GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 Review
by Ian Cutress on March 24, 2014 11:59 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- Gigabyte
- FM2
GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 In The Box
At $105, motherboards in this price range tend to have very little in the box to help the user set up their system or enhance the experience. This is countered by the positioning for the F2A88X-UP4 in the product stack, which sits at the top of the GIGABYTE FM2+ range.
In the box we have:
Driver CD
Rear IO Shield
Manuals
Four SATA Cables
In order to keep the price of the package down, GIGABYTE has gone with a minimal amount of box contents. The power delivery used is not cheap, and in order to remain competitive some decisions, like this, are made.
GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4 Overclocking
Experience with GIGABYTE F2A88X-UP4
Unlike our other FM2+ reviews that had power delivery temperature issues, due to the component choice by GIGABYTE we managed to remain confident through our overclock testing. Overclocking Kaveri on its new silicon production process (28nm SHP) means our ceiling of overclocking on the APU is lower than on Richland. But by using GIGABYTE’s BIOS, which we are accustomed to over a couple of chipset generations, our APU hit 4.3 GHz, 300 MHz above stock. Our system booted at 4.4 GHz, however there was a reduction in results suggesting that the platform was overheating and reducing frequency to compensate.
Methodology:
Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.
For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.
Manual Overclock:
Our results are as follows:
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PrimarchLion - Monday, March 24, 2014 - link
Nice catch. Hope they fix it (It's on the Teat Setup page).Ryan Smith - Tuesday, March 25, 2014 - link
Thanks. It has been corrected.ricster7227@gmail.com - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
Ian,I am finnding many of the same shortfalls in my build as you have mentioned. I did have a big hastle in the loading a fresh copy of Win 7 into my machine however I am using an older A5800K APU. I was lucky that the board came with the updated Bios but even then it was unstable. It has been a challenge. All said and done iot is working pretty well and is OC'd to 4.3 Mghz. Next step is to get the Kaveri and a graphics card for Adobe works.
frozenland - Wednesday, March 26, 2014 - link
Why do they keep making ATX boards with FM2+ socket? What is the point in researching boards with this much potential for additional graphics power when the CPU that is intended to be used here has GPU built-in? Why can't they spend more money into researching better AM3+ FX platforms where the CPU performance can be better than the top-of-line 7850K and better potential for graphics?APU in my opinion is for small form factors, and if you really want discrete graphics card, why bother with A series at all? FX + discrete card (or intel) makes more sense.
ricster7227@gmail.com - Thursday, March 27, 2014 - link
If you follow the logic of the overall effort that AMD is taking for website and Adobe type creation you will find that additional high powerred graphics cards will be added to make this all possible. Presently you can spend a good $ 30,000 for an Intel - Nvidia Solution and use it for a year only to start over again by your standards. Life is not all gaming or mining.Dirk Broer - Saturday, March 29, 2014 - link
I am using FM1 and FM2 ATX motherboards with great satisfaction as a cruncher. I prefer ATX above small form factors due to the greater flexibility in amout of memory and number of GPUs.warrenstraw222 - Monday, April 14, 2014 - link
Swiss watch brand Alpina <strong><a href="http://werachaiyodvilai.yolasite.com/">Rep... Watches</a></strong> continues development of its watches with the arrival at the end of the yearvic_neoh - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link
I purchased this motherboard and the AMD A-10-7850 CPU. This board meets my expectations and needs except in one area. It only provides one 10 pin audio connector on the board. If it is used for the case audio connections it is not available for my 5.25" usb/sata/eta/audio/power media front panel device. I have found not solution short of devising my own dual audio connection cable.