ECS H67H2-M & H67H2-I Review

Introduction:

Intel's Sandy Bridge processors and platform were released with a lot of attention to this next generation's performance and capabilities. Unfortunately there also was the quickly resolved bug in the SATA 3G controller that soured a successful launch. This aside, the Intel Sandy Bridge 2500K and 2600K processors have proven to offer excellent performance at stock speeds with even more performance available if you choose to push the limits with processors reaching 4.8 to 5.0GHz at will on the P67 platform. But the boards I am looking at today are part of ECS H67 lineup. Intel's H67 board did not provide any overclocking ability above the limits of the processor's Turbo Boost 2 multiplier when I looked at it during the Sandy Bridge launch article due to the limitations of the chipset. The H67 based boards from ECS are no different in this respect. On the IGP side of the fence though, the ability to bump up the performance of the Intel HD 3000 graphics can pay dividends across the whole suite of applications that are GPU accelerated. The two motherboards I have to look at from ECS are the H67H2-M and H67H2-I. The "M" is a fully featured Micro ATX form factor motherboard that is part of ECS "Black" series and is equipped with the Intel H67 chipset for use with Intel's latest second generation Core processors. The "I" is a mini ITX form factor motherboard is equipped with the features to easily outperform many of the small form factor boards on the market when equipped with one Intel's Second Generation core series processor. Both of these motherboards would be right at home in an HTPC or small form factor build.

Closer Look:

The packaging for these H67 boards is much improved over prior ECS designs. The packaging of the H67H2-M features a wealth of information on the capabilities of this board along with many of its attributes on both the front and rear panels. The front shows off the potential 235% increase in GPU performance when the HD 3000 graphics are overclocked. There is mention of improved gold contacts, that the Quooltech cooling solution on-board is 15 to 20C cooler running and that the board should have a 6x improvement over prior designs based on the solid capacitors. In the upper corner you see that this board is a B3 revision, that this board supports Turbo Boost 2.0 and offers 3D support. The back panel of the "M" is covered with explanations of the included features. Things such as the eight channel audio, all solid capacitors, GPU overclocking, Dual Gigabit LAN and more. The "I" version in the series is a Mini ITX form factor board for use with the second generation Core processors. The graphics used on this board are significantly different enough from the "Black Series to make the distinction. The front panel lists many of the attributes of the board from Bluetooth capabilities, USB 3.0 SATA 6Gb/s, Turbo Boost 2.0, 3D and multi-monitor support. The back panel talks about what makes this offering special from an explanation of the Bluetooth 2.1+EDR technology, MIni PCIe support while listing the included ECS software eJiffy, eBLU,eDLU and eSF.

Opening up both packages shows the difference in how these boards are packaged. The Black Series H67H2-M has the bundle on top of the lower compartment that houses the board while the H67H2-I has the board up top with the accessories below.

The accessory bundle for both boards is eerily similar with the inclusion of a manual, quick start guide, driver disk with the proprietary utilities, I/O shield, SATA cables and a set of plugs to protect the unused ports on the I/O panel when not in use.

Even though the H67 chipset prevents any CPU overclocking, I am curious as to how well these boards perform in their as-delivered configurations. Hopefully, the boards will have the ability to bump the on-board graphics up a couple of notches to increase the IGP performance. Small in size but not features, these two board look pretty interesting.

Closer Look:

The H67H2-M is a Mini ATX form factor board in the ECS Black series lineup designed for use with Intel's second generation Core series processors. The H67H2-M is ECS way of bringing the look of its high-end Black Series to the H67 small form factor market with enthusiast grade additions such as on board power and reset buttons, ECS's Quooltech heat sink package, solid capacitors. 15μ gold contacts in the CPU and DIMM sockets for improved corrosion resistance, an increase in board life and a debug diagnostic LED. Looking at it from the top, the board looks like a cut down version of the P67H2-A. The black PCB and grey accents give the board an industrial feel. The back side has just the back of the CPU retention mechanism. The Quooltech III heatsink package is held in place by screws just like on the P67 based P67H2-A. So far the board has all the makings of a high performance board for the everyday market.

