Press Release: 965PLT-A Intel® Core™2 Quad Motherboard Offers Amazing Performance

ECS* just announced a mainstream motherboard for uber processor, Quad Core, based on i965 chipset. Of course, if it's from ECS*, you can guarantee a low-priced system for a high-performing set up. I always liked their product, due to availability, local support, and of course, quality. If you are looking for an affordable Quad Core motherboard, make sure to put this in your list. Expand to check out the full press release.

965PLT-A Intel® Core™2 Quad Motherboard Offers Amazing Performance

Windows® Vista™ Premium ready solution drives Quad-Core Revolution

Taipei, Taiwan, February 16, 2007 – Elitegroup Computer Systems, Inc. (ECS), the world's leading computer hardware and notebook manufacturer, is releasing the 965PLT-A socket LGA775 ATX motherboard supporting Intel® Core™2 Quad and Intel® Core™2 Duo processors. Powered by the latest generation 946GZ chipset and ICH7 controller, the 965PLT-A features a 1066 FSB, outstanding integrated graphics with the Intel® GMA 3000 graphics core and two PCI Express x16 slots (x16, x4) with ECS's E.D.G.I (Enhanced Digital Graphics Interface) for flexible digital output. This motherboard comes ready to support the Windows® Vista™ Premium OS and deliver maximum multitasking performance to a range of performance users.

Quad-core performance, for everyone
The 965PLT-A motherboard brings the power of Intel's latest Core 2 Quad/ Core 2 Duo processors to mainstream users and others that want exhilarating PC performance without the high price tag. The efficient Intel architecture delivers the same Intel Core 2 Quad multitasking performance as top of the line solutions for multimedia and application use, allowing users to complete tasks faster than ever. Gaming and multimedia applications come to life with better visuals and realism as tasks can be distributed across four complete execution cores and run in parallel.

Integrated Intel GMA 3000 graphics
The 965PLT-A's integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 (Intel GMA 3000) graphics core is simply one of the most powerful on-chip solutions available. It supports Microsoft DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 3.0 to deliver surprisingly strong out of box performance for multimedia and some gaming. In addition, for more intense graphics support, the 965PLT-A motherboard has two PCIe x16 slots supporting ECS E.D.G.I. technology for added flexibility of digital multi-display output as well as future upgrade.

High Definition Audio supported
The 965PLT-A motherboard supports 6-channel high definition audio output to deliver premium digital sound and advanced features such as multiple audio streams and jack sensing. This gives the 965PLT-A the capability to be the heart of a great digital entertainment system for a complete multimedia experience.

Windows Vista Premium ready
With support for up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 667 memory, the 965PLT-A motherboard is ready to support the latest Windows Vista Premium operating system. The Intel® ICH7 south bridge provides unparalleled data throughput for up to four SATAII 3 Gb/s hard disk drives as well as IDE and SPDIF audio support. The 965PLT-A additionally supports Hyper-Threading technology, Gigabit LAN, and eight USB 2.0 ports.

The 965PLT-A motherboard is one of the most powerful but cost effective Core 2 Quad solutions that provides this amazing performance to a wide range of users. For more information on the new 965PLT-A motherboard, contact your local ECS sales agent today.

Source:965PLT-A Intel® Core™2 Quad Motherboard Offers Amazing Performance

Tech Link (Motherboard): ECS PN1 SLI2 Extreme Motherboard Review

LegitReviews has an ECS* board up for some lovin'. The board is labled as an Extreme motherboard, with an NVIDIA* chipset, with 2x16 PCIe slots. However, the folks at LegitReviews aren't convinced that this board is an Extreme one due to some issues with overclocking and BIOS options. Find out more...

Final Thought and Conclusion
So, how do we end this review? We end it by saying that this board is a nice board. It has some nice features, and its bundle is pretty good to boot. It is a rather attractive board (subjective, I know), so it does have a flare to it. The layout is very good, leaving room to work on the board. The only issue is the top pcie x16 slot, which is difficult to use with the heat sink fan unit that is being used on the southbridge. It is also shame that this board did not have a great BIOS to work with, but that can easily be fixed as when the board comes out ECS can release updates for the BIOS. We hope that ECS willl get a new BIOS out the door that will help with the overclocking of this board.

If you are looking at this board, you canexpect the MSRP to be around $139.99 - $149.99. As of now, it is not listed at any etailers, but according to ECS, you can expect it to shop up at the usual suspects! If you are the average Joe that set it and forgets it, this will be a board that will fill the bill so to say. If you are an enthusiast, it is hard to recommend this board, when you have the Intel Chipsets like the 975X that is rock solid and the NVIDIA 680i and ATI RD600 which have new overclocking features like unlinked memory frequencies.

Legit Bottom Line:
ECS really produced a decent board in the PN1 SLI2 Extreme. I cannot help but think that it could have really been an Extreme board with just a little more attention, especially in the BIOS department.

Source:ECS PN1 SLI2 Extreme Motherboard Review