Introduction and Features

ECS has put together an extremely unique LGA 1155 motherboard that hardcore gamers need to pay attention to in the P67H2-A. While it has all the high-end features available in other P67 offerings, the P67H2-A went a step further and incorporated Lucid Hydra technology that allows gamers to use different GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD in one system. Now gamers can use their legacy cards in tandem with newer graphics cards to boost gaming performance!

Editor’s Note: There are obviously some concerns about reviews on the 2nd Gen Intel Core processor platform, in particular motherboards based on the Cougar Point chipset, aka P67/H67.  On January 31st, Intel announced that it had found a bug in its chipset that could cause issues with SATA channels disconnecting and has issued a recall on all or most parts.  As a result, the majority of the Sandy Bridge based processors and P67/H67 motherboards have been pulled from online and retail sales.  

You might wonder then why we are posting a review of such a product.  In short, though we are disappointed that the products are not currently on the market for sale, the fact is that we have never seen these failure issues and the performance and features of the products still properly represents the capabilities it will offer when they return to the channel in March or April.  We have several platform reviews finished or in the pipeline and we plan on publishing all of them for informational purposes to our readers – that is always our goal anyway.  

But, expect to see this note of warning on every one of them.

 

ECS adds Hydra Core Technology to Black Series P67H2-A

ECS P67H2-A LGA 1155 ATX Motherboard Review - Motherboards 71
Courtesy of ECS

ECS has put together an extremely unique LGA 1155 motherboard that hardcore gamers need to pay attention to in the P67H2-A. While it has many of the high-end features available in other P67 offerings, the P67H2-A went a step further and incorporated Lucid’s Hydra Core technology that allows gamers to use different GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD together in one system. Now gamers can use their legacy cards in tandem with newer graphics cards to boost gaming performance!

 

ECS P67H2-A LGA 1155 ATX Motherboard Review - Motherboards 72
Courtesy of ECS

The P67H2-A supports three PCI x16 slots running in CrossfireX configurations and tandem NVIDIA and AMD GPUs through Lucid’s Hydra Core Technology. This initial board version (version 1.1) is affected by the SATA 3GB/s bug associated with the P67 chipset, but there are some other benefits and features to tout while this flaw is being fixed and corrected by Intel and vendors. 


ECS P67H2-A LGA 1155 ATX Motherboard Review - Motherboards 73
Courtesy of ECS

Some of the key features to look at with the P67H2-A including two eSATA 6GB/s ports as well as the board’s dual Gigabit LAN jacks and four USB 3.0 ports on the back I/O panel. ECS also equipped the P67H2-A with all-solid capacitors, Lower RDS(on) MOSFET and their 15μ technology that gives the system more durability while running under load.

 

ECS P67H2-A Motherboard Features

15μ Gold Contact
ECS 15μ gold technique contains 15μ gold contact on CPU socket and Memory slot pins. It offers 3 times extra anti-oxidation, temperature resistant and scrape protection to ensure motherboards longest lifespan, better reliability and excellent contact.  

Qooltech III
An excellent and unique silent cooler with dual copper pipe to boost super heat dissipation by providing dual heat conduction, an efficient design to calm down system temperature.  

All Solid Capacitors
ECS’s All-Solid-Capacitors design brings the great benefit of better durability to users. Better conductivity and heat resistance can be expected as well thus the system stability can be assured under critical conditions.  

Easy Button
One of ECS 4″E” Design which is especially a great plus that brings users remarkable convenience while overclocking or tweaking system performance. (4″E” Design : Easy button; Debug LED; Clear CMOS; Right-Angled SATA Slots)  

ADD Indicator
Advanced Dual Display Indicator(ADD Indicator) not only shows debug code that makes troubleshooting simple and easy but also displays the system temperature in real time after the motherboard has completed posting for monitoring and thermal state of the system.  

Connector Cap
ECS understand your feeling and offer connecter cap which is ideal for protecting the connecter interface. Most of the time dirt or dust enters into the end of the connector and cause problems for the end users. The connector uses plastic caps to reduce these kinds of problems to extend the lifespan of the system.  

Intel® 2nd Gen Core™ Processor
Supports latest Intel LGA 1155 CPU-socket interface processor which is built on 32 nm technologies to provide smart performance and responsiveness on executing tasks, It combines the CPU and GPU to offer fantastic HD media and graphics, especially on 3D gaming experience.  