Connectivity is the name of the game with these H67 chipset based boards. On the H67H@-M from the left are the single SL DVI port , VGA port, clear CMOS button, HDMI and DisplayPort connections, four USB 2.0 ports (two red and two black), a single eSATA port, Dual Realtek controlled Gigait LAN ports that support teaming, two USB 3.0 ports and the Realtek eight channel HD sound including both digital and analog connectivity. The clear CMOS button is a great option to have but without the ability to overclock the CPU, its uses will be limited. Expansion capabilities on the H67H2-M include a 16x PCIe slot, a pair of 1x PCIe slots and a standard PCI slot.

Along the bottom edge of the board are added connectivity options. Left to right are the front panel audio, digital sound out, a fan header, clear CMOS jumper, TPM header and four USB headers to add eight ports to the four on the back I/O panel for a total of 12 USB 2.0 ports. On the bottom right hand corner are parts you normally see only on enthusiast grade boards, a power and reset button. Just above the USB headers is a diagnostic display that allows the end user to determine what is causing a holdup in the boot sequence.

Starting up the right side are the SATA ports. The gray ports are the SATA 6Gb/s with the white being 3GbB/s. The one port offset is the eSATA port. The B3 revision of the H67 chipset allays fears of performance degradation on the SATA 3Gb/s ports. Further up is the 24pin ATX power connection and the four DIMM slots that support up to 32GB of DDR3 system memory in a dual channel configuration. DDR3 speeds officially supported are 1066 and 1333MHz.

Across the top of the PCB, the only item of note is the eight pin ATX auxiliary power connection.

The CPU socket area on the H67H2-M is quite crowded by comparison to some other socket 1155 motherboards. Solid capacitors are used for added stability and durability. ECS has used a LOTES hold down mechanism for the CPU. ECS uses its 15μ gold process that uses 15μ gold contacts in the CPU socket. This process means less corrosion and improved wear, resulting in a longer lifespan. Around the socket area is the Quooltech III cooling package that uses a pair of copper heatpipes connected to a pair of massive heat sinks over the VRM components. The cooling package includes a substantial heat sink over the H67 chipset that when combined with the massive heat sinks around the CPU socket, give this board from ECS a very high-end feel.

This "Black" Series offering from ECS puts together all of the looks and a good deal of the feature set from the P67H2-A and scales them down to work with the H67 platform. Great looks do not always win the day but in this case, looks do play a big part in the image factor where the H67 platform is like an early 70's musclecar. All stripes and flash.

Closer Look:

Whereas the H67H2-M has the look and feel of a high end machine, the H67H2-I is all about function over the flash. This Mini ITX board is meant to compete in an area traditionally dominated by much less power hungry platforms that contain either "Atom", Celeron or now AMD's Fusion APU. With the capabilities of Intel's Sandy Bridge lineup, this is like bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. This little gem supports second generation Core i7, i5 and i3 processors including the unlocked "K" sku processors even though the overclocking will be limited to what can be gained with Intel's Turbo Boost 2 technology and possibly some GPU overclocking. While overclocking is not this board or platform's forte, the option list on this little board from ECS is pretty big. USB 3.0, Bluetooth, HDMI, Realtek eight channel sound and even a 16x PCIe slot to be used if you choose to add a discrete graphics card to the package.

Looking at the rear I/O panel shows that connectivity options span almost the entire length of the PCB save for the last bit that contains the 16x PCIe slot. Starting from the left are two USB 2.0 ports and the HDMI graphics connection that supports HDMI 1.4a, VGA and a SL DVI port, two more USB 2.0 and a single eSATA port, two USB 3.0 ports and the Realtek controlled Gigabit LAN port. Then there's another pair of USB 2.0 ports bring the total on the I/O panel to eight, the bluetooth module and last but not least, the eight channel Realtek HD audio ports. In other words, a ton of connectivity options for so a small package. Multi-monitor technology is supported on this board allowing the end user the flexibility of using multiple monitors to increase productivity or offer a larger viewing surface.

