Asus a88xm a maximum amount of RAM. Review and testing of the ASUS A88XM-A motherboard. Nuances of operation and overclocking of the Asus A88XM-Plus board

Enough time has passed since the announcement of the next generation of AMD Kaveri APUs for users to appreciate all the advantages of the new products. As practice has shown, the best option is the use of APUs in configurations without discrete video cards, namely as part of economical compact system units. As for the platform, these requirements are best met by microATX motherboards that combine small size and sufficient functionality with a democratic cost. Today we invite you to familiarize yourself with just such a product - the ASUS A88XM-PLUS motherboard.

This model is based on the older AMD A88X chipset and is equipped with Socket FM2 +, which provides compatibility with the latest Kaveri APUs as well as Trinity and Richland APUs. You will learn about all the key features of ASUS A88XM-Plus from today's review, but for now, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the technical characteristics of the new product.

Model
Chipset	AMD A88X (Bolton D4)
CPU socket	Socket FM2 +
Processors	AMD Series A10, A8, A6, A4, Athlon
Memory	4 DIMM DDR3 SDRAM 1333/1600/1866/2133/2200 * / 2400 * / (* - OC), 64 GB maximum
PCI-E slots	1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 1 x PCI Express 2.0 [email protected] 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1
PCI slots	1
Integrated video core (in the processor)	Radeon HD 7000/8000 / R7 Series
Video connectors	D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI
Number of connected fans	3x 4pin
PS / 2 ports	2
USB ports	4 x 3.0 (2 connectors on the rear panel, AMD A88X) 10 x 2.0 (4 rear connectors, AMD A88X)
Serial ATA	8 x SATA 6Gb / s (A88X)
RAID	0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD (A88X)
Built-in sound	Realtek ALC887 (7.1, HDA)
S / PDIF	Optic
Networking capabilities	Realtek RTL8111G ( Gigabit Ethernet)
Firewire	-
LPT	1 (internal)
COM	1 (internal)
BIOS / UEFI	AMI UEFI
Form Factor	mATX
Dimensions, mm	244 x 234
Additional features	GPU Boost Switch, MemOK Button !, AMD CrossFireX

Contents of delivery

The package in which the A88XM-Plus motherboard is shipped is designed in the recognizable corporate style, which is typical for most modern ASUS products.

The front surface of the box is not very informative, but its reverse side can tell about the configuration of expansion slots and the specifications of the "motherboard", as well as its key design solutions. For example, the new product is equipped with the function of increasing the speed of the integrated video core GPU Boost, advanced software capabilities for controlling the fans ASUS Fan Xpert 2, as well as a number of features united by the name 5X Protection, which increase the reliability of the motherboard.

The set of additional accessories offered with ASUS A88XM-Plus is extremely modest:

• plug on back panel I / O Shield;
• two SATA 6 Gb / s cables;
• DVD with drivers and software;
• user guide;
• quick assembly instructions.

Design

The motherboard is made in the mATX form factor, but its dimensions differ from the standard, as a result of which the right edge will remain unlocked, so it is recommended to be very careful when assembling it yourself. To install DDR3 memory modules, the novelty has four DIMM slots, the total amount of RAM can reach 64 GB. In case of overclocking, the MemOK! Function will come to the rescue, which, by pressing the button of the same name, will boot with secure UEFI settings.

Electronic components on the reverse side of the PCB are completely absent; a powerful reinforcing plate is used in the mounting of the cooling system, which can withstand the weight of massive coolers.

The possibilities of the "motherboard" for organizing the graphics subsystem are quite wide: ASUS A88XM-Plus is equipped with a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot and a PCI Express 2.0 slot. [email protected] connected to the system logic so that users can organize AMD configurations CrossFireX. To install expansion cards, the heroine of today's review has one PCI-E 2.0 x1 and one PCI.

The storage subsystem is represented by eight SATA 6 Gb / s ports connected to the system logic. Three connectors are perpendicular to the PCB, and the remaining five are horizontally oriented. This makes it easy to connect interface cables regardless of the chassis configuration. system unit.

On the back of the A88XM-Plus there is a place for:

• two PS / 2 connectors;
• video outputs HDMI, D-Sub and DVI-D;
• four USB 2.0 ports and USB pairs 3.0;
• network socket RJ-45;
• three analog audio outputs.

The set of interfaces reveals the budget nature of the novelty: there is no S / PDIF port, the number of audio outputs is limited to three, and the outdated Realtek ALC887 chip is used as the audio codec. Due to the presence of the Realtek RTL8111G network controller, the motherboard can operate in Gigabit Ethernet networks, while Wi-Fi support no, but for an inexpensive product, the presence of the latter is an attribute of luxury.

Of all the design solutions aimed at optimizing the overclocking process, the A88XM-Plus has only the GPU Boost microswitch, which enables the automatic overclocking function of the integrated video core. Therefore, users who are interested in the presence of hardware power and overload buttons, an LED indicator for POST codes, and so on, should take a closer look at the older ASUS models.

The chispet cooling system consists of a compact flat radiator. It copes with its duties perfectly due to the low power consumption of the system logic.

The heat from the power elements of the VRM is removed by a small cooler, its efficiency is quite sufficient not only in the normal mode, but also with moderate overclocking, however, one should not forget about the organization of ventilation inside the system unit.

Separate parts of the cooling system are attached to the motherboard with spring-loaded plastic latches, which, alas, are not able to provide a strong uniform pressure.

To connect fans, ASUS A88XM-Plus is equipped with three four-pin connectors supporting PWM rotation speed control. The power supply subsystem of the novelty is built on a six-channel scheme, field-effect transistors with a low open channel resistance are used as power elements, and the DIGI + VRM chip plays the role of a PWM controller.

The voltage to the power subsystem is supplied through a four-pin connector, which does not at all contribute to an increase in the safety margin. So, the new product is hardly suitable for serious overclocking. UEFI Setup

The firmware for the A88XM-Plus motherboard is based on the AMI UEFI control microcode. The setup menu has an original user interface familiar from previous ASUS product reviews. Immediately after entering the firmware, the My Favorites section opens, which users can fill at their discretion with the most popular UEFI items. It is worth noting the Quick Note function, which allows you to make "notes in the margins", as well as the Last Modified option, which displays the history of the last changes.

The Main tab is used to set the date and time, configure security options, as well as display brief information about the installed components and the version of the control microcode.

Overclocking functions are concentrated in the Ai Tweaker menu. Here you can control the frequency of the reference generator, the multiplication factors of the computational modules and the built-in north bridge, as well as the operating modes of the integrated graphics accelerator and the RAM subsystem.

For memory modules, you can activate X.M.P. profiles by setting the Ai Overclock Tuner parameter to D.O.C.P.

In the mode manual setting for RAM, frequencies up to 2400 MHz are available, and the DRAM Timing Control tab contains numerous timing settings.

The firmware of the novelty has advanced tools for automatic overclocking: enabling the OC Tuner option increases the speed of the computing cores, and GPU Boost, as the name suggests, allows you to raise the frequency of the integrated video core. For the latter, a mode of manual increase in productivity is provided.

Owners of the latest Kaveri APUs can take advantage of the TDP Configuration feature to limit heat generation.

UEFI Setup has a variety of power management capabilities.

The list of voltages, their ranges and step of change are presented in the following table:

Parameter	Adjustment range, V	Step, B
CPU Offset Voltage	-0,375…+0,375	0,00625
VDDNB Offset Voltage	-0,4125…+0,4125	0,00625
DRAM Voltage	1,35-1,7	0,005
SB 1.1V Voltage	1,1-1,2	0,01
1.1VSB Voltage	1,1-1,4	0,1
APU1.2V Voltage	1,05-1,25	0,01
VDDA Voltage	1,8-2,1	0,1

In principle, the proposed tools will be sufficient for moderate overclocking, however, to set the voltages on the processor cores and the built-in server bridge, only one mode is provided - Offset, which allows you to specify the increase to the standard value. On the one hand, this allows the operation of energy-saving technologies to be maintained during overclocking, but it somewhat complicates the selection of the required voltage.

The DIGI + VRM block of the Ai Tweaker section is used to control fine-tuning of the power supply subsystem, where the options are located that are responsible for countering voltage drops, adjusting overcurrent protection, operating frequency power elements and disconnection of unused phases.

The settings for the numerous expansion options of the motherboard are concentrated in the Advanced tab, where users can configure the operation of peripherals, disk and network subsystems, as well as the integrated graphics accelerator.

There is a separate CPU Configuration submenu for configuring processor power saving features, hardware virtualization, virus protection and AMD Turbo Core technology.

The system monitoring and fan control functions are located in the Monitor section. It displays the readings of two temperature and three tachometric sensors, and also displays the voltages on the processor and main supply buses.

For three fans, the possibility of automatic rotation speed control is provided; for this, it is enough to select one of the three preset profiles. Advanced users can adjust the impeller operation independently depending on the processor temperature.

Additional features of the ASUS A88XM-Plus firmware include: the utility for updating the control microcode EZ Flash 2, the function for viewing information about RAM modules SPD Information, and in the O.C. Profile users can save up to eight sets of UEFI settings.

Finally, the setup menu has a graphical EZ Mode, which is useful for basic motherboard configuration. It can be used to set the date and time, activate X.M.P. profiles. for RAM modules, adjust the fans, select the speed mode, and set the order of initialization boot devices.

Complete software

Along with the ASUS A88XM-Plus motherboard, buyers receive a high-quality and multifunctional product Ai Suite 3, designed for overclocking, system monitoring and additional features. At the bottom of the window interface there is an information panel, which displays the current operating mode of the processor and the readings of the system monitoring sensors.

The software allows you to control the digital power subsystem, configure the operation of power-saving functions, set parameters for increased performance, and also activate automatic overclocking technologies.

Fan Xpert 2 software module is used to control the fan rotation speeds, which allows you to flexibly configure the operation of each fan, both in automatic and manual modes.

Additional features of Ai Suite 3 include USB utility 3.0 Boost, which accelerates the work with external drives by activating the UASP protocol, and the Network iControl subroutine, which allows you to manage the bandwidth network connection depending on the type of traffic.

Overclocking potential

Since ASUS A88XM-Plus is an inexpensive model, it would be naive to expect outstanding overclocking results from it. In practice, our AMD A10-7850K APU managed to achieve stability only at 4300 MHz, while the slightest excess of it caused the system to freeze. To obtain such overclocking, the voltage on the computational cores and the built-in northbridge was increased by 0.075 V, and the Load Line Calibration options were set to High. The RAM modules operated at a frequency of 2400 MHz with delays of 10-12-12-31-1T in accordance with the X.M.P. profile.

