ECS 755-A2: Performance and Value for the Athlon 64

ECS 755-A2: Basic Features

Motherboard Specifications
CPU Interface	Socket 754 Athlon64
Chipset	SiS 755 North Bridge SiS 964 South Bridge
Bus Speeds	200MHz to 232MHz (in 1MHz increments)
PCI/AGP Speeds	Fixed at 66/33. Not adjustable.
Available CPU Ratios	Normal. Not adjustable.
Core Voltage	Normal. Not adjustable.
DRAM Voltage	2.50V to 2.65V in 0.05V increments
AGP Voltage	Normal. Not adjustable.
Hypertransport Voltage	Normal. Not adjustable.
Memory Slots	Two 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots Single-Channel Configuration Regular Unbuffered Memory to 2GB Total
Expansion Slots	1 AGP 8X Slot 5 PCI Slots, 1 CNR riser
Onboard Serial ATA RAID	SiS 964 (SiS 180) (2 Drives, RAID 0, 1)
Onboard IDE	Two SiS ATA133/100/66/33 (4 drives)
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394	8 USB 2.0 ports supported by 964 No FireWire ports
Onboard LAN	Realtek RTL8201 10/100 Ethernet
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC655 codec AC '97 2.3
BIOS Revision	Release 12/25/2003

To get rid of any confusion right off the bat, you can see that the 755-A and 755-A2 are clearly identified by model in the ECS packaging. You won't have to open boxes or boards to figure out which Revision you are buying. We suspect that the A2 revision will quickly replace the A and will soon be the only revision offered.

While the ECS 755-A2 may be a value board, the SiS 964 South Bridge allows a very full complement of ports and expansion options. The rear IO panel includes PS2 mouse and keyboard, Parallel port, 1 Serial port, 4 USB, 10/100 LAN, and 3 mini-jacks for audio.

As discussed in our review of the SiS 755 Reference board, the 755 is a traditional Northbridge/Southbridge chipset. The passive cooling on the SiS 755 North Bridge is very basic, but we did not find overheating problems in our limited testing.

The SiS 964 South Bridge offers a very contemporary feature list that ECS has implemented on the 755-A2. While a value board, the ECS 755-A2 still includes two SATA connectors for single SATA drives or RAID 0 (striping) or 1 (mirror).

The ECS 755-A2 uses the Realtek audio codec called ALC655, which is compliant with the latest AC '97 Rev. 2.3. This audio codec features 6-channel sound and UAJ or Universal Audio Jack, with a better than 90db signal-to-noise ratio. This allows automatic jack programming, as we've seen on some boards based on Intel's 865/875 chipsets. The ALC655 is quite similar to the Realtek premium ALC658 sound solution. Additional information and specifications are available at Realtek.

ECS does not provide an SPDIF bracket in the package, but there is an SPDIF I/O header on the 755-A2 motherboard. While the audio inputs and outputs provided are nothing special, the ALC655 audio codec is a lot better than you might expect on a board at the 755-A2 selling price. Once again, we are seeing what can be accomplished with a chipset like the 755/964, since the basic audio hooks are provided by the chipset.

The 755-A2 includes Realtek's 10/100 LAN. While we are often seeing Gigabit LAN on premium motherboards, it is not expected on a board designed to sell at this price point.