The bottom edge of the PCB contains the 16x PCIe 2.0 slot so that if needed, a discrete graphics card can be used to supplant the on-die HD 2000 or HD 3000 Intel graphics for increased performance. The right side of the PCB contains the 24 pin ATX power connection and the two 240 pin DIMM slots. Maximum memory capacity with currently available modules is eight GB even though up to 16 GB is fully supported at 1066MHz and 1333MHz speeds.These slots as well as the CPU contacts, use ECS's 15μ gold contacts for three times the added conductivity and corrosion resistance.

The top side of the PCB contains the majority of the internal connectivity. On the left is a mini PCIe connection, the front panel and USB connections and a total of four SATA ports, Two SATA 6Gb/s and two SATA 3Gb/s that support RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. Further inboard are a COM port, the four pin 12v power supply input and just in front of that, the USB 3.0 controller. The H67H2-I has a single large passive heatsink on the H67 chipset and no other cooling mechanisms on board. There just is not room on this minuscule board.

The CPU socket area is standard fare with solid capacitors and inductive chokes surrounding the socket. The LGA 155 socket uses ECVS 15. As you might imagine, space is at a premium on this board so a large heat sink is out of the question if you plan on using a discrete GPU in place of the Intel HD graphics. However that does not mean all is lost as I was able to mount an all-in-one liquid cooling solution with no problems or interference which allowed me to drive CPU temperatures and noise lower.

Just the fact that a product like this comes to market shows that while this segment is full of low power consumption products, you can still up the ante and deliver excellent performance without compromise.

Closer Look:

The BIOS used on both the H67H2-M and H67H2-I are so similar that I will be showing only one set of images to display the BIOS functionality. The American Megatrends BIOS is stored on a 32MB SPI ROM and is plug and play compatible. Even though CPU overclocking is not supported, the GPU can be overclocked via the BIOS. This BIOS supports the latest utilities from ECS including eJiffy, eBlu, esF and ECS's own MIB III utility. When compared to some of the latest P67 offerings, the BIOS looks dated but is still functional.

Main:

The Main section of the BIOS is limited and shows the system time, the system date and the language of choice. Pretty slim but this is just good basic information.

Advanced:

The Advanced section of the BIOS contains many of the options that can be tweaked. In this section you can enable ECS eJiffy funtion, adjust the CPU operating parameters, view the status of the processor, voltages and fan speeds and set up the installed disk drive configuration.

Chipset:

Under this option there are three submenus. Northbridge, Southbridge and ME subsystem. Under Northbridge, the amount of memory dedicated to the IGP can be set and the multi-monitor functionality enabled. Under the Soutbridge tab, the power restoration settings can be set, the onboard audio can be configured as well as the chassis intrusion settings. The ME subsystem tab shows the version and allows this option to be turned on or off. For testing, this option is left at the factory default enabled position.

M.I.B. III:

The Motherboard Intelligent BIOS III section of the BIOS is where the overclocking and performance enhancing feature are usually found. Seeing as how the CPU overclocking is limited to the frequencies available using Intel's Turbo Boost II technology means that the only real overclocking getting done is the IGP. There are several tabs that have submenus and options in them starting with Integrated Clock Chip Configuration. In this section there are several registers that can be adjusted but they did not seem to make a difference when it came time to overclock this board. The Performance tuning section allows voltages and current draw to be tweaked but really do not allow for increased clock speeds so are best tweaked for lower usage and power consumption. The memory speed and timings are non-adjustable in the BIOS but with Intel's Extreme tuning utility, the timings can be tweaked to run the rated timings.

The last three sections of the BIOS for the H67H2 series boards offer little in the way of functionality save for the Boot menu. Under this section are the options to run a quiet boot and to set the boot sequence for the installed disk drives. Under this section are separate menus to change the boot priority within a drive type. Here you choose which optical or hard disk drive will be polled first if more than one are installed. The Security tab gives the option to set an Administrator password and the Save and Exit tab is just what the name implies and is where the changes made to the BIOS are saved or the factory defaults are set.