An unpleasant feature of the overclocking process was the incorrect display of Vcore in most diagnostic utilities. The only exception was the corporate software Ai Suite 3, which showed the true voltage value. However, judging by the acceptable temperature regime, the factors holding back overclocking were the flaws in the firmware, or flaws in the design of the power subsystem of the "motherboard". Let's hope that with the release of updated versions of UEFI, the situation will change for the better.

As for the overclocking of the integrated video core, ASUS A88XM-Plus allowed to increase the frequency to 1029 MHz. To do this, it was necessary to increase the APU1.2V Voltage by 0.15 V, which is responsible for powering the integrated graphics accelerator.

In terms of increasing the reference frequency, the novelty showed very modest results - only 15 MHz higher than the nominal. It seems that the whole thing is in the use of the integrated video core, while with discrete graphics accelerators motherboards for AMD APUs a priori achieve much better values.

Beginners and users who do not want to understand the intricacies of overclocking will be interested in the automatic overclocking functions. Activating the OC Tuner option in the UEFI setup menu raised the APU frequency to 4100 MHz, while the RAM modules were set to 1600 MHz with delays of 9-9-9-24-1T.

To accelerate the integrated video core, you can use the GPU Boost function, the activation of which raises the clock frequency to 960 MHz. Together with the automatic overclocking of computing modules, this will allow a noticeable increase in performance in games and application programs.

Test stand

To test the performance of the system ASUS boards A88XM-Plus was assembled with the following configuration:

• processor: AMD A10-7850K (3.7 GHz);
• cooler:
  • ASUS A88XM-Plus UEFI Setup 1102 dated 01/20/2014;
  • ASUS A88X-Pro UEFI Setup 0802 dated 01/29/2014;
  • Gigabyte G1.Sniper A88X UEFI Setup F8b from 02/06/2014;
  • MSI A88X-G45 Gaming UEFI Setup V1.1B1 from 02/20/2014.
  The following set of software was used for testing:
  • AIDA64 4.20.2800 (Cache & Memory benchmark);
  • Futuremark PCMark 8 v2.0.204 (OpenCL Accelerated);
  • Futuremark 3DMark v1.2.250;
  • Batman: Arkham City;
  • F1 2012;
  • Total War: Rome II.
  Each test was repeated at least three times, the results of which were used to calculate the average value.

  Test results

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  In the Cache & Memory benchmark in the reading test, the novelty took the second place, yielding only to ASUS A88X-Pro, and also showed the lowest latency among all the participants. At the same time, when writing and copying data to RAM, the heroine of today's review gave way to motherboards from Gigabyte and MSI.

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  The results in the Futuremark PCMark 8 benchmark application show the level of performance in performing everyday applications. In the home use scenario, ASUS A88XM-Plus has the second result, when creating digital content the board lagged slightly behind its older sister, while in the subtest imitating work in office applications, the novelty deserved a victory.
  
  Testing in PC games was carried out in Full HD resolution at high, but not maximum quality settings. In this mode, ASUS A88XM-Plus provided high performance, so the poor performance in semi-synthetic 3DMark can be attributed to a sub-optimal firmware version.

  Energy consumption

  To measure the power consumption of the test benches, we used the Basetech Cost Control 3000 instrument to estimate the peak power consumption values ​​when passing the Prime95 stress test and the 3DMark graphics benchmark, as well as the average power consumption of the test benches when idle.

  

  
  The novelty showed excellent energy efficiency in idle time, and became the second most efficient at maximum load on computing modules, while in games its power consumption turned out to be higher than that of MSI and Gigabyte motherboards.

  conclusions

  In the process of today's acquaintance, the ASUS A88XM-Plus motherboard showed itself from the very positive side... The novelty has demonstrated an excellent combination of functionality, performance and workmanship. Unexpectedly, the motherboard showed a good margin of safety, although the overclocking results were somewhat more modest than those of the best models for the Socket FM2 + platform. Traditionally, ASUS products do not have the slightest complaints about the quality of the control microcode and software. In short, the A88XM-Plus looks great even against the background of more expensive motherboards, but at the same time it has a very affordable cost of about $ 90, thanks to which the novelty has every reason to purchase an inexpensive but productive system unit based on the Kaveri APU.

Motherboard ASUS A88XM- A As the name implies, it is based on the flagship AMD A88X chipset, with the key features of which we have already introduced you earlier. Due to the compact microATX format, as well as good equipment, in theory, this new product is perfect for assembling small-sized entry and middle-level home systems with AMD Kaveri series processors or with solutions from the AMD Trinity / Richland lines. Separately, we note that its indisputable advantages include its quite affordable cost, which at the time of writing the review averages $ 70.

Since you can familiarize yourself with all the key features of the system logic set and supported processors using the links above, we suggest going directly to the review of the motherboard, having studied in more detail all its advantages and disadvantages, if any.

See all prices for Asus + A88XM-A

Packaging and equipment

The processor is powered by a 3 + 2-phase scheme for computing cores and additional nodes. The converter itself is based on the ASP1206 digital PWM controller with a built-in DIGI + power management subsystem. All components of the processor power supply unit are highly reliable: Japanese solid-state capacitors and chokes with a ferrite core are used. The main 24-pin and additional 4-pin connectors are provided for the supply voltage.

Multi I / O capabilities are implemented using the ITE IT8603E chip, which controls the system fans, COM and PS / 2 ports, and provides monitoring.

In line with the 5X PROTECTION concept, ASUS A88XM-A's interface panel is made of high quality stainless steel with a chromium oxide coating, which makes it more durable. It includes the following ports:

• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x DVI-D;
• 1 x D-Sub;
• 2 x PS / 2 for connecting a mouse and keyboard;
• 1 x LAN (RJ45);
• 2 x USB 3.0;
• 2 x USB 2.0;
• 3 x audio ports.

Such a layout of the interface panel can be safely called quite decent for available solutions: Not only a good range of video outputs are available, but also modern USB 3.0 ports. Additionally, we note the support for connecting peripherals with a PS / 2 connector, as well as the ability to bring the COM port to the PC interface panel using the corresponding connector on the printed circuit board. As features, we note not the most convenient connection of multichannel speakers, as well as our desire to see more USB ports.

The possibilities of organizing cooling inside the system case of ASUS A88XM-A are quite standard. There are two 4-pin fan headers, one for cooling the CPU while the other is for the system turntable.

UEFI BIOS

ASUS A88XM-A motherboard uses a state-of-the-art UEFI GUI preloader that can be configured with a mouse. The UEFI BIOS home screen displays CPU temperature and voltage monitoring. Also in this section you can see the BIOS version, processor model and the amount of installed RAM.

All settings related to the overclocking of the system are located in the "Ai Tweaker" tab.

The memory frequency multiplier allows you to set the speed of the connected modules in the range from 800 to 2400 MHz.

You can also access the memory latency adjustments as needed.

To increase stability during overclocking, the DIGI + digital power subsystem control settings can be used.

The settings required for overclocking and optimizing the system are summarized in the table:

Parameter	Menu name	Range
System bus frequency
Chipset frequency
CPU multiplier
	CPU Voltage Frequency
RAM frequency	System Memory Multiplier
RAM timings		CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Pre Time, RAS ACT Time, COMMAND Mode, Row Cycle Time, READ to PRE Time, RAS to RAS Delay, WRITE to READ Delay, CAS Write Latency, WRITE Recovery Time, FOUR ACT WIN Time , REF Cycle Time
Permissible deviation from the set voltage on the processor	CPU Offset Voltage	0,00625 - 0,50000
	VDDNB Offset Voltage	0,35000 - 0,50000
Voltage on RAM modules		1,35000 - 1,65000
Chipset voltage		1,10000 - 1,22000

The "Monitor" section provides access to monitoring the temperature of the processor and chipset, as well as the rotational speed of the installed fans. Additionally, in this section, you can monitor the voltage on the processor core and on the + 12V, + 5V and + 3.3V power lines.

Unfortunately, the ability to monitor the voltage supply of memory modules is not implemented.

Separately, it is worth noting the ability to take screenshots in the BIOS and support for the Russian language.

Overclocking capabilities

V manual mode By simply increasing the multiplier, we managed to achieve stable system operation at an AMD A10-5800K APU frequency of 4500 MHz and a voltage of 1.464 V, which is a good result for a quality motherboard.

Despite the declared support for the 2400 MHz frequency, even with manual timing settings, the speed of the RAM modules was only increased to 2133 MHz. Perhaps this is due to the use of APUs of the AMD Trinity line, because the RAM controller in the solutions of the AMD Kaveri series has been significantly improved.

Testing

The following hardware was used to test the capabilities of the ASUS A88XM-A motherboard:

	Scythe Mugen 3 Rev. B PCGH Edition
RAM	2 x 4 GB DDR3-2400 TwinMOS TwiSTER 9DHCGN4B-HAWP
Video card		AMD Radeon HD 7660D
Video capture device		AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable
HDD	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB SATA-300 NCQ
Optical drive	ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA
Power Supply	Seasonic X-560 Gold (SS-560KM Active PFC)
	CODEGEN M603 MidiTower (2x 120 mm blowing / blowing fans)

Test results

During ASUS testing The A88XM-A performed on par with the competition. Based on the results obtained, we can conclude about the high-quality performance of the board, the selection of effective components and good optimization. BIOS settings.

Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC887 codec

RightMark Audio Analyzer Test Report

16-bit, 44.1 kHz

Noise level, dB (A)
Dynamic range, dB (A)
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
		Very good
		Very good
Intermodulation at 10 kHz,%		Very good
Overall score		Very good

Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz

Frequency response (in the range 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB
Noise level, dB (A)		Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A)		Very good
Harmonic distortion,%		Very good
Harmonic distortion + noise, dB (A)
Intermodulation distortion + noise,%		Very good
Interpenetration of channels, dB
Intermodulation at 10 kHz,%		Very good
Overall score		Very good

The capabilities of the pre-installed audio subsystem based on the Realtek ALC887 audio codec will be enough for everyday use due to the high sound quality. If you want to install a discrete sound card, then remember that if you have a video card with a dual-slot cooling system, you can only use the PCI slot.

conclusions

Summing up our acquaintance with the motherboard ASUS A88XM- A, a well-balanced solution with an affordable cost of about $ 70, it can be noted that it is quite capable of competing for the attention of buyers. Such a conclusion is quite easy to justify by the presence of a large number of SATA 6 Gb / s ports, support for a modern USB 3.0 interface, compliance with the 5X PROTECTION concept, good opportunities manual overclocking of the processor, as well as the overall high quality of performance and support for a number of proprietary technologies and utilities.

