ECS KN1 SLI Extreme - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 18th Nov 2005, 17:02

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...extreme/1.html

Arkuden · 18th Nov 2005, 19:50

good review. Other than the Lan problem... it looks to be a fairly solid board but I would still feel kinda iffy about getting it becuase of all the other well known and trusted names that are right at that price range as well. If it was a more competative price I think i would go for one.

dire_wolf · 18th Nov 2005, 20:02

2 40mm fans !?!?

thats got to sound awful

Tim S · 18th Nov 2005, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by dire_wolf

2 40mm fans !?!?

thats got to sound awful

Yeah, it's quite loud on an open bench. It'd make sense if it had a heatsink above the PWMs and the 40mm fan running a little slower - it'd improve efficiency a little bit.

Bindibadgi · 18th Nov 2005, 21:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by dire_wolf

2 40mm fans !?!?

thats got to sound awful

You can unscrew and completely remove the one on the IO at least but the NF4 one is to be expected, all NF4 mobos have that.

Tim S · 18th Nov 2005, 21:18

unless a heatpipe solution is implemented (like on ASUS and ABIT's latest boards).

bigapl · 19th Nov 2005, 01:15

Thats wierd about the 8X PCI-E mine runs full 16X with 6800 or 7800GT and 8X by 8X in SLI maybe there is a BIOS update you need?

Bindibadgi · 19th Nov 2005, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigapl

Thats wierd about the 8X PCI-E mine runs full 16X with 6800 or 7800GT and 8X by 8X in SLI maybe there is a BIOS update you need?

No, there's no selector card so it's set to only run in 8x8 whether you have 1 card or 2.
Heatpipes not only have to be invented in such a way so that they dont infringe on patents like ABITs OTES but they're also expensive compared to a fan

bigapl · 19th Nov 2005, 11:14

There must be a problem with that board I checked 2 other systems I have built with it and they are all running nat 16X with one card.
I have read about 6 or 7 other reviews and yours seems to be the only board that does this 8X in single card mode.

Bindibadgi · 19th Nov 2005, 12:19

Ive not got the board here now, but I checked NVIDIA's display control panel and it said x8 when in single card mode. There's no card or digital switch like the MSI SLI boards for selection either.

:|

bigapl · 19th Nov 2005, 12:38

Thats wierd it might be some sort of glitch I havent seen on this board before, so far I have had good luck with them and all mine run 16X.
Did you get with ECS about that?

Bindibadgi · 19th Nov 2005, 13:21

Did i discuss it with ECS? No. Because it has no selection method - digital or card switch like normal SLI I assumed ECS saved money and didnt include one but just hardwired it to always be in dual x8 mode. NVIDIA control panel confirmed this to me and I didnt think anything more of it.

I didnt check it with any other drivers other than 71.89s, but what does your NV control panel say?

bigapl · 19th Nov 2005, 14:13

Mine says 16X with both the 6800 and the 7800GT and 8X in SLI maybe it is some sort of driver issue.

chrisuk · 20th Nov 2005, 09:39

Quote:

The ECS KN1 SLI Extreme is a reasonably full-featured motherboard that fits into the cut down, value territory that is occupied by the likes of ABIT, ASUS, DFI and Gigabyte, so there are some choices to be made.

So why was this board not compared to any of these maufacturers? Surely that would have been more useful.

Bindibadgi · 20th Nov 2005, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisuk

So why was this board not compared to any of these maufacturers? Surely that would have been more useful.

Because we arent provided with those boards. We have to use what we are given unfortunately

bigapl - im gonna get in contact with ECS and ask them how their SLI switch works because it's beyond me as there's no physical evidence of a switch on it.

Kipman725 · 20th Nov 2005, 12:14

nice looking board with less features I wouldent use. After fiddling with a lan party it's a very nice board but has so many features that the bios takes a few weeks to setup proporly.

Tim S · 20th Nov 2005, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisuk

So why was this board not compared to any of these maufacturers? Surely that would have been more useful.

We have a review of another SLI motherboard in this price range coming soon.

Anakha · 21st Nov 2005, 05:15

As a comment on the "Computational error" with the SLI/Non-SLI results, here's an idea on how to get the best result.
Run the same test 5 times, discard the top and bottom results, and average the remaining three. That way one-time statistical anomalies don't affect the outcome (As the worst and best are discarded to get a true "Average" result).