The BIOS options are limited on this pair of boards but a complex BIOS is not really needed to get the most from these two ECS motherboards.

Specifications:

Features:

• M.I.B. III brings the same convenience interface of overclocking as M.I.B. II, it also comes with advance range of frequency tuning for CPU/MEMORY/PCI-E bus speed to take the system performance to superior level.
• 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.  
• 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.  
• Multi-Monitor: Multi-Monitor feature is the use of multiple display devices for increasing the area available for programs running on a single computer system. It is not only to increase larger screen viewing but also for improving personal productivity.
• XTU Utility: Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility is the ideal way to monitor and boost the performance of your of Intel® technology-based PC. Automatic performance tuning reduces the overclocking effort for everyone, while expert users retain the option to personalize their system configuration.
• Blu-ray: With integrated graphics core, the motherboard delivers better HD video quality along with best-in-class 3D performance. Smoothly playback all H.264, VC-1, and MPEG-2 video with minimal CPU usage so the PC is free to do other work.
• Dual Channel DDR3 1333: Doubles the bandwidth of your system memory up to 21.0GB/s and pumps up the system performance at lower power.   
• PCI EXPRESS 2.0: The exceptionally increased interconnect bit rate from 2.5GT/s up to 5.0GT/s would effectively eliminates the bottle neck of the system performance and brings the most terrific computing experience from the present to the future.
• Mini PCI Express: The Mini-PCIe slot has a new 52 pin edge connector and it is much smaller in overall size. It is designed for laptops and other small-footprint computer systems and supports Mini-PCI card for mini- Wireless, mini-TV tuner, mini-SATA cards and so on.  
• 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.  
• RAID 0, 1, 5, 10: Supports RAID 0(Striped disk array), RAID 1(Mirroring disk array), RAID 5(Block Interleaved Distributed Parity), RAID 10 (A Stripe of Mirrors). Provides users the performance and protection.  
• SPDIF Out S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a convenient connectivity and standard audio transfer format. It allows the transfer of audio from one file to another without the conversion to and from an analog format, and keeps the optical connector the best.   
• 8 Channel High Definition Audio: Integrated 8-channel HD Audio CODEC delivering advanced multi-channel audio and bringing you the experience of home theater-quality sound.   
• Giga LAN: Delivers transfer speed ten times faster than conventional 10 / 100 Ethernet connections, supporting a high transfer rate up to Gigabit/s. Gigabit LAN is the networking standards for the future and is ideal for handing large amount of data such as video, audio, and voice.   
• 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.  
• HDMI: The interface supports existing high-definition video formats(720p, 1080i, and even 1080p), plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. Combination with HDCP, provides a secure audio/video interface that meets the security requirements of content providers and systems operators.
• HDCP: A specification developed by Intel Corporation to protect digital entertainment content across the DVI/HDMI interface. HDCP encrypts transmission of digital content between HDCP-compliant devices that it allows users to enjoy HD content through HDCP-compliant playback software.
• eSATA 3Gb/s: The signal quality and the Max cable length is 2x longer than the conventional one. It also supports external HDD hot plug and keyed connector end for fool-proof.  
• 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.     
• 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.   
• Norton™ Internet Security: Simple, Easy-to-Use Interface, delivers fast and comprehensive online threat protection, guarding your PC, network, without slowing you down. Giving you greater insight into downloaded applications, whether they can be trusted, and how they may impact your PC’s resources and performance Offering users a safer and more convenient environment than ever.ECS recommends the immediate installation of Norton Internet Security of your computer.  
• 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.   
• Certified For Windows® 7: Windows® 7 platform introduces a number of manageability improvements that can reduce total cost of ownership by helping to increase automation, improve user productivity, and provide flexible administrative control to meet compliance requirements. It is more user-friendly and has been optimized to consume less system resources with Windows® 7 as well. Furthermore, the VT technology is enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games.     
• 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.   
• Bluetooth Technology: Supports Bluetooth v2.1+ EDR technology, which is easier to connect devices to improve the paring experience on Bluetooth and increasing the use and strength of security. Bluetooth v2.1+ EDR also provides faster data transfer and able to reach 3Mbps with reduced power consumption and improved security. It also offers you a better wireless life.    
                
