Six A75-Based Motherboards For AMD’s A8 And A6 APUs
Advanced on-board graphics put AMD’s Llano-based APU far ahead of Intel’s Sandy Bridge architecture, at least when it comes to 3D apps. But you’ll still need a new motherboard to support the Socket FM1 platform. Today we test six affordable contenders.
AMD's A75 Platform: The Triumph Of Adequacy
Never before has the term “adequate” sounded so good.
Following years of what we were expected to recognize as groundbreaking advances in integrated graphics (which were almost always completely insufficient for gaming, mind you), the Llano APU’s Radeon HD 6500-series graphics processors are the first to actually support a minimum level of playability across many popular 3D titles. While we discovered that fast DDR3 memory plays a role in improving graphics performance, this is incidentally what we were led to expect from Intel's HD Graphics 3000, but never actually saw.
Going head-to-head against Intel’s low-cost second-gen Core i3 lineup, AMD's solution doesn't just have a better graphics processor. Its accompanying A75 chipset also features integrated USB 3.0, potentially cutting motherboard cost. The APU also sports four additional PCIe 2.0 lanes, and AMD wouldn’t want us to forget its often-forgettable support for Dual Graphics.
These capabilities join up to enable a low-cost, low-energy platform with far better 3D performance than the competition offers. If that's the combination you're looking for, the hardest decision is going to be picking the right motherboard. And that's where we step in to help. Our first A75-based round-up consists of six contenders from as many manufacturers.
A75 Motherboard Features | |||
---|---|---|---|
Row 0 - Cell 0 | ASRock A75M | Asus F1A75-M Pro | ECS A75F-M2 |
PCB Revision | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.0 |
Chipset | AMD A75 FCH | AMD A75 FCH | AMD A75 FCH |
BIOS | P1.40 (07/21/2011) | 8630 (07/10/2011) | A752B720 (07/20/2011) |
100.0 MHz Clock | 99.8 (-0.2%) | 100.0 (+0.0%) | 99.8 (-0.2%) |
Internal Interfaces | |||
PCIe x16 | 1 (Full x16) | 2 (x16/x4) | 1 (Full x16) |
PCIe x1/x4 | 1/0 | 1/0 | 2/0 |
Legacy PCI | 2 | 1 | 1 |
USB 2.0 | 3 (six ports) | 4 (eight ports) | 2 (four ports) |
USB 3.0 | None | 1 (two ports) | 1 (two ports) |
IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
Serial Port | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Parallel Port | 1 | None | 1 |
SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 5 | 6 | 6 |
SATA 3.0 Gb/s | None | None | None |
4-Pin Fan | 2 | 3 | 1 |
3-Pin Fan | 1 | 1 | 1 |
FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 |
S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
I/O Panel Connectors | |||
P/S 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
USB 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
USB 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
Network | 1 | 1 | 1 |
eSATA | 1 | None | None |
Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical | HDMI Only |
Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 3 |
Video Out | VGA, HDMI | HDMI, VGA, DVI-D | VGA, HDMI |
Mass Storage Controllers | |||
Chipset SATA | 5 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s |
Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 10 | 0, 1, 10 | 0, 1, 10 |
Add-In SATA | None | None | None |
USB 3.0 | FCH Integrated | FCH Integrated, ASM1042 PCIe | FCH Integrated |
IEEE-1394 | None | None | None |
Networking | |||
Gigabit LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe |
Audio | Row 39 - Cell 1 | Row 39 - Cell 2 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | ALC892 | ALC662 |
DDL/DTS Connect | None | None | None |
A75 Motherboard Features | |||
---|---|---|---|
Row 0 - Cell 0 | Gigabyte A75M-UD2H | Jetway TA75MG | MSI A75MA-G55 |
PCB Revision | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Chipset | AMD A75 FCH | AMD A75 FCH | AMD A75 FCH |
BIOS | F3 (07/12/2011) | A02 (07/19/2011) | V1.2 (07/05/2011) |
100.0 MHz Clock | 100.0 (+0.0%) | 99.8 (-0.2%) | 99.8 (-0.2%) |
Internal Interfaces | |||
PCIe x16 | 2 (x16/x4) | 1 (Full x16) | 2 (x16/x4) |
PCIe x1/x4 | 1/0 | 2/0 | 1/0 |
Legacy PCI | 1 | 1 | 1 |
USB 2.0 | 2 (four ports) | 2 (four ports) | 2 (four ports) |
USB 3.0 | 1 (two ports) | 1 (two ports) | 1 (two ports) |
IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | None |
Serial Port | 1 | 1 | 1 (Mini) |
Parallel Port | 1 | None | 1 (Mini) |
SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 5 | 4 | 6 |
SATA 3.0 Gb/s | None | None | None |
4-Pin Fan | 2 | 1 | 2 |
3-Pin Fan | None | 1 | 1 |
FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 |
S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
I/O Panel Connectors | |||
P/S 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
USB 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
USB 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
IEEE-1394 | 1 | None | None |
Network | 1 | 1 | 1 |
eSATA | 1 | None | None |
Digital Audio Out | Optical | HDMI Only | HDMI Only |
Digital Audio In | None | None | None |
Analog Audio | 6 | 3 | 6 |
Video Out | VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort | VGA, DVI-D, HDMI | HDMI, VGA, DVI-D |
Mass Storage Controllers | |||
Chipset SATA | 5 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s | 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s |
Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 10 | 0, 1, 10 | 0, 1, 10 |
Add-In SATA | None | None | None |
USB 3.0 | FCH Integrated | FCH Integrated | FCH Integrated |
IEEE-1394 | VT6308P PCI | None | None |
Networking | |||
Gigabit LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe |
Audio | Row 39 - Cell 1 | Row 39 - Cell 2 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
HD Audio Codec | ALC889 | VT1705 | ALC892 |
DDL/DTS Connect | None | None | None |
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Current page: AMD's A75 Platform: The Triumph Of Adequacy
Next Page ASRock A75M-
