SilverStone ECWA1 and ECW02 Module Review

Bohs Hansen / 9 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, the SilverStone ECWA1 Mini PCI-Express Adapter card with 5dBi MIMO antennas can be had for £31.10 at Amazon in the UK and starting from €34.58 in Germany. I could not find it listed in the US yet, but the MSRP is set to $39.72 here.

The SilverStone ECW02 Mini PCI-Express WiFi Card can be had for £29.80 at Amazon UK and starting from €32.90 in Germany. As with the ECWA1, I couldn’t find it listed in the US yet, but it should soon be available there too. The US MSRP is set to $36.17.

Overview

Testing the SilverStone ECW02 Adapter card and ECWA1 WiFi module for this review was a joy from start until the end. Everything was easy, straight forward, and worked without a hitch right from the beginning. Windows didn’t have any trouble with drivers or anything else and both products worked as they were supposed to.

The ECW02 WiFi module, as already mentioned, worked as it was supposed to. We saw a great coverage on all distances as well as a good performance. The throughput and connection quality didn’t really let go at any point. A good result. There isn’t much to say about the design or rest here, it is what it is, a mini PCI-E module.

The ECWA1 Adapter card is a beautiful card with its black PCB and white text. It can hold different length modules and supports both 1.5V and 3.3V. The added bonus in this package, in form of the magnetic remote antenna feet, allows you to place the antennas at just the right position, no matter where your system is located. The magnets are strong and have no trouble holding the antennas on the side of your PC chassis for example.

SilverStone included a low-profile bracket as well, making the card usable in pretty much any systems that has at least a PCI-E x1 slot. The only little downside to the adapter, and it is very little, is that you might have to remove the bracket once in order to get the antenna mounts set. This is however quickly done in about 30 seconds and shouldn’t in any way hold you back from getting this adapter.

Pros:

Good performance and Range
Easy setup
Versatile compatibility
Remote placement of antennas
Good looking in any system

Cons:

Initial removal of slot cover might be needed to fit antenna mounts in there.

“SilverStone’s ECW02 and ECWA1 combination allows you to add a great WiFi connection to pretty much any system. It’s as easy to set up and it performs great.”