MSI A88XM-E35 Motherboard Review: Micro-A88X for $68
by Ian Cutress on April 3, 2014 11:59 AM ESTMSI A88XM-E35 In The Box
Extra contents in a motherboard box can be fun or help reduce the overall cost of a build. Motherboard manufacturers are able to purchase in bulk, meaning that the overall additional cost to the end user should be minimal. However, on a motherboard this inexpensive, we should not hold out for much:
Driver CD
Manual
Rear Panel Guard
Two SATA Cables
It might make sense that users who go for this motherboard might not be using more than two SATA devices, but I would imagine that the self-build community might be looking at three – a boot SSD, a storage HDD and perhaps an optical media drive. I was not expecting more than two SATA cables, but I could hope that in the future four cables becomes the standard.
MSI A88XM-E35 Overclocking
Experience with MSI A88XM-E35
As mentioned in the BIOS and Software sections of this review, MSI has decided that users should not be adjusting the voltage on Kaveri on the A88XM-E35. This is a double edged sword, as there are some users who might want to reduce the voltage in order to remove extra heat from the CPU. As a result the only option we have is to adjust the CPU multiplier or the base clock. Given that we had restart issues at stock frequencies when the power delivery had no additional cooling, anyone overclocking Kaveri on this motherboard should use a good fan pointed at that area.
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:
Due to the voltage limitations, our peak overclock was only 4.0 GHz for all cores:
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khanov - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Also, PS/2 is interrupt-driven, USB requires the CPU to poll the ports. The effect of polling is to use/waste CPU cycles checking if the mouse has moved or a key has been pressed.Interrupt-driven I/O is superior, as it does not waste CPU cycles. The CPU only services the interrupt handler (keyboard/mouse code) when you press a key or move the mouse.
It may be 2014, but PS/2 is a better way to connect both mouse and keyboard than USB. I wish all vendors put both PS/2 ports on all motherboards.
frewster - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
I seriously doubt any computer from this decade or even the past decade is noticeably slowed down by polling the USB ports.boot318 - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
I agree. He should just state that he wants the connections, because otherwise, they should be dead.Powerlurker - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
My assumption is that PS2 ports are still used in industrial computing. They are also a little bit cheaper. Last I checked, HP would cut about $5 or so off the price if you went with a PS2 keyboard over USB. If you're a corporate purchasing agent buying 1000 systems, that's an nontrivial amount of cash with practically no downside.dananski - Friday, April 4, 2014 - link
N-key rollover is why I'd want ps2, but more likely it's that if they're buying a budget board, they might be reusing a really old keyboard.sfuzzz - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
It was an half-joke. No, I think the real reasons are that the PS/2 controller is integrated and fully functional on all chipsets and PS/2 keyboards are guaranteed to always work, especially on BIOS. Call it a failsafe solutionVoldenuit - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Thank you for reviewing a motherboard with a price that's not 3-digits, Ian!LucinaHSacco - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
So how about an AMD Kaveri-supporting A88X motherboard priced at just £40? That would surely get some attention, right? The MSI A88XM-E35 is that board and we have it under the spotlight today. http://is.gd/mGuvSUSquattingDog - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
Ian, it is "bear that in mind" eg to keep in mind, not "bare that in mind" (naked in mind?! Hate to nitpick but this is at least the second article on this site I've seen it in.Also as other commenters have mentioned what is going on with the overheating of the VRMs? Specific chips or revisions only if all new chips are causing this?
zodiacsoulmate - Thursday, April 3, 2014 - link
The first thing I noticed when taking the motherboard out of the anti-static bag was the lack of a power delivery heatsink.What heatsink is that???????????
Isn't it the little blue thing on the mobo?