Ecs N2u400-a

Big B · Dec 13, 2006

<h2>nForce 2, budget style</h2>
 
It's no secret ECS targets the budget sector of computer users. While the likes of Asus and Abit appeal to the enthusiast crowd, this really is a niche market. ECS isn't as big as others in that respect, but they are one of the largest producers of motherboards overall. Asus has responded to this with their spin-off company ASrock, and other companies are developing budget-oriented lines to get a piece of the action. ECS is not a company that makes me jump up screaming "Woo-hoo!". They're lean on features and really don't attempt to offer much, if any, in the way of tweaks, much less overclocking. However, you'll be hard pressed to find something from a Tier 1 company for a cheaper price than ECS.</h2>
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-fboard.jpg">
 
Today, I have ECS nForce 2 Ultra 400 board on tap. "Whoa, ECS has an nForce 2 board?" Yup. However, given that they don't target the overclocking crowd like Abit, DFI, and Epox, I'm not surprised when people don't know about it. The N2U400-A is a pretty bare board as far as features go, no SATA, Firewire, or Soundstorm here, but it is a dual-channel board, and is currently the cheapest nForce 2 Ultra 400 board on the market.
 
Specs:
<ul>
<li>nForce 2 Ultra 400
<li>MCP southbridge
<li>3x 184-pin DDR DIMMs
<li>1x AGP 8x
<li>5x PCI
<li>2x PS/2
<li>1x Serial
<li>1x RJ45 jack
<li>1x Floppy connector
<li>2x IDE connector
<li>CMI 9739A 6-ch Codec
<ul>

 
As I said: pretty lean in the features department. Still, let's have a look...shall we?

Big B · Dec 13, 2006

<h2>Layout</h2>
 
ECS has chosen to use a purple PCB for the N2U400-A, which looks good paired with the white PCI slots and other connectors. Just looking at it, you can see that the board is lean on features, but this helps cut costs.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-board.jpg">
 
Starting off with the socket area, it's very clean. The only real concern might be the capacitors near one corner of the socket, but otherwise, very good. With my Volcano 7 heatsink installed, there's a little room between it and those capacitors. You'll notice the protective strips beneath the socket lugs to prevent a dead board from a screwdriver slip. Surprisingly enough, there are also the four mounting holes around the socket for the use of extra large heatsinks and waterblocks. The nForce 2 Ultra 400 chip is covered by a short copper-colored heatsink. While a fan is always nice, it's not required to keep the nForce 2 in working order.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-skt.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-hsf.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-ic.jpg">
 
Behind the I/O panel lies a 2 phase power system. Having a third allows for a better power flow, which can help during overclocking, but should be fine for standard use. Also, unlike the past few socket A boards I've reviewed, the N2U400-A actually has the 4-pin 12 volt auxillary connector.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-2phspwr.jpg">
 
The I/O panel itself is nothing exotic. The only thing you'll notice is that there's only one serial port and room for a second. Looking at the PCB lettering, though, it's setup for a VGA port. While not listed on ECS USA site, it looks like they planned to put out an nForce 2 IGP board with on-board video. The MCP-powered NIC is taken advantage of and implemented---something not all motherboards have as standard equipment.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-iopan.jpg">
 
The N2U400 is a 5 PCI/1 AGP slot design. ECS has jumped on the bandwagon and left out a potential sixth PCI slot to make room for some coolers that block the 2nd PCI slot. In doing so, this means you will have to remove your AGP video card to change your RAM, but this is the case with any board using a setup like this. I still fail to see why this is a hot issue for people, but it's still worth noting.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-pciagp.jpg">
 
Behind and a little off to one side of the AGP slot is one suface mount component sticking up. While it seems soldered firmly in place, I am concerned that someone being careless with their DIMM installation or removal might knock this off.
 
ECS has color-coded the DIMM slots to help in the placement of DIMMs to enable dual-channel mode. The IDE ports are also here, making them full-tower friendly. The ATX power connector is also in a prime location.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-agpdimm.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-idedimm.jpg">
 
In front of the AGP slot is the VIA VT6103L used as the PHY chip in conjunction with the MCP. In front of the PCI slot is the CMI 9739A codec. Since the MCP doesn't have all the goodies of the MCP-T, including SoundStorm, don't expect amazing sound here.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-phycmi.jpg">
 
The MCP is the other main chip here. While far less robust than the MCP-T, it still runs the IDE controllers and PCI bus. Oh yeah, it also powers the on-board NIC. (Yes, I know that.) Beside it is a header for 2 more USB ports. While there's plenty of space on this motherboard, it's pretty barren.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-mcp.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-mcp2.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-bios.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-floppy2.jpg">
 
Down at the bottom of the board is the rest of the tour. If you still use a floppy drive, I hope you don't have it at the top of your case. The N2U400-A doesn't have this in a a great spot...of course, it could be some subliminal message to make people get rid of it. ECS has made this board a jumperless board, with the sole exception of the clear CMOS one. If there's anything I really don't like about this board, it's that the BIOS is soldered onto the board. If you get a hosed BIOS, you'll have to send the whole motherboard back instead of getting just a new BIOS chip. They've also jumped on the bandwagon to color code the front panel connectors. 
 
