ECS KA3 MVP Extreme Motherboard Review

Main Specifications

ECS KA3 MVP Extreme main features are:

• Socket: AM2.
• Chipset: ATI Radeon Xpress 3200 (RD580/SB600).
• Super I/O: ITE IT8712F.
• Parallel IDE: One ATA-133 port controlled by the chipset and one ATA-133 port controlled by Jmicron JMB363 chip.
• Serial IDE: Four SATA-300 ports controlled by the chipset (RAID 0, 1 and 10) and two SATA-300 ports controlled by Jmicron JMB363 chip (Hot swap, port multiplier, RAID 0, 1 and 0+1).
• USB: 10 USB 2.0 ports (four soldered on the motherboard and two available on one I/O bracket that comes with the motherboard; four ports are left over).
• FireWire (IEEE 1394a): Two ports controlled by VIA VT6308 chip. This motherboard comes with an I/O bracket for just one port, the other is left over.
• On-board audio: Produced by the chipset together with Realtek ALC883 codec (eight channels, 24-bit resolution, 95 dB output signal-to-noise ratio, 85 dB output signal-to-noise ratio) with optical and coaxial outputs soldered on the motherboard.
• On-board video: No.
• On-board LAN: Yes, two, one Gigabit Ethernet port (1,000 Mbps), controlled by the chipset together with Agere ET1310I chip and one Fast Ethernet port (100 Mbps) controlled by Realtek RTL8100C chip.
• Buzzer: No.
• Power supply: ATX12V v2.x (24-pin).
• Slots: Two x16 PCI Express slots, one x1 PCI Express slot and two PCI slots.
• Memory: Four DDR-DIMM sockets (up to 32 GB up to DDR2-800/PC2-6400).
• Number of CDs that come with this motherboard: 2 CDs.
• Programs included: Drivers and utilities.
• Extra features: Backup BIOS module, active cooling duct, LED’s indicating whether the busses are operational or not (Doctor LED) and PCI slot with better filtering (PCI Extreme).
• More Information: https://www.ecsusa.com.
• Average price in the US*: We received this motherboard for reviewing before it was officially released and thus we couldn’t find it for sale on the day we published this review.