Question 1

What is the on-board graphics on this board? Newegg's power-search says yes but the product page is non-specific as to what the on-board video actually is, leading me to believe that it refers to the on-board graphics capability on some AMD CPUs.

So does this board have on-board video and if so what is it?

Accepted Answer

Andrew:
FM2A88M EXTREME 4+
There are no on-board graphics built into motherboards anymore. There are two ways to achieve graphics:

1) Discreet GPU: This motherboard has a PCIE 3.0 x16 slot which accepts the most advanced type of graphics card.

2) On board APU: This option has the graphics (GPU) built into the CPU. When combining CPU core(s) with GPU core(s) it is known as an APU. This is the language AMD uses.

The APU is much more affordable compared to a discreet graphics card. Today's APUs are pretty impressive and can handle anything short of higher end gaming.  For high end gaming you should be looking at a decent discreet GPU whether considering either AMD or Intel CPU.
I opted for the AMD A8 3700 APU. It has the Radeon R7 GPU. The graphics are great up to mid level gaming. Video playback using stored video files / blu ray or streaming via net  is awesome.

This is my 3rd ASRock mobo. The quality is outstanding. Everything works as it should. The Bios is very intuitive and easy to configure with many advanced customization options.
This is a REAL UEFI bios, not a Hybrid wanna-be.
ASRock is excellent at posting driver / bios updates on their website.
My only complaint with ASRock is the horrible tech support. Of coarse i guess you will find that with all of the mfgrs these days.

I hope this long-winded explanation answers your question(s).

Question 2

Is this board compatible with FM2+ out of the box or will it need an update?

Accepted Answer

As far as I know it works  out of the box, of course it comes with a disk that you will  have to load, but as far as the motherboard itself it should work with no updates involved.  I didn't have any problems with it. I built my computer from scratch, no internet to begin with

Question 3

Is anyone using BOTH cpu_fan headers? I'm curious if can set up both via UEFI or only one. Or does the board only support one cpu fan, even though it has headers for two fans? I'm just curious, let me know

Accepted Answer

Tom,

You can use either of the CPU fan headers.  One is a 4-pin PWM connection; the other is 3-pin CPU fan connection.  Usually you want to try to use the 4-pin CPU connection first and foremost if you are using the OEM cpu fan.  Aftermarket fans may or may not have or provide a 4-pin PWM connection.  This is where the 3-pin connection comes into play.  However, you can utilize whichever you have empty for or as an additional fan connection but have to keep track mentally what fan you have connected to the fan connection if you checking RPM in the BIOS or other utilities for that particular connection.  PWM connectivity allows for you to control the fan speed via the motherboard/bios/or OEM utilities.  Hope that helps.  Cheers.

Question 4

I've setup my new build with Windows 8.1 on an SSD. I now want to setup 2 2Gb hard drive in RAID1. How do I do this? I've switch the BIOS to RAID but it wont boot and the AMD controller wont let me setup the RAID.

Accepted Answer

When you're stting up a RAID config, it's always best to go with a fresh install across all of your hard drives and to have them all be the same size. There are a lot of tutorials online for how to set it up properly. Having a SSD and non SSD in the config may throw it off, but I'm not sure. When you turned on RAID did you turn off fast boot or switch it to legacy boot? That could be your problem with it starting.

Question 5

Does this mobo support the simultaneous use of three monitors without a separate video card?

JW because it doesn't say "Supports Triple Monitor" like the ASRock FM2A68M-HD+ says in it's specs.

Thanks!

Accepted Answer

ASRock manual for the board says that it does support triple monitors, but you would have to use all the video output ports on the mobo (HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub). We bought two for testing and determined that (for our use) they just aren't the best. They use the FM chips from AMD that are a pain. On start up the chip internal temp climbs way, way too high before settling down, but then it does levels to an OK range. My own personal opinion is that using three monitors with an FM chip will just drive temps out of range. We use large Zalman fan/heatsinks with one monitor attached on each system we tested (one system is gathering dust sitting on a shelf, and the other is used for Internet usage only because of performance). Having integrated the video function into the CPU chip works, but barely. You would be much better off, IMHO, using an ASRock micro-ATX mobo and an FX series chip, their on-board graphics are nice and the boards are rock solid. So it's been our experience that trying to stuff an FM chip into a small ITX case will result in some unpleasant "adventures" for you.

Question 6

Can this support 1X4GB and 1X2GB at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Jason,

I would believe that the board could support a 4GB and 2GB modules at the same time.  Utilizing the same brand, timing and latency of memory would likely be helpful even if they are different amounts of memory.  However, bear in mind that there is still a bit of risk that the board won't support such a configuration.  Usually best to try to have matching memory dimms for best results on any given system board.  Otherwise, this has been a great FM2+ board that I have used in building a few systems with so far.

Question 7

What heatsink and fan Is good with this mobo?

Accepted Answer

The stock fan and heatsink will do for the moment, but if you have the room for it go with a Noctua setup if you want to stay with air cooling. They're quiet and VERY efficient at heat dissipation. If you want to go with some closed loop water cooling and have the room in your case, get either a Corsair h80i or h100i. I have an h100i and it dropped my CPU temp to an idle of 7.5C.

Question 8

Planning on buying http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231585. Will this board with an AMD 760K be use-able with that ram or will that ram be incompatible?

Accepted Answer

For some reason your link didn't go to a valid page. As far as the memory for that board goes, as long as it is DDR3 and it's 1066mhz- 2600(OC)+ it should be ok. Just look at the boards specs on it's page to match it up.

Question 9

I'm looking for a motherboard that measures 9.5 x 9.5. This only says it's a Micro- ATX. Why aren't the dimensions listed?

Accepted Answer

I actually recommend AGAINST this MB, the cooling on the on-board CPU voltage regulators is marginal at best. IMO go with a model that has heat sinks on the regulators if you want a MB that will last more than a few months.

Question 10

Can i overclock the 6600k to 4.8ghz on this board?

Accepted Answer

Hi Will,

I don't have experience with that particular APU, and I no longer have the board available to me for reference as I built it for a client or friend at the time.  However, overclocking in general is still what I consider a dark art for us BYOB PC builders.  While the OEMs now cater to the overclocking community with their wares, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to overclocking.  I'm actually doubting you can push an APU from AMD that high whereas you would be more likely with the FX processors.  This doesn't mean you can't attempt that speed if the BIOS allows you to make the attempt.  Remember to update the BIOS to allow for all the latest CPU and Memory support and latest features if you decide to make the attempt.  Also, use the best air or better liquid cooling when attempting such a high frequency to keep heat controllable.  Best of luck.  C$

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