More Testing:

Fear and Battlefield 2142 both were used to compare and benchmark the test systems. The results were very close across the board except where memory benchmarks are concerned. But again, the FP-IN9 has an auto-clocked Bus. What is most important is that the NF650SLIT-A remained completely stable from stock to overclocked operations during all demos and tests. The chipset temp reading indicated that it gets really warm when overclocked which on one instance caused one system crash. That tiny little heat sink even with the fan seems to get a little too warm without any extra air flow such a case fan. Aiming another Antec fan in its direction prevented any further crashes.

Since the motherboard is fully Quad core capable, I threw in a couple benchmarks to compare how well the motherboard utilizes the multi-core processor using Cinebench. The program is good for benchmarking the multi-core performance and offering up a realistic comparison as to what you can expect. Naturally, the quad core processors are really great for cutting down processing and compiling time when a capable program is utilized.

Overall, performance is very close. Neither one really out performs the other except where the FP-IN9 is concerned. It managed to achieve a full 333MHz Bus over the ECS's 325MHz. This isn't really near enough of an overclock for me to realistically say it's the better board because even it's own passive heat sinks get too hot at times. The FP-IN9 has a better color theme and a slightly better cable bundle. This is where the FP-IN9 stands out. This is also what drives the price of the board higher than the NF650. Locally, I found the FP-IN9 for about $165.00 and the ECS for about $130.00. The question then is how much more is the eye candy worth to you? It really comes down to looks and price. Stability and performance are on spot.

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Conclusion:

The physical things that can be improved on the platform are mainly better color themes. It could use a bit more sprucing up to give it a good "Elitegroup" appearance rather than the almost generic look. The layout is actually pretty decent with one possible exception in regards to the CPU socket. It seems to be a bit close to the edge of the PCB which could cause some problems if your CPU cooler is really large and your case is small. The Lian Li chassis in which the system was installed has a top mounted fan that crowded the CPU. Since this motherboard doesn't overclock to any red hot levels, a smaller CPU cooler would do just fine. This is still only a minimal logistical issue that certain cases may encounter.

For a budget targeted SLI platforms, the ECS NF650SLIT-A Motherboard is a good, stable bang-for-buck option. At around $115.00 USD, it is similarly priced to other 650-SLI motherboards. Chances are if you see this board in a local store, the price will be lower than similar boards. Other 650-SLI boards, like the FP-IN9, already have a special Fatality theme that may have comparable e-Teller prices, but will most likely be more expensive because of the name notoriety. The price at least reflected in stability and performance. Nothing pleases me more than a very stable and reliable platform. The days of dressing up a motherboard to attract attention like we were bugs drawn to a night light are long since gone and its always refreshing to handle a simpler, more stable platform. With improved bundles and BIOS options in future retail boxes, ECS could have a much stronger contender among the 650-SLI solutions. If you need a good strong basic upgrade, then the board is more than capable.

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