1. Introduction
Hi everyone, this time I am reviewing the Asus AM1M-A motherboard here. The Asus AM1M-A motherboard is based on AMD's new socket AM1 and supports the newly released AMD Athlon and Sempron APUs codenamed "Kabini"
*i.imgur.com/PvkGfp2.jpg
Here's the link to the motherboard(Asus official site) : ASUS AM1M-A motherboard
This motherboard is of the micro-ATX(m-ATX) form factor and focuses mainly on a budget home theatre PC and basic home or office PC. It comes with USB 3.0 and has most of the display connectivity options featuring DVI, HDMI and VGA. Asus also stated that this board will support up to 32 GB of DDR3 RAM once they are released in the market.
It is worth mentioning that this board enables overclocking on the AMD AM1 platform. Lets move on to the specs as shown on Asus official website.
Here are the specs as on Asus website:
2. Unboxing and packaging:
As on other Asus boards also, the box comes with a black theme with special features briefed.
*i.imgur.com/sfX3H62.jpg
*i.imgur.com/fhkTnKd.jpg
The board is protected with a ESD bag to prevent it from damage due to static electricity.
*i.imgur.com/ha4aFY7.jpg
Compared to the previous motherboards I reviewed, the packaging was too compact. It might cause some issues during shipping because the back panel ports are tall enough and the box size is just about right. Other boards were even well protected inside the box.
In box accessories:
*i.imgur.com/mA2hLDF.jpg
Accessories were common and includes:
3. Layout:
The board:
*i.imgur.com/E2fVltj.jpg
The motherboard is black in color with glossy coating and has the black and yellow theme which we have seen on other Asus motherboards also released this year.
*i.imgur.com/eciXkm4.jpg
I was not happy with the back side this time. There were a lot of soldering flux as you can see in the image and it seems Asus didn't do enough to clean the back side. Soldering flux is sticky and attracts dust. Also having a clean motherboard improves performance. Asus should improve on that.
Back I/O ports:
*i.imgur.com/eODlWEB.jpg
The back panel features:
This time the video output section is complete unlike the Asus J1800I-C which did not have the DVI port.
Power connectors:
The board is powered using the standard 24 pin EATX and 4 pin ATX plugs.
*i.imgur.com/T3dtczN.jpg
*i.imgur.com/lFm359u.jpg
Expansion capabilities
SATA ports:
*i.imgur.com/aKRff08.jpg
The motherboard has two SATA ports at 6 Gb/s conforming to the SATA-III spec. The SATA ports are controlled by the PCH embedded within the APU.
PCI-E slots:
*i.imgur.com/AW5SQL9.jpg
The black slot is a PCI-E x16 2.0 slot running at x4 mode. There are also two yellow PCI-E x1 2.0 slots just below it. Unlike the Asus J1800I-C I reviewed earlier, this board has provision for a discrete GPU though it will not run at its full potential.
Two PCI-E x1 slots are provided in case you want to install a dedicated sound card or TV tuner card or any PCI-E complaint device.
RAM slots:
*i.imgur.com/3Vkfphm.jpg
Two RAM slots of black and yellow color are provided. Even if there are two slots, the RAMs run in single channel mode which is a limitation of the APU. No restrictions are imposed on RAM voltage as we had seen on the J1800I-C.
Internal headers and front panel headers:
*i.imgur.com/bVDkuX3.jpg
*i.imgur.com/ucSRMtL.jpg
Front panel headers consists of the power, reset and front panel LED header, two USB 2.0 headers and a front panel audio header. You have to use the front panel audio header to utilize 8 channel audio support. Apart from that, there is an LPT header for legacy parallel port support and COM header for serial port.
A CLR_CMOS jumper is provided in case something goes wrong with the CMOS settings.
*i.imgur.com/50Vtx6p.jpg
This board also includes front panel USB 3.0 header controlled by the PCH embedded within the APU. This was absent on the Asus J1800I-C.
Fan headers:
*i.imgur.com/tHC6LqP.jpg
*i.imgur.com/69fnHFS.jpg
Fan headers are not much in number due to the small size of the board. But they are placed as they should be with the CPU fan header on the top and a chassis fan header near the back panel.
