Pros: Easy setup. If using Windows 7 you don't have to bother with driver installations. I have not tweaked any settings. I have 4GB installed. I also have used the on-board graphics which seem to be fine for day-to-day stuff. I don't play video games all that much and the ones I do play I can see a small lag when loading some sections of the games.

Cons: Since this board is now 3 years old upgrading memory and CPU will cost more now.

Other Thoughts: For the gentleman that posted recently (stinky wizzleteeks on 8/30/2011 10:53:03 AM) the on-board video "chipset", not a card. Getting an external card would be an improvement if it is a higher grade than the Radeon 3000 series video cards, since the chipset is based off that series. As well the PCI-E 16x slot is compliant for PCI-Express generation 2.0 cards (it states this in the manual for the board).

Pros: cost effective, works great. i know the ins and outs of computers, and this was my first system build from the ground up, worked flawlessly, still works flawlessly 2+ years later. lots of built-in features

Cons: some confusion on the features. comes with built in "ATI Radeon HD3200" graphics card, but for the life of me i cannot find any specs on that card. how fast is it? i have no idea! also conflicting reports on PCI-E 16x. is it PCI-E 2.0 compatible? some websites say 'yes', others don't mention it.

Other Thoughts: i would like to upgrade the graphics card from the built-in video card, but i can't find out the specs of the ATI card, so i can't be sure if the card i purchase is an upgrade or not. i also cannot find out if this board actually supports PCI-Express 2.0 x16 or not. not sure who to go to to find out this information!

Pros: Cheap

Cons: Died little over 2 years

Other Thoughts: Never heard of ECS and normally a Asus person but they're kinda expensive. Purchased as part of a bundle and right off the bat the computer wouldn't boot up. Tried contacting support but no one got back to me. After fiddling around I was able to get the pc to turn on and worked great for two years. Now it boots up but nothing is being displayed. After running through basic troubleshooting found out the motherboard is the issue and sent another email out to support. Hoping for a solution since it's still under warrenty but from the other reviews not sure if I'll get any help.

Pros: It was relatively cheap.
It had a lot of slots and ports, and had all the right specs

Cons: Died after 2 and a half years of use. I did no clocking, but one morning I turned it and, left the room to print a document on a different computer, then came back to find the computer off. couldnt turn it back on. I tried it later in the day then I saw one of the memory controller chips near the memory glow red and smoke.

Other Thoughts: There were many flaws in the board ever since I built my machine that I noticed. such as dirty looking shadows, and sky in games. I still had great fun with this board while it lasted. It was brought down to 3 stars because the longevity, and the flaws.

Pros: This board has lasted me almost 3 years and i still can't find a reason to replace it. I have found this board is easy to work with 90% of the time. I've done what i could to push it so i can buy a new motherboard but it just wont break.

Cons: I've had minor issues with it like over-clocking, but mainly its been this hybrid tech its supposed to have. I have not yet figured this out.

Other Thoughts: The hybrid tech was a nice idea but getting it to work would be great. placement of the PCI Express is a little in the way for accessing the hard drives.

Pros: Idk what to say. It was OK. PCIe 2.0, thats about it.

Cons: When I bought this, there were hardly any AM3 CPU's on the market, so my AM2+ CPU worked fine. But this WILL NOT SUPPORT AM3 CPUS!!! I HAVE TESTED IT. EVEN THOUGH THE MANUFACTURER'S WEBSITE SAYS IT DOES SUPPORT AM3, IT DOESN'T! Oh and the Crossfire hybrid graphics are terrible. Besides, it only works with like one or two models of a low-end Radeon HD 2xxx series or 3xxx series.

Other Thoughts: Definitely would not recommend buying this mobo. Although I didn't have problems until I installed an AM3 CPU, it doesn't have many features, and the Hybrid Crossfire is terrible once again.

Pros: This board looks great,great price,well laid out but you get what you pay for too bad.

Cons: I can't understand why it looks like it's well built but failed too soon. I have used Ecs boards in the past and lasted many years. Something has gone wrong with them QC control??They need a better manual,cd drivers and tech support.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,

I am Vincent from ECS, and like to work with you to see how the product have failed in a short time.

Like you said, we had sell plenty of this very well built product ( ECS Black Series.) and very rarely the product fails, especially after its been working with out changes in hardware.

ECS is striving with our Quality and Support to make sure our customer is satisfied with our product, please contact me at your earliest convenience. I will do my best to make sure your product is replaced as soon as possible

Thanks.
Vincent Wu
ECS Elitegroup Inc.
44259 Nobel Drive, Fremont, CA 94538
Office - (510) 771-0267 Mobile - (510) 329-2388
Email: Vincent.Wu@ecsusa.com

Pros: Once booted it has consistent good performance.

Cons: Some minor drive issues during POST; one hard drive was not recognized at one point, though this has since been remedied (not exactly sure how I did it, though). Sometimes delays at the boot splash after a hard boot, though not often, and not repetitively.

Other Thoughts: Recommended for the price (at least when I bought it). Used with ASUS EN9600GSO/DI/512MD3/V2 and AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 with no problems (except the 9600GSO overheated and shut off once... not sure whether this has anything to do with the mobo, but it is fine now).

Pros: The price

Cons: This board worked well, until the post kept taking longer and longer to complete everyday. Until finally one day it stopped recognizing my hard drive(WD Black 640gb) I tried it in other SATA slots and then tried another Sata drive from another machine, to make sure it was the controller and not the drive.
So the SATA controller on board is no longer working, and it corrupted the hard drive I had in that machine. I bought a pci-e Sata controller and put a new hard drive in, but I shouldn't have to do that. I'm sure that not everyone will have this board, but good luck if you do this company is in Taiwan and there is no Hotline to reach customer service.

Other Thoughts: You get what you pay for and in this case I've learned to spend more than $70 on a motherboard

Manufacturer Response:

We do have an office here in the US. If you are still having issue with your motherboard, please contact us.

We can be reached at newegg.support@ecsusa.com or 510-771-0284. Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

When contacting us, you can refer to case #ECD10030210043

Thank you,
ECS

Pros: Has a 16x PCI-E slot with 3x PCI slots

Cons: Terrible onboard sound
The board went dead on me after less than 2 months.
I had no video on display when I booted up, and no video from my video card either. I might of had a bad board?
Very limited overclocking features. AMD Overdrive would no work with this board at all.

Other Thoughts: I bought this board because ECS had a manufacturer response on the reviews stating this was an "excellent" board for overclocking. I took this to a professional and there was limited overclocking options. Besides overclocking in the BIOS, it did not work with AMD Overdrive or Nvidia System Tools with ESA support. :(

Manufacturer Response:

If you still require assistance with your no POST issue, please contact us. We would like to find out more about your configuration and help find a solution.

We can be reached at newegg.support@ecsusa.com or 510-771-0284. Our hours are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm PST.

When contacting us, you can refer to case #ECD10030210044

Thank you,
ECS