                     
                
         

All information courtesy of ECS @ http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1211&CategoryID=1&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=103&LanID=9

Testing:

Testing this group of H67 based motherboards will include running them through the OCC test suite of benchmarks that include both synthetic benchmarks and real world applications to see how each of these boards perform. The gaming tests will also include both synthetic benchmarks and actual game play to see if similarly prepared setups offers any performance advantages. Instead of leaving the gaming tests to a discrete video card, the gaming prowess of the IGP will get a small workout as well. Each board received a fully updated fresh install of Windows 7 Professional 64bit edition and used the latest drivers for each board and the latest AMD Catayst drivers for the XFX HD 6970. The delay in testing these boards was to ensure that we are using B3 revisions for our testing. The drives are connected to the SATA 6Gb/s ports for the duration of the testing.

Testing Setup: Intel Core i5/i7 Socket 1155

• Processors: Core i7 2500K
• Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366
• Motherboard: ECS H67H2-M, H67H2-I
• Memory: Mushkin 996805 Redline PC312800 6-8-6-24 1600MHz 4GB
• Video Card: XFX Radeon HD6970
• Power Supply: Mushkin 1000W Joule Modular power supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 1TB SATA
• Optical Drive: Lite-On Blu-Ray
• Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Comparison Boards:

• ECS H67H2-M
• ECS H67H2-I
• Intel DH67BL

Overclocking:

Overclocked Settings:

• Processor: Intel core i7 2500K at 100MHz x 37
• Motherboard: ECS H67H2-M, ECS H67H2-I

Overclocking on the ECS H67 boards is pretty much non existent due to the architecture of the H67 chip set. All you get for overclocking on the CPU is what Intel gives up with Turbo Boost 2 technology. Enabling this option will boost the clock speed up between 100 to 400MHz increasing performance. However, the integrated HD graphics can be boosted up a bit for improved graphics performance on the Intel HD 3000 graphics. I used the open GL test and a few games to test out the overclocking of the IGP. By increasing the GPU clock ration from 22 to 30 with a slight bump in voltage, I was able to play Civilization V at close to 30 FPS at 1680 x 1050 with low end settings when overclocked and Starcraft II easily delivered 50+ FPS at 1680 x 1050 again using low settings. The frustating part of this equation is that the memory speed is factory locked at 1333MHz max and the timings are non adjustable in the BIOS. Since both boards support the use of Intel's Extreme Tuning utility I gave that a shot and found that while the memory speed could be boosted and applied, there was no actual adjustment made to the memory speed. The adjustment to the timings on the other hand did stick when adjusted in the XTU.

Benchmarks:

• Scientific & Data:

1. Apophysis
2. Bibble 5
3. WinRAR
4. Geekbench
5. Office 2007
6. POV Ray 3.7
7. PCMark Vantage Professional
8. Sandra XII
9. ScienceMark 2.02
10. Cinebench 10
11. Cinebench 11.5
12. HD Tune 4.60

• Video:

1. Aliens vs. Predator
2. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
3. Batman Arkham Asylum
4. 3DMark Vantage

Testing:

The first part of our testing will be the system specific benchmarks.

Let's get started with Apophysis. This program is used primarily to render and generate fractal flame images. We will run this benchmark with the following settings:

• Resolution: 2750 x 2048
• Quality: 500
• Limit Memory use: 512MB

The measurement used is time to render, in minutes, to complete.

Lower is Better

WinRAR is a tool to archive and compress large files to a manageable size. We will use 100MB and 500MB files to test the time needed to compress these files. Time will be measured in seconds.

ZIP:

Lower is Better

RAR:

Lower is Better

Geekbench:

Geekbench 2.1 is a benchmark that tests CPU and memory performance in an easy to use tool. The measure used for comparison is the total suite average score.

Higher is Better

Bibble 5:

This test consists of converting 100 8.2MP RAW images to jpeg format. The file size is 837MB. The measure used for comparison is time to convert the file in seconds.

