As in my previous reviews ahead, I would like to again note form on the pros and cons in my eyes this time.
It is in both Boards of course two different chipsets (AMD 870 and AMD 890FX), but I'll attach some places the odd comparison, if it is in my opinion justified or justifiable.
The "small" chipset (AMD 870) represents less Lanes, ie connections for various additional components or expansion slots to the chipset are available, such as the "big" AMD 890FX.
So the second PCIe x16 slot has only a connection with 4Lanes to the Northbridge. Although the board supports CrossFire / SLI (running multiple graphics cards in the network), but the second card is significantly hampered by this slight connection.
If you want to run no Crossfire / SLI, and otherwise not a half (8-fold) or full (16-fold) attached second PCIe x16 is required (for example, sound or WLAN cards do not need this) you are with this very well and chipset adequately serviced. At the point it should be mentioned that you can run a card to me smaller connector (eg PCIe x1) in a PCIe x16 slot.
As with the "big ones" emerge as the "small" chipset the usual global benefits of the new chipset series:
- Integration of native SATA3 in the SB850
- Lower power consumption to the corresponding predecessor chipset
Pro:
- Very fast-booting BIOS - in comparison, my previous gigabytes or even ASRock are sleeping pills on the other hand
- (. Bzg OC see under "Other") many settings in the BIOS, and already viable basic settings (power saving features such as Cool n 'Quiet and C1E are already active - the AHCI mode for SATA ports, however, was omitted as before , probably for reasons of guarantee stable operation in any constellation in the default setting (in IDE mode basically runs everything))
- Excellent and customizable fan control (better than that of my (former) Board of MSI, Gigabyte and ASrock)
- Supported by beginning the 6-core CPUs from AMD
- Good comprehensive 8 + 1 phase power supply
- Status LED for the RAM memory; it gives information about the RAM status, such as an incompatibility, on at boot
- Via a button located on the board, a compatibility mode for the RAM can be activated, which enables use of incompatible RAM possibly yet
- Activation of inactive cores on a switch on the board
- Hot-plug for Sata / eSata (unless, of course, run in AHCI mode)
- PS / 2 ports for mouse and keyboard
- Audio port on the front panel in AC'97 or HD operable
- Despite the absence of cooler on the voltage transformers (SpaWa) and, in my case, in addition to a use of a tower CPU cooler (in this suffering well known, the cooling of the CPU socket surrounding components somewhat) good temperatures of SpaWas, as well as of Southbridge (SB) and Nothbridge (NB). Thus, the temperatures are in operation, directly to / on the transducers measured at about 36-41 ° C - an identical basically picture emerges when the temperature needs of the chipset.
- Plugged BIOS chip (in the case of these can be easily replaced Likewise you can, with the appropriate means, a replacement chip even make itself.)
- CrashFree BIOS: the secured to eg a USB flash drive BIOS can be in the event of there and back again backed up (restore)
- EZ Flash 2: to perform BIOS update more than simply through external source (USB flash drive etc.)
- Three of the six SATA ports are rotated through 180 ° arranged wherewith to something "free" is, when connecting the drives / hard drives and one so may need to twist the SATA cable not mandatory measures in order to connect it to, two of which in turn can be operated separately from the other four in Sata2 mode
- Supports hardware monitoring: all read parameters provide plausible values
- Good layout with good facilities (including external IEEE 1394 (Firewire), eSATA and two USB3.0 ports, internal COM etc.)
- Good facilities at Accessories: 2x SATA3 cable, 2x SATA2 cable, Q-plug adapters (one) for the internal USB ports and one for the cable from the case (you therefore no longer needs to each individual terminals from the housing directly to the board stuck, but it can easily reach all stuck on this adapter, and then connect together so all of the board), and 1x IDE cable and of course manual, I / O shield and software / driver CD
- Good facilities in the software (the first manufacturer, where I eg one or the other of the additional software installed, so the ASUS AI-suit, with which you can change the settings of fan control in the BIOS directly from the operating system)
- Good P / L ratio
- Manual "only" in English, but very, with respect to the Board, in detail and described in detail, including information on the basic setting
- No compatibility problems with SSDs with SandForce controller (contrary to my complaint gigabytes what appears to be a fundamental problem of the company with the new chipset at the moment well, if you can trust the information on the net, in my Gigabyte has in a OCZ Vertex 2 and Corsair Force F60 ext made problems, but gezickt also with an Intel X25-M G2 Postville 80GB around -. will the effect my review even complement)
- Multilingual BIOS
- Small adjustment steps at clock speeds and power supply voltages
- If you want something / need: The start screen during the boot process can be set using the "ASUS MyLogo 2" program on the CD itself
Contraindications:
- Not free of jumpers, the Clear CMOS via a jumper
- The "belonging together" each of the dual-channel RAM slots are alternately attached, whereby a possibly later upgrade to a very large CPU coolers (eg Scythe Big Shuriken), can be difficult because so the first slot for the B-channel (ie from all four of the second RAM slot) is possibly obscured and an expansion of the entire cooler is required; at Tower CPU cooler can possibly "only" the fan in his way. I am using an EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn with two EKL Alpenföhn hairdryer 120 Wing Boost (each side one) and there is the 2nd RAM slot (ie Channel 1 Channel B) covered equally by the fans
So-so:
Whether one sees the following rather than a disadvantage or be considered to be an advantage, since the board is up even as big as it really should be, is hard to say. Therefore, I bring this point to now separated, but deliberately below disadvantages:
- The form factor is between ATX and mATX. That which is a side of the board, over in relation to the "plan" of the screw, so you have a little more careful when you just want to connect to this page, the ATX power supply, because there is no maintenance / stiffening of Mobos is virtually guarantees do with the money
- If you need something / want: Do not reset and power button on the board
- BIOS menu a bit strange because I feel the more clearly from Gigabyte and arranged "logical", which I now find myself still along well
- In the manual, I would have still required a few words about the additional programs (instructions are available but can be downloaded)
Other (edge information, unimportant details and information obtained from 3.Hand):
- NB cooler looks bulky / high, but still leaves enough space for alternate good CPU cooler. As written above, I run a EKL Alpenfön Matterhorn. Nor is between it and the top of the NB cooler to about 5mm square. Furthermore NB cooler would also scarce (2mm) fit under the EKL Matterhorn.
- Good support on ASUS ', whereby their website sometimes (very rarely) also appears to be somewhat "unmotivated" and then almost impossible to achieve until
- Express Gate (can be activated via the BIOS) on the CD is a mini-OS, which the like pure small tasks like surfing the relevant programs provides and what the computer should go supposedly very fast high. I do not use and therefore can not write it.
- Lt tests the transfer rate and the performance of good to very good and rich, or even exceeds, for example, the Crosshair IV with the 890FX chipset.
- Lt various tests are missing a couple of setting options for hardcore overclockers.. I myself can not say anything because I (as I let it in my vote not be included) have never been a component overclocked
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Of course, everyone has different demands on a motherboard.
I think and hope my opinion is enough detail before, so everyone can decide for themselves whether we can use this thing or not, whether the board meets the requirements or are you rather cross to another.
Should it meet its own requirements, I would recommend this board more than fully.
