Installation:

Before actually installing the ECS PN2-SLI2+ into a case, the optional (but recommended) fan should be fastened to the passive heatsink sitting atop the nForce SPP chipset. The pictures below are intended to show how the heatsink looks before the cooling fan is installed.


The heatsink fan is secured with two very small screws that fasten to the base of the heatsink. The fan has small hooks along the top that wrap around the heatpipes on each side of the heatsink. A three pin power connector for the fan is within close proximity, and makes managing the fan cable a non-issue.


The ECS PN2-SLI2+ motherboard was installed into an Antec P160 midtower aluminum case. Installation was quick and simple. Other than the front-panel connectors being crowded by the IDE port on this motherboard, cable management wasn't bad either.

BIOS:

The BIOS is ultimately responsible for everything you do on your computer. We will focus on the most important features and settings available in the BIOS in this review. The main entrance screen (first picture below) contains your basic options common to nearly all computers. The first menu in the BIOS is for the "Standard CMOS Features", and a screenshot is provided in the second picture below. As with most systems, this is where you can enable or disable storage devices and optical drives - nothing particularly fancy.


Next we have the "Advanced BIOS Features," once again these are settings common to most motherboards and are nothing particularly special. Continuing on we have the "Advanced Chipset Features" (second image below) which contain the settings necessary for overclocking a system.


In the "Advanced Chipset Features" there are four main categories. The first two are "System Clocks" and "FSB & Memory Config" screens which are pictured below. These two screens contain the majority of the tools you need to overclock. "System Clocks" contains settings for the three PCIe bus speeds. Each PCIe bus speed can range between 100-200MHz in 1MHz increments. This portion of the BIOS also allows you to manipulate the HT Multipliers anywhere from 1x-5x. "FSB & Memory Config" allows you to manipulate the front side bus - FSB (QDR) from 400-2500MHz in 1MHz increments. Memory can also be changed over a wide range, from 400-1400MHz in 1MHz increments.