Six Socket FM2 Motherboards For AMD's Trinity APUs

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

After just one generation, Socket FM1 is dead. We test six Socket FM2-based motherboards able to take AMD's newest APUs built using the Trinity architecture. Can any of these platforms, armed with AMD A85X Fusion Controller Hubs, get us to upgrade?

Benchmark Results: Skyrim

We keep turning to our test notes to check playability, and again find that every board plays the game smoothly from the APU's Radeon HD graphics core at 1600x900 and medium quality settings. Higher settings weren't smooth on any board, so we’re left to judge each based on non-gaming criteria.

A difference of 3 FPS does look fairly large when charted on a narrow performance scale, but we’re not concerned, since none of these resolutions are playable at Skyrim’s High quality preset. These averages become additional data for each board’s overall performance index.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
55 Comments Comment from the forums
  • buzznut
    And I would penalize Asrock for the brown PCB. Its an otherwise nice looking board, but this is a trend I don't care for.
    Reply
  • Cryio
    Why, why do you keep posting Skyrim as being a DirectX11 title? It IS NOT. It's just DX9
    Reply
  • Crashman
    CryioWhy, why do you keep posting Skyrim as being a DirectX11 title? It IS NOT. It's just DX9Why don't you point to where you see that?
    Reply
  • Sakkura
    CrashmanWhy don't you point to where you see that?Sneaky, lol. Now he's going to be downvoted.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    SakkuraSneaky, lol. Now he's going to be downvoted.Not sneaky, I just see a lot of sniping in here. I checked the article and didn't find it, and I really need to find it before I can gripe at the person who made the final revisions to this article. His comment could be completely false for all I know...
    Reply
  • cangelini
    I fixed the typo earlier tonight guys, thanks.
    Reply
  • abbadon_34
    Sounds like someone is owed an apology
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    buzznutAnd I would penalize Asrock for the brown PCB. Its an otherwise nice looking board, but this is a trend I don't care for.Penalizing a company over a PCB's color is asinine and petty. Even if you have a case with an acrylic window, do you stare into your PC all day and night? If so, that is trend I don't care for.

    There are much more important things to worry about, like quality, price, and features, to name a few...
    Reply
  • cangeliniI fixed the typo earlier tonight guys, thanks."Adoby Creative Suite"

    just one?

    :lol:
    who cares, good job to crash and the rest of the crew . . .

    edit: i had to fix a typo . .oh karma!
    Reply
  • cangelini
    looniam"Adoby Creative Suite"just one? who cares, good job to crash and the rest of the crew . . .edit: i had to fix a typo . .oh karma!Heh, apparently, editing motherboard round-ups in a Thanksgiving food coma is not conducive to catching typos. Got that one as well--thanks looniam! :)
    Reply