However, it is quite obvious that the affordable cost almost always goes in parallel with a number of disadvantages and features. And if the first in this case were not noticed, then as the second it is worth highlighting the inconvenient connection of multichannel acoustics, the absence of holes for mounting screws on the right side of the motherboard, as well as the availability of only one PCI slot in the case of installing a two-slot video card.

As a result, the ASUS A88XM-A motherboard can be safely recommended for purchase due to its excellent price-to-equipment ratio, which is complemented by the absence of critical flaws. In our opinion, the most demanded this model may be in the segment of inexpensive multimedia centers and home PCs with one video card.

Advantages:

• reliable 5-phase digital power supply of the DIGI + VRM processor;
• improved hardware components and compliance with the 5X PROTECTION concept for more reliable and stable operation of the motherboard;
• support for a large number of SATA 6 Gb / s ports;
• support for AMD Eyefinity technologies and AMD Dual Graphics;
• support for a number of useful proprietary technologies and utilities (AI Suite 3, Ai Charger, Network iControl, USB 3.0 Boost, Disk Unlocker, Fan Xpert and others);
• good overclocking potential;
• affordable cost.

Peculiarities:

• lack of mounting holes in the corners of the right side of the printed circuit board;

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Low-cost solution with support for legacy interfaces

More recently, while studying the Asus Crossblade Ranger motherboard, we wrote that the most interesting from a practical point of view models for the AMD FM2 + platform are compact motherboards of the lower price level, which allow to fully realize such characteristic advantages as low price and the ability to create compact, but sufficiently productive (up to gaming use) computer systems... Our today's heroine illustrates this approach to the maximum extent: this is one of the cheapest motherboards (both from MSI and from other manufacturers), nevertheless based on a top-end chipset for the line. Of course, everything that could raise the price went “under the knife” in this case, but is it worth regretting? In other words, what is the current lower level? Let's try to get to know him.

Configuration and features of the board

Summary table of characteristics MSI boards A88XM-E35 is listed below, and further in the text we will consider all its features and functionalities.

Supported processors	Trinity, Richland, Kavery
CPU socket
Chipset
Memory	2 × DDR3 (up to 32GB)
Audio subsystem
Network Controller	Realtek RTL8111G
Expansion slots	1 × PCIe 3.0 / 2.0 x16 (version depends on processor model) 1 × PCIe 2.0 x1 1 × PCI
SATA connectors	6 × SATA 6Gb / s
USB ports	4 × USB 3.0 8 × USB 2.0
Rear panel connectors	1 × HDMI 1 × VGA 1 × DVI-D 2 × USB 3.0 4 × USB 2.0 1 × RJ-45 2 × PS / 2 3 × audio minijack
Internal connectors	24-pin ATX power connector 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 6 × SATA 6Gb / s 2 × connectors for 4-pin fans 1 × connector for 3-pin fans 1 × connector for USB 3.0 ports 2 × connectors for connecting USB 2.0 ports
Form Factor	microATX (226 × 216 mm)
average price
Retail offers	L-10564640-10

Form Factor

The MSI A88XM-E35 is made in a "narrowed" microATX form factor (226 × 216 mm) and can be installed in a case that supports boards with a microATX form factor or larger. There are six standard holes for mounting the board, and the "front" edge will hang freely (this is a common problem with narrow boards).

Chipset and processor socket

MSI A88XM-E35 is based on AMD's top-end A88X chipset, which differs from the earlier A85X only in support of the Kaveri family of processors. Actually, errors in FCH made the company move from FM2 to FM2 +, and the updated platform supports both new processors and any models of previous families for FM2.

Memory

There are two DIMM slots for installing memory modules on the board, which allows installing only one DDR3 module for each of the two memory channels with a maximum capacity of up to 32 GB (after the corresponding modules appear on sale). However, taking into account the budget of the board and platform, you can expect nothing - in most configurations of the entry-level, only 8 GB of memory is still used, which is easily obtained by installing two 4 GB modules of the "running size". The issue with frequencies is more complicated: only DDR3-1866 is officially supported, and 2133 MHz is formally achieved only with overclocking, although this frequency is standard for several models of AMD processors. It should be noted that with such a memory frequency, we did not have any problems when using a variety of modules, while on the Asus Crossblade Ranger, despite much more serious promises from the manufacturer, it was not possible to pick up at least one pair of modules, stably operating at 2133 MHz. In general, the simpler, the more reliable :)

Note also that the board supports memory with XMP profiles, but it is almost impossible to extract anything useful from this: firstly, the list of supported frequencies is limited (and 2133 has long become a standard value for many modern modules, and XMP is not here. needed), and secondly, there is no flexible regulation of the supply voltage of the memory modules, so the operable value will most likely have to be selected manually and "with a margin", and there is no point in contacting the "automatics".

Expansion slots

As we have already mentioned more than once, the rich expansion options are unlikely to be in demand by users of this platform - a fairly good (relatively) built-in video core is already in the AMD APU, and other expansion cards are found less and less in mainstream computers. However, there is a chance that they will be needed. And the combination of Athlon X4 (without a video core) and a mid-range video card is also quite justified, so MSI installed three different expansion slots on the board: PCIe x16 (2.0 or 3.0 depending on the processor used), PCIe 2.0 x1, and regular PCI.

Video connectors

To connect monitors and other display devices on the rear panel of the board there are HDMI 1.4 ports (maximum resolution 4096 × [email protected] Hz or 1920 × [email protected] Hz), DVI-D (Dual Link - up to 2560 × [email protected] Hz) and VGA (D-Sub).

SATA ports

To connect storage devices or optical drives the board provides six SATA 6 Gb / s ports, which are based on the controller integrated into the chipset. Naturally, all six support the ability to create RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10, but the question is about the total number of ports: after all, the chipset supports eight, not six. However, this question can be easily resolved if we take into account that on the same PCB the company also produces the A78M-E35 board based on the A78 chipset, which supports just six SATA ports. What else makes these chipsets different? Official support for splitting processor lines into PCIe slots, which is still not used on this board. Thus, from the point of view of consumer characteristics, the A88XM-E35 and A78M-E35 are identical, and if the second one suddenly turns out to be cheaper, then you should do so.

USB connectors, serial and parallel ports

To connect all kinds peripheral devices there are four USB port 3.0 and eight USB 2.0 ports, which is entirely within the capabilities of the chipset. As expected in this situation, exactly half of the ports (2 + 4, respectively) are routed to the rear panel, and the rest are available in the form of combs on the PCB.

An interesting feature of the board, which may well please owners of outdated peripherals, is the presence of internal COM and LPT ports. Unfortunately, the kit does not include a bar for bringing them out, but in general it costs a penny and may already be available. By the way, the board is equipped with not one, but two PS / 2 ports, which allows you to connect both a mouse and a keyboard with this interface. In general, in aggregate, we get a good option, at least for repairing an old computer, to which all outdated peripherals are connected, which it is a pity to throw out - only Parallel ATA support is lacking :)

Network interface

To connect to a segment local network the board implements a gigabit network interface based on the Realtek RTL8111G controller, which is practically the de facto standard for inexpensive motherboards.

Supply system

Like most low-cost boards, this one has 24-pin and 4-pin connectors for connecting a power supply. The processor voltage regulator on the board is a five-channel (three channels for powering the computational and graphics cores of the processor and two for the built-in north bridge). All components are inexpensive, but, nevertheless, MSI does not forget to mention the use of solid capacitors, black coils and other "Military Class", which has become commonplace.

Cooling system

As you might expect, the company limited itself to only a small heatsink on the chipset, and even that one performs rather decorative functions. But apart from the chipset, nothing is cooled at all.

As for the connectors for connecting fans, there are three of them, which is somewhat more than typical for motherboards of this class. However, it should be borne in mind that, firstly, the third connector is not only not controllable, but even viewing the number of revolutions is not provided for it. Second, the CPU fan connector does not support 3-pin fan control. However, processor coolers now cost a penny, and we have no reason to assume that a fan of rare hundred-dollar COs will be eager to install one on an inexpensive motherboard.

Audio subsystem

Again, as you might expect, analog audio support is implemented on the “just to be” principle: the old codec Realtek ALC887 is used, which was not the standard of sound quality “during its lifetime”. Formally, it supports 7.1 acoustics, but due to the presence of only three audio connectors on the rear panel, it can be connected only with the simultaneous use of both of them and the front outputs of the case. However, it seems to us that it is common for systems of this level to use a pair of inexpensive speakers, and nothing more, but if suddenly someone needs high-class acoustics, HDMI has long been successfully used to connect it.

Total

So what about MSI's budget solution? This is an absolute minimum, yes, but on the whole ... In general, this is a sufficient minimum, not without some frills :) In any case, the board completely covers the needs of buyers of budget computers, while leaving some freedom for further modernization. You won't be able to get the performance of top-end processors, but this is a general limitation of the platform itself. But attempts to save a little more can make you abandon, for example, a full set of video outputs, or even switch to much more "squeezed" systems, such as AM1 (which, by the way, will not necessarily save money when assessing the cost of the entire system). It is clear that some buyers find it difficult to step on the throat of their own song and refuse beautiful and shiny heat pipes, multi-colored radiators, "advanced" network controllers and top audio codecs (however, part of the list is not entirely useless), but they just need to buy another board. For example, the same MSI sells the A88XM Gaming model only twice as expensive as the A88XM-E35 - the price of all these improvements in bulk. But if you save on them, the difference will be enough, for example, to buy the A8-7600 instead of the A4-7300 - it seems to us that extended comments are not required here :)

And the second potential area of ​​application, where the board will have to be very appropriate, was mentioned above - the use of equipment with outdated interfaces. The board is equipped with the latter quite generously: there are PCI, a pair of PS / 2 ports, and even serial and parallel ports. At the same time, high performance of the platform in these segments is also, as a rule, not needed, but the price of the solution - very much - if it were not so, it would be possible to replace "antiques" with something more modern, or with a clear conscience to spend money on, for example , multi-card with PCIe interface. But there is such a map as a third of our today's heroine, which also does not need detailed comments.

The board was provided for testing by the manufacturer.

In our lab, we have already reviewed motherboards based on the AMD A88X system logic set, but these were advanced solutions from manufacturers. It is clear that, for example, ASRock Fatal1ty F2A88X + Killer and Biostar Hi-Fi A88W 3D will evoke different emotions and they are incomparable, but within the product lines of manufacturers they are precisely the most advanced ones. But with reviews of lower-end motherboards it is a little more difficult: their price is not high and each individually is not in good demand, here the volumes are made up of the number of models.

