ECS also chose the 865PE chipset, just like Albatron. However, the Photon PF1 is a relatively slow motherboard. We're only talking two or three per cent difference, but most Intel designs are nearly identical so it's quite a surprise when a motherboard like this slips behind the field.

This is a fairly basic package, but it is also amazingly cheap for an Intel chipset motherboard. It is easy to see where the costs have been cut as this is a fairly basic design with very few extras, although it does have the most important features which are inherent in the chipset design. This is the only Intel board here that uses the ICH5 Southbridge, rather than ICH5R, so it supports two Serial ATA drives but doesn't have RAID. It 'only' has two IDE controllers, which is quite a surprise in this day and age.

Similarly the integrated LAN is Gigabit but it uses a 3Com chip rather than the Intel part. That means it has to connect to the PCI bus in the usual way whereas the Intel chip connects to the Northbridge using an interface called CSA (Communications Streaming Architecture). This means that the network can operate faster without slowing the rest of the PC down, although Gigabit is rather theoretical at present and most of us would be grateful for true 10/100Mbps performance.

ECS has used a flashing light on the Northbridge fan that would drive us potty in a case with a window. Perhaps someone, somewhere will appreciate it, but we're not so sure about its merits. There are two more USB ports on a bracket, together with a mini Firewire port and a second bracket carries optical and coaxial SPDIF.

The ECS board offers very good value for money and with so few components the layout is neat and tidy. If price is the main factor the ECS has a lot going for it.