14 DAY TRIAL // AMD's newest six-core central processing units have finally started shipping, which means that both enthusiasts and mainstream users alike can get a taste of what a hexacore PC feels like. Of course, such a thing would not be possible without a suitable platform. Since a mainstream six-core would be meaningless if there were only high-end motherboards to support it, ECS made haste in developing not one, but two distinct AMD 880G-based mainboards that should soon hit the stores.
Known as the A885GM-A2 and the A885GM-M2, the two platforms (whose prices are unknown for now) use the full ATX and micro-ATX form factors, respectively, and are based on the 880G/SB850 combo chipset. As such, in addition to the Phenom II X6 central processing units, the motherboards will support dual-core, triple-core and quad-core chips compatible with the AM3 socket. The two siblings have an additional number of similarities, such as the integrated ATI Radeon HD 4250 graphics (with 128MB of SidePort memory on the M2), Gigabit Ethernet and five SATA 6.0 ports, for high-speed storage.
The A885GM-A2 has two PCI Express X16 slots, for dual-GPU configurations, and it also comes with four DDR3-1600 ports, 7.1 channel audio and D-Sub and DVI outputs. The A885GM-M2, being smaller, has only two DDR3-1333 memory slots and a single PCI Express x16 slot, but boasts an eSATA connector and DVI/HDMI connectivity.
One of the most intriguing features that ECS built into its two new platforms is known as the M.I.B. III, short for Motherboard Intelligent BIOS. As a BIOS-level overclocking utility, this allows users to overclock the entire system, noticeably boosting performance in all areas. This performance can be further enhanced through the use of the ECS eOC utility, although only advanced users should experiment with it. Finally, the ECS eBLU (easy Bios Live Update utility) and eDLU (easy Driver Live Update utility) “deliver to the users a safe, easy and fast way for updating BIOS and drivers.”