LGA1155
Motherboard Supports LGA 1155 CPU-socket interface, which is designed for 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ Processors, and built on 32 nm technologies to provide high smart performance and responsiveness on executing tasks.  

Hydra Core Technology
The most advance technologies of multi-graphics processing, support Hydra core technology to deliver amazing (2-way: up to 140%, 3 way: higher) performance over a single GPU system.  

Dual Channel DDR3 2133 OC
Dual DDR3 2133 O.C. is able to raise processor and RAM clock up to 2133mHz through capable RAM in overclock mode. It assists system to obtain optimal performance to meet the O.C. enthusiast needs.  

SATA 6Gb/s
Doubles the transfer speed of SATA 3G, running at speed up to 6.0Gb/s, and can connect with any other SATA 3.0Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s devices for backward compatibility.  

eSATA 6Gb/s
eSATA III with 6Gb/s data transfer rate can promise substantial performance gain to a new hard drive enclosure. The data transfer rate is double than previous SATA II(3Gb/s) and also supports external HDD hot plug and keyed connector end for fool-proof.  

Dual Gigabit LAN with teaming
The dual Gigabit LAN with Teaming allows 2 single connections to act as 1 single connection for double bandwidth. In addition, it prevents network downtime by transferring the workload from a failed port to a working port and balances the network traffic load evenly between 2 CPU cores in order to improve performance.  

USB 3.0
The latest generation Super Speed USB 3.0 Card is able to transfer data 10 times faster than USB 2.0. An innovative power management system provide better energy saving and carry more power to recharge more USB rechargeable devices. USB 3.0 Card is compatible with USB 2.0 to add more convenience and excellent performance.  

eJIFFY
ECS eJIFFY is a Linux based interface for a fast boot application which is compressed in a CD to install on the hard drive.Within 8 seconds after the computer boots up, eJIFFY is ready to provide users the total enjoyment for web browsing, photo reviewing and on-line chat. Instead of waiting for the regular OS to start up, eJIFFY serves a convenient center to have quick fun or a glance at the hot news in today’s fast pace world where nothing can be too quick.  

eBLU – BIOS Live Update Utility
ECS eBLU utility makes updating BIOS fast and easy. eBLU saves time and hassle of searching for BIOS online and avoid complicated flashing steps. With simple and easy steps it checks for new BIOS version on-line and safely guides the user to flash the system BIOS.  

eOC – Easy Over Clock Utility
Easy Over Clock Utility is a easy and simply overclocking tools that provides user-friendly windows operation interface for novices and overclockers, with clicking on your mouse only you can get much higher performance of CPU quickly. It is available for download and updated online to get the latest version. Combine with ECS MIB III technology to challenge undiscovered extreme overclocking than ever before.  

eDLU – Drivers Live Update Utility
ECS eDLU utility makes updating Drivers fast and easy. eDLU Saves time and hassle of searching for Drivers online and avoid complicated steps. With simple and easy steps it checks for new Drivers version on-line and let the user to update the Drivers.  

eSF (ECS Smart Fan Utility)
ECS Smart Fan Utility provides smart and user friendly way to adjust fan speed depending on PCs system loading and temperature. It offers five modes to adjust fan speed within safe range without entering BIOS for smart, easy and silent environment.  

eGS (Easy Green Saver)
eGS (Easy Green Saver) is a simple and easy-to-use interface for efficient power saving solution. It is based on computer loading to automatically adjust CPU frequency to reduce power consumption. eGS benefits not only by saving personal pocket money but also save environment.  

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology automatically allows processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency if it’s operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits. Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 delivers intelligent and energy efficient performance on demand.  

EZ Charger
EZ Charger technology provides 3 times current than general USB port in off mode for USB devices. It’s useful and excellent, especially for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices that need a large amount of current for faster recharging within less time.  

EuP Certified
ECS Motherboards have been certified by EuP. EuP certification verifies that ECS motherboards comply with European Union stander to decrease the environmental effects and promote sustainable environment. Save energy and keep healthy environment by choosing ECS motherboards.  

ROHS
Choose an environment-friendly, fully RoHS-compliant ECS product as the foundation for keeping harmful substances out of our ecosystem.  

VRD 12 Compliant
Voltage Regulator Down (VRD) 12 is the newest(2010 release) power standard that provides better energy efficiency for Intel processors by advanced power supplying. The energy can be greatly saved during idle operation or other low load conditions. 


« PreviousNext »