To start off we take a look at the package and what you get. ECS’s G33 motherboard is aimed at the value and budget users. The box somewhat resembles it, but it’s the packaging that mostly reflects it. The box is small, giving us the clear indication of the Micro ATX motherboard inside. The front of the box just gives you the model number and company logo.
The back of the box gives you quite a bit of information on the board as well as a full colour photo which details the layout and an explanation of the features. While on the budget side, ECS has a big plus on giving you a full colour photo of the board. It’s not wise to purchase a product without being able to at least see a photo of it, this is how it’s been in the past. But thankfully companies are starting to see the light in terms of consumer knowledge.
Documentation is quite extensive. ECS provides a full detailed user manual explaining all of the features of the board, its layout and BIOS setup. A quick install pamphlet is also included which provides quite a bit of info on getting the board inside your case, connecting the front panel ports and also the onboard headers. Software is included on a single CD with drivers that are not only for XP and XP64, but Vista as well. This is because the chipset gets the Vista certifications thanks to Intel’s new onboard video.
Lastly are the accessories included. The budget side of the board is shown here. Only a single SATA data cable, FDD cable and rear I/O shield are included. There are no power adapters for the SATA HDD or IDE cables, as there are no IDE ports on the board.
