• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

ASUS Launches World's First Motherboards for AMD FM2+ APUs

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,202 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
ASUS today announced the new A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards, the first from any manufacturer to support new Socket FM2+ APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) from AMD. The A88XM-A with AMD A88X chipset and A55BM-A/USB3 with A55 chipset are both Micro-ATX motherboards for existing AMD 'Richland' and 'Trinity' FM2 APUs, and are hardware-ready for upcoming AMD 'Kaveri' FM2+ APUs that support DirectX 11.1 and PCI Express 3.0 natively. ASUS is committed to supporting the latest in PC technology. The new FM2+ motherboards offer customers the very latest in motherboard design, with the added flexibility of both backward and forward compatibility with AMD APUs.



Exclusive ASUS technology
The ASUS A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards support Kaveri's new PCI Express 3.0 interface with a PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slot and feature exclusive technologies for enhanced performance and reliability. USB 3.0 Boost technology gives data transfer rates up to 1.7 times faster than ordinary USB 3.0 with industry-standard UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) devices. USB 3.0 Boost also incorporates an optimized 'turbo' mode for data transfer speed improvements from any standard USB 3.0 device.
Both motherboards also feature an easy-to-use UEFI BIOS, Fan Xpert fan control for a quiet environment and increased cooling efficiency, and exclusive ASUS 5X Protection technology for enhanced reliability and durability. DIGI+ VRM voltage regulation ensures precise digital control over power delivery to the processor for reduced energy consumption and enhanced stability, while resettable fuses protect I/O ports and DIMM slots from short circuits and voltage spikes.

Electrostatic-discharge guards also protect sensitive components from electromagnetic interference and high-quality solid capacitors, industry-rated for a lifespan for over 50 years of continuous use under typical operating conditions (at 65 degrees Centigrade), last more than twice as long as traditional electrolytic capacitors. Additionally, chromium oxide-plated stainless steel rear I/O subjected to 72-hour spray salt endurance tests for superior corrosion resistance and an increased lifespan.

Full AMD FM2+ motherboard range planned
The ASUS A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards will be joined later by more models. Full details on the entire ASUS FM2+ motherboard range will be released later in the year.

Pricing and Availability
Pricing and availability for the ASUS A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 vary by region.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
4,686 (0.80/day)
System Name Obelisc
Processor i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling H110
Memory 16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s) GTX 780 Ti
Storage 850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case T81
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software Win10 64bit
Must everything be this dull mustard yellow? Be glad when the next round of boards come and they pick a new color.
 
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
6,666 (1.43/day)
Processor 7800x3d
Motherboard Gigabyte B650 Auros Elite AX
Cooling Custom Water
Memory GSKILL 2x16gb 6000mhz Cas 30 with custom timings
Video Card(s) MSI RX 6750 XT MECH 2X 12G OC
Storage Adata SX8200 1tb with Windows, Samsung 990 Pro 2tb with games
Display(s) HP Omen 27q QHD 165hz
Case ThermalTake P3
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex Titanium
Software Windows 11 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores CB23: 1811 / 19424 CB24: 1136 / 7687
So we have the motherboards before we have the chips. Is this a sign Kaveri is going to be out real soon or did I miss that press release?
 
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
1,238 (0.20/day)
Location
SoCal
Processor AMD Phenom II 1055T @ 3.6ghz 1.3V
Motherboard Asus M5A97 EVO
Cooling Xigmatek SD1284
Memory 2x4GB Patriot Sector 5 PC3-12800 @ 7-8-7-24-1T 1.7V
Video Card(s) XFX Radeon HD 7950 DD @ 1100/1350 1.185V
Storage OCZ Agility 3 120GB + 2x7200.12 500GB Raid1
Display(s) QNIX QX2710 27" LCD 1440p @ 120hz
Case Cooler Master 690M
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC892
Power Supply Enermax Liberty 620W Eco Edition
Software Windows 7 Professional x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 x64
So we have the motherboards before we have the chips. Is this a sign Kaveri is going to be out real soon or did I miss that press release?

If I recall correctly, AMD released the AM3+ 9xx series chipsets well in advance of the Zambezi FX processors. For quite some time, all 9xx series motherboards were reviewed with the Thuban Phenom II processor. Hell, my ASUS 970 motherboard I bought back then is still housing my Thuban, as I haven't seen any reason to upgrade (I'm hoping Steamroller changes that, but I'm not holding my breath).

In short, I don't think the launching of FM2+ motherboards implies a soonish launch for Kaveri products.
 
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
84 (0.02/day)
So we have the motherboards before we have the chips. Is this a sign Kaveri is going to be out real soon or did I miss that press release?

AMD's most recent official roadmap has Kaveri scheduled for the second half of 2013. Some unconfirmed rumors from DigiTimes and other sites say it may not be released until well into 2014. I guess we've got to wait and see.
 