So layout is decent. The board has enough expansion options. I really missed the mini-PCI-E slot which was there on the J1800I-C. But on the optimistic side, it is decent enough. There are provisions for 4 USB 3.0 ports(2 at back panel and 2 at mid-board as a header).
4. Components:
Moving on to the components section now, let us see how the board works.
The Super I/O controller and hardware monitoring is provided via a ITE 8623E chip. It is based on a QFP package and occupies a smaller footprint than other ITE chips I have seen.
*i.imgur.com/vSJxLya.jpg
DRAM voltage is regulated by a 1R2 choke and two D2PAK MOSFETs. Using flat lead package MOSFETs would have been better because they are known to produce less heat. I searched for the datasheet of the MOSFETs but didn't find relevant information. Will update if I do so later on.
*i.imgur.com/Dy9xyT9.jpg
CPU and integrated GPU voltage is regulated using two R68 coils and coupled NXP 6030DLB S08 flat lead package MOSFETs. The voltage controller is based on Asus Digi+ VRM providing digital voltage control and less noise.
*i.imgur.com/B1WIu2M.jpg
*i.imgur.com/pFUv0wV.jpg
Here is the 8 channel Realtek ALC887 audio IC. This chip has a Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR) of 97 db which is pretty normal for an onboard audio subsystem. The J1800I-C has the same IC based on the same configuration. Since there are only three ports on the back panel, you have to use the front panel ports in HD audio mode to ensure 8 channel audio support.
*i.imgur.com/VFCAq41.jpg
A 64 MB BIOS chip from GigaDevice stores the BIOS and UEFI. It comes with a replaceable 8 pin package and allows the BIOS chip to be replaced in case it gets corrupted or damaged.
*i.imgur.com/grJGUow.jpg
The board features a Gigabit Ethernet controller powered by a Realtek 8111G similar to the one we saw in the J1800I-C.
*i.imgur.com/IlAm2q6.jpg
It has ESD protection which will protect it from high voltage static electricity but a bad thunderstorm can still damage it.
The back panel USB 3.0 support is provided with an ASM 1042 controller from Asmedia. This chip performs very good and we have seen it on many other motherboards.
*i.imgur.com/0zjEODg.jpg
I have decided to include the PCB quality as well from now on as suggested from viewers. So here goes the picture.
*i.imgur.com/NSqNFpk.jpg
The board is made with an eight layer PCB and is of good quality. Quality of soldering is good. But as I said, the back side of the board had too much excess soldering flux and I hope Asus improves its cleaning division.
Concluding the component section here, we see that the choices of materials, build quality of the board is good overall. Lets get into some BIOS screenshots now.
5. UEFI/BIOS walk through:
The first screen is neat and clean with every important information displayed:
*i.imgur.com/ElLs2CH.jpg
Pretty much self explanatory there. You can change language, date and time and set passwords.
My favorites menu: This is a newly added feature. Store all your frequently accessed settings and mark them as favorite.
*i.imgur.com/kQvl8lW.jpg
Also notice the last modified button on the right. It will list you the last settings you have changed while saving. Here is a screenshot.
*i.imgur.com/OK3Jcyd.jpg
This board also features AI Tweaker. Yes you guessed it right, it supports overclocking. And I was surprised, every option is included including memory timings, driving strengths, voltages etc.
*i.imgur.com/gZaUQfU.jpg
Since it has Digi+ VRM, it allows you to change current tolerances as well.
*i.imgur.com/Hcn8GCu.jpg
Here is the timings and driving config page:
*i.imgur.com/LgtlO1H.jpg
*i.imgur.com/zGWB0tl.jpg
Advanced menu:
Advanced menu is common. I will highlight feature specific sections.
*i.imgur.com/FEGpFDD.jpg
*i.imgur.com/qPz6pxx.jpg
The maximum shareable graphics memory is up to 2 GB.
*i.imgur.com/RQYgZIT.jpg
Hardware monitoring screen:
*i.imgur.com/gislgUO.jpg
The board includes full support for Windows 8, 8.1 and secure boot.
*i.imgur.com/oJJR6PK.jpg
*i.imgur.com/AIjfdQc.jpg
The tool menu: You get Asus OC profile to store BIOS settings, EZ Flash 2 for updating BIOS and Asus SPD information for checking RAM timings and voltages stored on the Serial Presence Detect(SPD) chip on the RAM modules.