While there's not alot of features, ECS does a stellar job with component placement on the N2U400-A. There's really nothing major to gripe about in that respect.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-box.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-acc.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u-antistat.jpg">
 
The box the N2U400-A comes in is pretty bland, but touts some of the few features on the motherboard. Opening up the box reveals a very sparse accessory package: 1 IDE ribbon cable, 1 floppy cable, an I/O backplate, a manual, and a driver/utility CD. Basically what you need to get going and nothing else. ECS stands on the opposite side of the spectrum compared with the likes of DFI, Chaintech, and Soyo in terms of packaging. Underneath, the motherboard is in an anti-static bag for protection.

Big B · Dec 13, 2006

<h2>BIOS</h2>
 
Like many motherboards out there, ECS uses an Award-Phoenix BIOS with the N2U400-A.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bmain.jpg">
 
A quick peek inside the Advanced BIOS Features shows what's seen in pretty much every BIOS. The only thing you don't always see is a toggle for a logo, but that's pretty much it.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_badvb.jpg">
 
The Advanced Chipset Features menu is what most people are intrested in. The FSB is adjustable in 1MHz increments from 100MHz all the way up to 235MHz.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bac.jpg">
 
ECS has some pre-defined tweak settings to toggle through: Aggressive, Turbo, and Expert, the last one offering full control over your memory timings. I did find it intresting that the FSB Spread Spectrum and AGP Spread Spectrum were greyed-out when the System Performance was set to something other than Optimal.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacagg.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bactur.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacexp.jpg">
 
With Expert mode selected, it's time to look at what you can tweak. The CPU Interface option is first up.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacpu.jpg">
 
The Memory ratio can be adjusted all the way to 200% of the CPU's FSB, but with the nForce 2 chipset, it's best to leave this at 100%.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacmem1.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacmem2.jpg">
 
Once the memory timing is set to Expert, you have full control over the memory timings. You can adjust settings for TRAS, TRCD, TRD, and CAS Latency here. This is pretty bare compared with the memory tweaks available on the likes of the Soyo KT600 Dragon Plus, but these are the main ones for getting some extra performance out of the system.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacmemt.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bactras1.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bactras2.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bactrcd.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bactrp.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bacas.jpg">
 
The Integrated Peripherals menu has a few settings worth a look. If it's integrated on the motherboard, it's here. The only things you'll probably be intrested in is the AC97 codec and the nV MAC (LAN).
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bintp1.jpg">
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bintp2.jpg">
 
The health menu on the N2U400-A's BIOS is rather sparse. The only voltage shown is for the CPU, so if you need to see what your rails read from your power supply, you'll have to use a multimeter.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u_bhealth.jpg">
 
Well, that's the BIOS. Now to see how this thing runs.

Big B · Dec 13, 2006

<h2>Benchmarking</h2>
 
With it's price, the N2U400-A is poised against alot of KT600 motherboards, so lets see how it performs againt one. The setup is the same for both motherboards, except where noted.
 
System tested as follows:
<ul>
<li>ECS N2U400-A/Soyo SY-KT600 Dragon Plus v 1.0
<li>Duron 1.4GHz/266MHz FSB
<li>1x 256MB Buffalo PC3200
<li>ATi Radeon 8500
<li>Maxtor/Promise dual-channel ATA133
<li>Philips Dynamic Edge (Soyo KT600)
<li>Western Digital 10GB 5400RPM HDD (OS)
<li>IBM 34GXP 10GB 5400RPM HDD
<li>Samsung 48x CD-ROM
<li>KingWin 350W power supply
<li>Via Hyperion Drivers 4.51 (KT600)
<li>nVidia Forceware drivers 2.42 (N2U400-A)
<li>Omega driver 2536b (Catalyst 4.4)
<li>Dynamic edge driver 4.05 (Soyo KT600)
<li>Windows XP Pro SP1
<li>BIOS set to default
<li>DirectX 9.0b
</ul>
 
Software used:
<ul>
<li>SiSoft Sandra 2004
<li>ID Software Quake 3 Demo 1.11
<li>FutureMark 3DMark 2001SE b.330
<li>Clibench
<li>ScienceMark 2.0
</ul>
 
Quake 3
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+q3.jpg">
 
With the board just in single channel mode, the N2U400-A leaves the KT600 board in the dust by around 40 fps at both resolutions.
 
