ECS answers the SLI call and promises motherboard upgrades without replacing the moth [Archive] - ForumsHQ

[iNViSiGOD]

I was browsing around when i ran across this little gem of an article covering some of ECS's future offerings now that they've aquired PCCHips, a less than entheuist motherboard manufacturer. Whats interesting about this is the manufacturer is offering a special add-in card to upgrade you to the latest technologies without replacing the motherboard itself. Very odd......



NOTE: I did not include the entire article as there was just too much to cover.





http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/invisigod/ecs1.jpg



The PF88 Extreme Hybrid offers the ability to upgrade the CPU, North Bridge, and memory technologies on a motherboard without replacing the motherboard itself. This is done through the addition of a SIMA card (a PCB add-on that offers the support for the CPU, North Bridge, and memory) into the new Elite Bus slot.



http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/invisigod/ecs2.jpg



Here is an example of the AMD SIMA A9S card. It is designed to fit in a standard ATX case and will occupy two card slots.



The SIMA card is currently slated for an AMD model supporting the 939 socket (A9S), an AMD model (A4S) supporting the 754 socket, and an Intel model (I9S) supporting the 479 socket for Intel’s Pentium M processor.



Per ECS testing, an upgrade using the SIMA technology on a PF88 Extreme Hybrid does little to hurt performance. The chart details their test results.





The benefits of the Elite Bus and SIMA card technologies are expected cost savings and flexibility. ECS even promises that no operating system re-installation is necessary. However, I respectfully reserve judgment on that claim until we can see the SIMA card in action.





http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/invisigod/ecs3.jpg



In addition, here are a few pictures of two SIMA cards (I9S in the first picture; A4S in the second and third pictures) as well as a SIMA card (A4S) installed on a PF88 Extreme Hybrid board.