*i.imgur.com/z1qDGDj.jpg
There ends the BIOS walk through and now I will continue to OS installation and benchmarking.
6. Test system, OS Installation, benchmarks:
Test system:
CPU: AMD Athlon 5150 Quad Core APU with Radeon R3 graphics
Motherboard: Asus AM1M-A
RAM: 8 GB(2*4 GB) Kingston HyperX Blu 1600 MHz RAMs @9-9-9-27 1.65V(RAM part code: KHX1600C9D3B1/4G)
Hard Disk: Seagate ST500DM002 500 GB SATA 3.0
Power Supply: Corsair GS 700
Monitor: Dell S2240M @ 1920*1080 60 Hz
Chassis: Custom wooden bench table
I set the power profile to high performance mode to make sure the CPU operates in its maximum clocks. The clock frequencies varied from 2.4 GHz to 2.58 GHz. When loaded, the CPU continuously operated at 2.58 GHz(Turbo mode).
Here's the CPU-Z validation with all details:
Now let us see how this setup performs in the benchmarks. Please note that these benchmark scores negligibly reflect the motherboard performance in this case because the CPU i.e. the APU is a SOC here with major components embedded within it.
However, these benchmarks reflect the platform performance. Not all well known benchmarks were run due to the limited potential of the hardware.
Windows 7 Experience Index
*i.imgur.com/gEch34t.png
Those are expected scores for this system. Graphics score is very good for the iGPU.
AIDA 64 Benchmarks: CPU Queen, CPU Photoworxx and cache and memory benchmark:
CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/4gD1zyk.png
In terms of clock for clock scores, that CPU Queen score is actually quite good for a quad core 1.6 GHz.
CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/u2VpuSq.png
We see that it scores just below the higher clocked Athlon 5350 APU. Not such a good score because the memory controller is single channel.
Cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/2Vy2Vwx.png
Memory performance is acceptable but not that good because the CPU IMC is not dual channel complaint(single channel).
The rest of all, I will leave it just to the numbers since they are self explanatory.
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/flEu27H.png
Unigine Heaven v3.0
*i.imgur.com/BoZ2RZj.jpg
Grid 2 gaming benchmark:
Settings: 1280*720, no AA, Medium preset:
*i.imgur.com/fZvzpRF.png
WinRAR benchmark
*i.imgur.com/cJcdQ4q.png
There ends the benchmarks section. Moving to the bundled software section now.
7. Bundled software(Asus AI Suite III):
The Asus AI Suite III comes with newly designed Graphical User Interface(GUI). Lets check out some screenshots.
*i.imgur.com/lTQr643.png
DigiVRM settings:
*i.imgur.com/JqD6usH.png
Asus EPU(Energy Processing Unit):
*i.imgur.com/1HGDIP6.png
TurboV EVO: The in-Windows overclocking utility:
*i.imgur.com/Ti04RJp.png
FanXpert: Control fan speeds to balance noise and heat, better cooling or less noise:
*i.imgur.com/RHzioOQ.png
AICharger: Quickly charge your devices
*i.imgur.com/q3wQ9EY.png
USB 3.0 boost:
*i.imgur.com/BvQxUSH.png
System information: Get motherboard details, CPU information and RAM SPD information here:
*i.imgur.com/vtpRKVo.png
8. Temperature testing:
The setup was cool throughout all the time I tested it. Here is a screenshot while running Prime95 7 minutes past:
*i.imgur.com/xKLqnoF.png
The CPU has a TDP of 25W so it should not produce much heat. Also the MOSFETs on the motherboard remained cool during the testing and even during loads.
9. Overclocking:
I was not happy with the overclocking potential. But again, its all lottery when it comes to overclocking. According to the experience I had, the integrated clock generator within the PCH was not good.
Lets see what we have got here:
*i.imgur.com/U3OIBee.png
Here is the validation: AMD Athlon 5150 overclock
So that is only a 1967.89 from 1600 MHz(367.89 MHz increase i.e. approx 23% increase). So as percentage is concerened, it is decent enough. Also, the memory was overclocked to 1966 MHz.
