ECS A85F2-A Golden Review: All That Glitters
by Ian Cutress on January 12, 2013 11:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- ECS
- FM2
- A85X
3D Movement Algorithm Test
The algorithms in 3DPM employ both uniform random number generation or normal distribution random number generation, and vary in various amounts of trigonometric operations, conditional statements, generation and rejection, fused operations, etc. The benchmark runs through six algorithms for a specified number of particles and steps, and calculates the speed of each algorithm, then sums them all for a final score. This is an example of a real world situation that a computational scientist may find themselves in, rather than a pure synthetic benchmark. The benchmark is also parallel between particles simulated, and we test the single thread performance as well as the multi-threaded performance.
As expected, our ECS board hits the 73.5 mark similar to other FM2A85X boards.
The ECS A85F2-A Golden takes a distinct lead in our multithreaded test due to the turbo mode used on the board. In a crude form of Multicore Acceleration, the ECS board will put the A10-5800K CPU to 4.2 GHz under any load except idle, meaning that any memory-independent benchmark is likely to win out against the other motherboards.
WinRAR x64 3.93 - link
With 64-bit WinRAR, we compress the set of files used in the USB speed tests. WinRAR x64 3.93 attempts to use multithreading when possible, and provides as a good test for when a system has variable threaded load. If a system has multiple speeds to invoke at different loading, the switching between those speeds will determine how well the system will do.
Due to the memory issues experienced with the ECS motherboard, it comes bottom of our WinRAR test.
FastStone Image Viewer 4.2 - link
FastStone Image Viewer is a free piece of software I have been using for quite a few years now. It allows quick viewing of flat images, as well as resizing, changing color depth, adding simple text or simple filters. It also has a bulk image conversion tool, which we use here. The software currently operates only in single-thread mode, which should change in later versions of the software. For this test, we convert a series of 170 files, of various resolutions, dimensions and types (of a total size of 163MB), all to the .gif format of 640x480 dimensions.
Similar to the 3DPM-ST benchmark, the ECS A85F2-A Golden appears middle of the pack on a single threaded, non-memory related benchmark.
Xilisoft Video Converter
With XVC, users can convert any type of normal video to any compatible format for smartphones, tablets and other devices. By default, it uses all available threads on the system, and in the presence of appropriate graphics cards, can utilize CUDA for NVIDIA GPUs as well as AMD APP for AMD GPUs. For this test, we use a set of 32 HD videos, each lasting 30 seconds, and convert them from 1080p to an iPod H.264 video format using just the CPU. The time taken to convert these videos gives us our result.
One would assume that a video conversion tool that uses all the threads would crave memory bandwidth, however if the memory can amply feed the CPU, the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The high CPU speed and low memory speed of the ECS setup cancels each other out, and we get an average result in XVC.
x264 HD Benchmark
The x264 HD Benchmark uses a common HD encoding tool to process an HD MPEG2 source at 1280x720 at 3963 Kbps. This test represents a standardized result which can be compared across other reviews, and is dependant on both CPU power and memory speed. The benchmark performs a 2-pass encode, and the results shown are the average of each pass performed four times.
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santeana - Saturday, January 12, 2013 - link
Actually, I was surprised to see they did as well as they even did. Hasn't ECS always been sort of a no-name class board? I've seen them a lot over the years in OEM systems but I would never think to look for an ECS board if I were building a custom PC. Then again, with all the new gadgets I've had my hands on lately, maybe I'm just out of the PC-loop lolmayankleoboy1 - Saturday, January 12, 2013 - link
Maybe ECS is bigger is Asian countries ?RyanLochte - Thursday, January 17, 2013 - link
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online(Click on menu Home)http://goo.gl/FTmpQ
Happy New Year!
Flunk - Saturday, January 12, 2013 - link
I think they build a lot of boards for large system integrators.CeriseCogburn - Monday, January 14, 2013 - link
I think the gaming results page is a forced sham since we don't see any Intel based systems spanking the crap out of this amd junk.
BrokenCrayons - Monday, January 14, 2013 - link
When reviewing motherboards, the board itself should be compared among competing products which would mean using as much common hardware as possible to eliminate the differences introducted by parts that are not subject to review. In the case of the AMD platform in question, using similar equipment (processor, GPU, memory, storage, etc.) allows a reader to see where among other motherboards this particular product fits because it becomes the only variable between each review.Numbers obtained from Intel parts wouldn't add any comparative value to the review since more than just the motherboard would become a factor in quantification of total system performance. In the case of this review, the deviation in system memory was disclaimed and could not be prevented because of problems with the BIOS failing to recognize DIMMs that were common to previous reviews. Ian pointed that variation out before, during, and after presenting benchmark results so readers would be aware something changed that impacted performance AND that the new variable was a necessity due to apparent manufacturer design flaws.
If you want to compare this board's results with Intel products (probably to make yourself feel better for having blind brand loyalty if you're not simply attempting to troll), then you can check out the results in the benchmark database. Just click the "BENCH" link at the top of the page for instant brand-loyalist gratification.
CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - link
All you're doing is claiming ONLY A FRIKKING BRAND LOYALIST WHO WILL ONLY CONSIDER THIS AMD SOCKET TYPE MOTHERBOARD NEED BE INFORMED.YOU STUPID IDIOT !
We know the prices of amd boards and amd cpu, an Intel equivalent is VERY EASY to come up with.
you're the ******* brand loyalist you dummy.
cabonsx3 - Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - link
LOL, Cerise... what are you 14?Seems legit to me. Was this article a comparison of Intel and AMD platforms? Didn't seem to be... looked like an ECS FM2 motherboard review and comparison to other FM2 offerings. You know, competitive products, ones that use the same technologies?
BrokenCrayons hit the nail on the head.
CeriseCogburn - Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - link
You're a lying idiot too.zero2dash - Sunday, January 13, 2013 - link
I had an ECS board with my P4 3.0C and it was a solid, stable board.These days though, I can't say I'd go for an ECS when there's Asus, ASRock, and Gigabyte which have all been trouble-free for me and typically are all feature-rich.