Lower is Better

In Apophysis the time needed to render the image is very similar across the test beds. The WinRar and GeekBench testing has all of the boards more or less delivering a similar result. In the Bibble 5 testing, the Intel board has a distinct advantage that was repeatable.

Testing:

Office 2007 Excel Big Number Crunch: This test takes a 6.2MB Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and performs about 28,000 sets of calculations that represent many of the most commonly used calculations in Excel. The measure of this test is how long it takes to refresh the sheet.

Lower Is Better

POV Ray 3.7: This program features a built in benchmark that renders an image using Ray Tracing. The latest versions offer support for SMP (Symmetric MultiProcessing) enabling the workload to be spread across the cores for quicker completion.

Higher Is Better

These results show that similar hardware will yield similar results.

Testing:

SiSoft Sandra is a diagnostic utility and synthetic benchmarking program. Sandra allows you to view your hardware at a higher level to be more helpful. For this benchmark, I will be running a broad spectrum of tests to gauge the performance of key functions of the CPUs.

Processor Arithmetic

Multi-Core Efficiency

Memory Bandwidth

Memory Latency

Cache and Memory

Power Management Efficiency

On platforms that are almost identical and have limited overclocking abilities, the difference in scores between the boards both at stock frequencies and with Intel's Turbo Boost 2 enabled will vary only slightly from each other with any difference put down to run to run average variances and possibly the memory sub timings as set in the BIOS.

Testing:

ScienceMark tests real world performance instead of using synthetic benchmarks. For this test, we ran the benchmark suite and will use the overall score for comparison.

Higher is Better!

CineBench 10 is useful for testing your system, CPU, and OpenGL capabilities using the software program CINEMA 4D. We will be using the default tests for this benchmark.

Higher is Better

Cinebench 11.5

Higher is Better

HD Tune measures disk performance to make comparisons between drives or disk controllers.

Higher is Better

Lower is Better

Again in this series of benchmarks the results are very similar. The real standout differences seem to be the hard drive burst rates and CPU usage.

Aliens vs. Predator, developed by Rebellion Developments, is a science fiction first-person shooter and is a remake of its 1999 game. The game is based off the two popular sci fi franchises. In this game, you have the option of playing through the single player campaigns as one of three species, the Alien, the Predator, and the Human Colonial Marine. The Game uses Rebellion's Asura game engine that supports Dynamic Lighting, Shader Model 3.0, Soft Particle systems, and Physics. To test this game I will be using the Aliens vs. Predator benchmark tool with the settings listed below. All DirectX 11 features are enabled.

Settings

• 4xAA
• 16xAF
• SSAO = On
• Texture Quality = Very High
• Hardware Tesselation = On
• Advanced Shadow Sampling = On

Higher = Better

Gaming at higher resolutions will stress the graphics card more so than the GPU although with a combination that is CPU limited, there are benefits from increased clock speed. In this instance, the Turbo Boost ratios do not give any additional advantage to one board or the other.

Testing:

Civilization V is a turn based strategy game. The premise is to play as one of 18 civilizations and lead the civilization from the "dawn of man" up to the space age. This latest iteration of the Civilization series uses a new game engine and massive changes to the way the AI is used throughout the game. Civilization V is developed by Firaxis Games and is published by 2K games and was released for Windows in September of 2010. Testing will be done using actual game play with FPS measured by Fraps through a series of five turns,150 turns into the game.

Settings

• In-game settings to High
• 4xAA
• 16xAF
• Fraps measured Gameplay

Higher = Better

The boards all scale similarly with the HD 5870 as the video card. In this game, the CPU is less of an important player than the motherboard or video card.

Testing:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a new game that brings together two bitter rivals, the Joker and Batman. The Joker has taken over Arkham Asylum, Gotham's home for the criminally insane. Your task is to rein the Joker back in and restore order. This game makes use of PhysX technology to create a rich environment for you to become the Dark Knight.

Settings

• 4xAA in CP
• 16xAF in CP
• Global settings = High
• Ambient Occlusion = On

Higher = Better

Through all three resolutions, the H67 boards showed that with a discrete graphics card installed, the gaming performance is almost identical. The maximum difference in performance is two FPS.