Further, I managed to push 2000 MHz(2.0 GHz) but with the RAM at 1667 MHz. No matter what I did, even a 1 MHz increment from the BCLK would result in instability issues and thus would make anyone suspect the clock generator. Here are some benchmarks with those clocks.
AIDA Cache and Memory benchmark, CPU Queen and Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/X5jZLd2.png
Performance increased here by quite an extent. Increasing the BClk(Base clock) increased the NB clock and memory clock as well. The default NB clock is 800 MHz and that of the memory clock is 1667 MHz. Please note you can configure memory frequencies according to standard multipliers of 6.67 and 8.0.
*i.imgur.com/JCDZ7Sk.png
*i.imgur.com/KQy5J5q.png
Again good increases here as well.
Cinebench R11.5
*i.imgur.com/j6ysojo.png
*i.imgur.com/3ijyQhb.png
An approx 0.4 point increase for the CPU score and 2 points for the GPU score.
Grid 2:
1920*1080, No AA, medium preset. Performance increased a lot and made the average FPS greater than the 30 FPS mark.
*i.imgur.com/lnwPhvU.jpg
3D performance gain 32.63 FPS from 28.04 FPS(approx 16.37%)
10. Summary and conclusion:
Pros:
1. Good layout
2. UEFI BIOS interface is good and easy for novices as well
3. Comes with front panel USB 3.0
4. Overclocking support
5. Digi VRM
Cons:
1. Too much soldering flux on the back side
2. The board takes a fairly long time of approx 12 seconds to complete POST*
*POST = Power On Self Test: Before anything is displayed on the screen, some tests are done by the motherboard and the BIOS to check if all the basic components are working properly. If they are not, a message will be displayed on the screen or some beep codes will be given.
I found that from power on, the board takes approx 12 seconds to POST i.e. before anything is displayed on the screen.
Verdict:
This motherboard can be a very capable HTPC(Home Theatre PC) on a tight budget as well as a basic home PC. Low power consumption of the Kabini APUs of just 25W helps to conserve energy and resources and thus makes this setup a very efficient system as well as maintaining green Earth!
Overall, an 8.4 out of 10!
*i.imgur.com/y2tc07w.jpg
Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please share your opinions. Criticisms and suggestions are warmly welcome.
Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks to Asus India for providing me the sample.
About me:
A 4th year computer science engineering student with a passion to research on computer hardware and getting the best out of a product at a price.
Hi everyone, this time I am reviewing the Asus AM1M-A motherboard here. The Asus AM1M-A motherboard is based on AMD's new socket AM1 and supports the newly released AMD Athlon and Sempron APUs codenamed "Kabini"
*i.imgur.com/PvkGfp2.jpg
Here's the link to the motherboard(Asus official site) : ASUS AM1M-A motherboard
This motherboard is of the micro-ATX(m-ATX) form factor and focuses mainly on a budget home theatre PC and basic home or office PC. It comes with USB 3.0 and has most of the display connectivity options featuring DVI, HDMI and VGA. Asus also stated that this board will support up to 32 GB of DDR3 RAM once they are released in the market.
It is worth mentioning that this board enables overclocking on the AMD AM1 platform. Lets move on to the specs as shown on Asus official website.
