We carried out our power consumption
measurements using an Extech Power Analyzer 380803. This device is connected
before the PSU and measures the power consumption of the entire system (without
using the monitor), including the power loss that happens in the PSU itself. In
the idle mode, we start the system up and wait until it stops accessing the
hard disk. Then we use LinX to load the CPU. Because of compatibility issues we
discovered in Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH and Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 TH mainboards
with our original CoolerMaster RealPower M850 power supply unit, we had to
replace it with Enermax NAXN ENM850EW. Both these PSUs have very similar
technical characteristics, but Enermax NAXN ENM850EWT saves about 1-3 W more
than the Cooler Master unit. In order to be able to use the previously achieved
results, we decided to make up efficiently for this difference by adding 2W to
all new power figures, so that we could still compare their results against the
power consumption of all previously tested products.
For a more illustrative picture, there are
graphs that show how the computer power consumption grows up depending on the
number of active execution threads in LinX (both at the default and overclocked
system settings). The results of ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0) are marked with darker
color for your convenience.
Power
consumtion: Idle
Power
consumtion: 1 Thread
Power
consumtion: 100% Load
We mentioned that all of the energy-saving
technologies were enabled and working on ECS Z77H2 A2X (v1.0) correctly right from
the start; therefore, the power consumption in idle mode is very low. However,
when the CPU starts to work much, everything changes. Even in low
single-threaded downloads, system power consumption increases beyond the
average, while using maximum of the CPU places the board among those models
that have an additional PLX PEX 8747 hub onboard. This hub increases the
overall mainboard power consumption, but offers extended functions in terms of
supported graphics configurations in return. However, ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0)
doesn’t have any additional hubs, yet its power consumption is unreasonably
high.
In overclocked mode, the board’s power
consumption in idle mode and under minimal operational loads is average, but
once using the CPU rises to them maximum, power consumption goes beyond the
average level. It is important to remember that the board managed to overclock
the processor only to 4.5 GHz, and if to the maximum of 4.6 GHz, then power
consumption would easily become the highest among all the tested mainboards.
During our preliminary overclocking tests, it came up to as high as 200 W, something
we have never seen before on any of the tested boards.
Power
consumtion: Idle
Power
consumtion: 1 Thread
Power
consumtion: 100% Load
Conclusion
I have to admit that we have mixed and
confusing feelings about ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0) mainboard. We really loved the
packaging, and we could say a lot of good things about the bundled accessories,
but had a few comments about the design and functionality. We wish its
performance were a little bit higher and power consumption much lower. Although
the difference in performance is not significant at all compared to other
mainboards, it can’t still be denied. As for the power consumption, it is on
the good level in idle mode, but too high under heavy operational loads. It
seems that the processor voltage regulator circuitry might have been designed
not in the optimal way and it is something you cannot fix easily. The board
works well with the default settings, but overclocking and tweaking the system
quite thoroughly will bring several challenges. Of course, the BIOS version we
worked with has been improved a lot compared to the previous versions. It has
become more user-friendly, but there are still quite a few things that could be
modified for the better, and could use additional flexibility.
We often hope that some of the concerns we
expressed in our reviews could be eventually solved in new BIOS versions, but
it looks like it isn’t the case for ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0). Some of the
Elitegroup mainboard models received BIOS updates in October of 2012, but the
last beta-BIOS for ECS Z77H2-A2X (v1.0) is the one from mid-summer, which we
regret the most. We hope that they will do something about it and won’t abandon
the board, because when you buy a board you need to know that the manufacturer actually
stands behind the product and will provide you the support you will ever need
for it.
Technical specs
Processor
socket
·
LGA 1155
Chipset
·
Intel Z77 Express Chipset
Memory
·
4 x 1.5 V DDR3 DIMM
·
Maximum capacity: 32 GB
·
Memory architecture: Dual-channel DDR3
2667-1067 SDRAM
Extended slots
·
2 PCI Express Gen 3.0/2.0 x16 (1x16 hoặc 2x8)
slots
·
2 PCI Express 2.0x1 slots
·
2 x PCI
Multi-GPU configurations
·
ATI CrossFire Technology
·
Nvidia SLI Technology
·
LucidLogix Virtu MVP Technology
Audio
·
8-Channel Realtek ALC892 HD audio CODEC
Network
·
RealTek RTL 8111E Gigabit network controller
FireWire
·
None
Additional drive controllers
·
ASMedia ASM1061 (6 Gbps)
USB 3.0
·
Intell Z77 Express + ASMedia ASM1042
Fans
·
3, one of them is 4-pin
Form-Factor
·
ATX Size, 305mm x 244mm
Additional features
·
ESC Nonstop Technology – 72-hour test;
·
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n module(Atheros
AR9271);
·
POST-code indicator;
·
Power and Reset buttons,
·
Gold4ever coating
·
Mini PCI Express slot supporting Mini SATA và
Mini PCI Express cards;
·
Manual voltage control panel for the screen
Internal ports
·
USB 2.0: 1 (2 more)
·
USB 3.0: 1 (2 more)
·
IEEE-1394: none
·
Serial Port: 1
·
Parallel Port: none
·
Floppy: none
·
Ultra-ATA 133: none
·
SATA 3.0: 2
·
SATA 6.0: 4
External ports
·
PS/2: none
·
USB 2.0: 4
·
USB 3.0: 4
·
IEEE-1394: none
·
LAN: 1
·
eSATA: 1
·
Analogue audio: 5
·
Digital audio: Optical SPDIF out
·
Video: D-Sub, DVI và HDMI
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