The new FM2 chipsets from AMD are a turning
point for the company as its gambling on then to pull in customers to adopt the
brand name. Paired with A-series chips, the motherboard is slated to go against
Intel’s midrange offerings but at a more affordable scale. OEMs around the
world are with AMD in populating this platform, and Gigabyte is one of them.
The new Gigabyte F2A85X-UP4 is their entrant into the FM2 world.
The
new FM2 chipsets from AMD are a turning point for the company as its gambling
on then to pull in customers to adopt the brand name
Consistent quality
At first glance, the board looks like any
other Gigabyte board, which is good as this means consistency in quality and
functions. And for the board, it has many functions that you need and will need
to have. From the back plate, you have a multitude of ports to fulfill your
heart’s content with. You have 7 USB ports, four of which are of the USB 3.0
variety, and one is combined USB/e-SATA port. You also will have VGA and a DVI
ports, plus a HDMI as well as a Display Port. This means that the board, with
the processor in, allows users to implement Eyefinity, allowing multiple
monitors to be connected into one system by using different connectors to work
as one. So imagine a wide screen gaming experience with this baby!
From
the back plate, you have a multitude of ports to fulfill your heart’s content
with
Mid-range wonder
The board, as a mid-range unit, allows only
up to four sticks of dual-channel RAM, and also up to six SATA devices. We
wished Gigabyte included more SATA ports, but as it is you can get by. For
graphics expansion, you get five PCIe slots – three full-sized slots and two
small slots. The three slots will run at 16x speeds with one card, 8x speeds
with two and 4x speeds with three cards while the two smaller slots are for 1x
cards only.
For
graphics expansion, you get five PCIe slots – three full-sized slots and two
small slots
Benchmark pacer
We loaded the board up, and ran our benchmark
PC Mark 07. This system test allows the tester to see how the system will run
with full load. With the A10 processor, the board manages to get 3975 marks,
which is the range of similarly specced systems by Intel. PassMark, with its
similar testing suite Performance Test meanwhile gives the board 2209 marks.
All packed package
With a processor that is about 20-30
percent cheaper than its competitor, the FM2 platform is something to look
forward to, and Gigabyte’s complete package makes it something that should be
owned by everyone.
As
a UP4-designated motherboard, this F2A85X will be built to GIGABYTE's Ultra
Durable 5 standard featuring including IR3550 PowIRstage ICs from International
Rectifier, 2X Copper PCB and high current Ferrite Core Chokes rated up to 60A
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Specifications
§ Price:
$130
§ Dimensions
(WxD): 305 x 244 mm
§ Processor:
AMD A series processor
§ Memory:
4 x DDR3 slots
§ Display:
Via APU or Graphics Card or Both
§ Ports:
6 x USB (4 x USB 3.0), Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, VGA/DVI/HDMI/Display Port
§ Expansion:
3 x Full PCIe, 2 x 1x PCIe
§ PCMark07:
3975
§ Performance
Test: 2209
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