Here are the specs as on Asus website:
| CPU | AMD Socket AM1 Athlon™/Sempron™ Processors Supports CPU up to 4 cores * Refer to ASUS for CPU support list |
| Chipset | Build in AMD Sempron & Athlon-Series APUs |
| Memory | 2 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Single Channel Memory Architecture Support AMD Memory Profile (AMP) memory * The Max. 32GB memory capacity can be supported with DIMMs of 16GB (or above). ASUS will update QVL once the DIMMs are available on the market. * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. * Refer to ASUS for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). * Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Install a 64-bit Windows® OS when you want to install 4GB or more memory on the motherboard. |
| Graphic | Integrated AMD Radeon™ R Series Graphics in the APU Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DVI/RGB ports - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz*1 - Supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz - Supports RGB with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz Maximum shared memory of 2048 MB |
| Expansion Slots | 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode) 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 |
| Storage | AMD® Sempron & Athlon-Series APUs : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), yellow |
| LAN | Realtek® 8111GR, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) |
| Audio | Realtek® ALC887-VD 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC *2 - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking |
| USB Ports | ASMedia® ASM1042 controller : 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue) AMD® Sempron & Athlon-Series APUs : 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 port(s) (4 at back panel, black, 4 at mid-board) AMD® Sempron & Athlon-Series APUs : 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (2 at mid-board) |
| Special Features | ASUS 5X Protection : - ASUS DIGI+ VRM - 1 + 1 Phase digital power design - ASUS Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection - Short circuit damage prevention - ASUS ESD Guards - Enhanced ESD protection - ASUS High-Quality 5K-Hour Solid Capacitors - 2.5x long lifespan with excellent durability - ASUS Stainless Steel Back I/O - 3x more durable corrosion-resistant coating ASUS EPU : - EPU ASUS Exclusive Features : - AI Suite 3 - Ai Charger+ - Anti-Surge - ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface - USB 3.0 Boost - Disk Unlocker ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS MyLogo 2 ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-Slot |
| Operating System Support | Windows® 8.1 , 32bit/64bit Windows® 8 , 32bit/64bit Windows® 7 , 32bit/64bit Windows® XP , 32bit |
| Back I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x DVI 1 x D-Sub 1 x HDMI 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 2 x USB 3.0 (blue) 4 x USB 2.0 3 x Audio jack(s) |
| Internal I/O Ports | 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x TPM header 1 x COM port(s) connector(s) 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x parallel port connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x Internal speaker connector(s) 1 x System panel(s) |
| Accessories | User's manual I/O Shield 2 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) |
| BIOS | 64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3, My Favorites, Quick Note, Last Modified log, F12 PrintScreen, F3 Shortcut functions and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information |
| Support Disc | Drivers ASUS utilities ASUS Update Anti-virus software (OEM version) |
| Form Factor | mATX Form Factor 8.9 inch x 6.7 inch ( 22.6 cm x 17 cm ) |
| Note | *1: Please check the specifications of your AMD APU for capabilities. Video playback at 4096 x 2160 pixels may not be guaranteed. *2: Use a chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support an 8-channel audio output. |
2. Unboxing and packaging:
As on other Asus boards also, the box comes with a black theme with special features briefed.
*i.imgur.com/sfX3H62.jpg
*i.imgur.com/fhkTnKd.jpg
The board is protected with a ESD bag to prevent it from damage due to static electricity.
*i.imgur.com/ha4aFY7.jpg
Compared to the previous motherboards I reviewed, the packaging was too compact. It might cause some issues during shipping because the back panel ports are tall enough and the box size is just about right. Other boards were even well protected inside the box.
In box accessories:
*i.imgur.com/mA2hLDF.jpg
Accessories were common and includes:
- User Guide and Quick start guide
- Driver disc(Powered by Asus sticker inside)
- A pair of SATA 6 Gbps cables
- Back panel I/O shield
3. Layout:
The board:
*i.imgur.com/E2fVltj.jpg
The motherboard is black in color with glossy coating and has the black and yellow theme which we have seen on other Asus motherboards also released this year.
*i.imgur.com/eciXkm4.jpg
I was not happy with the back side this time. There were a lot of soldering flux as you can see in the image and it seems Asus didn't do enough to clean the back side. Soldering flux is sticky and attracts dust. Also having a clean motherboard improves performance. Asus should improve on that.
Back I/O ports:
*i.imgur.com/eODlWEB.jpg
The back panel features:
- A PS/2 port supporting a keyboard or mouse
- Four USB 2.0 ports
- Two USB 3.0 ports
- RJ-45 ethernet port
- HDMI, DVI and VGA port for video output
- Three audio jacks(Pink = mic, Green = Line out, Blue = Line in)
This time the video output section is complete unlike the Asus J1800I-C which did not have the DVI port.
Power connectors:
The board is powered using the standard 24 pin EATX and 4 pin ATX plugs.
*i.imgur.com/T3dtczN.jpg
*i.imgur.com/lFm359u.jpg
Expansion capabilities
SATA ports:
*i.imgur.com/aKRff08.jpg
The motherboard has two SATA ports at 6 Gb/s conforming to the SATA-III spec. The SATA ports are controlled by the PCH embedded within the APU.