I realise this will take a little extra time to do, but it will give you a more accurate result, and a result you can more easily compare with other results.

Just my £0.02

Tim S · 21st Nov 2005, 10:17

That is a standard benchmarking practice as it is - ensure that all results are repeatable.

Bindibadgi · 21st Nov 2005, 13:12

Because it's real world nothing is ever exact unlike a benchmark which is specifically designed for an uber accurate result. For things like the performance %age of WMP HD it's just windows cpu monitor is used and it's run for a while on loop and the most suitable average is taken. On other things that has human influence, like timing of the batch jpg/bmp encoding i take an average.

18th Nov 2005, 17:02	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	ECS KN1 SLI Extreme http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...extreme/1.html __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

18th Nov 2005, 20:02	#3
dire_wolf Revelation Machine Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: UK Posts: 2,113	2 40mm fans !?!? thats got to sound awful __________________ Marching Into History, Marching Into War, Marching Into History To Function As A Whore "Don't Fear Citizens! TAD KNOWS HIS RAID!"

18th Nov 2005, 21:18	#6
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	unless a heatpipe solution is implemented (like on ASUS and ABIT's latest boards). __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

19th Nov 2005, 11:14	#9
bigapl What's a Dremel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 4	There must be a problem with that board I checked 2 other systems I have built with it and they are all running nat 16X with one card. I have read about 6 or 7 other reviews and yours seems to be the only board that does this 8X in single card mode. Last edited by bigapl; 19th Nov 2005 at 11:19.

19th Nov 2005, 12:19	#10
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,264	Ive not got the board here now, but I checked NVIDIA's display control panel and it said x8 when in single card mode. There's no card or digital switch like the MSI SLI boards for selection either. :\| __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek! Last edited by Bindibadgi; 19th Nov 2005 at 12:25.

18th Nov 2005, 19:50	#2
Arkuden mow? Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Under a rock. Posts: 931	good review. Other than the Lan problem... it looks to be a fairly solid board but I would still feel kinda iffy about getting it becuase of all the other well known and trusted names that are right at that price range as well. If it was a more competative price I think i would go for one.

19th Nov 2005, 01:15	#7
bigapl What's a Dremel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 4	Thats wierd about the 8X PCI-E mine runs full 16X with 6800 or 7800GT and 8X by 8X in SLI maybe there is a BIOS update you need?

19th Nov 2005, 12:38	#11
bigapl What's a Dremel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 4	Thats wierd it might be some sort of glitch I havent seen on this board before, so far I have had good luck with them and all mine run 16X. Did you get with ECS about that?

19th Nov 2005, 13:21	#12
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,264	Did i discuss it with ECS? No. Because it has no selection method - digital or card switch like normal SLI I assumed ECS saved money and didnt include one but just hardwired it to always be in dual x8 mode. NVIDIA control panel confirmed this to me and I didnt think anything more of it. I didnt check it with any other drivers other than 71.89s, but what does your NV control panel say? __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!

19th Nov 2005, 14:13	#13
bigapl What's a Dremel? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 4	Mine says 16X with both the 6800 and the 7800GT and 8X in SLI maybe it is some sort of driver issue.

20th Nov 2005, 12:14	#16
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	nice looking board with less features I wouldent use. After fiddling with a lan party it's a very nice board but has so many features that the bios takes a few weeks to setup proporly. __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

21st Nov 2005, 05:15	#18
Anakha Supermodder Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Regina, SK, Canada Eh! Posts: 395	As a comment on the "Computational error" with the SLI/Non-SLI results, here's an idea on how to get the best result. Run the same test 5 times, discard the top and bottom results, and average the remaining three. That way one-time statistical anomalies don't affect the outcome (As the worst and best are discarded to get a true "Average" result). I realise this will take a little extra time to do, but it will give you a more accurate result, and a result you can more easily compare with other results. Just my £0.02 __________________ Robert "Anakha" Johnston Going to Canada on Nov 28th! I'm going home!

21st Nov 2005, 10:17	#19
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	That is a standard benchmarking practice as it is - ensure that all results are repeatable. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

21st Nov 2005, 13:12	#20
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,264	Because it's real world nothing is ever exact unlike a benchmark which is specifically designed for an uber accurate result. For things like the performance %age of WMP HD it's just windows cpu monitor is used and it's run for a while on loop and the most suitable average is taken. On other things that has human influence, like timing of the batch jpg/bmp encoding i take an average. __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!