**This was originally bought in May 2014, but was replaced by Amazon in December 2014 due to a defect - Amazon have great customer support so you can be sure they will look after you. I think I may have just gotten bad luck, as you do with PC components. My current board has run flawlessly for over a year and a half.
So, my configuration. I have an FX-6300 (at 4.3 GHz by the way) with a 212 evo cooler, this motherboard, 8GB of 1600MHz RAM, an MSI R9 270X, a 240GB SSD and a 500W Corsair PSU. It has handled (and still handles) everything fine in the year and a half I've had it, although it does have some caveats. The advantages and disadvantages will be split into multiple categories
USAGE:
Pros:
• Less advanced users can use the simple GUI in the BIOS to change certain settings, such as the whole system profiles and boot priority
• An Auto-Overclock feature is present, however it doesn’t provide the highest achievable clock.
• More advanced users can really finely tune their system using the advanced settings menu within the BIOS
• Easy to overclock on this board using the BIOS, I have managed 4.4GHz on my FX-6300 but had to dial this down to 4.3GHz due to the CPU getting too hot (not the motherboards fault)
• Keeps quite cool with the heatsink on VRM, even when paired with an overclocked CPU
Cons:
• Not the best looking board with its blue colour scheme
CONNECTIVITY:
Pros:
• USB 3.0 support on the IO shield as well as a header for the ports on the case/chassis
• 6x SATA 3 connectors for fast SSD speeds
• 4 of the SATA 3 connectors are on the edge of the board at a right angle which means they can be used even with a long GPU installed
• Firewire Port (haven't ever used it, but I think this is one of few boards to have this feature)
• A pair of PCIE 2.0 x16 slots
• 2 PCIE x1 slots and 2 PCI slots for sound and network cards
• 4 RAM slots
• On-board Realtek HD audio, which only has a bit of interference (this is expected with all on-board audio)
Cons:
• No PCIE 3.0 x16 slots, only PCIE 2.0 x16 which will only make a slight difference when using a high end GPU like the GTX 980 (possibly 2 or 3 fps while gaming)
• You cannot feasibly run 2 GPUs in Crossfire as advertised, as the second (bottom) slot only runs at 4x.
o You can still Crossfire, but it is a mere marketing point that will not improve performance at all, and according to some reports may even worsen it!
• The top PCIE 1x slot will likely become inaccessible with a modern GPU installed, but there is another so that isn’t an issue for most (but I thought I would point it out anyway)
• There is no inbuilt Bluetooth or WiFi, but this is a minor gripe and these features aren't included in boards double the price
• Only 4 fan headers in total, so some may have problems (but most won't)
• No M.2 slots, but no current AMD processors support this, so it isn't ASUS's fault.
OTHER FEATURES:
Pros:
• There are LEDs that are extremely useful in diagnosing problems, telling you which specific component is causing errors (i.e. no power from PSU or, in my case not pushing in your RAM all the way!)
• The MemOK! Button will make the motherboard try different settings for your RAM if it isn’t running properly – useful but haven’t used it myself.
• The DirectKey will allow you to boot into the BIOS without having to break your keyboard by mashing the Delete key!
• The BIOS Flashback key will flash the motherboard with the BIOS version from an inserted USB key, even if a CPU isn’t inserted – very useful if the BIOS becomes corrupt.
• The board itself is sturdy, and can easily have heavy coolers, such as my 212 Evo, mounted upon it.
Cons:
• Expensive now at over £80, but I bought mine at around £70, so then it was a pretty good price.
This board offers some great features and performance. It does its job well and efficiently. Despite the price, I would still recommend this board, although other boards may offer better ‘Bang for Buck’.
| Brand | ASUS |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 35 x 30 x 6 cm; 1 Kilograms |
| Item model number | 90-MIBJJ0-G0EAY0MZ |
| Manufacturer | KOMQI |
| Form Factor | ATX |
| Processor Type | None |
| Processor Socket | Socket AM3+ |
| Processor Count | 1 |
| Memory Technology | DDR3 |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Memory Clock Speed | 1333 MHz |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Lithium Battery Weight | 60 Grams |
| Item Weight | 1 kg |
