Computex 2011: ECS HQ Tour, Q&A and Booth
by Ian Cutress on June 11, 2011 1:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Computex 2011
- ECS
- Trade Shows
The ECS booth at Computex was fairly extravagant this year, in terms of piling in most of the current and new product range but also the eye candy used to pose next to them. Most people know that ECS make motherboards and graphics cards – also on display were All-in-One solutions, net/notebooks, HTPCs and eBook readers.
In the tour, it was explained that ECS actually make a lot of products that do not retail with the ECS name but are branded through other companies. The eBook readers are a typical example of this – I picket one up but found it very sluggish with large delays between turning pages. One model on display was using Android 2.2 with a Wondermedia 8650 CPU, 8” color TFT at 800x600, 256/512MB memory, internal storage up to 32GB, external storage expandable through microSD card and weighing in at 450g. However ECS were keen to stress that these were mostly engineering samples – on display to entice OEMs for future sales rather than consumers directly.
The All-in-one solutions are also an example of products that will not bear the ECS name when coming to market. They were all happily showcasing Angry Birds (as was almost every AIO at Computex I should add), but based on the thin mini-ITX platform. The G11-21ERS can use a 65W Sandy Bridge processor (maximum), support for up to 8 GB DDR3, 1.3MP camera with microphone, multi-card reader, USB 2.0, HDMI in, and all using a 150W power adaptor. Personally I think USB 3.0 support wouldn’t be too much to ask, but the system does come with 10-finger input recognition.
In terms of VGAs, there was not much new, and if any where, it would all be reference design – motherboards were more interesting. Anand showed you the X79R-A and A75 preview boards, which by the look of things at ECS HQ represents a more-or-less finalised layout and design. The CDC-I is ECS’ product in the world of Cedar View, whereas the HDC-I and HDC-I2 are from the E350/Hudson M1 Fusion range – I should be getting the HDC-I in for review to compare to some other E350 products shortly.
The A990FXM-A motherboard was also on show, which is debuting ECS’ CoolTech II technology. Apart from a redesigned power and chipset cooling design, the PCH also has a heat-sensitive logo on it, changing from black to orange (40ºC) to red (60ºC) as the temperature increases. It’s quite a gimmicky addition to a motherboard, in my opinion.
For HTPC, three models were there: to start, the DS110 using an E350, space for a full 3.5” HDD, USB 3.0, VGA, HDMI, gigabit Ethernet and two mini-PCIe for a TV Tuner and WLAN, all in a 65W power envelope. Though unfortunately while it was running the latest Harry Potter film, it was incredibly choppy, around 10-15 frames per second. Also present were the MS150 and MS300, using 65W under Cedar View and 120W under H61 respectively with similar connectivity.
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wwswimming - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
Right there in the picture - you can see what ECS can do to improve their process (trying to state this diplomatically).Do layout of a 15 to 20 layer board with multiple power & ground planes, about 6 mil traces & 6 mil spaces - ON A 17" or 15" monitor ?
THAT'S NUTS.
It's possible the photo is deceptive. Maybe that's a 24" Samsung, or equivalent.
It don't matter. You need a big monitor to do that kind of layout.
It's a testament to the work ethic of ECS engineering staff that they can crank out anything that works - under these conditions.
Maybe Anandtech can take up a Bake Sale type drive to buy decent monitors for ECS staff. They deserve it !
FragKrag - Sunday, June 12, 2011 - link
If you look closely you see a 13" MBP you can use for reference.Definitely not 15" or 17" panels.
LordanSS - Sunday, June 12, 2011 - link
The guy with the 13" MBP is a sales/marketing person, as you can see he's tweaking a logo and specs page.The computer doing the power routing is an Acer-branded desktop, hooked up to a Phillips 5:4 display. I'd have to agree, that monitor looks like either a 17" or 19", probably topping at 1280x1024.
Einy0 - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
My experience with ECS was been a mixed bag, but very limited. Some products where just fine nothing special but get the job done, others where complete failures. I've never dealt with their support or rma so I can't comment on that. The one thing I notice over and over is they love to stack their boards with legacy I/O. I haven't used a serial or parallel port in years and I don't plan on it either. I avoid any motherboard that has either port on it's rear panel. As a rule I want 6+ USB ports right on that I/O shield. Motherboard headers for another 4 to 6 are required too. The more USB ports the better. eSata is a nice addition too. While they are at it let's scrap the PCI connectors too. It's time to let PCI die. Firewire is neither a pro nor a con. Personally I want to see PS/2, parallel, serial, PATA, floppy and PCI all just go away for good. Time to move on.Oh and how about making sure every usb port has enough juice to supply the standard 500mA or more and while they are at it, notebooks need more usb ports, 4 should be the absolute minimum. 6 or more would be nice.
Rant complete...
Chillin1248 - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
For the near future at least, motherboards should retain at least one PCI slot. There are many perfectly good PCI audio and NIC cards that don't need replacement.Etern205 - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
ACER desktop?!Traitor! :P
mdloops - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
To the writer of the article, you spelled realize incorrectly. Realise is not correct. I am tired of reading information from credible sites with misspellings that a high-school student should never even make. Could somebody please start writing professionally.JarredWalton - Saturday, June 11, 2011 - link
FYI, Ian lives in the UK, which should be pretty obvious by several other "misspellings".chubbyfatazn - Sunday, June 12, 2011 - link
How ignorant are you? Not everyone who reads this site lives, or was raised in, the US.AssBall - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
Your tired of reading them but apparently not tired of complaining about them. Go away, kkthx.