




Brand | ASRock |
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Model | M3A770DE |
CPU Socket Type | AM3 |
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CPU Type | Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series Support CPU up to 140W |
FSB | 2600 MHz |
Chipset | AMD 770 |
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South Bridge | AMD SB710 |
Number of Memory Slots | 4x240pin |
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Memory Standard | DDR3 1600 |
Maximum Memory Supported | 16GB |
Channel Supported | Dual Channel |
PCI Express 2.0 x16 | 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (green @ x16 mode, orange @ x4 mode) |
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PCI Express x1 | 1 x PCI Express x1 |
PCI Slots | 3 x PCI Slots |
PATA | 1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max |
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SATA 3Gb/s | 4 x SATA 3Gb/s |
SATA RAID | 0/1/10/JBOD |
Onboard Video Chipset | None |
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Audio Chipset | VIA VT1708S |
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Audio Channels | 8 Channels |
LAN Chipset | Realtek 8111DL |
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Max LAN Speed | 10/100/1000Mbps |
PS/2 | 2 |
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USB 1.1/2.0 | 4 x USB 2.0 |
eSATA | 2 x Powered eSATAII/USB Connectors |
S/PDIF Out | 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial |
Audio Ports | 6 Ports |
Onboard USB | 3 x USB 2.0 headers (support 6 USB 2.0 ports) |
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Form Factor | ATX |
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Dimensions (W x L) | 12" x 8.2" |
Power Pin | 24 Pin |
Features | EuP Ready Support AMD OverDrive with ACC feature Support ATI CrossFireX Supports ASRock Instant Boot, Instant Flash, Smart BIOS, ASRock OC Tuner, Intelligent Energy Saver |
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Date First Available | November 09, 2009 |
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Pros: Features:Price Ratio Installation Guide* 20/24pin mobo & 4/8 CPU pin PSU compatability. All the 'cons' of this board are ineffectual. Someone else here said it but you CAN use an old PSU with this mobo (20pin in the 24pin mobo slot and 4pin in the 8pin CPu slot). If you do then you should be sure that all your power requirements are still met by your old PSU. Pin backwards compatibility has absolutely nothing to do with the actual power consumption of YOUR setup. Unlocked my fourth core (which wasn't stable). OC'd my PhenomIIX3 (720-2.8Ghz) to 4.2Ghz with factory BIOS' SmartOC to %50. Ran up to 41C stable in Mprime (Linux version of Prime95) for 4hrs but I wouldn't do that continuously without buying more cooling. BIOS is as easy or difficult as you would like it to be. At this time I don't think any other board supports DDR3@1600mhz & ACC in this price range. Full Featured clocking bios to boot. IDE/PATA support to salvage my DVDRW and data from my old PATA
Cons: They muxed their colors up in the guide. Their pictures are of purple RAM slots and they call them blue (and they are blue) but they talk (and show pictures of white/purple) about blue/white PCIe slots but they're actually green/orange. The Orange slot. Seriously, 4x4x is a joke. Either go 8x8x (%99 performance vs 16x16x) or just don't bother with Crossfire/SLI support. Anything going into that slot is gonna suck bandwidth from your video card. Waste of space/features for a price that could have been brought down another $10. No one who knows what they're doing is going to use this function on this mobo. If they need/want CFX/SLI support they're going to buy a different mobo. (Borrowing from OT space) This is the first time I've bought a computer from scratch and also the first time I've bought a mobo (have heretofore used a lot of hand-me-down stuff).
Overall Review: I was hesitant to buy anything but Gigabyte when i went in but the price of this mobo for DDR3, BIOS OC features I couldn't resist the gamble. It paid off. I believe ASRock is making a name for themselves and I've read some bad reviews on both Biostar and ASRock (versus significantly fewer on Gigabyte's) but I think that if ASRock plays their cards right they will be...if they already aren't...a major player on the mobo market. Build (from Newegg): Crucial 2x2Gb Ballistix 8-8-8-24 Powercolor passively cooled ATI3450HD PhenomIIX3 Heka 2.8Ghz OEM (not from newegg) HITACHI 2Tb Sata CoolerMaster HyperN520 (Shoulda' Coulda' Woulda' bought from newegg -$10) Salvaged - Sony IDE DVDRW, unbranded Chassis & PSU This entire setup runs off a salvaged 400w unbranded PSU (COLORSit?) from a local B&M M&P shop with only a single 12v 18A rail. It has so far run my old AthalonXP 1.7ghz for almost 6 years now. All in all $520 considering I also salvaged a PSU, Chassis & Optical.