Foxconn Digital Life ELA P45 Motherboard Review

Conclusion

The Foxconn Digital Life ELA isn’t an overclocking board but it has an overclocking board price. Priced at $240 on Newegg, this board is competing against boards such as the Gigabyte EP45-DQ6 and Asus P5Q Deluxe, both far superior overclocking boards. If the board were priced around $150 to $170 it would make more sense. Another route would have been to make it an mATX format to cater to the HTPC enthusiast.

The Foxconn Digital Life ELA comes with a 3 year warranty through Foxconn. Three years in the electronics industry is a lifetime and most consumers will have upgraded before three years has passed, so this is an acceptable warranty period. When you look at everything that the ELA brings to the table, its major faults were the goofy BIOS and the price. If Foxconn spent just a little time giving the ELA a more traditional BIOS with more clear information then it would help with overclocking the board and help warrant its price. The lack of multiplier adjustment, underclocking/undervolting support (huge for HTPCs), and clear voltage adjustments just kill any recommendation I can make for the prospective HTPC consumer.

Legit Bottom Line: The ELA is a motherboard that tries to be a jack of all trades and therefore is a master of none.