ECS H55H-I Review: Mini-ITX at a Sensible Price
by Rajinder Gill on May 6, 2010 6:59 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final words
Much of what the ECS H55H-I can and cannot do bears a startling resemblance to Intel’s DH57JG. The only major difference is that ECS are keeping a loose grip on the voltage reins for all processors at present, so you get more room to play with overclocking. Of course, there are no guarantees that future BIOSes will allow such a free range of voltage, especially if users end up blowing up FETs and such.
Whichever way ECS decide to lean, there are a few things on the H55H-I that are in need of attention – unsurprisingly, its ECS’ decision to allow overclocking that opens the can of worms. The CPU multiplier ratio control option should either be removed altogether, or it should be made to work. In its current state the option is useless, serving only to create non-POST situations. This is the second motherboard we've reviewed from ECS in recent months with this problem.
One of the other things that come to light when a BIOS setting is wrong, is that there’s no way to get the board to POST unless you clear CMOS. The trouble is that the CMOS clear jumper location is not easy to access when this board is in a case, so ECS would be wise to spend some time refining the BIOS code to perform some kind of watchdog procedure. These are the kind of things we expect to see implemented if overclocking features are present - regardless of price.
On the bright side, you do get a 3 year limited warranty, which at least inspires a little confidence that ECS will take care of you if the event of a failure.
To cap this all off, yes, the H55H-I is competitive with other mini-ITX products based upon its price and basic functionality, it makes a great little stock-runner or LAN PC. However, if you're thinking of overclocking with this board, we'd say that ECS is a couple of BIOSes away from a glowing recommendation - we'd like to see a little more finesse please!
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nubie - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
The industrial market uses (used?) ISA cards.Try Soyo, Supermicro, and Jetway for industry boards.
Powerlurker - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
http://adek.com/ATX-motherboards.htmlI needed to spec one a couple years ago for a piece of lab equipment (I too work in a chemistry lab). It looks like this is the website for the motherboard manufacturer. http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/P4BWA.HTM
nubie - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
How could I forget Commell,Thanks :)
kmmatney - Friday, May 7, 2010 - link
I've purchased several of the ADEK boards to support some old ISA motion controllers we have. The motherboards are around $300, while a new motion controller (these are quite advanced) would have cost about $4000. They work great!Earthmonger - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
Really, it is. I could previously count the number of socket 1156 ITX boards on one hand. This ECS is a welcome addition."However, if you're thinking of overclocking with this board, we'd say that ECS is a couple of BIOSes away from a glowing recommendation"
What ITX board would you recommend for overclocking, then? 'Cause I'm always thinking about it. Where's that EVGA ITX powerhouse at? lol
Rajinder Gill - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
Hi,Unfortuantely, all mini-ITX boards are limited in one way or another. Either by voltage options (insufficent current handling capacity), and/or the need of some BIOS polish as in the case of ECS.. I'm hoping we see someone put a 180amp capable VRM on one of these baords soon...lol
regards
Raja
MadMan007 - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
Yes that would be nice and I don't buy the 'limited space' argument either. There are plenty of good overclocking microATX boards that don't use a ton of space for VRMs. I was hoping DFI would push things in this area but not yet...maybe since they are supposedly focusing on smaller form factors going forward they will.JonnyDough - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
Well, not quite legacy free. Isn't that a VGA connector? :)DanNeely - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
Mostly it matters for people doing low level OS development because PS2 requires much less software support than USB. If you're not hacking the linux kernel/porting it to new hardware it, along with RS232 are only really needed for high price hardware interfaces.lwatcdr - Thursday, May 6, 2010 - link
PS/2 ports and legacy serial and parallel ports can be a very important.Remember this is a Mini-ITX board. A good number of these end up in industrial settings.
Things like CNC machines, and lab equipment use good old serial and parallel ports to interface. They may also have a custom front panel that uses a PS/2 interface.
Even floppy's are still used on some systems like that and some of the software for them even runs under dos!
For a nettop or desktop you are correct. They less than useful but there is a large market segment that will need them for a long time. BTW USB to serial converters tend to be crap.