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Low demand for each of the models separately leads to the fact that vendors sometimes do not even bring samples and do not provide them for writing reviews. In addition, Russian representative offices of foreign manufacturers are often within certain quotas and “select” these quotas by ordering flagship solutions. Most often, it turns out that there are only literally two or three samples of budget class models, which are almost always on tests at some domestic assembler of ready-made computers. Moreover, the samples very often refer to those models that are unlikely to arouse any interest for an ordinary user who is interested in self-assembly of his computer.

The same low demand explains the fact that various Internet publications are practically not interested in dealing with them: not only are there no samples from vendors, low demand for certain models also leads to low interest from readers, which in turn leads to a small number transitions to reviews specific models... But such a fee can often be "obtained" by purchasing it at retail, then the author spends time testing, in the end, he needs to pay a fee for the written article, and the final "exhaust" in the form of increased interest of readers and attendance of the review is not even close justifies the investment.

It turns out a vicious circle with a circular disadvantage of reviews, breakthroughs from which sometimes occur: in cases when the Russian representative office of a company receives an "order from above" for more active promotion and it is accompanied by a stack of samples for tests. This is where the work begins ...

Among the reviews I receive, I have repeatedly met requests to try to "fit" several motherboards from different manufacturers in one review at once on the same set of system logic and approximately the same cost.

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Several models in one material is also an opportunity to compare them directly and immediately. At the same time, such a comprehensive review will lead to an increase in the flow of "arrivals" from search engines, as a result, the situation with a small number of interested parties becomes less acute. And thanks to cooperation with the Regard company, the problem with the "extraction" of samples becomes less urgent.

A bit of lyrics

After some thought and analysis of price lists, I selected three motherboards based on AMD A88X, related to the budget segment: ASUS A88XM-A, Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 and MSI A88XM-E35.

Yes, the models are not the newest (ASUS and Gigabyte - August 2013; MSI - November 2013), but they can be expected to cure "childhood diseases" both at the microcode level and at the element base level.

The price for these motherboards as a whole is in the range of 2100-2200 rubles. In particular, in the price list of the Regard company (at the time of their issuance to me), the first cost 2150 rubles, the second - 2140 rubles, and the third - for one hundred s small rubles cheaper - 2020 rubles. For Yandex.Market, the price spread was even smaller.

System logic set AMD A88X codenamed "Bolton-D4".

Although it is listed as new, there are almost no differences from, say, A85X ("Hudson-D4"): the same eight SATA, the same number of USB (two 1.1, ten 2.0, four 3.0), the same four PCI-E 2.0 for additional expansion slots, or connecting controllers. Even the process technology is the same: 65 nm. But AMD says there are still differences: it indicates the emergence of support for PCI-E 3.0.

However, the logic is actually strange: the processor, not the chipset, is responsible for PCI-E support in platforms for Socket FM2 / FM2 +. And the PCI-E lanes, supported by AMD A88X itself, remained in the second version. It is quite obvious that in fact we have before us the same A85X with minor improvements that ordinary users never even notice (for example, USB 3.0 xHCI has grown from version 0.96 to 1.0). Small optimizations and improvements to the crystal, change of the "nameplate" and now - we have a new product in front of us.

Specifications

To begin with, I will give a table of technical characteristics, where differences in specifications will be highlighted in bold (photographs in the table are clickable, when clicked, a full-size photograph will open).

Foreword

If you are interested in the Socket FM2 + platform, then the best place to start is to read AMD A10-7850K (Kaveri) Review: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back... In the article, all the innovations and features of the new processors are consistently considered, a detailed comparison with the predecessor and competitors is made. Unfortunately, the arrival of all the latest desktop processors from AMD and Intel leaves a disappointing feeling, the difference is only in the degree of disappointment. One would be glad that the Kaveri processors are produced according to a reduced technical process to 28 nm, and the cores have undergone a redesign, thanks to which the new Steamroller microarchitecture is superior in efficiency to the previous Piledriver. However, the innovations provided a slight increase in speed, and the significantly increased complexity of the crystal not only did not allow increasing the frequencies, it was not even possible to keep the previous ones. As a result, it's no surprise that FM2 + processors are still outperforming the competition. Intel solutions, but it's very sad that even the predecessor Socket FM2 is often ahead. The new hUMA and hQ technologies, which are part of the HSA heterogeneous computing system, are theoretically able to provide an advantage to processors, but Kaveri is unlikely, since by the time these technologies are implemented in practice, we will already be using other AMD processor models.

So the only indisputable advantage of the new processors is the integrated graphics core. It was pretty good before, but now it's even better, even faster. Of course, there can be no comparison with discrete high or mid-range graphics cards, you can only compete with entry-class models, but by the standards of integrated graphics, the performance is unmatched. In the end, although new processors have become more expensive, there is still a lucrative opportunity to build an entry-level gaming system without an external graphics card, if your requests are not too large and the budget is limited. This feature will certainly be of interest to our readers, and therefore it was decided to test several Socket FM2 + motherboards. Older models are not suitable for acquaintance, since they will be in limited demand, but I did not want to be disappointed once again when faced with the disadvantages of the cheapest motherboards. As a result, Asus A88XM-Plus and Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H models were chosen similar in characteristics and price. Both boards are manufactured the largest manufacturers with the name, both are based on AMD A88X logic, both are made in the microATX form factor, which is best suited for an entry-level system. It remains only to find out how these two models are comparable.

Asus A88XM-Plus board review

Sometimes motherboard manufacturers use different box designs for models that are designed for AMD or Intel processors. Often, even the packaging for different platforms is noticeably different, but in this case we see the design option typical for modern motherboards from ASUSTeK. On the front side there is the model name and logos of processors, a set of logic and technologies, and on the back side there is an image of the board, a short list of technical characteristics and a story about some of the features. Apart from the logos and model names, the packaging of the Asus A88XM-Plus looks exactly the same as the Asus Z87M-Plus, for example.

A lot of space on the front side of the box is occupied by the emblem of the complex of technologies "5X Protection" - this is a set of engineering solutions that ensure the board's reliability and long service life. It includes a stable power supply thanks to the digital regulator "DIGI +", protection against overloads, against short circuits and against static electricity. Long life solid capacitors and oxidation and corrosion resistant coated thin layer chromium oxide steel back panel of connectors, will allow this model to be used for a long time.

Boxes with junior models of ASUSTeK motherboards differ from packages of other manufacturers in a noticeably smaller thickness, which is due to a special compact way of placing components. The sheet of cardboard separating the board and accessories is longer than usual, its edge is wrapped, forming a separate compartment where the relatively thick SATA cables are located. The rest of the components and documentation do not take up much space and are located below, under the board. The difference in size, weight and quantity of packaging materials compared to standard cartons may seem small, but when the fees are in the millions, the total savings and reduction in environmental burden must be substantial.

The set of accessories supplied with the board is not rich as expected and includes everything only the most necessary:

two Serial ATA cables with metal latches, one with two straight, the other with one straight and the second L-shaped connector, cables are specially designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb / s devices (they differ in white inserts on the connectors);

user guide;
folding sheet containing brief assembly instructions;
memo with information about electrical safety and general rules of work;
DVD with software and drivers;
"Powered by ASUS" sticker on the system unit.

The appearance of the Asus A88XM-Plus board also seems familiar for a long time, even if you see it for the first time, since the same design option is used for all modern models from ASUSTeK that are not included in special series. The yellow color evokes associations with gold, and the nobility of the precious metal should emphasize the quality, reliability, performance and manufacturability of motherboards. The beauty of gilding is questionable, but color-coded key connectors make it easier to assemble the system. For example, the two slots in which the memory modules should be installed are highlighted in yellow, if this is the only pair of modules. The main connector for a discrete video card differs from the secondary one in the same color.

The ASUS DIGI + VRM digital power supply system, built according to the 4 + 2 formula, will be equally effective not only for new Socket FM2 + processors, but also for old Socket FM2. The developers of the board thought that a four-pin ATX12V power connector would be enough for the processor, but the heating elements of the power converter are still covered with an additional radiator, which is fastened with spring-loaded latches. But the main slot PCI Express 3.0 / 2.0 x16 will ensure the operation of an external video card according to the third version of the protocol only when using new processors. The second PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot is based on PCI-E chipset lines and supports x4 speeds, which, nevertheless, even allows you to combine video cards for joint work in AMD CrossFireX mode. In addition, there is one PCI Express 2.0 x1 and one PCI slot for expansion cards. Various layouts of eight SATA 6Gb / s connectors, which are provided by the AMD A88X chipset, will allow you to choose the most convenient option for connecting drives.

The available rear panel area is not fully utilized, which is also typical for entry-level models. Here you can find the following set of connectors:

two PS / 2 connectors for connecting a keyboard and mouse;
video outputs HDMI, D-Sub and DVI-D;
four USB 2.0 ports, and six more can be brought out using three internal connectors on the board;

LAN connector ( network adapter built on Realtek RTL8111G gigabit controller);
three analog audio connectors, the operation of which is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC887 codec.

The layout of the elements allows you to detect parallel and serial connectors LPT and COM, count three four-pin connectors for connecting fans, find the "MemOK!" to the graphics processor core. From the complex of technologies "Q-Design", which simplifies the assembly and operation of boards of the company ASUSTeK, model Asus The A88XM-Plus is equipped with convenient wide latches on the “Q-Slot” video card slots.

Let's save our impressions and evaluations of the Asus A88XM-Plus motherboard until we compare its capabilities with today's rival, and start getting to know it immediately.

Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board review

In terms of design, the box with the motherboard Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H practically does not differ from the packaging of other models of the company. On the front side, we see the name of the board and the logos of the supported processors and technologies.

On back side packaging, you can find a short list of the technical characteristics of the board and its image with an indication specific features, about the same as in the illustration below.

As expected, the set of accessories included with the board is not rich, but it is sufficient for a start:

four Serial ATA cables with metal latches, one pair with two straight, the other with one straight and a second L-shaped connector, cables are specially designed for connecting SATA 6 Gb / s devices;
back panel cover (I / O Shield);
user guide;
a brochure with quick assembly instructions in several languages;
DVD with software and drivers.

If the Asus motherboard was customarily "gold", then the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H model is also traditionally monochrome, only those Gigabyte motherboards that belong to the gaming and overclocking series look attractive. It is simply impossible not to notice this, but since such a gray-black design has been used by most Gigabyte motherboards over the past years, it seems that this situation is quite satisfactory for the company.

