ECS Durathon 2 A320AM4-M3 Motherboard Review

By Jacob Terkelsen
published

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

How We Test

Unfortunately, with only two DIMM slots on this board, we can only populate the A320AM4-M3 with half of our four-DIMM set of standard 8GB DDR4-3200 Trident-Z RAM modules from G.Skill. Our cooling solution for AM4 boards is still the Corsair H110i, though we have noticed the fans are starting to knock a little bit during use, which is expected with the amount of runtime placed on the unit. The Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming powers our LG 4K monitor across the various test resolutions, supplying just enough horsepower for up to 1440p gaming at 60 frames per second. Our Ryzen 7 1700X sample still rules the roost and provides a stable 3.4GHz up to the standard rated XFR frequencies when available during our test.

Test System Configuration

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CoolingCorsair H110i
CPURyzen 7 1700X
GraphicsGTX 970 G1 Gaming
Memory(2) G.Skill Trident Z RGB F4-3200C14D-16GTZR 2x8GB DDR4-3200 CL14 (2) HyperX Predator HX432C16PB3K2/16 2x8GB DDR4-3200 CL16
PSUCorsair AX860 860W 80 PLUS PLATINUM
SoftwareMicrosoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update
StorageOCZ RD400
Networking
SoundIntegrated HD Audio
NetworkIntegrated Gigabit Networking
GraphicsNvidia
ChipsetAMD X370

Comparison Products
ASRock X370 Killer SLI/ac
Biostar X370 GTN
Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi

Application Tests & Settings

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HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.9.9 Sintel Open Movie Project 4.19 GB 4K MKV to x265 MP4
LAME MP3Version 3.98.3 Mixed 271MB WAV to MP3 Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
Adobe After Effects CCRelease 2015.3.0 Version 13.8.0.144 PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CCRelease 2015.5.0 20160603.r.88 x64 PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CCRelease 2015.4 Build 11.4.0.90 x64 PCMark driven routine
Adobe IllustratorRelease 2015.3.0 Version 20.0.0 (64-bit) PCMark driven routine
BlenderVersion 2.68a BMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-ZipVersion 16.02 THG-Workload (7.6GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Game Tests & Settings
Ashes of the SingularityVersion 1.31.21360 High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAA Crazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA High Preset - 3460x1920, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAA Crazy Preset - 3460x1920, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 20152015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain 1920x1080 - Ultra High Preset, 16x AF 3460x1920 - Ultra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light ReduxVersion 3.00 x64 High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation Very High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation High Quality, 3460x1920, High Tesselation Very High Quality, 3460x1920, Very High Tesselation
The Talos PrincipleVersion 267252 1920x1080 - Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AF 1920x1080 - Ultra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF 3460x1920 - Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AF 3460x1920 - Ultra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Jacob Terkelsen
6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • blackmagnum
    Minecraft? I'm sure it can deliver ample e-sport gaming and internet cafe usage.
    Reply
  • ET3D
    Looks good with a dGPU, but that 2400 RAM speed is bound to hurt a Ryzen APU, which is the more logical bed fellow. Is there any RAM you have which is high speed on this board?
    Reply
  • Olle P
    "... there is no upside for preventing users from using four sticks of RAM."I beg to differ. Upsides:
    * Reduced motherboard cost.
    * More space available for CPU cooler and other components.

    Another "pro":
    * Wide range of video connectors for use with an APU.
    (How many of the other tested motherboards have HDMI, DVI and VGA ports?)

    A comparison between those motherboards using a 2200G and internal graphics only, paired with a set of cheap RAM (instead of 1700X, high end RAM and discrete graphics), would put this motherboard in its correct element.

    That said I'd rather spend a few bucks more to get the B350 chipset with full overclocking capabilities...
    Reply
  • daglesj
    20751674 said:
    Minecraft? I'm sure it can deliver ample e-sport gaming and internet cafe usage.


    Well a 8 year old Dell Optiplex costing $80 from Ebay would do fine for a Internet Cafe. ;)
    Reply
  • CountMike
    1700x on an MB of that class ??? This MB's main target is APU and nothing more.
    Reply
  • carssuckjeepsrule
    Obviously. But you need to test with the same components for standardization and clean test results. Multiple variables render the test invalid. Also, high end components raise the bottle neck beyond the reach of the component you're testing, otherwise you don't know which component is affecting speed.
    Reply