Testing:

Featuring all-new game tests, this benchmark is for use with Vista-based systems. "There are two all-new CPU tests that have been designed around a new 'Physics and Artificial Intelligence-related computation.' CPU test two offers support for physics related hardware." There are four preset levels that correspond to specific resolutions. "Entry" is 1024 x 768 progressing to "Extreme" at 1920 x 1200. Of course, each preset can be modified to arrange any number of user designed testing. For our testing, I will use the four presets at all default settings.

Settings

• Settings (each preset): Default Testing
• Entry: 1024 x 768
• Performance: 1280 x 1024
• High: 1680 x 1050
• Extreme: 1920 x 1200

Higher = Better

Even the Mini ITX H67H2-I can deliver the same results as the larger H67H2-M and DH67BL when equipped with a capable discrete GPU..

Testing:

On the H67 platform the CPU cannot be overclocked above the limits of the Turbo Boost 2 frequencies. However, the integrated graphics can be overclocked to provide a higher level of performance. To see if this was indeed true, I ran through a couple of games that can be played on the HD 3000 integrated graphics. Civilization V and Starcraft II are the games of choice. The graphics multiplier was moved from 22 to 30 and each game was retested to verify the increase in performance was relevant. While high-end settings offer better visuals, the HD 3000 graphics included in the Core i5 2500K can only push the envelope so far.

Testing Setup: Intel Core i5/i7 Socket 1155

• Processors: Core i7 2500K
• Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366
• Motherboard: ECS H67H2-M
• Memory: Mushkin 996805 Redline PC312800 6-8-6-24 1600MHz 4GB
• Video Card: Intel HD 3000
• Power Supply: Mushkin 1000W Joule Modular power supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 1TB SATA
• Optical Drive: Lite-On Blu-Ray
• Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Civilization 5 Settings:

• DX 9
• Low
• Resolutions 1024x768,1280x1024,1680x1050

Starcraft II Settings:

• Low
• Resolutions 1024x768,1280x1023,1680x1050

While playing each of these games, the eye candy was turned down but the games were playable up to 1680 x 1050.

Conclusion:

Each of these boards from ECS is meant to fit in a specific segment. The Micro ATX Black Series H67H2-M brings a little flash and high-end looks to a board that will most likely be destined for use in an HTPC or regular system build where its pedigree might get overlooked. Since overclocking is going to be limited to the GPU, the only reason to go with a K sku processor is for the higher spec Intel graphics. Otherwise, stick to the non K sku to save a bit of money. In terms of performance, the H67 boards are going to offer a performance envelope that is almost identical from board to board when you have the same components installed. That was proved out by how close the performance was between the three boards in this comparison. When performance is the same across a platform then all that is left is the feature set and cost. In terms of price, the ECS Black Series H67H2-M comes in at the upper end of the pricing spectrum at $139. Not the highest price I have seen for an H67 board but at the upper end. For that $139 price point you get a full featured motherboard with many enthusiast level parts. There is the debug LED, on board power and reset buttons, ECS 15μ gold process in the CPU socket and DIMM slots, Quooltech III heat sink package and more. The H67H2-I Mini ITX board does not have the Black Series pedigree or looks but is the equal of the H67H2-M in terms of the performance offered but in a much smaller package. While small in stature, the H67H2-I is a fully loaded board. Standard are Etrontech controlled USB 3.0 ports, Intel SATA 6Gb/s ports and Bluetooth connectivity. There is a 16x PCIe slot on the board in case you really need to step up to a discrete GPU to get your gaming fix. Priced at around $90, the H67H2-I offers big performance in a small package. Any which way you look at it, this pair of H67 boards from ECS offer up excellent performance for the price point and would be a great fit for just about any mainstream build or home theater PC.

Pros:

• Feature set
• Small form factor
• GPU overclocking
• USB 3.0
• SATA 6Gb/s
• I/O Port Covers
• Functional applications

Cons:

• CPU overclocking (H67 Limitation)