PCI-E slots:
*i.imgur.com/AW5SQL9.jpg
The black slot is a PCI-E x16 2.0 slot running at x4 mode. There are also two yellow PCI-E x1 2.0 slots just below it. Unlike the Asus J1800I-C I reviewed earlier, this board has provision for a discrete GPU though it will not run at its full potential.
Two PCI-E x1 slots are provided in case you want to install a dedicated sound card or TV tuner card or any PCI-E complaint device.
RAM slots:
*i.imgur.com/3Vkfphm.jpg
Two RAM slots of black and yellow color are provided. Even if there are two slots, the RAMs run in single channel mode which is a limitation of the APU. No restrictions are imposed on RAM voltage as we had seen on the J1800I-C.
Internal headers and front panel headers:
*i.imgur.com/bVDkuX3.jpg
*i.imgur.com/ucSRMtL.jpg
Front panel headers consists of the power, reset and front panel LED header, two USB 2.0 headers and a front panel audio header. You have to use the front panel audio header to utilize 8 channel audio support. Apart from that, there is an LPT header for legacy parallel port support and COM header for serial port.
A CLR_CMOS jumper is provided in case something goes wrong with the CMOS settings.
*i.imgur.com/50Vtx6p.jpg
This board also includes front panel USB 3.0 header controlled by the PCH embedded within the APU. This was absent on the Asus J1800I-C.
Fan headers:
*i.imgur.com/tHC6LqP.jpg
*i.imgur.com/69fnHFS.jpg
Fan headers are not much in number due to the small size of the board. But they are placed as they should be with the CPU fan header on the top and a chassis fan header near the back panel.
So layout is decent. The board has enough expansion options. I really missed the mini-PCI-E slot which was there on the J1800I-C. But on the optimistic side, it is decent enough. There are provisions for 4 USB 3.0 ports(2 at back panel and 2 at mid-board as a header).
4. Components:
Moving on to the components section now, let us see how the board works.
The Super I/O controller and hardware monitoring is provided via a ITE 8623E chip. It is based on a QFP package and occupies a smaller footprint than other ITE chips I have seen.
*i.imgur.com/vSJxLya.jpg
DRAM voltage is regulated by a 1R2 choke and two D2PAK MOSFETs. Using flat lead package MOSFETs would have been better because they are known to produce less heat. I searched for the datasheet of the MOSFETs but didn't find relevant information. Will update if I do so later on.
*i.imgur.com/Dy9xyT9.jpg
CPU and integrated GPU voltage is regulated using two R68 coils and coupled NXP 6030DLB S08 flat lead package MOSFETs. The voltage controller is based on Asus Digi+ VRM providing digital voltage control and less noise.
*i.imgur.com/B1WIu2M.jpg
*i.imgur.com/pFUv0wV.jpg
Here is the 8 channel Realtek ALC887 audio IC. This chip has a Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR) of 97 db which is pretty normal for an onboard audio subsystem. The J1800I-C has the same IC based on the same configuration. Since there are only three ports on the back panel, you have to use the front panel ports in HD audio mode to ensure 8 channel audio support.
*i.imgur.com/VFCAq41.jpg
A 64 MB BIOS chip from GigaDevice stores the BIOS and UEFI. It comes with a replaceable 8 pin package and allows the BIOS chip to be replaced in case it gets corrupted or damaged.
*i.imgur.com/grJGUow.jpg
The board features a Gigabit Ethernet controller powered by a Realtek 8111G similar to the one we saw in the J1800I-C.
*i.imgur.com/IlAm2q6.jpg
It has ESD protection which will protect it from high voltage static electricity but a bad thunderstorm can still damage it.
The back panel USB 3.0 support is provided with an ASM 1042 controller from Asmedia. This chip performs very good and we have seen it on many other motherboards.
*i.imgur.com/0zjEODg.jpg
I have decided to include the PCB quality as well from now on as suggested from viewers. So here goes the picture.
*i.imgur.com/NSqNFpk.jpg
The board is made with an eight layer PCB and is of good quality. Quality of soldering is good. But as I said, the back side of the board had too much excess soldering flux and I hope Asus improves its cleaning division.
