ECS Elitegroup H55H-M
Motherboard Layout:
The ECS H55H-M is a micro ATX motherboard, which is quite nice as many of the Clarkdale processors will end up in small form factor media center / HTPC systems due to the integrated graphics processor that is modest enough for video playback while consuming minimal power. The ECS H55H-M boasts just two DDR3 DIMM slots, which are compatible with DDR3-1333/1066MHz memory up to 8GB. Next to the dual DDR3-1333 slots is the 24-pin power connector. Below the system memory slots is the H55 Chipset that is passively cooled by an aluminum heatsink. Next to the Intel H55 are six Serial ATA 2.0 ports. Note there is no IDE or FDD support with the H55. In this area of the motherboard are two USB 2.0 headers and the front panel header.
The expansion slots on the ECS H55H-M include one PCI Express x16, two PCI Express x1, and one PCI slot. The audio header for the motherboard is below the PCI slot while there is no IEEE-1394 Firwire support to be found with this ECS Elitegroup product. The CMOS battery and alarm are located behind the two PCI Express x1 slots.
There are small heatsinks to assist in cooling some of the power circuitry around the LGA-1156 socket area. Again, this motherboard is compatible with Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 800 series CPUs. Next to the 4-pin PWM fan header for the CPU cooler is the system fan header. Sadly, this is the only other fan header on the motherboard. It would have been nice to have at least another 3/4-pin fan header on this motherboard, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Towards the back of the motherboard is the 4-pin ATX12V power connector.
The ports on the rear I/O panel include one PS/2 port for a keyboard/mice, one COM port, one VGA port, one DVI port, four USB 2.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and three audio ports. The Intel H55 supports HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort digital displays, but ECS opted to just go with the DVI connector on this motherboard.