The boards of ASUSTeK company use a complex of technologies "5X Protection", which ensures reliability and a long service life; the complex "Ultra Durable 4 Plus" is intended for similar purposes. "Ultra Performance" - Uses long-life solid state capacitors and low impedance MOSFETs Low Rds (on) MOSFETs. Ultra Safe is the increased reliability provided by the proprietary DualBIOS function. In addition, the complex includes a number of other functions, such as protection against short circuits and static discharges, resistance of boards to high humidity thanks to a textolite made of tightly woven fibers.

The board does not have an additional heatsink on the heating elements of the processor's converter, but it is powered by an eight-pin ATX12V connector. The rest of the characteristics are exactly the same as those of the previously reviewed Asus board. Four slots for DDR3 memory modules can accommodate up to 64 GB of total capacity with frequencies from 1333 to 2400 MHz, there is support for AMD Memory Profile (AMP) and Extreme Memory Profile (XMP). For an external video card, there is a PCI Express 3.0 / 2.0 x16 slot, and for the joint operation of video cards in AMD CrossFireX mode, you can use the second PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, which provides maximum speed x4. In addition, one PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot and one PCI slot can be used for expansion cards. Additional storage controllers are not used, eight SATA 6 Gb / s ports are implemented using the capabilities of the AMD A88X chipset, but all connectors are oriented vertically, there are no "lying" ones.

Just like in the ASUS motherboard, the rear panel area is not fully used, the set of output connectors is close, but not the same:

four USB 2.0 ports and only four can be brought out using two internal connectors on the board;
universal PS / 2 connector for connecting a keyboard or mouse;
video outputs D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI;
two USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors) appeared thanks to the capabilities of the AMD A88X chipset, and two additional USB 3.0 ports can be brought out using one internal connector;
LAN connector (the network adapter is built on the Realtek RTL8111F gigabit controller);
optical S / PDIF and three analog audio connectors, the operation of which is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC887 codec.

What I have always liked about Gigabyte motherboards is the flawlessly executed schematic drawings in manuals. Compare with the diagram of any other model from any other manufacturer. It will be drawn less neatly, a table with explanations must be attached to it, you must use an enlarged image to see all the elements. Diagrams of Gigabyte motherboards do not require this, everything is visible, even the nomenclature of controllers, everything is clear, you can admire the diagrams, this is a real work of technological art.

The circuit allows detecting COM and LPT connectors, although the place for the latter is not standard, and three four-pin connectors for connecting fans. For most other platforms, I would write down the disadvantages of the inconvenient location of the connectors for the processor and the first system fans. Access to them is limited by a processor cooling system on the one hand and a discrete video card on the other. However, motherboards with Socket FM2 + processors will mainly use the integrated graphics core, without an external video card, so this disadvantage is not too significant.

Comparative characteristics of boards

All major specifications boards have been grouped in a table for ease of comparison.

Each board has its own individual characteristics. The ASUSTeK board is slightly smaller in width and boasts an additional radiator on the heating elements of the processor converter, but it is powered by a four-pin ATX12V connector. Three internal connectors allow for six additional USB 2.0 ports, versus four for the Gigabyte board. Of the additional features, one should note the button "MemOK!" and the "GPU Boost" switch. The Gigabyte board stands out for the presence of two BIOS chips and an optical S / PDIF output on the rear panel. In general, the technical characteristics of the boards are almost the same, which is not at all surprising, because models with a similar price and capabilities were specially selected.

BIOS of the Asus A88XM-Plus board

More than a year ago we studied Socket FM2 motherboards and since then the BIOS of ASUSTeK's motherboards has changed noticeably. The unification extends not only to the design of the packaging and the boards themselves, but also to the BIOS capabilities. For Socket FM2 + models, it is now almost exactly the same as for LGA1150 motherboards, except for some individual peculiarities of various platforms. As before, by default, when entering the BIOS, we are greeted by the simplified EZ Mode, but it is no longer useless, since it allows us not only to find out the basic characteristics of the system, but also to carry out its initial configuration. The "F5" key loads a standard set of parameters, in addition to the ability to set the correct time and date, as well as select the fan operating mode, you can apply overclocking profiles for memory modules and get acquainted with the information about the connected drives. If you have several drives, you can set the order of polling boot devices by simply dragging and dropping their emblems with the mouse. The "F7" key is used to switch from "EZ Mode" to "Advanced Mode", or you can use the "F3" key, which allows you to quickly move to one of the most frequently used sections of the BIOS.

Each time you enter the BIOS, you can switch from "EZ Mode" to "Advanced Mode", you can use the F3 key, which, by the way, works in all other sections of the BIOS, but it will be much more convenient if you make the "Advanced Mode" starting in the settings. In this case, the familiar section "Main" will appear first before our eyes. It provides basic information about the system, allows you to set the current date and time, it is possible to change the BIOS interface language, including Russian. In the "Security" subsection, you can set user and administrator access passwords.

However, the "Main" section is no longer the first in the list, a new section "My Favorites" appeared in front of it. It is designed to collect all the parameters you use most often in one place. Initially, the section is empty and contains only background information how exactly to add or remove options using the mouse or keyboard.

I must say that there are a number of prohibitions for selecting parameters, and they apply not only to entire sections or subsections, the manual for the board still informs about the impossibility to add individual parameters that contain submenus, but the check showed that this annoying restriction has already been removed. In addition, the list of options displayed by pressing the "F3" key was initially spared from such prohibitions, which can also be edited by deleting unnecessary items and adding the necessary items. The maximum flexibility can be obtained from the combination of the capabilities of the "My Favorites" section and the menu with the most common links, however, the "My Favorites" section was, as it were, on the sidelines, it cannot be selected as a starting point, as, indeed, any other section, so this the shortage still remains.

The bulk of the overclocking options is concentrated in the "Ai Tweaker" section. The number of parameters is very large, and initially you see a far from complete list, since all of them are set automatically by the board, but as soon as you proceed to manual configuration, many options previously hidden as unnecessary appear. You can change the “Ai Overclock Tuner” parameter to “D.O.C.P.” to automatically change the parameters of the memory subsystem, or to “Manual” to control all the options yourself. The EPU Power Saving Mode parameter retained the ability to select a power saving mode between light, medium and maximum. To limit power consumption due to processor performance, you can use the "Target TDP" option, setting the required value in the range from 45 to 65 watts. The "GPU Boost" parameter will allow you to select the preset overclocking modes of the integrated graphics core "Turbo Mode" or "Extreme Mode", or manually set the desired frequency. The OC Tuner option is designed to automatically overclock the system.

To control the current voltage values, you do not need to go to the monitoring section, they are indicated right there, next to each of the parameters that allow you to change these voltages, which is very convenient. Voltages can be set both above and below nominal. It is impossible not to notice the large number of options related to power and energy consumption, which appeared thanks to digital system power supply "DIGI +". Directly in the BIOS, you can control proprietary energy-saving technologies that allow you to change the number of active phases of the processor power supply, depending on the level of its load. The technologies for countering voltage drop under load on the processor and the integrated part of the north bridge can not only be turned on or off, but also the degree of resistance can be dosed.

Some of the parameters are traditionally placed in subsections so as not to overly clutter up the main one. In particular, the memory timings are changed on a separate page, their number is very large, but it is quite convenient to use the capabilities of this subsection. Using the scroll bar, it's easy to see all the timings set by the board for two memory channels. You can change only a few of them, for example, only the main ones, leaving the default values ​​for the rest.

This completes the capabilities of the "Ai Tweaker" section, meanwhile, we have not yet found a whole group of very important options that control the operation of processor technologies. This is a characteristic drawback not only of ASUSTeK boards, but also of most boards from other manufacturers. The root of the problem lies in the AMI BIOS, which is at the heart of the UEFI BIOS of modern motherboards, and in its irrational basic layout.

The capabilities of the subsections of the "Advanced" section are generally well known to us and understandable from their names. They allow you to configure the operation of a set of logic and additional controllers, various interfaces.

In the CPU Configuration subsection, we learn the basics about the processor and finally get access to the management of the most important processor technologies related to energy efficiency, performance, virtualization and security.

The "Monitor" section reports the current values ​​of temperatures, voltages and fan speed. For all fans, you can select the preset speed control modes from the standard set: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo", leave the full speed of rotation, or select the appropriate parameters in manual mode. Unfortunately, only two system connectors can regulate the rotation speed of three-pin fans; this ability has not yet returned to the processor one.

Next is the "Boot" section, where we select the parameters that will be applied at system startup. Here, by the way, and you need to change the starting mode "EZ Mode" to "Advanced Mode". At the same time, during setup, you can disable the "Fast Boot" parameter so as not to encounter problems when entering the BIOS due to the fact that the board starts up very quickly and you simply do not have time to press a key in time.

The next section "Tool" contains a couple of extremely important and regularly used subsections, as well as one that is almost useless.

The built-in utility for updating the firmware "Asus EZ Flash 2" is one of the most convenient and functional programs of this kind. One of the advantages is support for reading from partitions formatted in NTFS. So far only motherboards from ASUSTeK and Intel have this feature. Unfortunately, the ability to keep the current firmware version before upgrading has been eliminated altogether. The Asus Overclocking Profile subsection allows you to save and quickly load eight complete BIOS settings profiles. Each profile can be given a short name to remind you of its content. Profiles can be exchanged by storing them on external media. The downside is that the error has not yet been fixed, due to which the disabling of the start image display is not remembered in the profiles.

In addition, in the "Tools" section there is a subsection "Asus SPD Information", where you can familiarize yourself with the information hardwired into the SPD of memory modules, including the XMP profiles (Extreme Memory Profile). However, the place for this subsection was chosen unsuccessfully, because memory latencies change in a completely different subsection, it is very far from here and it is inconvenient to use the information provided.

In the center of the right part of the screen, above the constantly reminiscent list of "hot keys", two buttons are visible - "Quick Note" and "Last Modified".

The first one allows you to write down and keep yourself some important reminder, and the second displays a list of the last changes made, it is saved even when the system is rebooted or turned off. You can always look at and remember what changes in the BIOS settings were made the last time, and now you do not even need to enter the BIOS for this, since the "Save to USB" button allows you to save the list of changes to an external medium.

Extremely convenient was the "Last Modified" pop-up window "BIOS Setting Change", which automatically shows a list of changes every time the settings are saved. Looking at the list, you can easily check the correctness of the specified values ​​before applying the changes, make sure that there are no erroneous or forgotten options. In addition, using this window, it is easy to find out the difference between the current settings and the values ​​recorded in the BIOS profiles. After loading the profile, you will instantly see all its main differences from the set parameters in the appeared “BIOS Setting Change” window.

