One of the first things I try with a new motherboard is to try a first boot. First boot occurs with the minimum hardware to get the board running. The board booted with a single stick of DDR2 memory, a video card, and the CPU installed with no ill effects. Once the first boot process was complete, I installed the other computer components and went through our rigorous testing regimen.
SLI was an interesting experience with the 8800GTXs side by side on the board. The 8800GTX takes two full-length PCI Express slots with the card overhanging many boards. Installing the 8800GTX into on the board was a breeze, and the positioning of the SATA ports facilitated an easy install.
Windows XP install went without a hitch, as you'd expect from a OS that's been around for 7 years. Drivers for XP are on ECS's website, and you can also download drivers for this board. Windows Vista has integrated drivers for the NVIDIA RAID controller, and all of the devices were installed without a new driver from ECS. If you want to use the latest nForce 650i drivers, download them from NVIDIA as ECS hasn't updated theirs to the new OS.
