I've already started playing with my ECS Golden Board Z77H2-AX, and although I haven't covered performance here, let me say that clocking on this board is pretty impressive, and matches what I expect out of a high-end LGA1155 motherboard. Over the next several weeks I'll be spending considerable time playing with the Z77H2-AX, and those of you that frequent our forums probably know by now that I've been waiting for something special to use my Limited Edition Gold Swiftech ApogeeHD Waterblock on, and now you all know what I was waiting for. Of course the colors have already been met with a bit of comedy (no, Snoop Dogg did not have a hand in the product design :laugh:), but in person it creates a far different impression than it does in perfectly-lit marketing pictures. In fact, the majority of gold on the capacitors tends to disappear once the board's installed in a case.
The addition of the PLX PEX8747 means that the ECS GoldenBoard Z77H2-AX offers basically everything my Intel X79 Express system does, minus the potential for a few more processing cores, cores that for most enthusiasts rarely get used unless rendering video or doing other such CPU-intensive work. For the high-end gamer looking for something special that sets your rig apart from everyone else's, there's no reason to look anywhere else, as the features and color-scheme won't be matched by any other product out there, bar none.
It's also worth noting that these ECS "Golden Board" products are heavily stability tested, even within a 50°C operating environment, for a total of 72 hours, when normally such burn-in processes are only done for 24 hours. The ECS Golden Board Z77H2-AX's cost may seem a bit high, but when looking at everything that's included, it is actually quite accurately priced compared to other options that will be on the market very soon. You can expect to see a more detailed full performance review in the coming weeks, shortly after Ivy Bridge CPUs launch, and don't forget to hit us up in the forums and let us know what you think!