Summing up, we can say that the capabilities of the Asus EFI BIOS were very good before, and therefore there was no need for deep processing, only a certain correction was required to eliminate the shortcomings. It was carried out and in the new BIOS modification you can find many changes for the better. Some are not too dramatic, such as the increase in functionality to that almost completely useless "EZ Mode". Others are more important, including the new "My Favorites" section, the ability to leave notes and edit the list of the most frequently used BIOS sections, which can be displayed at any time by pressing the "F3" key. The “Last Modified” list is useful, and the “BIOS Setting Change” popup with a list of the current changes that will be applied is extremely useful.

At the same time, the error has not yet been fixed, according to which the disabling of the start image display is not remembered in the profiles. The parameters that play a very important role in the operation of the system, which control processor technologies, have not yet been included in the "Ai Tweaker" section, it is too long and inconvenient to get to them. The widespread use of the "My Favorites" section is hindered by certain restrictions on adding parameters and the impossibility of selecting it as a starting one, as, indeed, of any other section. It's a pity that motherboards for Socket FM2 + processors have not yet returned the ability to adjust the rotation speed of three-pin processor fans.

BIOS of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board

First entrance to BIOS boards The Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H may be a little disappointing as it lacks the new Dashboard mode, which provides an unprecedentedly rich customization options. The traditional, classic Gigabyte UEFI DualBIOS is used, even the 3D mode, which Socket FM2 boards had, has been removed, apparently because few people used it.

Unlike many other manufacturers, where most of the options necessary for fine-tuning performance and for overclocking are collected in one very large section, in the BIOS of Gigabyte boards they are divided into many pages by category. Parameters related to the processor, to the memory subsystem, to voltage changes are grouped into separate subsections, and each subsection, in turn, is additionally divided into separate pages... There is a plus in this approach - all the parameters are immediately before your eyes, they usually fit on one screen, there is no need to find the ones you need in a long list. There are also disadvantages - the constant jumping from one section to another and from page to page gets tired, you can easily accidentally skip a whole group of settings.

For example, in the subsection "Advanced Frequency Settings" we manage frequencies and multipliers, and a number of informational parameters will allow us to keep abreast of the results of the changes made.

However, for a more detailed setting of the processor's operation, the multiplication factors of its cores, various technologies and energy-saving modes, you need to go to a separate page "Advanced CPU Core Settings".

Changing the memory parameters is implemented in a similar way, where the frequency changes on one screen, and the delays on the other. Timings can be set the same or individual for each of the two channels.

The section with stresses was dispensed with without dividing into separate pages; for a few options, this is not necessary. Another disadvantage is that the voltage can only be increased, lowering is impossible, although the use of low-voltage DDR3 memory is still permissible, since the interval starts from 1.2 V. As with the Asus board, you can independently choose the degree of resistance to voltage drop under load on the processor and an integrated part of the north bridge.

Subsection "PC Health Status" reports data on current voltages, temperatures, and fan speed. Unfortunately, only two system connectors are capable of reducing the fan speed with a three-pin connection, and the processor connector has lost this useful ability.

Section "System Information" is a close analogue of the previous section "Standard CMOS Features", here we learn basic information about the system, we can change the date, time and language of the BIOS interface. In the "BIOS Features" section, we set the order of polling boot devices, disable the display of the image at startup, control other parameters, for example, you can enable the fast start function, a special mode Windows boot 8, assign access passwords. The Peripherals section allows you to control the operation of peripherals and additional controllers on the board. The Power Management section contains the usual set of options related to board startup, power saving, and power.

In the "Save & Exit" section, you can save the changes made, exit without saving, or load the default settings. There are also two parameters for working with BIOS settings profiles. As before, the boards allow you to save or load eight different profiles of settings, each can be given a name reminiscent of its contents, it is possible to save profiles on external media and load from them. A unique feature of the company's boards is the ability to automatically save the current set of settings upon successful completion of the starting procedure, even the number of successful starts is remembered. Thus, later you can return to using a workable profile, although it was not specially saved by the user.

Finally, one cannot but remind about the existence of the built-in utility for updating firmware “Q-Flash”, which is called when you press the “F8” key in the BIOS or the “End” key when starting the board. Unlike the built-in utilities on boards from ASRock and ASUSTeK, it allows you to pre-save the current firmware version.

We have repeatedly reviewed the BIOS capabilities of motherboards from Gigabyte and it seemed that unknown pages simply did not exist for us, but pleasant surprises were still possible. It turned out by chance that in the classic mode there is also a list of frequently used pages, it can be displayed by pressing the undocumented key "F11". Unlike a similar list in Dashboard mode, it cannot be edited.

There is nothing critical in the absence of a configurable Dashboard mode in the BIOS of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H. It's a bit of a pity, but the classic BIOS look of Gigabyte motherboards contains the same set of parameters as the new mode, and personally I have always continued to use the old one. It also allows you to successfully configure the necessary options and overclock the system. But there is no possibility of automatic overclocking of the processor and there are no predefined profiles to increase the memory frequency, as in LGA1150 motherboards from Gigabyte. It is impossible to reduce the voltages and the number of voltage control parameters is much more modest than that of the ASUSTeK board. Even the characteristic for Gigabyte boards lacks the ability to adjust the rotational speed of a three-pin processor fan. So the slight feeling of disappointment that appeared at the beginning of acquaintance with the BIOS of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board remains and does not disappear.

Test system configuration

All experiments were carried out on a test system that includes the following set of components:

Motherboards:

Asus A88XM-Plus rev. 1.02 (Socket FM2 +, AMD A88X, BIOS version 1302);
Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H rev. 3.0 (Socket FM2 +, AMD A88X, BIOS version F6c);

Processor - AMD A10-7850K (3.7-4.0 GHz, 4 cores (2 modules), Kaveri, 28 nm, 95 W, Socket FM2 +);
Memory - 4 x 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM G.SKILL TridentX F3-2133C9Q-32GTX, (2133 MHz, 9-11-11-31-2N, supply voltage 1.6 V);
Graphics Card - Integrated Graphics AMD core Radeon R7 Graphics (GCN 1.1, Specter, 28 nm, 720 MHz, 8 clusters, 512 shaders);
Disk subsystem -Crucial m4 SSD (CT256M4SSD2, 256 GB, SATA 6 Gb / s);
Cooling system - Noctua NH-D14;
Thermal paste - ARCTIC MX-2;
Power supply - Enhance EPS-1280GA, 800W;
Case - an open test bench based on the Antec Skeleton case.

The operating system was Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64 bit (Microsoft Windows, Version 6.3, Build 9600), a set of AMD Catalyst 14.4 drivers.

In preparation for tests new platform by installing updates, the operating system Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 64 bit was refreshed, although this did not change its version number or build number. It was immediately decided to abandon the use of an external video card, because a powerful by the standards of the integrated graphics core is the main advantage of the new Kaveri processors. Certain doubts about the correctness were left only by the choice of the cooling system. It is unlikely that many will buy a cooler that is more expensive than a motherboard, but the Noctua NH-D14 is far from new, but still very effective. We also did not purchase it on purpose, it remained from the previous tests, the same situation can occur with users of the new platform when updating the old one. So it was decided to use this particular cooler, we didn't want to additionally limit the already not too high potential of the new processors with some more suitable, but less efficient cooling system.

Nuances of operation and overclocking of the Asus A88XM-Plus board

The assembly of the test system based on the Asus A88XM-Plus motherboard did not cause any difficulties, the first launch was successful, and the firmware was easily updated to the latest version at the time of checking using the utility “Asus EZ Flash 2” built into the BIOS. In general, no significant difficulties were found when working with the board, but, as always, there were more than enough minor drawbacks.

At startup, ASUSTeK motherboards show a boot image, which prompts you to enter the BIOS by pressing the "Del" or "F2" keys. However, these are standard features that do not require reminders, and the rest of the keys, individual for different manufacturers, are stubbornly hidden. For example, Asus boards use the F8 key to bring up a menu that allows you to select a startup device for an extraordinary boot. There is information about this in the manual, but the hint would be most appropriate and very useful when starting the board, but for some reason it is traditionally forgotten.

The display of the boot image can be permanently disabled using the appropriate setting in the BIOS or temporarily, only for the current start using the Tab key, but we will not wait for the prompts to appear, but we will see another characteristic drawback. As the startup procedure progresses, the board will display many useful information about the model name, BIOS version, processor name, memory size and frequency, number and type of USB devices, as well as a list of connected drives. However, instead of the actual operating frequency of the AMD A10-7850K processor, the board reports only the nominal one, which is 3700 MHz. In fact, its frequency will increase up to 4 GHz during normal operation, since under load it will be increased by the "Turbo Core" technology.

Modern motherboards start very quickly, but this advantage of ASUSTeK motherboards has turned into another drawback. Only at the first start, such a start speed is used that the user still has the opportunity to enter the BIOS, but subsequent reboots occur so quickly that it is very difficult to do this and it will not work out on the first try. On some models, you can use the "DirectKey" button, but it is not very convenient, because instead of rebooting and then immediately entering the BIOS, it first turns off the system, after which it must be turned on again, and only then "automatically" will you find yourself in the BIOS. Besides, there is simply no such button on the Asus A88XM-Plus board. Instead of a button, you can use the "Asus Boot Setting" utility, there are no such remarks about its functionality, but the program must be installed first, in addition, it is suitable only for users of operating rooms. Microsoft systems Windows. So at the setup stage, the easiest way is to do without buttons and utilities altogether, just disable the “Fast Boot” parameter in the “Boot” section, which works by default, to save yourself from unnecessary difficulties when entering the BIOS.

When operating in the nominal mode, the Asus A88XM-Plus did not cause any problems, but difficulties appeared at the very first attempts to overclock and increase the frequencies. To begin with, a very unpleasant surprise was the unstable operation of the system when using the overclocking profiles of memory modules "X.M.P." In accordance with the data recorded in the profiles, the memory frequency increased and the timings changed, but in this mode the system worked unreliable and could not stand the test of the test programs. It was not difficult to eliminate this drawback, it was enough to slightly increase the operating voltage of the north bridge, but the fact itself is unpleasant, until now I have not encountered such problems. By the way, in the BIOS pictures one could notice that by default the memory on the board for some reason works at a voltage increased to 1.6 V, instead of the nominal 1.5 V for DDR3 modules. Interestingly, this was done on purpose? Is the board really unstable with memory and you need to increase the voltage even in the normal mode, or is it an accidental error in the nominal settings?

