400- 1333MHz frontside bus
- NVIDIA DualDDR2 Memory Controller
- 18 PCI Express lanes
- One link at x16 forgraphics card (SLI capable)
- Two PCIe x1 lanes
- NVIDIAnForce 680i SLI MCP
- 28 PCI Expresslanes
- One link at x16 forgraphics card (SLI capable)
- One PCIe x8
- FourPCIe x1 lanes
- Supports up totenUSB 2.0 ports
- Supports six SATA 3.0Gbps ports
- Dual-channel UltraATA-133 IDE controller
- Supports up to five PCIslots
| | Memory | - NVIDIADualDDR2architecture
- 4 x 240-pin DIMMsockets support max. 4GB DDR2-400 to DDR2-1400 non-ECC memory
- Slot independantdual-channel mode
- NVIDIA QuickSync
- FourthGeneration DASP
- Support Enhanced PerformanceProfile (EPP)SLI Memory
| | Storage | - NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP
- 2x Ultra ATA33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to133MB/sec.)
- 6 xSATA 3.0Gbps interface
- NVIDIAMediaShieldTechnology
- SupportsRAID 0,RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5,JBOD
- Supports RAIDMorphing
- Supports eSATA
| | Audio | - Realtek ALC885 HD Audio CODEC
- OpticalS/PDIF out on back I/Oport
| | Networking | - 2x NVIDIA Gigabit LAN co-supported byMarvell 88E1116 PHY chip (Transceiver)
- DualNET(TCP/IP Acceleration, Teaming)
| | IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | - TexasInstruments TSB43AB22A IEEE 1394a host controller
- 2x 1394a ports@ 400 Mbps speed
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| I/OInterface | - 1 x Floppyconnector
- 1 x Ultra ATA IDE connectors
- 6 x SATA connectors
- 10 x USB2.0 ports (6 x rear, 4 x header)
- 2x FireWire-400 ports (1 x rear, 1 x bracket)
- 2 xRJ45 LAN port
- Optical S/PDIF port
- 8-Channel Audio I/O ports
- 1x 9-pin serial port (header)
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2mouse port
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
| | ExpansionSlots | - 3 x PCIex16 slots,PCI Express Bus specification v1.0acompliant
- 2 x PCIe x1 slots, PCIExpress Bus specification v1.0acompliant
- 2 x 32-bit PCI slots,PCI 2.3 compliant
| | PCB | - ATX FormFactor, 12"x9.6"(30.5cm x 24.4cm)
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Plenty of connection options available out of the box. |
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