Asus Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard (M5A97)
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- CPU: Socket AM3+ Support FX/ Phenom II /Athlon II /Sempron 100 Series Processors;
- Support 140W CPU; Support AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet Technology; Support AM3+ 32 nm CPU. Chipset: AMD 970 & SB950
- Memory: 4x DDR3-2133(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 DIMMs, Dual Channel, Non-ECC, Un-buffered, Max Capacity upto 32GB
- Slots: 2x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slots(one run at x4, Support AMD Quad-CrossFireX); 2x PCI-Express 2.0 x1 Slots; 2x PCI Slots
- SATA: 6x SATA3 Ports, Support RAID 0/ 1/ 5/ 10
- Audio: Realtek ALC887 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- CPU: Socket AM3+ Support FX/ Phenom II /Athlon II /Sempron 100 Series Processors; Support 140W CPU;
- LAN: Integrated Realtek 8111E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
- Ports: 12x USB 2.0 Ports(6 rear, 6 at mid-board); 2x USB 3.0 Ports; 2x PS/2 Ports; 1x Optical S/PDIF out; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; Audio I/O Jacks
- Support AMD Cool ‘n’ Quiet Technology; Support AM3+ 32 nm CPU; Chipset: AMD 970 & SB950
Asus M5A97 Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Asus motherboard
Asus Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard (M5A97)
List Price: $ 106.80
Price:
Good motherboard,
Pros:It’s supports the newest AMD AM3+ FX and the older AM3 processors.
Cons:
1.It does not have an option to support front panel USB 3.0 ports.
2. Works great at 1600MHz,but when set to anything higher in my
ASUS M5A97, my system crashes intermittently.
Other Thoughts:
ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970
AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition
8GB G.Skill RipjawsX PC3-17000 2133MHz
Sapphire Radeon HD5770 1 GB DDR5
Everest 80 PLUS 600w
Samsung 830 Series SSD 64 GB SATA 6.0 Gbs
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|Fantastic Motherboard.,
This fantastic motherboard is the best value one could presently find. The value is combining low cost with all the overclocking or economy setting that any fanatical overclocker could think to tinker with or go as green as a motherboard could get.
The bios is changed with mouse movements over analog gauges and large buttons on the first screen that offer economy, normal, and auto tuning overclocking. This motherboard offers auto tuning where the motherboard tests itself, the CPU and memory placed in to find the fastest stable settings. The auto tuning overclocker prescribed 4.0 GHz for my eight-core 3.1 GHz AMD FX-8120
AMD FX 8120 8-Core Processor 3.1 8 Socket AM3 – FD8120FRGUBOX
and 3.8 GHz for my four core AMD Phenom.
AMD Phenom II X4 960T Processor, Black Edition, 3.0 4 Socket AM3 – HD96ZTWFGRBOX
The motherboard offers core unlocking to create a four core CPU out of a 3 core AMD.
AMD Athlon II X3 455 Processor (ADX455WFGMBOX)
Personally I use the auto tuner because I could not squeeze much more out of the CPU, memory and motherboard than the motherboard prescribed for itself and auto tuning is very easy. However, switching to the advanced screen one can raise or lower the voltages on the CPU, memory, northbridge, southbridge, and many other parts.
The motherboard has two case fan connections an a power fan connection. One can raise or lower the fan speed. I placed 3 fans in my computer and lowered to speed to make them quite quiet while still pumping enough air to keep the system cool. Not that this motherboard needs it, it seems to keep itself cool no matter what setting one places on it. (Or, for fun, I can raise the three fan speeds and keep myself cool.)
The bios also offers static memory to keep differing configurations. One can turn on overclocking for a high powered computer gaming session, and then change to economy for everyday computing, net surfing, and video watching.
Add this great and low cost memory
Samsung Electronics Extreme Low Voltage 30nm UDIMM 4 Not a kit (Single) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM MV-3V4G3/US
to create a machine on a budget that rivals any pricey high-end system.
The price and features of this motherboard offers fantastic value. Remember though, this motherboard does not have onboard video, but that does not matter, because if one is building a computer, one would always mount a good video card in it, an turn off the mortarboard’s lower preforming video anyway.
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|Another great ASUS Motherboard,
I bought this Motherboard to create a new Media Center PC and it has worked great. I paired mine with a AMD Phemon II 960T (quad core) and the CPU works great with the motherboard. I was able to unlock one extra core using the core unlocker feature of the motherboard so it is now operating as 5 core CPU (I could not get the 6th core to unlock without Blue Screen errors).
The heatsinks on the motherboard do get pretty hot, so make sure you have a case with good ventilation and some good intake and exhaust fans. I put mine in a Zalman Z9 case with two 120 mm fans and it fits nicely and looks great.
The optical out on the motherboard creates great Dolby Digital and ProLogic II on my tuner and it sounds much better than the TurtleBeach Montego that I used to have hooked up (with optical).
I only use one Nvidia GT240 video card so i can’t coment on SLI or Crossfire, and I am not a gamer. However, it looks great on my HDTV and I am very happy with it.
I also use the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO CPU Heatsink/Fan and it does fit on this motherboard and installed very easily.
The only complaint that I have is with the IO shield, and it does not seem to line up perfectly with all the ports on the motherboard. I had this motherboard in an old cheap ATX case to start before I got the Zalman Z9 case and this was a problem in both cases. You can get it to work, but it really should line up correctly. In some of the USB Ports it will rub metal on metal when you insert or take out a cord and you can see it is not lined up perfectly. i have built other PCs and servers and I have not had this problem with any others. I consider this pretty minor, but it is a little annoying. I thought it was not worth detracting a star for.
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