Instability with an increase in the frequency of the memory or processor causes " blue screens death ”or system freeze, but it turned out to be difficult to quickly correct the wrong parameters. After almost every unscheduled reboot, the board refused to start because it could not detect boot drive... After a few minutes of inactivity, the Crucial m4 SSD usually returned to work, but sometimes the delay could last several hours. Experimenting under these conditions is simply impossible, but fortunately, the Crucial website found a firmware update for the drive to version 070H, which eliminated the shutdown. Actually, this update appeared more than a year ago, but I did not know about it, since there were no troubles or shutdowns during the operation of the drive.

The problem has been resolved, however, you can recall that I have already encountered previously disabling the SSD Crucial m4. Do you know when? During last year's tests of the AMD Socket FM2. Of course, this is most likely a drawback of the drive, because with the update of its firmware, the shutdowns stopped. However, it seems very strange that an SSD has worked flawlessly for over a year with the most different boards for LGA2011 and LGA1155 processors, but disabled during testing of Socket FM2 boards. None of the recommended methods were able to bring it back to life, so we had to temporarily replace the drive, but it worked again as soon as we returned to the reviews of motherboards for Intel processors. Again, more than a year of trouble-free work with a variety of motherboards, on different chipsets, for different platforms, but the SSD immediately began to turn off as soon as we started testing AMD Socket FM2 + boards. Coincidence? It is possible, but it does not look random and the constant disconnection of the drive when working with motherboards based on AMD chipsets seems very suspicious.

After fixing the memory and storage problems, the overclocking experiments were straightforward and were quickly completed. The "OC Tuner" option in the BIOS makes it possible to automatically overclock the system, while the processor frequency increases to 4.1 GHz, and the graphics core to 900 MHz. It is difficult to rejoice at such results, because they are not maximum, and the memory frequency does not increase at all, although it is this that gives a noticeable increase in speed, and practically without increasing the system's power consumption. When manually overclocked without raising the voltage, my AMD A10-7850K processor was capable of running at 4.2 GHz and boosting at 4.4 GHz. The "GPU Boost" option allows you to automatically overclock only the integrated graphics. When choosing the preset overclocking mode "Turbo Mode", the frequency will be increased to 900 MHz when the voltage on the north bridge is increased by 0.1 V, and "Extreme Mode" to 960 MHz with the addition of 0.15 V. I also managed to raise the frequency of the integrated graphics cores up to 960 MHz, limiting ourselves to adding 0.1 V, this turned out to be enough for stable memory operation at a frequency of 2133 MHz.

The animated image captures the achieved results, but there are two points to pay attention to. First of all, the frequency of operation of the north bridge raises questions. In the nominal mode, it decreases to 1400 MHz in the absence of load and increases to 1800 MHz when it appears. When overclocked, everything should have remained the same, but usually I only saw a frequency of 1400 MHz, both under load and at rest. A short-term increase to 1800 MHz was observed only during the transition period, when the load only appeared or already disappeared. The frequency of the north bridge has little effect on performance, but the overall system speed is a combination of many individual factors, so developers should pay attention to correctly changing the frequency of the north bridge during overclocking.

The second drawback concerns the operating frequency of the integrated graphics core. In the nominal value, it rises to 720 MHz under load and drops to 350 MHz at rest, but during overclocking this energy-saving technology stops working and the frequency remains constantly increased to 960 MHz, and at the same time the voltage supplied to the graphics core. Later we will see how negatively this drawback affects the power consumption of the system, but for now I will tell you about the peculiarities of the work and overclocking of the Gigabyte motherboard.

Nuances of operation and overclocking of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board

The assembly of the test system based on the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard passed without the slightest difficulty, which is not at all surprising. It is necessary to install the processor, fix its cooling system, add memory modules and connect power to the board. Everything is quick and simple, but the system could not start. The motherboard was tested with early version BIOS, which does not yet support Socket FM2 + processors, requires some Socket FM2 processor to update. This problem is also familiar to users of AMD platforms. New sets of logic usually appear several months earlier, as a result, after the release of new processors, motherboards are incompatible with them, an old one is required to update the firmware. Especially for such cases, ASUSTeK has developed the "USB BIOS Flashback" technology. It allows you to update the firmware without assembling the system, even without a processor and memory, it is enough to supply power to the board. It should only be noted that the Asus A88XM-Plus motherboard does not support this technology, it’s probably just lucky that this model came to the tests with a relatively new BIOS version that supported Socket FM2 + processors.

For professional computer assemblers and reviewers, getting the right processor for a firmware update for a short time is not a big deal, only time is wasted, but I wonder how ordinary buyers cope with this problem? Do they agree with the store, return the payment or contact the manufacturer's technical support? It should be borne in mind that you will not be able to use the “Q-Flash” utility to update the BIOS built-in utility, you will see a message that the utility is outdated. To update, you must create yourself bootable USB stick and unpack the contents of the downloaded archive with the new BIOS version on it. After that, at the start of the board, you must press the "F12" key, select the desired flash drive from the proposed list of drives, and everything else will be done automatically. The firmware will be updated not only in the main, but also in the backup BIOS chip, after which the board will be ready to work with new processors.

At startup, the board shows a familiar boot image, on which, unlike boards from ASUSTeK, they did not forget to recall the full list of active "hot" keys. You can enter the BIOS by pressing the "Del" key; the "F9" key will show a window with system information, is the same as pressing this button in BIOS; "F12" will display the start menu for an extraordinary selection of the boot source; using the “End” key, you can launch the built-in utility for updating the firmware “Q-Flash”.

It is no coincidence that the "Tab" key is missing from the list, which usually removes the start picture. Image output can be disabled in BIOS, but it is useless to do this, since Gigabyte boards do not display any information about the startup procedure. This is a drawback, but not too significant, because modern motherboard models start up very quickly, you have little time to see. You can additionally speed up the start phase using the "Fast Boot" option in the BIOS.

The last at the time of checking the board official firmware The F5 version turned out to be much more like a beta version than the F6c test firmware. When using it, the frequency of the north bridge did not decrease, and the diagnostic utilities could not even determine which board set the memory delays. After updating the firmware to the beta version of F6c, these problems disappeared, new parameters available for adjustment appeared in the BIOS, so we carried out most of the experiments with it and its pictures are given in the chapter about the BIOS capabilities of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board.

Unlike the ASUSTeK board, there are no parameters in the BIOS for automatic overclocking of the processor, its graphics core, or memory. There are no other features, like the "GPU Boost" switch, so you will have to carry out all the actions yourself. I was glad that to use the profiles of the work "X.M.P." for memory modules, you just need to select the desired profile, no additional voltage increase was required, as it should be. But changing the frequency of the graphics core is very inconvenient, although, unlike the Asus A88XM-Plus board, even with overclocking, power saving continued to work, and the frequency of the graphics core decreased in the absence of load. The system for changing the graphics frequency has remained exactly the same as it was for Gigabyte Socket FM2 motherboards a year and a half ago, nothing has changed. The BIOS has a "Processor Graphics Clock" parameter that can be set to any value in the range from 300 to 2000 MHz in 1 MHz steps. Everything seems to be fine, but the final value of the frequency will most likely differ from the specified one, and sometimes quite significantly, since it is set discretely, with a variable step. It is very difficult to choose the correct numbers at random, so when overclocking graphics on a Gigabyte board, I used a hint from the BIOS of the Asus board, where changing the frequency of the graphics core is simple and convenient. You don't need to guess anything, the board offers only workable options.

However, these are all flowers, the real problems began when trying to overclock the processor, since it was found that under load its frequency drops to the nominal 3700 MHz or even lower to 3500 MHz, and not only during overclocking, but also when operating in the nominal mode. This drawback has also been known for a long time. AMD processors are no different high performance in order to mask the lag behind a competitor, the manufacturer sets excessively high nominal frequencies for them, at which the processor is unable to operate under significant loads. Even AMD processors operating normally are overclocked from the start.

When the system is unable to maintain the specified frequency of the processor, its overclocking is meaningless. It makes no difference which frequency you set, you cannot check the stability, because under load the frequency will be reset. Previously, when overclocking Socket FM2 processors, it was necessary to disable the "Core Performance Boost" technology. In this case, their frequency did not increase above the nominal one, but did not drop below the nominal one either, but this option did not work with the Socket FM2 + processor. The frequency did not rise to 4 GHz turbo mode, but quietly dropped to 3.5 GHz instead of keeping the nominal 3.7 GHz.

To notice the drop, the easiest way is to monitor not the processor multiplier, but the voltage applied to it, since there is a certain relationship between them. At rest, when energy-saving technologies lower the processor frequency to 1700 MHz, the voltage is less than 1 V, and under load, when the Core Performance Boost technology increases the frequency above the nominal 3700 MHz, the voltage rises above 1.3 V. If under load the voltage drops below 1.3 V, then be sure that the frequency also dropped to the nominal or even less. After a while, the diagnostic utility will register this decrease, the voltage change allows you to control the frequency drop more quickly.

After a series of experiments, having spent some more time, we managed to find out that a drop in frequency under load can still be prevented by turning off the APM (Application Power Management) parameter in the BIOS. It seems that everything, now the problem is solved, now you can safely start overclocking. We succeeded in getting started, but it did not give any results. I checked the stability using the Prime95 utility, and its calculations are cyclical. The first stage ends in about 15 minutes, after which the next one begins - this was exactly the length of time that the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard could work when overclocking the processor. Most often after 15-20 minutes, very rarely after half an hour, but the test invariably ended with an error or even led to a spontaneous reboot, after which the board was usually unable to start on its own.

Dozens, maybe hundreds of fifteen-minute tests lasted for several days. Many different settings changes, different combinations of parameters, frequencies and voltages - all to no avail. The board was tested only at the nominal processor frequency of 3700 MHz, it was impossible to raise it up to 3800. For testing, I even returned to BIOS F5 version, but it is almost inoperative, when using it it was impossible to avoid a drop in frequency at all, and after returning to F6c version I had to remove the battery to return the board to normal functionality. For several agonizingly long days, it was hard to believe that the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard was not able to overclock the processor, but it was not so difficult to make sure of this completely. It was necessary to replace the board with another model, also made by Gigabyte, its review should appear on our website later. Another board easily coped with the first careful attempt to overclock the processor to 4.2 GHz, after which it was possible to confirm its ability to overclock this sample to 4.4 GHz. It is very sad that our sample of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard cannot overclock processors normally while maintaining the set frequency. As a result, performance tests had to be carried out without disabling the APM parameter, that is, under load, the frequency increased to 4.4 GHz dropped to the nominal 3.7 GHz or even lower, but this was the only way to pass the test in test programs.

