| ECS A780GM-A Black Series AMD 780G Motherboard
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Conclusion:
The ECS A780GM-A Black Series AMD 780G motherboard wound up being quite interesting. It offers quite a few appealing features, such as a back panel full of useful connections, onboard HD audio and video with HDMI output, an integrated RAID controller, support for AMD's Hybrid CrossFire and their new Phenom processors. With such a selection of goodies onboard, the relatively low price initially seems too good to be true.
While there is plenty to get excited about with this board, a few limitations hold it back from being a really top notch product. The main issue would have to be that the BIOS doesn't offer an interface or the necessary controls to really get comfortable with tweaking or overclocking. The options are limited and the functionality was less than impressive. Other issues that might be of concern to some users are that the memory controller does not accept 1066MHz DDR2 with all processors, and the analog audio performance is notable only for the extra noises (crackles and hisses) it produces.
A search of PriceGrabber finds the A780GM-A Black Series AMD 780G motherboard at a few online retailers for as low as just under $75 (US). Knowing the price makes it clear that I shouldn't have expected really nice enthusiast grade features, but the marketing information and even the styling of the board definitely got my hopes up for a bit more. For those looking to build a system for use as a basic HTPC or desktop, this board offers plug and play performance at a fairly nice price.
While it didn't turn out to be the budget friendly enthusiast board I was expecting, there are still plenty of things to like about the A780GM-A. Given the price and rather nice set of features provided by the ECS A780GM-A Black Series AMD 780G motherboard, it earns the Bigbruin.com "Good Value" award.
Pros:
» Runs cool and quiet, even when CPU and integrated GPU are being worked hard
» Board is attractive and well laid out
» Phenom processor support
» Hybrid CrossFire capable
» Onboard DirectX 10 capable graphics
» Onboard HDMI output for audio and video
» eSATA connection included on rear panel
» Relatively low price
Cons:
» BIOS is not enthusiast friendly
» BIOS resets all settings to defaults if it fails to boot
» 1066MHz DDR2 memory option not for all processors
» Dual channel mode has memory modules installed right next to each other
» Analog audio crackles like you were playing a record
» PCI Express x16 slot release mechanism difficult to operate
Special thanks to ECS for providing the ECS A780GM-A Black Series AMD 780G Motherboard to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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