• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Hardware Secrets

Hardware Secrets

Uncomplicating the complicated

  • Case
  • Cooling
  • Memory
  • Mobile
    • Laptops
    • Smartphones
    • Tablets
  • Motherboard
  • Networking
  • Other
    • Audio
    • Cameras
    • Consumer Electronics
    • Desktops
    • Museum
    • Software
    • Tradeshows & Events
  • Peripherals
    • Headset
    • Keyboard
    • Mouse
    • Printers
  • Power
  • Storage
  • Video

ECS C19-A SLI Motherboard Review

Our review of ECS C19-A SLI, a socket 775 motherboard based on nForce4 SLI XE with a terrific cost/benefit ratio for those willing to build a SLI-based system.

Home » ECS C19-A SLI Motherboard Review

Introduction

Contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. More Features
  • 3. Main Specifications
  • 4. How We Tested
  • 5. Overall Performance
  • 6. Processing Performance
  • 7. 3D Performance: 3DMark2001 SE
  • 8. 3D Performance: 3DMark03
  • 9. 3D Performance: 3DMark05
  • 10. 3D Performance: Doom 3
  • 11. 3D Performance: Quake III
  • 12. Overclocking
  • 13. Conclusions

C19-A SLI is a socket LGA775 motherboard from ECS based on nForce4 SLI XE chipset, which is a new version of nForce4 SLI Intel Edition from NVIDIA, correcting its incompatibility with Pentium D 820 processor and also adding support for Intel high definition audio. ECS C19-A SLI apparently offers an excellent cost/benefit ratio, let’s see if this is true in our review. Let’s check it out.

This motherboard supports the following CPUs: Pentium 4 5xx, 6xx and EE series; Pentium D 8xx and 9×0 series; and Celeron D. It supports 533-, 800- and 1,066 MHz external frequencies.

 ECS C19-A SLIFigure 1: ECS C19-A SLI V. 1.0A motherboard.

Its design follows the same standard used by mainstream motherboards from ECS. nForce4 SLI XE chipset is cooled down by an aluminum active heatsink (i.e., with a fan). The NF430 south bridge chip also has a small aluminum heatsink and during our tests both chips didn’t heat a lot, contrary to its predecessor, nForce4 SLI Intel Edition, which heated a lot.

ECS C19-A SLIFigure 2: Heatsinks used on the chipset.

No special procedure is needed in order to enable SLI mode on C19-A SLI. Just install a second SLI-compatible video card and SLI mode will be enabled. With SLI mode activated, the transfer rate for each x16 PCI Express slot drops to x8 (only on nForce 4 SLI X16 and nForce 590 SLI chipsets both slots work at x16). With SLI mode enable it is necessary to install an extra power supply cable on the motherboard, and it is advisable to use a good “true wattage” power supply with at least 450 W.

Attention: This motherboard has a flaw where its main x16 PCI Express slots works at 8x even when there is just one video card installed. We will address this problem in our Conclusions section.

ECS C19-A SLIFigure 3: PCI Express slots.

As you can see in Figure 3, the distance between the two PCI Express x16 slots is the same one used on motherboards based on the first versions of SLI – very close to each other –, which may cause your video cards to overheat and also make it hard to install wider video cards or video cards using non-standard cooling systems.

C19-A SLI has for DDR2-DIMM sockets, accepting up to 16 GB of DDR2-400, 533 e 667 memory supporting dual channel configuration. On this motherboard memory sockets 1 and 3 are orange and memory sockets 2 and 4 are purple. Just install your memory modules on sockets with the same color and you will be using dual channel configuration.

ECS C19-A SLIFigure 4: Memory sockets detail.

Continue: More Features

Motherboard Reviews

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, this site may earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn commissions on purchases from other retail websites.

How to Avoid Scams on Facebook Marketplace Once and For All

Social media scams generate more than 770 million US dollars in losses in the US alone, and it’s … [Read More...] about How to Avoid Scams on Facebook Marketplace Once and For All

AMD EPYC from Zen1 to Zen4. How it will change the CPU market?

AMD, together with Intel, is one of the major processor manufacturers known in today's market. … [Read More...] about AMD EPYC from Zen1 to Zen4. How it will change the CPU market?

Valorant Phoenix Tips & Tricks You Have to Know

The Phoenix character in Valorant is one of the most amazing to play. Being aggressive, Phoenix will … [Read More...] about Valorant Phoenix Tips & Tricks You Have to Know

Footer

For Performance

  • About
  • Contact
  • Articles
  • Editorials
  • First Look
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • Privacy

Everything you need to know

  • Everything You Need to Know About the Dual-, Triple-, and Quad-Channel Memory Architectures
  • What You Should Know About the SPDIF Connection (2022 Guide)
  • Everything You Need to Know About the Intel Virtualization Technology
  • Everything You Need to Know About the CPU Power Management

Copyright © 2023 · All rights reserved - Hardwaresecrets.com
About Us · Privacy Policy · Contact