3DMark 2001SE
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+3dm2k1.jpg">
 
Once again, the N2U400-A comes out the clear victor. Remember, this single-channel performance, so you can see that nVidia has a leg up on Via.
 
SiSoft Sandra
 
CPU Arithmatic
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+sanari.jpg">
 
Here, the boards come out the same. The 6 point difference in the Whetstone test is within a margin of error.
 
Multi-Media
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+sanmulti.jpg">
 
ECS pulls out into the lead again here, especially in the Floating Point test.
 
Memory Bandwith
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+sanmem.jpg">
 
Even in single channel, the N2U400-A still puts a gap between itself and the KT600 board.
 
Clibench
 
It's time for a second opinion, so let's see how things go with Clibench.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+cli1.jpg">
 
In the first set of tests, the KT600 barely edges out the N2U400-A, and is the reverse of what was seen in the Sandra arithmatic benchmark.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+cli2.jpg">
 
The second set leaves the KT600 edging out the N2U400-A in the number crunch, but this nForce 2 board blows by it on the matrix operations.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+cli3.jpg">
 
Without numbers, you'd never be able to tell the difference in either benchmark. While the nForce 2 does get the win in the floating point test, it's within a margin of error.
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+cli4.jpg">
 
Intresting. I'd have thought the scores to be much more similar with the N2U400-A only utilizing one DDR channel.

Big B · Dec 13, 2006

<h2>Benchmarking, Continued</h2>
 
Science Mark 2.0
 
Science Mark 2.0 is vastly different than the original Science Mark and has a much more robust benchmarking suite.
 
Memory Bandwith
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+smbandw.jpg">
 
Here we have the bandwith in MB/s for the memory and L1 and L2 caches. It's not surprising the N2U400-A has come out ahead in the memory bandwith department, considering the past two memory tests. What is very intresting is how the L2 cache on the N2U400-A has the largest lead over the Soyo KT600. This could explain the large leads under Quake 3 and 3DMark 2001SE that we saw earlier.
 
Cipher
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+smcipher.jpg">
 
The graph seriously distorts the N2U400-A's lead over the KT600 here. The execution time is in seconds and lower is better. ECS nForce 2 proves to be around 0.4 seconds quicker than Soyo's KT600.
 
BLAS
 
<img src="http://www.zone365.com/new_images/76/n2u+smblas.jpg">
 
The BLAS scores on the single and double precision benchmarks shows the N2U400-A doing more work than the KT600.
 
Overclocking
 
As seen in BIOS, this board does not have any voltage adjustments. The good news is that the AGP/PCI lock does work, at least if Clockgen is to be believed. There has been some question as to wether or not ECS did implement this on the N2U400-A, and from what I can see, it's implemented, but not user adjustable. In my Soyo KT600 review, I was able to hit 160MHz on the FSB, but was cut from any further overclocking due to the PCI bus being overclocked and causing data corruption. It was also seen that 166MHz was not attainable due to lack of voltage adjustments. 166MHz did not last long for the Duron 1.4GHz. I found the system had either locked up or rebooted and hung. Starting off at 160MHz, I worked my way up and found that 165MHz was the highest I could get. I hoped that hitting 165MHz would mean 166MHz was game, but no go. Still, an extra 300MHz+ without any extra voltage isn't too bad for the AMD side of things. While I highly doubt we'll see it from ECS, I feel that if a BIOS with voltage adjustments comes out, the N2U400-A could be a real gem.
 
Final Words
 
The N2U400-A's performance really impressed me. In nearly every benchmark it beat out the KT600 competition, and this wasn't even with both memory controllers in use. Except for the floppy connector placement and maybe a capacitor or two nearby the CPU socket, ECS has a very solid layout. I would really like to see a socketed BIOS chip instead of one soldered onto the board, however. Additionally, the 12V 4-pin auxillary power connector is on this board, which a number of socket A boards don't seem to have. The BIOS could use some work in a couple of areas. First, the hardware monitor is able to measure the 3.3, 5, and 12V power supply rails, yet ECS fails to make them viewable in BIOS. The second thing that would really compliment the inclusion of the mounting holes around the CPU socket is some voltage adjustments for the CPU, chipset and memory. With some voltage options I believe the N2U400-A could be a real winner for the overclocking crew. It's price is right around $50 on-line, putting it head to head with Shuttle's AN35 Ultra, which does have the voltage adjustments.
 
Make no mistake, the N2U400-A is a solid board and it was a real pleasure to work with. I've heard of some stores giving it away with an Athlon XP 2500-2600+ CPUs, making it all that much sweeter. If you're an overclocker, this certainly isn't the board for you. However, if you need a solid performer on the cheap without alot of extra's, you'd certainly do well to look at the N2U400-A.
 
4.3 out of 5.

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