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
6,666 (1.43/day)
Processor 7800x3d
Motherboard Gigabyte B650 Auros Elite AX
Cooling Custom Water
Memory GSKILL 2x16gb 6000mhz Cas 30 with custom timings
Video Card(s) MSI RX 6750 XT MECH 2X 12G OC
Storage Adata SX8200 1tb with Windows, Samsung 990 Pro 2tb with games
Display(s) HP Omen 27q QHD 165hz
Case ThermalTake P3
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex Titanium
Software Windows 11 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores CB23: 1811 / 19424 CB24: 1136 / 7687
AMD's most recent official roadmap has Kaveri scheduled for the second half of 2013. Some unconfirmed rumors from DigiTimes and other sites say it may not be released until well into 2014. I guess we've got to wait and see.

I saw those. Devguy answered my question. I don't remember doing the same thing with AM3+ boards.
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
4,686 (0.80/day)
System Name Obelisc
Processor i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling H110
Memory 16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s) GTX 780 Ti
Storage 850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case T81
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software Win10 64bit
According to AnandTech, "The market that likes a yellow/yellow-gold color is the Middle East, which could be a potential growth area."

Never try to expand in an unproven market by shafting the proven one. And you know it wouldn't be quite so atrocious if it was actually gold colored. The heatsinks are off but the plastic is in another zip code.
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
17,232 (2.63/day)
I saw those. Devguy answered my question. I don't remember doing the same thing with AM3+ boards.

Boards launch May31st(I know, since I had them, first review here, posted June 8th, 2011:http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/M5A97_EVO/), CPUs launched in October 2011.


AMD has done this nearly as long as I have been a PC enthusiast, boards first, since current CPUs work in them fine. AMD's forward-back compatibility has ensured this is the case for many years now.

Will you be testing any of these Dave?


Maybe, but not that soon. My schedule is PACKED until September 1st already, maybe beyond.
 
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
895 (0.22/day)
Actually the issue is the mobo makers releasing the boards early to get as many sales as possible. Those who are anxious to have a Kaveri can use a Trinity or Richland now and be all ready when Kaveri launchs.

What should be obvious from the release of this Asus mobo is that Kaveri is set in stone and ready for mass production and distribution. This would suggest that AMD has done their work and that all is well. Asus has the inside line with AMD and provides prototype mobos for certification before production. Once everything is good to go, Asus has the jump start on releasing new AMD mobos.

Q4 is the target date for some of the first models to ship with the rest rolling out in H1 of '14.

I find it comical that people actually get excited or upset over the color of the mobo and sockets... You've completely missed the purpose of the mobo and have been sucked into marketing hype.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
4,012 (0.75/day)
Location
Sarasota, Florida, USA
System Name Awesomesauce 4.3 | Laptop (MSI GE72VR 6RF Apache Pro-023)
Processor Intel Core i7-5820K 4.16GHz 1.28v/3GHz 1.05v uncore | Intel Core i7-6700HQ @ 3.1GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X99-UD5 WiFi LGA2011-v3| Stock
Cooling Corsair H100i v2 w/ 2x EK Vardar F4-120ER + various 120/140mm case fans | Stock
Memory G.Skill RJ-4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 quad channel | 12GB DDR4-2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SC2 11GB @ 2012/5151 boost | NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB +200/+500 + Intel 530
Storage Samsung 840 EVO 500GB + Seagate 3TB 7200RPM + others | Kingston 256GB M.2 SATA + 1TB 7200RPM
Display(s) Acer G257HU 1440p 60Hz AH-IPS 4ms | 17.3" 1920*1080 60Hz wide angle TN notebook panel
Case Fractal Design Define XL R2 | MSI
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z | Realtek with quad stereo speakers and subwoofer
Power Supply Corsair HX850i Platinum | 19.5v 180w Delta brick
Software Windows 10 Pro x64 | Windows 10 Home x64
FINALLY, AMD has come up with a PCIe 3.0 controller. I'm interested to see what that means for AM3+ which is still using the 900 series NB/SB which are getting long in the tooth and were pretty much rebrands of the non-IGP based 800 series chipsets, am I right?
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
468 (0.08/day)
System Name It does stuff
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard B550 Gaming X V2
Cooling Stock
Memory 16GB DDR4 3600
Video Card(s) RX 6700XT
Storage Too much
Display(s) 27" & 21.5"
Case Antec 300
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar DGX / Sony MDR-XB500s
Power Supply Corsair 750W
Software Win10 64
The yellow reminds me of DFI. What happened to those guys :(
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
4,015 (0.80/day)
Location
UK
System Name PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 3600
Motherboard MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC12DX, 3 x NZXT FN 140mm, 1x NZXT FV V2 120mm
Memory 32gb DDR4 3200mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS R9 290 DCII-OC 4GB
Storage corsair mp600 1TB
Display(s) LG 27MB85Z 27" 1440p
Case NZXT Source 340
Power Supply Thermaltake 675w
Mouse Logitech G500S
Keyboard Logitech G510S
Software Windows 8.1 64 bit
The yellow reminds me of DFI. What happened to those guys :(

stopped making money off consumer products, went into industrial design
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.25/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
AMD has done this nearly as long as I have been a PC enthusiast, boards first, since current CPUs work in them fine. AMD's forward-back compatibility has ensured this is the case for many years now.

