Asus Debuts World's First FM2+ Motherboards
The Asus A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 micro-ATX motherboards are the first to feature an FM2+ socket and compatibility with AMD’s upcoming “Kaveri” APUs.
Asus has launched the A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards, the first in the industry to support AMD’s new FM2+ APU socket.
Both motherboards offer a micro-ATX form factor and are compatibility with both AMD’s current “Richland” and “Trinity” APUs and the upcoming socket FM2+ “Kaveri” processors.
Motherboard | A88XM-A | A55BM-A/USB3 |
|---|---|---|
Chipset | AMD A88X (Bolton D4) | A55 FCH (Hudson D2) |
Memory | 4 x DDR3 DIMMs Up to 64 GB DDR-2133 | 2 x DDR3 DIMMs Up to 32 GB DDR-2133 |
Expansion Slots | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16* 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI |
Networking | Realtek 8111G, 1 x Gigabit LAN | Realtek 8111G, 1 x Gigabit LAN |
Video Output | DVI-D, HDMI, VGA | DVI-D, HDMI, VGA |
Audio Output | Realtek ALC887-VD 8-Channel | Realtek ALC887-VD 8-Channel |
Ports | 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 2 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 | 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 2 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 |
* Only FM2+ Processors can support PCIe 3.0
The A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 also include Asus’ 5X Protection which incorporates a number of features for better quality and reliability including a DIGI+ VRM for precise power delivery to the APU, DRAM overcurrent protection via on-board resettable fuses, 5K-hour Solid Capacitors and a chromium oxide-plated stainless steel rear I/O.
Further information is available at the respective product pages for the Asus A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards. Asus has announced that further information on the company’s upcoming FM2+ motherboard range will be released “later in the year.”

I retired my P3 with CUSL2 motherboard last year... that board probably logged over 100k power-on hours over the 12 years I had it. My C2D's P5P800Q is likely over the 40k hours mark too and there are no capacitors rated for 40k hours.
Funny how warranty on motherboards are much longer than their manufacturers' quoted lifespan on capacitors while MTBF on most components are usually much longer than warranties - everyone quotes MTBF over 200k hours but nobody backs that up with a 10+ years warranty.
(from wccftech via freeper-world)
All new CPUs and boards should be FM2.
All new CPUs and boards should be FM2.
Gee ... trolling an AMD thread.
And folks think there is nothing new under the Sun
(rolling eyes)
Perhaps all AMD parts will move to FM2+ (there's rumours that there won't even be an FX Steamroller, but I'd take that with all the salt of the Dead Sea), but we'll have to wait on that one.
It absolutely makes perfect sense to prioritize mainstream, entry-level, and now ultra-low-power markets. In other words put the latest into their APUs and their supporting chipsets first. I don't like it, but it's only logical. Realistically, if they didn't do this, they would die off. Even if they do, they've got an uphill battle, but there are many fronts where they're doing well enough.
I still don't have to like it.
mITX only has one PCIe slot. These boards are mATX with four PCIe slots; two of which being x16 physical and x??x?? electrical.
Since APUs are generally intended to low/mid-range PCs that may not have a discrete GPU or any other add-in boards whatsoever, mATX seems perfectly adequate to me. I doubt many people are interested in running SLI/CFX on an FM2 board with APU; they would likely be far more interested in AM3 boards and higher-end CPUs.
Yeah, not quite, for every 10 c below rated max 105 c you get double the lifespan. So no worries about them not lasting.
The electro-conductive polymer capacitor does not use electrolyte.
Regular SS caps are rated 2k hours max temp.