Question 1

I am building my first PC and I was wondering, does this have on board WiFi? Will I need to have an adapter? And another thing, will I need standoffs to mount this on a case?

Accepted Answer

It doesn't have on-board wifi. I don't think I've ever seen a motherboard with that. You can purchase an inexpensive usb wifi adapter if you need that. Most cases require standoffs unless they include raised platform. Cases include the standoffs and screws for them, they never come with the motherboard.

Question 2

My case (Rosewill FBM-01) has 2 fans, but I see this board only has 1 chassis fan connector. Is this a poor choice of boards due to that? (I a little bit of a noob.)

Accepted Answer

Todd:  Many MBs only have one case fan connector.  The only advantage of having multiple connectors is that the MB software can monitor and possibly control the case fan speed.  Most cases that have multiple fans will normally have connectors that allow you to connect to the MB or to the Molex power supply connectors.  I would definitely NOT rule out buying a MB based solely on the fact that it only has one chassis fan connection.  In fact, the case that I have has two fans as well.  I have one connected to the MB and the other connected to a spare Molex connector on the PS.

Question 3

1.If I pair this with the AMD A10, this effectively gives me onboard graphics, right?
2. Will the above configuration run on a 400w power supply? I am on a tight budget..

Accepted Answer

As long as the FM2+ processor specs for the A10 processor lists it as an apu or lists it as having CPU cores and GPU cores, it will work for you.  If you don't intend to use the onboard graphics for gaming, a 400 watt power supply will suffice. If you do intend to use it for gaming, do yourself a favor. Get a good quality 650 watt or more power supply. Although a good quality 400 watt processor will allow you to play games right now, if you ever intend to upgrade to a dedicated pci-e graphics card, you would end up having to buy a new power supply as well. Better to just spend a little extra on the power supply right now. If you believe that you will ever update your motherboard for a dual videocard setup, then a 750 watt model will be better. I can personally say that the Rosewill Hive power supplies have worked great for me. I've used them in several builds over the years and none of them have gone bad so far. In fact, the first Rosewill power supply that I ever bought, a 550 series Stallion, had to be RMAed almost 3 years later because of the fan. The power supply itself was still working fine. And that is the only one that ever had an issue.

Question 4

Are NVIDIA graphics cards okay to use with this board?

Accepted Answer

nVidia PCIx graphics cards are usually OK w/ all ASUS FM2+ boards. 
This might not be the best selection if you want a dedicated video. 
The APU [CPU/GPU] is optimized for those components integrated in the "CHIP".  Suggest looking for a NON APU board from ASUS. 
Also, unable to update UEFI: AMI 0504 01/20/2014 BIOS to 
newer versions [added stability] 0801, 0901, 1001.  The board is stable under heavy use w/ 0504 but this is first time unable to update BIOS   I have been using ASUS-based boards for  dozen years and have had few issues.

Question 5

Is the SATA backwards compatible with older SATA speeds?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the SATA spec is designed to be backward compatible, as is uses the same basic ATA and ATAPI command-set as legacy ATA devices.

SATA I and SATA II drives will run fine, but they will obviously only run at their designed speeds (a 1.5Gb/s will still run at 1.5Gb/s, for example).

Question 6

Is it good for the amd fx 8350..?

Accepted Answer

No the FX 8350 is a AM3+ Socket processor, this motherboard only supports FM2/FM2+ CPUs . If you'd like to use this board with a powerful CPU, try the A10-7850K .

Question 7

building my first PC and I am currently deciding between this board and the MSI A78M-E45.  I'm going to run windows 8 and the AMD 760K Richland 3.8GHz processor.  As this is my first build I have been doing research for about 2 months on products, performance and terminology.  So now that I am starting to pull the trigger and make purchases, I would like to see if if any other more experienced builders have any suggestions?

Accepted Answer

I have used both MSI and ASUS and my experience is that the ASUS boards are much more reliable. I just built a system using the A78M and it was easy and trouble free, also great performance.

Question 8

It's been awhile since i built a computer myself (back in fall 2010), but looking at this sparse pci setup on the featured motherboard makes me curious. Is SLI and Crossfire for gaming rigs a thing of the past? Does this new Kaveri microprocessor antiquate the need for gaming rigs to multitask their video output? It worries me when I see a motherboard like this that has the exact number of pci slots that I presently require for pci and gpu cards (i would rather have more than enough as a precaution). Can someone help me understand this new design choice? Thanks for your help in advance.

Accepted Answer

I currently use 2 gtx 780s in sli.  Sli and Cf isnt dead, its just still better to have single powerful gpu.  Its something to think about when you gpu becomes "last gen" and you can buy another graphic card for 60% of what you paid for the first one.  While not exactly 2x performance boost, its cheaper alternative to reach higher graphic performance instead of buying latest gen card.  Also if you are going to add a discrete graphic card, you should look for cpu/mobo designated for it.  These boards are aimed for people requiring mediocer graphic performance with good price to performance ratio.  While APUs have evolved a lot and can replace upto medium tier gaming system, i would say go for G3258 +overclockable H board with discrete graphic card.  Also if you require more pci/e lanes you should aim for regular atx or extended atx.

Question 9

Want to build a PC with this motherboard and an APU to reduce cost but the PC needs to be able to support multiple monitors, will this motherboard all me to use the HDMI and DVI simultaneously? the processor i'll be using is the A10-7850K

Accepted Answer

Yes, but you will be limited to 2 monitors and no more. If you wish to use 3 or more monitors you will need to get a video card with a display port or mini display port. I hope this helps!

Question 10

How many [case] fan connectors? I'm a noob, can't tell from pictures lol.

Accepted Answer

If you go to Asus' website it specifies 1 case fan connector, you can use a splitter to add additional fans though.

Questions & Answers