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
| ASUS F1A75-V Pro | |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | FM1 |
| CPU Support | Llano - AMD A series and E2 series |
| Chipset | AMD A75 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100.0 MHz |
| DDR3 Memory Speed | 1866 9-9-9 |
| Core Voltage | Auto, offset and manual, 0.8 V to 1.7 V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 8x to CPU limit |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 2.30 V to 1.35 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T or 2T |
| Memory Slots |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB Dual Channel Support for DDR3, 2400/2200/1866/1333/1066 MHz |
| Expansion Slots |
1 x PCIe x16 (runs at x16/x0 or x16/x4) 1 x PCIe x4 2 x PCIe x1 3 x PCI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID | 6 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 10 |
| Onboard |
7 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 COM header 1 x TPU Switch 1 x EPU Switch |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek® ALC892 |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan Header 2 x CHA 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 eSATA 6 Gbps 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Audio Jacks |
| BIOS Version | 0902 / 1501 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years |
As with the Gigabyte board, we see a Realtek NIC+Audio combination, although this is the ALC892 rather than the ALC889 on the Gigabyte. Also of note is that there is no Firewire here.
One of the big things to note is that the second PCIe x16 lane actually only runs at x4. This should put severe limitations on throughput if CrossFireX is planned between to discrete GPUs - however our GPU testing later shows that for some titles, it's not that much of a bottleneck.
In The Box
Driver CD
User Guide
IO Shield
Q-Connector for Front Panel
2 x Locking SATA 6 Gbps cables, right angled.
As we are in the $120 region for motherboards, we do not expect anything spectacular in the box. It is a shame that there is nothing special in here, such as a USB 3.0 back panel connector.
Software
Driver installation is very easy from the driver CD, using an ‘Install All’ option to do everything, or drivers can be picked from a list then installed at once. The same goes for the software, though ASUS’ software has focused primarily on the AI Suite application, which we have covered on various ASUS boards before, so I will only cover it briefly here.
The AI Suite is designed to cover everything—overclocking options, energy efficiency options, fan controls, sensors for monitoring, and BIOS updates. Over the iterations it has got quicker to use and works rather well.
The fan controls are of importance here, allowing the user to control the CPU and Chassis fans, in terms of a double gradient speed profile.
One flaw to mention is the saving of overclock profiles. When a profile is saved, if you have changed the voltage in the software, saving the profile does not save the current voltage. It saves the voltage to which the board was booted at. Hopefully this will be corrected in future iterations.
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47 Comments
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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.