FM2+ mobos compared, part2: μATX (Micro-ATX)

[Dirk Broer]

μATX has a distinct advantage over Mini-ITX: you can stick in more than one add-one card and some boards also support more than two RAM sticks.
Which board stands out from the crowd? So far, none really:

Asrock

The top micro ATX mobo from Asrock, the Asrock FM2A88M Extreme4+ tries to have it all:

• AMD A88X chipset
• 4x DDR3 DIMM Slots, supporting DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory to a max. capacity of system memory of 64GB
• 1x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x16 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3 @ x4 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot; 1 x PCI Slot
• Three graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI (so no DisplayPort)
• 8x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10, NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
• 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)
• Qualcomm Atheros AR8171 LAN chip
• 4+2 Power Phase design

Nice design and a decent set of features, having a sensible placement of the PCIe x4 slot, so a 2nd dual-slot GPU (e.g. a HD 7750 or the equivalent R7) will fit -at the cost of the placement of an eventual PCI card

Asus

The present top Asus micro ATX mobo, the A88XM-PLUS is a somwhat lackluster attempt from Asus in the FM2+ (Their top micro ATX FM2 board, F2A85M PRO the was in my eyes the best micro ATX FM2 board money could buy). What does this board offer?

• AMD A88X chipset
• 4x DDR3 DIMM Slots, supporting DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2250(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133/1866/1600/1333 non-ECC, un-buffered memory to a max. capacity of system memory of 64GB
• 1x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x16 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3 @ x4 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot; 1 x PCI Slot
• Three graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI (so no DisplayPort here this time too)
• 8x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC887 Audio Codec)
• Realtek 811G LAN chip
• 4+2 Power Phase design

The worst looking of the quartet, and nothing to distinguish itself from the Asrock offering. Note that the 2nd PCIe x16 slot is placed in a manner that will prevent a second dual slot GPU in most PC casings below EATX format.
I'll wait for the A88XM-PRO...the once first shown FM2+ mobo of all time:


Gigabyte

Gigabyte went full-out in the FM1 micro ATX boards with their GA-A75M-UD2H, and I somewhat missed that level with their FM2 micro ATX mobos. What has their present FM2+ micro ATX top board, the GA-F2A88XM-D3H?

• AMD A88X chipset
• 4x DDR3 DIMM Slots, supporting DDR3 2400(OC)/2133/1866/1600/1333 non-ECC, un-buffered memory to a max. capacity of system memory of 64GB
• 1x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x16 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3 @ x4 mode); 1x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot; 1 x PCI Slot
• Three graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI (again no DisplayPort here this time)
• 8x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC887 Audio Codec)
• Realtek 811G LAN chip
• 4+2 Power Phase design ??

Though nice in design, it again has -like the Asus board- nothing to distinguish itself from the Asrock offering. Note that the 2nd PCIe x16 slot is placed here in a manner that will not only prevent a second dual-slot GPU, you might even get into trouble with various connectors when placing a 2nd single-slot GPU....A problem I already encountered when placing my GA-A75M-UD2H in a Corsair Carbide 200R

MSI

The A88XM Gaming looks to me a better board than the MSI A88XM-E45 (that is more or less like the previous three boards in features), and has the looks of a winner, at least amongst the other boards here.
What has the A88XM Gaming that the other haven't?

• AMD A88X chipset
• 4x DDR3 DIMM Slots, supporting DDR3 2400(OC)/2133/1866/1600/1333 non-ECC, un-buffered memory to a max. capacity of system memory of 32GB
• 1x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x16 mode); 1x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x8 mode);2x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot
• Four graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort
• 8x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, supporting RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec)
• Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN controller
• 4+2 Power Phase design ??

I love the design, the heatsinks connected with heatpipe and the 2nd PCIe 3.0 x8 slot. It's a pity about the placement of the PCI Express 3.0 x8 slot though, and that the 'Killer Nic' is a Windows-only feature at the moment...
The fact that it will -at the moment- only support 32GB I take for granted, as long as I haven't seen affordable 16GB RAM sticks.

[Nflight]

Thanks for the Review Dirk, excellent!

[vaughan]

I agree, nice review. Thanks for taking the time to prepare this for us.