Question 1

I have already purchased this, but I would like to know how good the sound quality is on this? I can't test it because I don't have all the parts for my rig yet. I ask because I'm looking to buy a sound card, but if it is good and another sound card is not needed then I'll save a few hundred dollars.

Accepted Answer

Tricky question. What's good sound to some is mediocre to others.

The onboard sound From the motherboard is the usual realtek processor found on most boards which is "good enough". However, interestingly AMD introduced TrueAudio onto all the kaveri APUs which means your APU is actually a really good DSP/sound card already. What I don't know is if trueaudio only works of games are specially designed for it (which I imagine is the case) or if it takes over just with drivers. And more so I have no idea how it interfaces with the already present realtek chip... Does it do all the sound processing and then just hands the chunk over to the realtek sound card and say " play this "?

Anyway sounds like if you're an audiophile, you'll need a soundcard until trueaudio gains wider support.

But probably the most prudent thing would be to hold off on the soundcard. Put your rig together. And see how you like it. You can always install the soundcard afterwards if it's not " good enough"

Question 2

Best CPU for this board?

Accepted Answer

I just finished building a replacement HTPC using this motherboard and the A6-5400K, packaged with an SSD for the OS and 2 RAID 0 WD Blue 1TB drives for storage. Very Fast system even w/out over clocking. And built-in graphics are great, very smooth video playback at 1080p. CPU runs cool and has power to spare. This MB/CPU makes an excellent cost-effective HTPC setup. The only reason I can think of to go with a higher-end processor would be if you needed more cores for virtualization.  Everyone has their preferences but bang-for-bucks this MB w/A6 package it very hard to beat (I can't think of anything that would out perform it in this price range).

Question 3

I am upgrading my machine, but I am not terribly familiar with MicroATX compatibility in an ATX MidTower. Is it safe to assume that this board would work with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112022 ? I've been using this case for several years and it works great. I would hate to have to buy a whole new case, just to buy this board.

Accepted Answer

Hi Eric, looks like a well featured case! Too bad they don't make it any more. You shouldn't have any problem using the Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H. Some things to be aware of: a) this board only has 4 PCI expansion slots, so if you're already using or planning to use more, the equivalent full size board with all the same features plus 3 more PCI slots is here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128656 b) I don't see front mounted audio connectors on your Lian case, so you'd have to make a provision for those if you need them. The one thing to be aware of with a micro atx board is to support it with a few fingers along its outermost edge when plugging in RAM and any other items along the side. Really, this is good practice for any board. Happy holidays, hope this helps!

Question 4

will a 400 w power supply work for this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I have 3 of these each with  8gB RAM, A10-6800K, 2 3 TB drives, a dvd (one has Blu Ray) an SSD and a Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner card. 'Idling' power consumption is around 40 Watts measured with a Kill-A-Watt. That may go up to 150-200 with 100% CPU activity. All my PCs have Antec supplies with PFC, bronze rated, one being a 380 Watt supply.

Good luck. That is a fine motherboard. I found the heatsink that AMD supplies is inadequate. The Phenom II coolers work fine and dropped the temp 10-12 degrees C

Question 5

can I use any CPU with this motherboard or do I need a specific cpu?

Accepted Answer

You need a AMD processor with Socket FM2+ or FM2 for this board. This board doesn't have onboard video so you'll need a processor with integrated video such as AMD A-Series APU, CPU+GPU, A4, A6, A8, A10. If you plan to use a discreet graphics card then you could use a Athlon Series X4, X2 processor. A discreet graphics card can also be added with the A-Series processors as long as it's compatible. Remember to choose a processor from AMD with a FM2+ or FM2 socket.

Question 6

How many fans can connect to the motherboard?

Accepted Answer

-1 CPU fan next to the CPU socket.
-There's 1 SYS fan immediately next to it, side by side.  This SYS fan will work for a rear case fan due to proximity.
-The 2nd SYS fan is near the power connector, towards where the BD/DVD/CD player would be.

Question 7

does this have a processor?

Accepted Answer

No this does not come with a processor, you will need to purchase either a Trinity, Richland or Karveri APU or one of the Atlon cpu base on either one of the the aforementioned APUs.

Question 8

Should I bother installing any of the utilities or just stick with drivers?

Should I just let win 7 install drivers or get the drivers from Gigabyte?

Accepted Answer

After installing Win 7 Pro 64 bit I loaded the Gigabyte disc supplied with the board but did not load any of the Google  elements (Chrome, toolbar etc). There may be some BIOS updates down the road but I've found the drivers on the disc work well. There are usually graphics driver updates from AMD and you can get them there. I only load them if I run into problems.

Question 9

Does this come with any SATA cables, and how many?

Accepted Answer

Comes with four SATA cables. Two are standard, two have right angled plugs. The mainboard I received worked very good, except it would not display the BIOS flash screen when first turned-on or restarted. A BIOS firmware update would probably fix it. I don't want the customer I built it for in the BIOS, so I did not bother to patch it. To get into the UEFI BIOS just tap the "del" key several times before Windows loads. Boots up fast.

Question 10

How much wattage is needed for this motherboard? Trying to build a powerful media center / gaming center platform. I would use the integrated graphics... for now. The caveat is that i need a TFX12V or similarly sized power supply, and i don't see much past 400w.

Accepted Answer

with that size of power supply you will most likely be stuck with the video from the APU.  I have three APU based systems and I am happy with the performance.  One thing, use the fastest system memory you can afford.  This is one situation where it matters a ton.  You may never miss having a video card.

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