Question 1

Does this motherboard have an onboard video card or is a separate one required?

Accepted Answer

Depends on how you define it.  It's definitely not onboard in the sense of a chip somewhere on the motherboard that just does video(which is how internal video use to be).  It uses the CPU's video features.  Similar to what Apple is doing in their current Mac Book Pros.  Intel Iris Graphics and so forth.  I believe the one for Haswell is Intel HD 4200 Graphics, not entirely sure, its been a while.

More in detail.  The Haswell CPU architecture(fourth generation corei5 is what I'm using) added circuitry to the chip die to handle tasks a discrete graphics card(gaming card) would usually handle.  Intel essentially added a GPU to the CPU and have it all in one package.  If you use a Haswell or later CPU you will not need a separate video card.

The performance is surprisingly strong.  I've been using it in a dual monitor setup and it handles Maya along with Photoshop quite well.  Have been using the VGA and DVI outputs simultaneously.  Supposedly it can even drive an HDMI in addition all at once.

As for gaming performance I don't know, I never tried it.  I've been using the system for 3D modeling and rendering out 3D stuff for school.  Handles Maya quite well.  If 3D gaming performance is something you're wondering or concerned about, I would try one of the enthusiast sites such as tomshardware or anandtech for actual benchmarks and articles.

hope this helps.  It's not an easy question to answer becuase of what Intel has done with their Core architecture.  It did use ot be that you'd get something with internal video and it would be horrid.  Intel has drastically improved things.

Question 2

Does this motherboard have integrated graphics? In other words do I need a cpu with integrated graphics for it to work? Or will I be able to get away with a PCI video card?

Accepted Answer

Yes, It has integrated graphics; that you can use as long as you have a graphics capable Intel or AMD Processor.

But, even still, you can use a third party graphics card if you so choose.  I use this board with an Intel i5 Haswell (graphics capable) chip, and still use a PCIe 3.0 or 2.0 x16 graphics card (noramlly ASUS as well).  Depending on what you plan on using this board for will determine whether-or-not you need the graphics card.

Question 3

I could be purchasing this motherboard soon, but I have a couple questions.  1.  Is it capable with a watercooling system? Specifically the "CORSAIR Hydro Series H50 Quiet Edition Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm".  2.  Is it capable with 1x NVIDIA Geforce GTX 760, and if so, is it possible to have 2 cards running on this motherboard?  3.  Does it have 2 or more RAM ports?  I'm looking to run either 2x 8GB Ram cards, or 1x 16GB Ram card.  4.  (May be obvious) But is it capable with a I7 4770k Processor?  Thanks!

Accepted Answer

1. I think the cooler fitting in the case would be more of a concern than the motherboard (MB)
2. I don't know much about video card
3. this MB has 4 DIMM slots for ram and can accept up to 32GB. Get 2x8GB dual channel ram it will be faster, then check the BIOS to make sure you are using the fastest timing the RAM is capable of, initial settings are normally slower.
4. check Asus support pages for cpu compatability. i7 4770K is on the list

Question 4

What's the minimum power supply required to run the board? Would a 400w power supply work?

Accepted Answer

I would think that a 400W PSU would be a good starting point if you were using the integrated video and NO added cards.  You would test the limits of that PSU depending on how many peripherals you connect to it.  If you are nervous about it take a look at the specs of each additional peripheral.  Add up their power requirements and see how they align with  capabilities of each voltage rail of the PSU.  Good luck with your build.

Question 5

I just received this board,  and am waiting on my processor to come from another site i3-4130 (budget build). The bios revision on board says 1.02. On site is says 0601 is required for the cpu, so can you guys tell me if 1.02 is above 0601? Thanks for help and please answer ASAP as it would be good to RMA this right away

Accepted Answer

The 1.02 is just talking about the physical BIOS chip, not the BIOS firmware.  These usually come with the latest or a version back from the latest. The 4130 will work right out of the box, but it's always a good idea to go to asus' website and download their latest BIOS. There is an EZ flash "tool" built into the BIOS setup screen that allows you update from a USB flash drive (that you downloaded and saved from another computer). Just go to Asus and search for downloads, enter mobo model, you will find BIOS update (make sure you don't get the BIOS Updater, but the actual firmware). At the time of this writing it is version 0805. BTW its always best if you update BIOS before installing Windows.

Question 6

Would there be any way possible to get 3 fans working with this motherboard? (Not including CPU fan)

Accepted Answer

with a splitter like the StarTech TX3SPLIT12 12" TX3 Fan Power Splitter Cable from Newegg

Or you could daisy chain a SATA power to Molex, Molex to fan adapters

Question 7

How many fans can i connect to this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

1 of course for the CPU, 2 more 4-pin connectors are available for chassis fans.  Being 4 pin, you can plug in PWM (power managed) fans into them, where the speed is controlled through the BIOS and heat load.  Arctic Cooling makes some excellent PWM fans and if you need more than 2 for your case, you can piggyback additional fans onto the Arctic Cooling fans connectors and both can be PWM controlled.  Search Newegg for PWM fans then check out Arctic Cooling.

Question 8

What kind of power supply do i need for this board?

Accepted Answer

A regular ATX power supply  will work. It should mount into an ATX case. This is a mini ATX board, btw. How many Watts you will need is up to you. New Egg has a power supply calculator to help you figure out how many watts  you'll require. There are also several on the web which you can try. 
500 watts should be enough if you're  not using a powerful video card. I would try to use a calculator to figure it out. Why spend extra money on a large P/S if you can get away with a smaller cheaper one???

Good luck!

Question 9

i have a 750-watt psu will that be enough ?

Accepted Answer

Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's sufficient. I opted for an 800 watt, but I think that is way more than is necessary. Personally, I chose this board because it has a PCI slot, which I wanted because of a really great sound card that I bought (Claro Halo). It was hard to find a modern board that had the old school style slot, but it works like a charm. I have been running this machine continuously since the build in July 2013, and no problems whatsoever.

Question 10

i have a delightful dilemma/agenda:  i want to have a pc with windows xp running the latest mobo i can and i came to this one since asus has drivers for xp.  I need to know if it supports ide mode through sata.  Also, if not, any suggestions on how to install xp? so i don't have to sign up for (a) forum(s)? thanks if anyone helps..!

Accepted Answer

1) You can basically still use XP to dual boot with another OS (vista, 7, 8, 10, just need to read). 2) You can just install your main OS then you can installed VMWare or get a free version of Virtual Box and install XP in that. Running inside your current OS.

Are you saying you have all IDE devices that need to be converted to sata? There is an IDE to Sata converter board that you can use.

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