Concluding the component section here, we see that the choices of materials, build quality of the board is good overall. Lets get into some BIOS screenshots now.
5. UEFI/BIOS walk through:
The first screen is neat and clean with every important information displayed:
*i.imgur.com/ElLs2CH.jpg
Pretty much self explanatory there. You can change language, date and time and set passwords.
My favorites menu: This is a newly added feature. Store all your frequently accessed settings and mark them as favorite.
*i.imgur.com/kQvl8lW.jpg
Also notice the last modified button on the right. It will list you the last settings you have changed while saving. Here is a screenshot.
*i.imgur.com/OK3Jcyd.jpg
This board also features AI Tweaker. Yes you guessed it right, it supports overclocking. And I was surprised, every option is included including memory timings, driving strengths, voltages etc.
*i.imgur.com/gZaUQfU.jpg
Since it has Digi+ VRM, it allows you to change current tolerances as well.
*i.imgur.com/Hcn8GCu.jpg
Here is the timings and driving config page:
*i.imgur.com/LgtlO1H.jpg
*i.imgur.com/zGWB0tl.jpg
Advanced menu:
Advanced menu is common. I will highlight feature specific sections.
*i.imgur.com/FEGpFDD.jpg
*i.imgur.com/qPz6pxx.jpg
The maximum shareable graphics memory is up to 2 GB.
*i.imgur.com/RQYgZIT.jpg
Hardware monitoring screen:
*i.imgur.com/gislgUO.jpg
The board includes full support for Windows 8, 8.1 and secure boot.
*i.imgur.com/oJJR6PK.jpg
*i.imgur.com/AIjfdQc.jpg
The tool menu: You get Asus OC profile to store BIOS settings, EZ Flash 2 for updating BIOS and Asus SPD information for checking RAM timings and voltages stored on the Serial Presence Detect(SPD) chip on the RAM modules.
*i.imgur.com/z1qDGDj.jpg
There ends the BIOS walk through and now I will continue to OS installation and benchmarking.
6. Test system, OS Installation, benchmarks:
Test system:
CPU: AMD Athlon 5150 Quad Core APU with Radeon R3 graphics
Motherboard: Asus AM1M-A
RAM: 8 GB(2*4 GB) Kingston HyperX Blu 1600 MHz RAMs @9-9-9-27 1.65V(RAM part code: KHX1600C9D3B1/4G)
Hard Disk: Seagate ST500DM002 500 GB SATA 3.0
Power Supply: Corsair GS 700
Monitor: Dell S2240M @ 1920*1080 60 Hz
Chassis: Custom wooden bench table
I set the power profile to high performance mode to make sure the CPU operates in its maximum clocks. The clock frequencies varied from 2.4 GHz to 2.58 GHz. When loaded, the CPU continuously operated at 2.58 GHz(Turbo mode).
Here's the CPU-Z validation with all details:
Now let us see how this setup performs in the benchmarks. Please note that these benchmark scores negligibly reflect the motherboard performance in this case because the CPU i.e. the APU is a SOC here with major components embedded within it.
However, these benchmarks reflect the platform performance. Not all well known benchmarks were run due to the limited potential of the hardware.
Windows 7 Experience Index
*i.imgur.com/gEch34t.png
Those are expected scores for this system. Graphics score is very good for the iGPU.
AIDA 64 Benchmarks: CPU Queen, CPU Photoworxx and cache and memory benchmark:
CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/4gD1zyk.png
In terms of clock for clock scores, that CPU Queen score is actually quite good for a quad core 1.6 GHz.
CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/u2VpuSq.png
We see that it scores just below the higher clocked Athlon 5350 APU. Not such a good score because the memory controller is single channel.
Cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/2Vy2Vwx.png
Memory performance is acceptable but not that good because the CPU IMC is not dual channel complaint(single channel).
The rest of all, I will leave it just to the numbers since they are self explanatory.
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/flEu27H.png
Unigine Heaven v3.0
*i.imgur.com/BoZ2RZj.jpg
Grid 2 gaming benchmark:
Settings: 1280*720, no AA, Medium preset:
*i.imgur.com/fZvzpRF.png
WinRAR benchmark
*i.imgur.com/cJcdQ4q.png
There ends the benchmarks section. Moving to the bundled software section now.
