ASUS F1A75-V Pro vs. Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H – Llano at ~$120
by Ian Cutress on November 7, 2011 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gigabyte
- Asus
- A75
Board Features
| Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H | |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | FM1 |
| CPU Support | Llano - AMD A series and E2 series |
| Chipset | AMD A75 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100.4 MHz |
| DDR3 Memory Speed | 1866 9-9-9 |
| Core Voltage | Auto, +0.4 V to -0.6 V offset |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 8x to CPU limit |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 2.135 V to 1.025 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T or 2T |
| Memory Slots |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB Dual Channel Support for DDR3 2400/1866/1333/1066 MHz |
| Expansion Slots |
1 x PCIe x16 (runs at x16/x0 or x8/x8) 1 x PCIe x8 3 x PCIe x1 2 x PCI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID | 5 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 10 |
| Onboard |
5 x SATA 6 Gbps 4 x Fan Headers 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x Front Panel Audio Header 1 x S/PDIF Out Header 4 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x USB 3.0 Header 1 x Firewire/IEEE 1394a header 1 x Serial Port Header 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Header |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
| Onboard Audio |
Realtek ALC889 codec Support for Dolby Home Theater, up to 7.1 channel |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan Header 2 x SYS 1 x PWR |
| IO Panel |
1 x PS/2 port 1 x D-Sub 1 x DVI-D 1 x HDMI 1 x DisplayPort 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Connector 2 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 1 x Firewire/IEEE 1394a 1 x eSATA 6 Gbps 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Audio Jacks |
| BIOS Version | F6 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years (from date of manufacture) |
As expected on a board of this price, the Realtek combo of NIC/Audio is used. I am still amazed that GB put a TPM on their boards whereas no-one else does. I am unsure if demand for such a feature is required on a board like this—I will get in contact with GB and see if there is an official response.
Edit—Apparently GB see a lot of demand for a TPM from those who use it, and they say it is fairly cheap to implement to cover those users.
In The Box
4 x Locking SATA cables (2 right angled)
IO Shield
User Manual
Driver CD
As with most Gigabyte products in this range, we do not see a lot in the box. Focus is more on what is on the board and the warranty it seems.
Software
The driver CD is standard Gigabyte fare, with drivers and programs easily installable with a click each. On the CD, both Norton Internet Security and Firefox 3.5.4 are available for install as well (note, previous ASUS CDs offer Norton and Chrome). The main focus of the software is on @BIOS, a way in the OS to update the BIOS, and EasyTune6, where fan options can be adjusted and the board can be overclocked.
Normally, we would see an array of auto OC options on the main screen of ET6; however on this Llano system these are not available. The tabs in the software are pretty self explanatory, showing CPU, memory and overclock options.
The fan controls are very basic, as they are in the BIOS. Under user mode, the ramp can be adjusted, though there is no applicability for hysteresis or multi-gradient ramping.
Similar to the ASUS board, when using the EasyTune6 software with its sensor capabilities, we see a spike in DPC Latency, around 380 microseconds. With the software turned off, this reduced down to 170 microseconds.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
47 Comments
View All Comments
androk - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
They should really test the IGP at reasonable graphics levels compared to what it can do. AVideo test at 1920x1080 and all grahpics options on is silly fo rhtis. There may have been real differences at medium (playable) settings but we'd never know it from this write up.Shadowmaster625 - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
$120 for just a motherboard? Really? Can i get a WTF? I just bought a G41 mobo, an E6600, and a HD 4850 all for a combined cost of under $100. It overclocks to 3.2GHz, which is enough to put it well past an A8-3850 in gaming. Well past... Actually with such a powerful gpu you really dont even need an overclock to beat a llano at gaming.Granted these were used parts, but still you can buy a brand new H61 board for $40 http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3444... Combine that with a 5670 which can easily be found for under $50 and you have a $90 solution that is way faster. As if AMD needed any help killing itself... these motherboard prices are absolutely absurd.
silverblue - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Desktop Llano makes the most sense in HTPCs. As people are willing to pay a premium for such items, I doubt AMD is too worried. Regardless, a Llano setup will use less power, you have far more multiprocessing power, and there's better video support as well as DX11 support. Llano can also be overclocked, albeit in a limited fashion, should you choose to do so. In the end, horses for courses.Laptop Llano is a more appealing option however.
Taft12 - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Please stop comparing prices of new and used hardware. Apples and oranges.These $120 motherboards are top-of-the-line for the FM1 socket and have the most features of any FM1 boards on the market. If cost savings is important to you, FM1 motherboards can be had for $60 or less.
Motherboard prices are NOT set by AMD, they are set by Asus and Gigabyte based on the value-add over and above what AMD provides in the chipset.
The H61 board is not $40, it's $60 with a mail-in rebate. There's a big difference.
I think this covers all the errors and misconceptions in your post... Does anyone see any that I missed...?
medi01 - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
He has a point though.Motherboard prices DID go up. To an extent that you wonder if there is a cartel agreement between manufacturers.
Hard to blame AMD for it though.
swaaye - Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - link
Mobo prices haven't gone anywhere. There are consumer mobos from $80-350. Pick your poison. Pricing has been like this since 486s as far as I recall.TrackSmart - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Ian, just a note that the color shown for each board changes in some of the graphs. This is confusing and has me wondering if the graphs are miscolored or mislabeled...Thanks for the review.
HW_mee - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Does the onboard audio not deserve a mentioning?I would love to know how the ACL892 fares against the ACL889.
I know integrated audio is mediocre at best, but some past AMD boards, especially from ASUS, have featured useless cheap VIA/Realtek audio solutions.
kenyee - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Could you repeat this w/ their mATX boards?Googer - Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - link
The ASUS F1A75-V EVO is identical to the ASUS F1A75-V Pro, except the EVO adds an additional PCI-e x16 slot. If you watch prices close enough, you can pick this board up around $125. I got mine for $126 +$10 rebate a few weeks ago, final cost $116.The Major selling points for me on this board over the Gigabyte and competing models were, that all the other boards support 32GB while ASUS supports 64GB and the extra x16 slot seals the deal for the ASUS F1A75-V EVO.
Also, the review states how many power phases are on the Gigabyte board (8+2) but didn't specify how many phases are on the ASUS.