Hard Choices: Motherboard And CPU
Choosing a Motherboard and CPU
We narrowed our choices down to two AMD Trinity-based APUs and a Socket FM2 motherboard. The APUs proved to give us the best balance between an all-around build intended to handle a variety of tasks, including light gaming. We did try an Ivy Bridge-based Pentium on one of Zotac's motherboards, expecting efficiency to seal the deal. However, graphics performance simply wasn't ample for what we wanted to do.
Thus, APUs were our only remaining option, so we picked the A6-5400K and A10-5700. According to AMD's specifications, both chips have 66 W thermal ceilings. In reality, though, the A6-5400K never reaches 66 W. The A10-5700 does, making a noticeable difference in trying to keep our system cooled passively. In the end, we're able to get both APUs cooled without a fan, but the A10-5700 cuts it close.
You may decide the A10 isn't the best choice, particularly in a warmer climate. If you do want one, we recommend adding a fan that kicks in when it's needed (we'll talk more about that shortly). First, though, let’s see how our two picks slot into AMD’s current line-up of desktop APUs:
| APU | Cores | Base Clock Frequency | Max. Turbo Core Frequency | GPU | Shaders | GPU Clock Frequency | L2 Cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A10-5800K | 4 | 3.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz | HD 7660D | 384 | 800 MHz | 4 MB | 100 W |
| A10-5700 | 4 | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz | HD 7660D | 384 | 760 MHz | 4 MB | 65 W |
| A8-5600K | 4 | 3.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | HD 7560D | 256 | 760 MHz | 4 MB | 100 W |
| A8-5500 | 4 | 3.2 GHz | 3.7 GHz | HD 7560D | 256 | 760 MHz | 4 MB | 65 W |
| A6-5400K | 2 | 3.6 GHz | 3.8 GHz | HD 7540D | 192 | 760 MHz | 1 MB | 65 W |
| A4-5300 | 2 | 3.4 GHz | 3.6 GHz | HD 7480D | 128 | 723 MHz | 1 MB | 65 W |
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53
We picked a mini-ITX motherboard instead of an mATX board on purpose. Mainly, a smaller form factor keeps the case's insides as open as possible.
The enormous CPU cooler we're using makes connecting all of the cables somewhat of a challenge, though. In a couple of pages, we'll give you a brief guide for installing the motherboard; doing this in the right order is important.
| MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Technical Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Socket | FM2 |
| CPU (Maximum Supported) | AMD A10/A8/A6/A4 Series |
| Chipset | AMD A75 |
| DDR3 Memory | DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1866/2133 |
| Memory Channels | 2 |
| DIMM Slots | 2 |
| Memory (Maximum Supported) | 32 GB |
| PCIe x16 | 1 |
| PCIe Generation | Second-Gen (1x16) |
| SATA 6Gb/s | 4 |
| RAID | 0/1/10 |
| LAN | 10/100/1000 |
| Trusted Platform Module (TPM) | 1 |
| USB 3.0 Ports (Rear Panel) | 2 |
| USB 2.0 Ports (Read Panel) | 4 |
| Audio Ports (Rear Panel) | 3+Optical SPDIF |
| eSATA | 1 |
| VGA | 1 |
| HDMI | 1 |
| VGA Maximum Shared Memory (MB) | 2 GB |
| DirectX | 11 |
| Form Factor | Mini-ITX |
| Dual Graphics Support | Yes (HD 6570, 6670) |