Performance comparison

We traditionally compare motherboards in terms of speed in two modes - when the system is operating under nominal conditions, and also during overclocking. The first option is interesting from the point of view, which allows you to find out how well the motherboards work with the default parameters. It is known that a significant part of users are not engaged in fine-tuning the system, they only set in the BIOS standard values ​​of the parameters, which are not optimal, but do not change anything else. So we first measure the speed of systems in programs for various purposes and in computer games, almost without interfering with the default settings set by the boards. The results in the charts are sorted by performance level.

In the Cinebench 15 photorealistic 3D rendering speed test, we run the CPU tests five times and average the results.

The Fritz Chess Benchmark utility has been used in benchmarks for a very long time and has proven itself to be excellent. It produces well-repetitive results, performance scales well depending on the number of computational threads used.

The x264 FHD Benchmark v1.0.1 (64bit) test allows you to evaluate the system performance in terms of video encoding speed in comparison with the results available in the database. Unlike the original program with the encoder version r2106, the executable libraries have been updated to version r2334. The average results of five passes are shown in the diagram.

We measure performance in Adobe Photoshop CC using our own test, which is a creatively reworked Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed ​​Test that includes typical processing of four 24-megapixel images captured by a digital camera.

The popular archiver WinRAR 5.10 Beta 3 has its own built-in performance test, which we used for the first time, and averaged the results obtained.

Computer game Metro: Last Light is very beautiful, but it depends heavily on the performance of the video card. When using the graphics core integrated into the processor, we had to set the minimum quality settings “Low Quality” and reduce the resolution to 1366x768. The diagram shows the results of passing the built-in test five times.

F1 2013 races are much less demanding on the computer's graphics subsystem. At 1920x1080, we set all the settings close to the maximum, choosing the "High Quality" mode, although all additional functions image quality improvements had to be turned off. The in-game test is run five times and the results are averaged.

The new version of Thief did not receive high marks, but the graphics are very high quality, there is a built-in performance test, and in addition, you can use AMD Mantle technology. In addition to lowering the resolution, we had to set the lowest quality settings “Very Low Quality”, but the speed still leaves much to be desired.

In all tests, the Asus A88XM-Plus motherboard outperforms its rival, sometimes slightly, but sometimes very noticeably. Apparently, the lag of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard is caused not so much by the fact that it drops the frequency more under load, but by the fact that it reluctantly increases it. In order for the processor on a Gigabyte board to increase the frequency of the processor from 3.7 to 4.0 GHz using the Core Performance Boost technology, the Turbo Performance Boost Ratio parameter should be enabled, but it is disabled with the nominal settings.

Now let's see what results the systems will demonstrate when increasing the frequencies of the processor, graphics core and memory. On the Asus A88XM-Plus, the processor was overclocked to 4.4 GHz, the graphics core worked at 960 MHz, and the memory frequency was raised to 2133 MHz at 9-11-11-31-2N timings according to the X.M.P. profile. It is only necessary to clarify that the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H model is able to provide only a similar increase in graphics and memory frequencies, but it is not capable of overclocking the processor. We set exactly the same processor frequency of 4.4 GHz as on the ASUSTeK board, but under load it dropped to the nominal 3.7 GHz or even lower.

The result is predictable - the board from ASUSTeK is naturally always ahead of its competitor, which is noticeably slower due to the frequency drop under load in all tests, except for one. In the WinRAR 5.10 Beta 3 test, the speed of the systems is almost the same, but the Gigabyte board is even slightly faster. It seems that the built-in test in this archiving program is inadequate if it tries to deny the obvious. In the future, you will have to abandon its use and find a replacement.

Energy consumption measurements

Energy consumption of systems during operation in nominal mode and during overclocking is measured using the Extech Power Analyzer 380803. The device is switched on in front of the computer's power supply, that is, it measures the consumption of the entire system "from the outlet", excluding the monitor, but including losses in the power supply itself. When measuring consumption at rest, the system is idle, we are waiting for the complete cessation of post-start activity and the absence of calls to the drive. The results in the charts are sorted as consumption increases.

The first comparison diagram shows that the power consumption of motherboards in the absence of load is almost the same, but the model from Gigabyte is slightly more economical. Further, the gap between the boards even widens, but from an advantage it turns into a disadvantage of the Gigabyte board. If only the processor is loaded with work or if a complex load is provided, as in games, when the integrated graphics are used simultaneously with the processor cores, the Gigabyte board does not raise the processor frequency so much using the “Core Performance Boost” technology, but the frequency drop was observed several times. In the previous chapter of the article, when comparing motherboards with nominal settings, the ASUSTeK model is always ahead, the efficiency of the Gigabyte motherboard is ensured due to the performance, which is not too much for the Socket FM2 + platform anyway.

Now is the time to check the power consumption of systems when overclocking and increasing the frequencies of the processor, integrated graphics core and memory. The diagram clearly illustrates how negatively the Asus motherboard is affected by its inability to reduce the frequency and voltage supplied to the graphics core during overclocking and no load. The consumption of the Gigabyte motherboard has increased insignificantly compared to the nominal settings, and the ASUSTeK motherboards are very noticeable. If earlier the difference between systems at rest was almost invisible, now it has increased significantly.

In processor tests and under complex load, the Gigabyte board is still more economical, but now it is no longer possible to determine exactly what is the reason for its advantage. Only partly by the initial efficiency, the board of ASUSTeK is wasting a few extra watts in vain due to failure during overclocking of energy-saving technologies related to the graphics core. The remaining and, probably, the main difference is explained by the fact that under load the Gigabyte board drops the processor frequency to the nominal or even lower, and at the same time the voltage decreases. As a result, it is noticeably slower than the Asus motherboard, so in this case the lower power consumption is a drawback of the Gigabyte motherboard, not an advantage.

The power consumption figures for Socket FM2 + systems during overclocking are especially depressing. Thief is a recent game, so it was not previously used in tests, but for comparison, you can look at the power consumption of LGA1150 systems under load in the form of the Fritz Chess Benchmark utility in previous reviews. Despite the presence of an external video card, it turns out that the power consumption of the platforms is quite comparable, but the performance of the processor overclocked to 4.5 GHz Intel Core i5-4670K is almost twice as high.

Afterword

This is not the first time when choosing two seemingly identical motherboards, with a similar set of technical characteristics, with a similar price, they turn out to be incomparable. The Asus A88XM-Plus mainboard operates normally in the nominal mode, easily overclocks the processors, so it looks better than its rival. At the same time, the model is far from ideal; many different flaws can be reproached for it. We are even talking about disadvantages that are not typical for ASUSTeK boards, such as inaccurate information about the processor frequency on the start screen, an inconvenient BIOS structure, or disabling the boot image that is not remembered in the settings profiles, on which, by the way, there is still no complete list of active ones " hot keys. I didn’t like the unstable operation of the board when choosing the "X.M.P." However, on the whole, apart from some troubles, working with the board did not cause significant problems. Its set of features is sufficient, the BIOS looks modern and has big amount parameters for customization, the impression of the Asus A88XM-Plus board remained purely positive, in contrast to its rival.

Despite the similar technical characteristics, the set of BIOS capabilities of the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board is much more modest - there are no possibilities for automatic overclocking of the processor or memory, you cannot reduce the voltage. In addition, the BIOS did not acquire the most relevant modern options for customizing the appearance, the system for changing the frequency of the graphics core remained very inconvenient, and even one of the features characteristic of the company's boards was lost - the ability to adjust the rotational speed of three-pin processor fans. However, all minor shortcomings pale before the main one - the board is not capable of overclocking processors. The verdict would be fatal for any other model, but let's remember that we are talking about Socket FM2 +, and therefore not everything is lost. In general, I think that there is no need to overclock Socket FM2 + processors and their graphics cores. During tests of motherboards, processors are overclocked only in order to provide maximum load, to reveal differences that are not visible during operation in nominal mode. No overclocking of processor cores can achieve the level of performance that competing Intel processors provide, and overclocking of an integrated graphics core cannot replace an external graphics card, even a mid-range one. The increase in performance is noticeable, but overclocking does not fundamentally change the processors, but it greatly increases the already considerable power consumption. Overclocking Socket FM2 + processors is economically and environmentally unprofitable, but an increase in the memory frequency has a very noticeable effect on speed, but at the same time has almost no effect on power consumption. Meanwhile, there were no complaints about memory overclocking on the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H board, it copes with this task calmly. Thus, this model can be fully used, if you do not impose unbearable requirements for it, if you limit yourself to increasing the memory frequency.

The Socket FM2 + platform as a whole has remained the same - it is a niche offer for those who want to play, but do not have the finances to purchase a discrete video card. When you want to be able to try everything modern games, then one cannot do without an external video card, if games are not of interest, then a platform with an Intel processor will be faster and more economical. The Socket FM2 + platform allows you to save money when buying, refuse to purchase a discrete video card, although you will have to pay for a minute's frugality constantly, limiting yourself in speed and quality, in the pleasure of games. Nevertheless, the graphics built into Socket FM2 + processors still allow you to play, just make no mistake, soberly assess your needs, because appetite comes with eating. It is very likely that it is high by the standards of integrated graphics, but incomparable with external card and the speed level that is insufficient for many games will soon cease to suit you. Do not reassure yourself that, if necessary, you can later purchase and install a discrete video card for Socket FM2 +. It is better to immediately find an opportunity to purchase an Intel platform with a video card, you will get more bang for your buck.

The Socket FM2 + platform did not leave a good impression also because nothing new was discovered, we have seen almost everything before. I outlined my attitude towards AMD APUs in the review “ FM2 platform - Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 board and AMD processor A10-5800K", A year and a half has passed, but since then there has been no reason to change my mind. It seems to be new sets of logic, but their characteristics do not differ from the previous ones. New motherboards, but they are also incompatible with new processors prior to the firmware update. Old problems with a drive failure, with a reset of the processor frequency even when operating in nominal mode, low system speed, but high power consumption. Kaveri processors are undeniably new, but the increased power of the graphics core, combined with the decreased frequency of the processor cores, adds up to about the same level of performance as before. Only in some applications are new processors faster than old ones, often they are even slower and still very far from competitors, and their price has even increased. So there is no point in arguing whether the processors turned out to be revolutionary, as AMD itself believes, or evolutionary, as independent reviewers believe. When nothing changes except the names, then this is not a revolution or even evolution - it is stagnation.