dogman_1234 Thank You for the Review. I am glad to see you guys taking this and pushing it to the limits. Can't wait until SB-E and Bulldozer reviews.Reply
Qne question, what does the APU,( either the A6 or the A8), have on F@H applications? -
Crashman dogman_1234Thank You for the Review. I am glad to see you guys taking this and pushing it to the limits. Can't wait until SB-E and Bulldozer reviews.Qne question, what does the APU,( either the A6 or the A8), have on F@H applications?Since I haven't joined F@H, I can only recommend going to a F@H forum to find someone who's tried it.Reply
I know F@H is a great cause, might cure cancer etc, but wouldn't it be more geeky to search for radio signals of little green men? -
_Pez_ what about blue-ray playback? and power consumption when playing it. I'm planing a HTPC. And those small form factor are really appealing. especially Gigabyte’s A75M-UD2H, I will get that one.Reply -
Crashman _Pez_what about blue-ray playback? and power consumption when playing it. I'm planing a HTPC. And those small form factor are really appealing. especially Gigabyte’s A75M-UD2H, I will get that one.SFF properly translates to DTX and Mini ITX. These are Micro ATX...Reply
I checked the CPU reviews and didn't see anything there either. You know it's going to be low utilization for these processors, which means it will be closer to the idle power than to the full-load power... -
buzznut I remember when the Gigabyte board first was launched, I though it looked pretty sweet then even posted a poll on it. I'd have to agree, it seems like the board to have for A8. Looks good too, although I a find Gigabyte's non-blue/white scheme offerings more attractive. Just ordered my 990FX UD5, can't wait!Reply -
buzznut CrashmanSFF properly translates to DTX and Mini ITX. These are Micro ATX...I checked the CPU reviews and didn't see anything there either. You know it's going to be low utilization for these processors, which means it will be closer to the idle power than to the full-load power...Reply
I think micro atx fits into plenty of SFF cases. Maybe we need to redefine..
I'd like to see a showdown of mini itx boards though, I think Anand did something like that recently. That's probably where the A8 CPU's need to go head to head with atom anyway, most reviews I've seen show the CPU's aren't all that cut out for desktop. Maybe the next batch that comes out in Q4/Q1 2012 will be better for desktop. -
tacoslave buzznutI think micro atx fits into plenty of SFF cases. Maybe we need to redefine..I'd like to see a showdown of mini itx boards though, I think Anand did something like that recently. That's probably where the A8 CPU's need to go head to head with atom anyway, most reviews I've seen show the CPU's aren't all that cut out for desktop. Maybe the next batch that comes out in Q4/Q1 2012 will be better for desktop.lol wut? Dude you got this QUAD CORE based on the phenom II architecture mixed up with the e-350 or the c-50 those are the ones that are going up against Atom.Reply
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Crashman buzznutI think micro atx fits into plenty of SFF cases. Maybe we need to redefine.That would make you part of the problem rather than part of the solution.Reply
1.) SFF originally stood for Shuttle Form Factor and was proprietary, using 2-slots.
2.) It was copied by companies like First International Computer and AOpen
3.) AMD established a standard for "open architecture" systems of similar design, called DTX.
4.) ITX is smaller than DTX and fits DTX cases.
Notice this has nothing to do with Micro ATX. People who claim that anything shaped like a cube is SFF need only be shown a full ATX cube before they start making excuses. People who point to horizontal cases and say SFF need only look at ancient AT desktops before they're forced to come up with excuses.
2-slots. That's what makes Shuttle copies different from everything else. Cubes can be any "size", HTPC's can be any "size", if SFF is a size standard it can only be used to apply to two-slot cases.
Some competitors have been trying for years to expand the definition of SFF. They are, of course, wrong.
Nobody's perfect, one of Tom's old team members once said that barebones always refers to SFF systems (even though full sized barebones existed long before SFF). But at least Tom's tries to fix those types of errors rather than force them into the vernacular.
I'm just asking people to be specific. If you mean cube, say cube. If you mean desktop, say desktop. If you mean mini-tower, slim tower, or slim desktop, just say it. Then apply a form factor "Mini ITX slim tower" or "Micro ATX desktop". And if you're saying "SFF" rather than media center, well it's obvious that SFF can do other things so just be specific and say media center.
If you're not specific, you might find yourself in a discussion about what the meaning of "is" is.
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noob2222 I have the gigabyte board and undervolted by .2 running stock speeds. Its used for my HTPC setup so for me making it silent and less power draw were the key points. I have an oversized fanless heatsink and never have issues. When I do run a game on it for fun, the case fan will kick up, but watching movies it stays silent.Reply
Would love to see some benches on the gigabyte with those max overclock numbers as the GPU would benefit greatly from the memory oc. -
Crashman noob2222I have the gigabyte board and undervolted by .2 running stock speeds. Its used for my HTPC setup so for me making it silent and less power draw were the key points. I have an oversized fanless heatsink and never have issues. When I do run a game on it for fun, the case fan will kick up, but watching movies it stays silent.Would love to see some benches on the gigabyte with those max overclock numbers as the GPU would benefit greatly from the memory oc.Good News! Tom's Hardware is working on a memory article using one of these boards, and has included games in the test!Reply