Question 1

If I purchased this board, would I need to purchase a video card too?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the Processor you pair it with.  Not all of the FM2 processors are "APU".  An APU has a Radeon video chipset integrated with the processor and would drive the built in video connectors.  Make sure when you are looking at the FM2 processors, you look for it to say APU or Radeon in the description.  If you go with an FM2+ processor, they both currently have the integrated video.

Question 2

does this support amd a10 7850k?

Accepted Answer

According to MSI's website it should.  It MAY take a BIOS flash though, so having an older APU to drop in it for flashing MAY be necessary.

Question 3

does this support amd a10 7850k?

Accepted Answer

Yes it is and it's a good match, I got optimize windows experience score with this board, using Kaveri 7850k.

Question 4

does this board support in bios undervolting and overclocking?

Accepted Answer

because ive bought this board i know you get a CD with it and it allows you to change pretty much every thing. if your getting this because your on a budget then i would get it but if your willing to spend a some more then the (MSI Z87 MPOWER LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Extreme OC Flagship High Performance Triple CFX/ SLI Platform Intel Motherboard) this mobo is made to be over clocked it has buttons to control to over clock settings.

Question 5

Is the PCIe x16 slot a true x16 or is x8/x4 like they are on other fm2+ boards?

Accepted Answer

It runs as x16.

You would only have to worry about it running at x8 if there were two PCIe x16 slots on the board (the board may split the total x16 between the two slots, making them each x8).

Question 6

Will this Motherboard support a six core CPU? such as a AMD Phenom II X6

Accepted Answer

No it does not. It supports FM2 Socket type which are typically dual and quad core APUs.

Question 7

How do you setup raid 1 on this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Sorry I did not raid mine. I'm sure it is similar to other MSI  boards with UEFI though. From what I gather you set the drives as Raid,  change from UEFI to legacy so you'll get prompted to hit ctrl+f to configure the raid. Sorry I can't give you more specifics.

Do a Google search for 'MSI Raid Setup' and there are some guides I came across.

Hope this helps.

Don

Question 8

Does this support kaveri amd a10 7700k out of the box?

Accepted Answer

Yes it does!

Question 9

Am building a gaming build for my girlfriend to replace her old one that is just aging and slowing too much to play her MMO's. I was going to go with a 6 core FX6300 and a 970 motherboard. This pc will be running an MSI 760 gpu, and I wanted to know if there were any advantages at going with the apu and motherboard when I already have a dedicated graphics card? because if not I can go with the FX build I was going for in the beginning which honestly a great budget build that can handle most games at 1080 high to max settings.

Accepted Answer

Do not go for an apu APU. A 760gtx will wipe the floor with any of them. Go for the FX build. No APU can play 1080p at high settings consistently.

Question 10

Would this be suitable for gaming? CPU: AMD x4 760k GPU:  GTX 660 OC'd. Also whats the difference between Bolton D4 and D3

Accepted Answer

I believe D4 can handle a little more traffic on the SATA bus over a D3 and D4 is FM2+ socket only. No noticeable difference in my opinion between the two. As for gaming, you should be fine. I've been using a Phenom 965 for several years and the 760 is a little less powered than the 965 but, for gaming, the GPU is critical and your GTX 660 is pretty nice. That should handle most games at ultra setting for a while.

Brand	MSI
Model	A88XM-E35

CPU Socket Type	FM2+ / FM2
CPU Type	Athlon/A- Series

Number of Memory Slots	2x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 2133(OC)/1866/1600
Maximum Memory Supported	32GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express x1	1 x PCI Express x1
PCI Slots	1 x PCI Slot

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

MSI A88XM-E35 FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Learn more about the MSI A88XM-E35

Customer Reviews of the MSI A88XM-E35

Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

Return Policies

Manufacturer Contact Info

Back I/O Ports	1 x D-Sub / 1 x DVI-D / 1 x HDMI / 2 x PS/2 / 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 / 3 x Audio Jacks / 4 x USB 2.0/1.1
PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port
Video Ports	1 x DVI-D 1 x D-SUB
HDMI	1 x HDMI
USB 3.0	2 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0	4 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports	3 Ports

Onboard USB	2 x USB 3.0 + 4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x 4-pin CPU fan connector 1 x 4-pin system fan connector 1 x 3-pin system fan connector 1 x Front panel audio connector 2 x System panel connector 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector 1 x TPM module connector 1 x Serial port connector 1 x Parallel port connector 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 2 x USB power jumpers

Form Factor	Micro ATX
Dimensions (W x L)	8.9" x 8.5"
Power Pin	24 Pin

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC887
Audio Channels	8 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset	Realtek 8111G
Max LAN Speed	1Gbps

Item#: N82E16813130746