Odd, I only recently remember them doing this... In fact I think if you look at the last 10 years more often than not, the old processors won't work in the new boards.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
4,012 (0.75/day)
Location
Sarasota, Florida, USA
System Name Awesomesauce 4.3 | Laptop (MSI GE72VR 6RF Apache Pro-023)
Processor Intel Core i7-5820K 4.16GHz 1.28v/3GHz 1.05v uncore | Intel Core i7-6700HQ @ 3.1GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X99-UD5 WiFi LGA2011-v3| Stock
Cooling Corsair H100i v2 w/ 2x EK Vardar F4-120ER + various 120/140mm case fans | Stock
Memory G.Skill RJ-4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 quad channel | 12GB DDR4-2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SC2 11GB @ 2012/5151 boost | NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB +200/+500 + Intel 530
Storage Samsung 840 EVO 500GB + Seagate 3TB 7200RPM + others | Kingston 256GB M.2 SATA + 1TB 7200RPM
Display(s) Acer G257HU 1440p 60Hz AH-IPS 4ms | 17.3" 1920*1080 60Hz wide angle TN notebook panel
Case Fractal Design Define XL R2 | MSI
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z | Realtek with quad stereo speakers and subwoofer
Power Supply Corsair HX850i Platinum | 19.5v 180w Delta brick
Software Windows 10 Pro x64 | Windows 10 Home x64
Odd, I only recently remember them doing this... In fact I think more often than not, the old processors won't work in the new boards.

AM2+ supported all AM2 processors, AM3+ supported all AM3 processors, FM2+ supports all FM2 processors. The one difference is the AM3 Phenom II processors that are operable in AM2-AM3+ boards since they have dual DDR2/DDR3 memory controllers.
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,018 (1.92/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w

Huguito

New Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
23 (0.01/day)
Location
in my house
you guys forget 1 important thing: AMD its under a different management than buldozer/phenom era.. they are acting different; dont expect the same behaviour of the past, specially marketing

i have a feel that am3+ its the last traditional socket for AMD; they are pushing HSA/APU designs HARD and the fact that this new socket have PCI express 3.0 tells you something

Honestly i dont know if we are going to see a full fledged 8 Steamroller core FX style on desktop (AM3+) without any kind of HSA trow in the mix.. and AMD doesnt have it in their latest roadmap

they said 1 last processor for am3+... maybe the 5ghz piledriver (and the other one) was those "unreleased" cpus?!?!

cant wait to see how this sucker performs, HSA + steamroller looks very promising :rockout:
 
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
343 (0.08/day)
Location
Ft Stewart
System Name Queen Bee
Processor 3570k @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte UD3 Z77
Cooling Water Loop by EK
Memory 8GB Corsair 1600 DDR3
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 970 Gaming WaterCooled
Storage 1x Western Digital 500GB Black 1x Intel 20GB 311 SSD
Display(s) BenQ XL2420G
Case CoolTek W2
Power Supply Corsair 650Watt
Software Windows 7 Pro
Kaveri isn't just 25w and below SOC's soldered to the board!!! :rockout::rockout::rockout:
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
1,229 (0.25/day)
Location
USA, Arizona
System Name SolarwindMobile
Processor AMD FX-9800P RADEON R7, 12 COMPUTE CORES 4C+8G
Motherboard Acer Wasp_BR
Cooling It's Copper.
Memory 2 x 8GB SK Hynix/HMA41GS6AFR8N-TF
Video Card(s) ATI/AMD Radeon R7 Series (Bristol Ridge FP4) [ACER]
Storage TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 1TB + KINGSTON RBU-SNS8152S3128GG2 128 GB
Display(s) ViewSonic XG2401 SERIES
Case Acer Aspire E5-553G
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC255
Power Supply PANASONIC AS16A5K
Mouse SteelSeries Rival
Keyboard Ducky Channel Shine 3
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit (Version 1607, Build 14393.969)
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
Messages
389 (0.09/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro
Cooling Wraith Prism
Memory Crucial Ballistix 3600Mhz 16GB (4x8GB)
Video Card(s) -
Storage Samsung 850 Evo, 860 Evo, 980 and Crucial MX500
Display(s) Samsung Neo G9 Odyssey
Case Corsair 7000D
Power Supply -
VR HMD Quest 2
Joined
Jul 19, 2011
Messages
540 (0.12/day)
Exactly. Really odd that there arent any APU itx mobos out there considering its market segmet :banghead:



Idk, they didnt do it for the last 2 generations of APUs...

Currently operating an a6-6400k with MSI ITX board, 8gb ram, and 128 GB SSD. I love it!
 
Top