I sometimes feel that the AMD platforms do not get as much attention from the manufacturers than does Intel, but lately this seems to be the case. A bit before Christmas, Gigabyte had announed the first AMD motherboards featuring USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0, which hit the market not long after these technologies were implemented on the Intel platform. Then, at the Consumer Electronics Show, ECS was displaying some motherboards featuring 15µ gold connectors. Most models were all about the Nehalem architecture in all its forms, but I was pleased to see that the AMD fans were not left in the dust; ECS launched a few motherboards for them, from the low to high-end. In this article, we will get to try out the new A785GM-AD3, an ATX motherboard based on the 785G chipset - and featuring the 15µ gold connectors.
How will it affect stability and overclocking? One sure thing is that such a plating on the connectors will increase their lifespan, since corrosion is less likely to occur. Unfortunately, one cannot test that over the length of a review.
Specifications
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CPU
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· Socket AM3 socket for AMD Phenom™ II processors
· High-performance HyperTransport 3.0 CPU Interface
· Support transfer rate up to 5200 mega-transfers per second
· Note: This board supports CPU up to 95W TDP only; you can refer to AMD website to check your CPU.
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CHIPSET
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· North Bridge: AMD® 785G
· South Bridge: AMD® SB710
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GRAPHICS
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· Integrated DirectX10.1 graphics processor
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MEMORY
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· Dual-channel DDR3 memory architecture
· 4 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM socket support up to 16GB
· Support DDR3 OC1600/1333/1066/800 DDR3 SDRAM
· *(Due to the DRAM maximum size is 2GB at present, the memory maximum size we have tested is 4GB)
· *(Due to AMD CPU spec limitation, please refer to Memory QVL for more information)
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EXPANSION SLOT
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· 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
· 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
· 3 x PCI slots
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STORAGE
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· 2 x Ultra DMA133/100/66 devices
· 5 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s devices
· 1 x eSATA
· RAID0, RAID1, RAID10 configuration
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AUDIO
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· Realtek ALC 888S supports 8-channel HD audio
· Realtek ALC662 6-channel HD Audio codec(optional)
· Compliant with HD audio specification
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LAN
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· RealTek 8111DL Gigabit Fast Ethernet NIC
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REAR PANEL I/O
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· 1 x PS/2 keyboard & PS/2 mouse connectors
· 1 x D-sub(VGA)
· 1 x DVI connector
· 1 x RJ45 LAN connector
· 1 x Audio port (1x Line in, 4x Line out, 1x Optical SPDIF Out)
· 1 x External SATA port
· 6 x USB ports
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INTERNAL I/O CONNECTORS & HEADERS
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· 1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector
· 1 x 4pin CPU_FAN connectors
· 1 x 3-pin NB_FAN connector
· 1 x 3-pin SYS_FAN connector
· 1 x Power on button
· 1 x Reset button
· 1 x IDE connector
· 1 x Speaker header
· 1 x Front panel switch/LED header
· 1 x Front panel audio header
· 1 x SPDIF out header
· 1 x Clear CMOS button
· 1x CD in header
· 5 x Serial ATA connectors
· 3 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 6 USB ports
· 1 x 4-pin 12V Connector
· 1 x Chassis intrusion header
· 1X Power on LED (Green light)
· 1X Stand by LED (Red Light)
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SYSTEM BIOS
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· AMI BIOS with 8Mb SPI Flash ROM
· Supports Plug and Play, STR (S3) / STD (S4) , Hardware monitor, Multi Boot
· Supports ACPI & DMI
· Supports CPU FSB adjustment, increase of 1MHz
· Supports PCI interrupt selection
· Audio, LAN, can be disabled in BIOS
· F11 hot key for boot up devices option
· Support over-clocking
· Support Page Up clear CMOS Hotkey
· Support ECS M.I.B II Utility
· CPU voltage adjustable
· Memory voltage adjustable
· NB Chipset Voltage Adjustable
· SB Chipset Voltage Adjustable
· External Clock Adjustable
· Multiple Frequency Adjustable
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FORM FACTOR
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· ATX Size, 305mm*220mm
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Specifications table is courtesy of ECS.
Let's open this black box and see what ECS has put together.
