Monday, October 23rd 2017
ASUS Intros Expedition A320M Gaming Motherboard
ASUS introduced the Expedition A320M Gaming, an entry-level socket AM4 motherboard designed for the rigors of gaming iCafes (yes, they do exist in the developing world). The board covers all the essential connectivity needed for a gaming rig, and comes with high-endurance electrical components. It also comes with certain anti-theft measures that make it tougher to steal memory modules and graphics cards. Built in the micro-ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors. A simple 6-phase VRM conditions power for the CPU.
The socket AM4 CPU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, and the board's lone PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. A PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and an open-ended x4 slot make for the rest of the expansion. Storage connectivity includes a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, from which two are wired to the AM4 socket. Network connectivity is care of a single 1 GbE interface, driven by a Realtek RTL8111H controller, while the 6-channel HD audio is backed by a basic Realtek ALC887 CODEC with audio-grade capacitors and ground-layer isolation. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two via headers). The company didn't reveal pricing.
The socket AM4 CPU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, and the board's lone PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. A PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and an open-ended x4 slot make for the rest of the expansion. Storage connectivity includes a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, from which two are wired to the AM4 socket. Network connectivity is care of a single 1 GbE interface, driven by a Realtek RTL8111H controller, while the 6-channel HD audio is backed by a basic Realtek ALC887 CODEC with audio-grade capacitors and ground-layer isolation. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two via headers). The company didn't reveal pricing.