Today, MSI announced the release of several new motherboards for AMD FM2+ chipsets, featuring compatibility for AMD's upcoming Godavari processors.
Team Red has been quietly preparing for the launch of its Godavari APUs, the FM2+ socket processor replacement for its current Kaveri core AMD APUs. Not much is known about the new Godavari processors aside from rumored specs and performance gains, but with MSI's release of eight new motherboards supporting the anticipated AMD chip, one has to presume that its arrival is imminent.
The new MSI motherboards are available in ATX, micro-ATX, and mini-ITX form factors and are compatible with all previous generation FM2 AMD processors. The budget-oriented A68HM-E33 V2, A78M-E35 V2, and A78M-E45 V2 have limited I/O and expansion options, and while the A88XM-E35 V2, A88XM-E45 V2, and A88XM-P33 V2 motherboards use the more powerful A88X chipset, they are also designed with few expansion options. All of these boards are micro-ATX offerings, with only the E45 boards featuring four DIMM memory slots; the rest only have two.
For gamers craving more utility, the ATX-sized A88X-G41 PC Mate V2 offers more PCI slots and AMD Crossfire support, but surprisingly only two DIMM slots. The mini-ITX A88XI AC V2 features onboard Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 in a small form factor.
The new MSI FM2+ motherboards are a refreshing debut, bringing hope that we will see AMD's Godavari APUs sooner than later. However, these new boards don't offer any new features over the existing FM2+ market offerings, aside from Godavari compatibility. AMD chipset motherboards still appear to be slightly behind the blue team when it comes to the newest features and technology.
While the mainstream gaming market eagerly awaits the release of Godavari, the enthusiast market still yearns for new feature-rich FX processors and AM3+ motherboards. It's only fitting that on Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You!) that MSI provides us with a new hope that perhaps AMD has some big things on the horizon.
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