7. Bundled software(Asus AI Suite III):
The Asus AI Suite III comes with newly designed Graphical User Interface(GUI). Lets check out some screenshots.
*i.imgur.com/lTQr643.png
DigiVRM settings:
*i.imgur.com/JqD6usH.png
Asus EPU(Energy Processing Unit):
*i.imgur.com/1HGDIP6.png
TurboV EVO: The in-Windows overclocking utility:
*i.imgur.com/Ti04RJp.png
FanXpert: Control fan speeds to balance noise and heat, better cooling or less noise:
*i.imgur.com/RHzioOQ.png
AICharger: Quickly charge your devices
*i.imgur.com/q3wQ9EY.png
USB 3.0 boost:
*i.imgur.com/BvQxUSH.png
System information: Get motherboard details, CPU information and RAM SPD information here:
*i.imgur.com/vtpRKVo.png
8. Temperature testing:
The setup was cool throughout all the time I tested it. Here is a screenshot while running Prime95 7 minutes past:
*i.imgur.com/xKLqnoF.png
The CPU has a TDP of 25W so it should not produce much heat. Also the MOSFETs on the motherboard remained cool during the testing and even during loads.
9. Overclocking:
I was not happy with the overclocking potential. But again, its all lottery when it comes to overclocking. According to the experience I had, the integrated clock generator within the PCH was not good.
Lets see what we have got here:
*i.imgur.com/U3OIBee.png
Here is the validation: AMD Athlon 5150 overclock
So that is only a 1967.89 from 1600 MHz(367.89 MHz increase i.e. approx 23% increase). So as percentage is concerened, it is decent enough. Also, the memory was overclocked to 1966 MHz.
Further, I managed to push 2000 MHz(2.0 GHz) but with the RAM at 1667 MHz. No matter what I did, even a 1 MHz increment from the BCLK would result in instability issues and thus would make anyone suspect the clock generator. Here are some benchmarks with those clocks.
AIDA Cache and Memory benchmark, CPU Queen and Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/X5jZLd2.png
Performance increased here by quite an extent. Increasing the BClk(Base clock) increased the NB clock and memory clock as well. The default NB clock is 800 MHz and that of the memory clock is 1667 MHz. Please note you can configure memory frequencies according to standard multipliers of 6.67 and 8.0.
*i.imgur.com/JCDZ7Sk.png
*i.imgur.com/KQy5J5q.png
Again good increases here as well.
Cinebench R11.5
*i.imgur.com/j6ysojo.png
*i.imgur.com/3ijyQhb.png
An approx 0.4 point increase for the CPU score and 2 points for the GPU score.
Grid 2:
1920*1080, No AA, medium preset. Performance increased a lot and made the average FPS greater than the 30 FPS mark.
*i.imgur.com/lnwPhvU.jpg
3D performance gain 32.63 FPS from 28.04 FPS(approx 16.37%)
10. Summary and conclusion:
Pros:
1. Good layout
2. UEFI BIOS interface is good and easy for novices as well
3. Comes with front panel USB 3.0
4. Overclocking support
5. Digi VRM
Cons:
1. Too much soldering flux on the back side
2. The board takes a fairly long time of approx 12 seconds to complete POST*
*POST = Power On Self Test: Before anything is displayed on the screen, some tests are done by the motherboard and the BIOS to check if all the basic components are working properly. If they are not, a message will be displayed on the screen or some beep codes will be given.
I found that from power on, the board takes approx 12 seconds to POST i.e. before anything is displayed on the screen.
Verdict:
This motherboard can be a very capable HTPC(Home Theatre PC) on a tight budget as well as a basic home PC. Low power consumption of the Kabini APUs of just 25W helps to conserve energy and resources and thus makes this setup a very efficient system as well as maintaining green Earth!
Overall, an 8.4 out of 10!
*i.imgur.com/y2tc07w.jpg
Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please share your opinions. Criticisms and suggestions are warmly welcome.
Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks to Asus India for providing me the sample.
About me:
A 4th year computer science engineering student with a passion to research on computer hardware and getting the best out of a product at a price.