Difference between ASUS M5A97 R2.0 or M5A97 EVO R2.0

[pumbaa]

Hi All,

I am doing a budget AMD Budget build and having a tough time understanding the difference/pro's & cons of these two motherboards. The price difference is nominal but I want to understand the difference before I make a choice between the two, any money saved goes into the piggy bank for my LED monitor fund (using my old LCD as of now)

Models ASUS M5A97 R2.0 Vs ASUS M5A97 EVO R2.0

The rest of the build goes like this
AMD FX 8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor
ASUS Graphics Card HD7770DC 1GB DDR5 V2
OCZ 128 GB SSD
3 Tb WD Caviar Green x 2
8GB G Skill Ripjaw X Series x 4
Cooler Master Chassis Elite 371 or NZXT Beta Evo Mid Tower Black Steel Cabinet
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W or Cooler Master Real Power Pro 460W
Logitech Wireless Combo MK260
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooling or Antec Kuhler H2O 620

I don't intend to overclock and I don't play too many games however stability and quiet/cool operation is important. Primary use will be for Home Lab (Virtualization with multiple VM's) and Home computer for surfing/watching movies etc

 

[knightdog56]

A lot of difference between the two boards, you can go on ASUS website and you can compare the two motherboards side by side.

 

[genix]

A lot of difference between the two boards, you can go on ASUS website and you can compare the two motherboards side by side.

I can see that Evo R2.0 brings in Firewire and eSATA, plus a couple of additional USB connectors (for an additional £10).

However, if those are not of interest, is there any other good justification for paying an additional tenner for the Evo?

 

[KStream]

A lot of difference between the two boards, you can go on ASUS website and you can compare the two motherboards side by side.

I can see that Evo R2.0 brings in Firewire and eSATA, plus a couple of additional USB connectors (for an additional £10).

However, if those are not of interest, is there any other good justification for paying an additional tenner for the Evo?

M5A97 EVO R2.0 has 6+2 power phase when M5A97 R2.0 has only 4+2. I don't understand why this is never mentioned in the specs even though it is apparently an important factor when overclocking.

If you are planning to overclock M5A97 EVO R2.0 is minimum you want to have from Asus. If overclocking doesn't belong to your program and you have no use for that firewire, eSATA and usb connections you should be good with M5A97 R2.0 as far as I'm concerned

 

[Krister Arvesen]

Hi All,

I am doing a budget AMD Budget build and having a tough time understanding the difference/pro's & cons of these two motherboards. The price difference is nominal but I want to understand the difference before I make a choice between the two, any money saved goes into the piggy bank for my LED monitor fund (using my old LCD as of now)

Models ASUS M5A97 R2.0 Vs ASUS M5A97 EVO R2.0

The rest of the build goes like this
AMD FX 8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor
ASUS Graphics Card HD7770DC 1GB DDR5 V2
OCZ 128 GB SSD
3 Tb WD Caviar Green x 2
8GB G Skill Ripjaw X Series x 4
Cooler Master Chassis Elite 371 or NZXT Beta Evo Mid Tower Black Steel Cabinet
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W or Cooler Master Real Power Pro 460W
Logitech Wireless Combo MK260
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooling or Antec Kuhler H2O 620

I don't intend to overclock and I don't play too many games however stability and quiet/cool operation is important. Primary use will be for Home Lab (Virtualization with multiple VM's) and Home computer for surfing/watching movies etc

I'm not to sure about the motherboards, but from what I can see and the fact that you're not going for a overclock there shouldn't be a need for the EVO ;D however I would like to suggest a few changes to your overall build...
For the PSU I would recommend a XFX Core Edition PRO450W or the 550W version depending on your future plans for upgrades.
And for a quiet /cool operation I would highly suggest going away from the water cooling kit as most pumps are quite loud (between 30 and 40dB) I would rather put on a heatsink with a low noise fan and you don't need more than that as you've said you won't overclock ;D

(and yes I noticed that this thread was really old, but I'll still post this in case anyone else stumbles upon it ;D)

 

[huganater3]

I STUMBLED UPON IT yeww