- Sep 28, 2014
- 13
- 0
- 4,510
Hello, all!
I have had this Asus M5A97 mainboard for around 2-3 years now. This is the first revision of the M5A97 so it doesn't have the DIGI+ VRMs and whatever else comes in the r2.0. I am aware that this version has a lower VRM phase count so that means that overclocking will be limited on this board. I have had this board refurbished under warranty about a year and a half ago as I believe I burned out the VRMs while I was trying to overclock my old Phenom II 955 BE. I'm just guessing because that's what I was doing when it POSTed for the last time.
Quite a while ago I lost the I/O shield for this board. While I know that it is not REQUIRED, having it at the very least will keep my internal case temp lower as the airflow will be much more directed over components. I have also read that the EMI that the shield helps prevent can interfere with Wi-Fi. This has been one of the main reasons I have been considering getting a new motherboard. Bear with me, I know I can get the shield but there's more to it than that.
For quite a few months now I have had some serious USB issues and even here recently I've been having strange AMD driver issues (the driver issues are most likely non-related). Basically, I can go days without having a single problem and then other days my USB Wi-Fi adapter will disconnect from my PC every few minutes. It occasionally happens with every USB device but the main and most common issue is solely with my Wi-Fi adapter. Sometimes it will reconnect shortly after it disconnects which isn't such a huge deal (I just have to deal with ascending and descending tri-tones during netflix watching) but other times it will not reconnect to the PC unless I physically unplug and re-plug it in. Even other times, I will plug cycle it and it will still not work requiring me to do it multiple times. Sometimes, I've even notice Windows still thinks it is connected even when it has been physically disconnected for several minutes. I've tried all the Windows settings tricks and it still does it even with a different adapter. This issue can't really be anything but a USB issue as far as I've seen. It may be a driver issue but ASUS has not released any updated drivers for my motherboard's revision for Windows 8.1.
So basically, I would like to be able to overclock more but that's not enough of a reason to upgrade by itself. I would like to get the I/O shield but that's not worth getting an entirely new motherboard. I would like to resolve the USB issue but I'm not sure if it's just messing up because of EMI due to no I/O shield or something else driver or hardware related to the mobo. Overall I've been happy with this board, it runs well, has good audio, all the connections I need, and can run my new FX-8320 (though with little luck in overclocking). But this USB issue is really frustrating and can sometimes make my PC unusable.
I'm looking at getting the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0. It's got way better VRMs, butter audio (debatable), better CF support, more rear connections, is still supported by ASUS, and maybe other things that I don't know about. So is it worth getting over my current MOBO? I am aware there may be other issues causing my number one complaint, but everything seems to point towards a mobo issue.
Thanks! Any help is very much appreciated!
System specs:
MOBO - Asus M5A97
CPU - FX-8320
RAM - PNY 1333mhz 4GBx2 (dual channel)
GPU - PowerColor R9 280x
PSU - Corsair CX750M 750 watt
Storage - Crucial MX100 512GB SSD
Seagate 750 GB HDD (5 year old, too lazy to look up exact M/N)
I have had this Asus M5A97 mainboard for around 2-3 years now. This is the first revision of the M5A97 so it doesn't have the DIGI+ VRMs and whatever else comes in the r2.0. I am aware that this version has a lower VRM phase count so that means that overclocking will be limited on this board. I have had this board refurbished under warranty about a year and a half ago as I believe I burned out the VRMs while I was trying to overclock my old Phenom II 955 BE. I'm just guessing because that's what I was doing when it POSTed for the last time.
Quite a while ago I lost the I/O shield for this board. While I know that it is not REQUIRED, having it at the very least will keep my internal case temp lower as the airflow will be much more directed over components. I have also read that the EMI that the shield helps prevent can interfere with Wi-Fi. This has been one of the main reasons I have been considering getting a new motherboard. Bear with me, I know I can get the shield but there's more to it than that.
For quite a few months now I have had some serious USB issues and even here recently I've been having strange AMD driver issues (the driver issues are most likely non-related). Basically, I can go days without having a single problem and then other days my USB Wi-Fi adapter will disconnect from my PC every few minutes. It occasionally happens with every USB device but the main and most common issue is solely with my Wi-Fi adapter. Sometimes it will reconnect shortly after it disconnects which isn't such a huge deal (I just have to deal with ascending and descending tri-tones during netflix watching) but other times it will not reconnect to the PC unless I physically unplug and re-plug it in. Even other times, I will plug cycle it and it will still not work requiring me to do it multiple times. Sometimes, I've even notice Windows still thinks it is connected even when it has been physically disconnected for several minutes. I've tried all the Windows settings tricks and it still does it even with a different adapter. This issue can't really be anything but a USB issue as far as I've seen. It may be a driver issue but ASUS has not released any updated drivers for my motherboard's revision for Windows 8.1.
So basically, I would like to be able to overclock more but that's not enough of a reason to upgrade by itself. I would like to get the I/O shield but that's not worth getting an entirely new motherboard. I would like to resolve the USB issue but I'm not sure if it's just messing up because of EMI due to no I/O shield or something else driver or hardware related to the mobo. Overall I've been happy with this board, it runs well, has good audio, all the connections I need, and can run my new FX-8320 (though with little luck in overclocking). But this USB issue is really frustrating and can sometimes make my PC unusable.
I'm looking at getting the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0. It's got way better VRMs, butter audio (debatable), better CF support, more rear connections, is still supported by ASUS, and maybe other things that I don't know about. So is it worth getting over my current MOBO? I am aware there may be other issues causing my number one complaint, but everything seems to point towards a mobo issue.
Thanks! Any help is very much appreciated!
System specs:
MOBO - Asus M5A97
CPU - FX-8320
RAM - PNY 1333mhz 4GBx2 (dual channel)
GPU - PowerColor R9 280x
PSU - Corsair CX750M 750 watt
Storage - Crucial MX100 512GB SSD
Seagate 750 GB HDD (5 year old, too lazy to look up exact M/N)
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