Integrated Device Testing
Audio Subsystem Testing
Audio Playback Testing
Using a selection of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music tracks and Windows Media Player, the audio subsystem playback performance was tested for playback accuracy and fidelity. Playback using the audio test tracks from the Realtek software was distortion free using a 5.1 speaker setup through the on-board analogue audio ports.
The audio listening session using the on-board analogue audio ports was also distortion-free, making for an enjoyable audio listening session.
Microphone Port Testing
For testing the board's Microphone input port, the microphone from a Razer Carcharias audio headset was used to capture a 30 second spoken phrase with the assistance of the Microsoft Sound Recorder application. The resulting audio file was saved to the desktop and played back using Windows Media Player.
The recorded audio test was distortion-free and without any detected aberrant noise effects. However, audio pickup through the microphone was inaudible without the microphone input volume set to 100 (full) and Microphone Boost set to its maximum setting (+30dB).
ATTO Disk Benchmark
To validate that the board’s device ports were functioning correctly, we connected an OCZ Vertex 3 90GB SATA III SSD to the system and ran the ATTO Disk Benchmark against the drive. ATTO was configured to test against transfer sizes from 0.5 to 8192 KB with Total Length set to 512 MB. The SSD selected for testing has a maximum read throughput of 550 MB/s and a write throughput of 500 MB/s on a SATA III controller. The drive tests were repeated three times with the highest repeatable read and write speeds recorded.
The Intel Z87 controller performed as expected with the controller able to push the performance of the SSD to its rated read and write performance limits.
SoftPerfect Research NetWorx Speed Test
In conjunction with Windows Performance Monitor, SoftPerfect Research NetWorx Speed Meter application was used to measure the upload and download performance of the motherboards integrated network controllers. Speed Meter was used to measure average network throughput in MB/s with Windows Performance Monitor used to measure average CPU utilization during the tests.
The LanBench network benchmarking software was used to generate send and receive traffic between the local and remote systems over a five minute period with packet size set to 4096 and connection count set to 20. A LanBench server was set up on the remote system to generate or receive traffic for the tests performed. The upload and download tests were repeated three times with the highest repeatable average throughput and the lowest repeatable average CPU utilization percentage recorded.
Note that that theoretical maximum throughput for a Gigabit Ethernet adapter is 125 MB/s (1.0 Gbps).
The integrated Intel-based networking solution is among the highest performing on the market, showing its strengths in this testing. Upload and download transfer tests averaged around 115 MB/s with a minimal CPU utilization footprint of 5% or less.
Why don’t we call Intel GigE
Why don’t we call Intel GigE NIC port what it is, a RJ-45 port? Calling it ‘a thing we stick our UTP cable into’ would be better.
The top-down shot of the
The top-down shot of the motherboard looks like diarrhea. Still can’t get over the terrible name either.
no promo shots of it covered
no promo shots of it covered in dust?
I don’t think you can count
I don’t think you can count giant slabs of copper as heatsinks. There just isn’t enough surface area. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the underdog, but when the company that was renowned for making Fry’s house brand boards where every boot was a flip of the coin where heads was it booting and tails was it exploding into a puff of magic smoke and taking every component connected to it with it, they really need to step up the game with their design.
My thoughts:
Board color – Meh. Never really cared about board color.
Component layout – Decent enough, except for that giant block of copper. Looking at the pictures, I doubt you’d be able to fit a high-end air cooler on there like a Noctua or a Zalman CNPS series cooler. Plus, I don’t see how that giant block of copper will cool very well, there just isn’t enough surface area.
The heat shield between the CPU and the memory looks like a clever idea. I could see where that might be useful to help lower memory temperatures. Whether or not it helps in reality is a different story, but I think this is a good design choice. Plus it can be used to help cool the PCB.
I/O Panel: VGA? Seriously? They couldn’t have put display port on a “Leet” board? How are users supposed to take advantage of the triple display capability of current gen Intel graphics with a VGA port?
There’s a good amount of USB 3.0 ports there, but I would have liked to see thunderbolt on a board with this branding.
Based on the specs and features listed here, and the design, I’d be surprised if the MSRP was much above $150.
Page 3 of the review shows
Page 3 of the review shows how the Noctua NH-D14 fits on the board – there were absolutely no fit related issues with this cooler, so any other cooler should fit the board without issue (the Noctua cooler is one of the larger air coolers I've encountered).
As far as the MSRP, the board retails for $119, but can be found cheaper. Check the last page of the review for links to retailers.
Thanks…
Thank you for doing a
Thank you for doing a thorough review of this board. Yours is the best and most comprehensive that I’ve been able to find. It gives me confidence to pull the trigger on this board. It seems like a no-brainer with the included Intel NIC and higher quality audio that is absent on pricier boards.
Hey!!I am buying this ECS
Hey!!I am buying this ECS Z87H3-A3X MotherBoard…
i just wanted to know whether linux can be installed on this or not..pls reply fast
I’m running Ubuntu on it, has
I’m running Ubuntu on it, has been working fine for the 6 months I’ve had it. For the money it has features more expensive boards lack, such as ALC 1150 audio chip, eSata port, SLI and CrossfireX, and both DVI and HDMI. Even recognized my TP-LINK wireless PCI card with an Atheros chip during Linux install and correctly configured it right off the bat. What’s not to like, the color scheme? Who cares? I’m very pleased with this board.
Several years ago I had an ECS Athlon64 board that I bought for the same reason: features relative to price. Board went kaput after about 5 years, but I also had an ASUS board that lasted less than two years. Point is I’ve been pleased with ECS quality in my experience and they seem on par with other manufacturers boards.