ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Decent but ATI video not great for Linux

Reviewed By: Goldino on 11/18/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: I've always been happy with Asus motherboards and this one is mostly fine for its intended purpose in my low-cost home office system.

Cons: Unfortunately I didn't do my homework to realize that ATI uses proprietary video drivers that are a major hassle to deal with in Linux. My days of building custom kernels are over so instead I'll have to shell out additional bucks for an additional video card. Too bad...

Other Thoughts: The board is well laid out and easy to work with. The Asus user guide is very well written and thorough.

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Superior Motherboard!

Reviewed By: djpurity on 11/17/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

Pros: This has great graphics and 8.1 HD audio build right into the board. It has a DVI and HDMI output. I used the HDMI output to my HDMI monitor and it looks beautiful.

I can no trouble setting up this motherboard (except clearing the CMOS to initialize the board)! I love how it has so many features built right onto it that I could basically throw it in a ATX case and just use a DVD-drive and I could fresh install and O/S, instantly get full driver update support and there is a new BIOS, which is super easy to flash (you can flash it using a USB drive in the BIOS before you even put an O/S on it!).

The manual was very clear, and the kit came with everything. I added an AM3 socket dualcore processor and it worked fine, since AM3 socket CPUs are backwards compatible with AM2+ boards. I also was able to get 4GB (2xsticks 2GB) Corsair DDR2 1066MHz dual channel memory running right away.

I wish I got the 64-bit O/S in retrospect because this board supports 64-bit CPUs & operating syst

Cons: I wish that it had a built in wireless adapter, built in bluetooth, and that it isn't the most top of the line model release.

Other Thoughts: I recommend this board to anyone looking for an inexpensive board with built-in graphics and onboard High-Def sound with 8.1 channels. Their website has all the latest drivers for Windows 7 already so it was an easy install.

I recommend using HDMI out, as it really has sharp crisp detailed graphics. It has an AMD 780G chipset. You can create your own BIOS load screen logo, it supports eSATA-3G... what more can a basic system want?

This is a great board for people who can't afford the top of the line but still want something really good quality and able to keep up with technology for years to come.

It even has support for Hybrid CrossFireX Graphics when an ATI Radeon card is put in the PCI-express x16 slot.

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Reviewed By: Chris on 11/17/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Board has almost everything built-in that you could want. Seems very fast and fully supports Windows 7 Media Server functionality.

Cons: After a couple of months it just stopped working. With nothing installed the board won't show anything on the built-in video or a PCI video adapter. Without a built-in speaker to give an audible alert there's no indication what's going on.

Other Thoughts: It appears to be a good board for HTPC application with the built in HDMI. Unfortunately the built-in video is a bit under-powered to handle HD streaming video from Hulu: stuttering occurs in full screen.

I want to like this board but will have to wait 10 days for my RMA to be processed before getting the repaired/replacement board.

Manufacturer Response:Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the issue you're having with this board. If you would like to check your RMA status you can do so at http://support.asus.com -> click "Service" button. On the left hand side, click "Repair Status Inquiry" and enter your RMA information.

Sincerely,

ASUS Support Team

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