ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme
For those in the market for an Intel Z87 Haswell motherboard, the ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme is a great candidate and sells for less than $250 while packing a plethora of features and is mostly compatible with Linux.
ECS has traditionally been a budget PC component manufacturer over its long tenure, but in recent years they have been delivering higher-end products as covered in ECS Phoronix reviews in recent years. The ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme is a higher-end Haswell motherboard relying upon Intel's Z87 chipset and offers a number of extra features like WiFi, Bluetooth, and MIB X overclocking.
ECS advertises the ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme as only being compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft's Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, but the company is always happy to send out hardware samples to Phoronix for Linux testing. As this review will show, the ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme runs okay with modern Linux distributions but there are a few missing features.
Features:
CPU
- Supports new 4rd gen Intel Core family, Pentium, Celeron series processors in
LGA1150 socket
- DMI 5.0GT/s
- TDP: 200W
- 12 Phase Thermal Design Power
- VRD 12.5
- 100% Solid capacitor design
- Supports Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology
- Supports Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
- Intel K Series Unlock CPU Support
CHIPSET
- Intel Z87 Express Chipset
- Intel Smart Response Technology, Intel Smart Connect Technology & Intel
Rapid Start Technology
GRAPHICS
- Support Intel HD Graphics 4000(Intel 4th gen CPU)
- Supports DirectX 11.1
- Supports Intel HD Graphics, InTru 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology,
Insider
- Supports HDMI 1.4a & Premium Audio
- Supports LucidLogiX Virtu MVP
- Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI
- Supports ATI 3-Way CrossFireX
- Supports Full HD 1080P Blu-ray / HD-DVD Playback
MEMORY
- Dual-channel DDR3 Memory architecture
- Supports DDR3 1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, Un-buffered SDRAM Memory
- Supports up to 3000(OC),2933(OC),2800(OC)
- 4 X 240-pin DDR3 DIMM socket
- Support up to 32 GB
- Intel extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3/1.2 Memory Modules
EXPANSION SLOT
- 3 X PCI Express X16 Gen 3.0 slot(s)
- 1 X PCI Express X 1 slot(s)
- Supports NVIDIA SLI Technology
- Supports ATI CrossfireX Technology
- 1 X Mini PCI Express X1 slot(s)( Mini SATA supported)
- 1 X PCI slot(s)
STORAGE
- Support by Intel Z87 Express Chipset
- Support by ASM1061 Controller
- 7 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb/s
- 2 X eSATAIII 6Gb/s
- RAID0, RAID1,RAID5, RAID 10 configuration
- Supports Intel Rapid Storage Technology
- Supports NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions
Audio
- 8-Channel HD audio CODEC
- Compliant with HD audio specification
- Realtek ALC1150+ALC5505 8-channel High Definition audio CODEC
- BluRay DVD/HD DVD support
LAN
- Dual Realtek 8111G Gigabit Fast Ethernet Controller
- Wake-On-LAN
- Dual LAN with Teaming function
- Ultra low power consumption
Wireless
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN
Bluetooth
- Supports Bluetooth V2.0
USB
- Support by Z87 Express Chipset
- 6 X USB3.0 port(s) up to 5Gb/s
- 8 X USB2.0 port(s) Up to 480 Mb/s
- ECS EZ Charger (Gray USB header)
SYSTEM BIOS
- AMI BIOS with 64x2 MB SPI Flash ROM
FORM FACTOR
- ATX Form Factor
- 305mm(W) X 244mm(H)
Contents:
Included with the ECS Z87H3-A2X Extreme were all the accessories one would expect. There was the usual Serial ATA cables, I/O panel, product manual, driver DVD, etc. Moreover, there are the extras for this motherboard like a WiFi adapter and antenna and SLI bridge. This ATX motherboard was received as a review sample from ECS Elitegroup for Phoronix.