Question 1

can this replace an atx motherboard in a midsize case or do i need an actual atx motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Probable best to stick with the same form factor, however it will be determined by the case itself. If the case has standoffs and is made to accept micro atx then your fine, if the case does not however you will need to get an atx MB.

Question 2

Anyone know if you can use a duel slot GPU in this motherboard? I have a HD6970 and it only uses one PCI Slot but it takes up 2 spaces in the back of my case. on my current board my sata ports are blocked due to them being right under the PCI-E slot. I see how they have set a pair of sata ports right at the end of the PCI-e slot. Do they set up higher then the express slot?

Accepted Answer

There are 4 sata ports.  Two of them won't be blocked at all(upper ports are turned 90 degrees), but the other two (lower ports) might be blocked.  I have a MSI R7-250 double stack gpu plugged into my board and had to cut a notch off of the plastic cosmetic cover on the card to use the lower sata ports.

Question 3

Will the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 work with this board?

Accepted Answer

I think so i used it in a similar case that might even be the same but it should work in any case because it is a smaller design i just used mine in a build and it works fine

Question 4

I am having a bit of trouble installing the OS to the harddrive.  The harddrive is a 7200 500 gb Western Digital, the OS is Windows 7 Premium.  The disc is from Microsoft, it is not a burned copy.  I tried all of the available BIOS SATA settings, I noticed that IDE, AHCI and Sata controller off were the only options. Messing with the boot options did nothing.  I flashed to the latest BIOS, same result.  I have not tried loading the drivers for the hard drive yet, that is where I am going next. I wanted to see if anyone else has ran into something like this before I go further.  ???

Accepted Answer

I installed the same OS on this same motherboard that I purchased on Dec 5th. I installed a new, WD Blue 1gb HD in my system and didn't have any issues at all. You may of tried this already, but have you went into the Bios and changed the boot device priority? I always change mine to the CD/DVD drive. Drop in the CD.....then reboot and see if it picks up the OS off the disc. Just remember to go back in and reset your boot device to your HD after you get the OS installed. Hope this helped.

Question 5

Will this work with AMD A6-6400k APU?

Accepted Answer

As long as the socket type of your processor is FM2 or FM2+ it should fit on this board.

Question 6

What are the best aftermarket cpu coolers can I use with this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

The cpu cooler will depend on the case size more than anything. I won't dispute being a Cooler Master fanboy. They've got proven results and you can find a size for anything. I have an NZXT Souce 210 case. I wanted a 212 EVO cooler but the 120mm fan and heatsink didn't fit. I ended up getting a T2 with a 92mm fan, which barely made it. Both  fit almost any AMD setup and even at 92mm the T2 barely works up a sweat, even under heavy gaming. Measure your case out to know for sure.

Question 7

Is the PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot backwards compatible so that a PCI Express 2.0 x16 video card would work with this MB? Thanks.

Accepted Answer

yes, PCI express 3.0 are backwards compatible. You should have no problem plugging in a 2.0 video card.

Question 8

I HAVE A a10-apu5700 3.4ghz Chip. Is it compatible with this board? 
       If so please direct me to a compatible 4GB memory in 1 strip on your web page.

Thanks

Accepted Answer

All you really need to know is, yes it is! But for future reference in selecting compatibility of these two parts, the compatibility of a processor to a motherboard is determined by the type of socket a processor has to the type of socket a motherboard supports. For AMD processors and motherboards the usual acronyms you'll see on modern equipment to express what kind of socket the processor/motherboard has or supports will be: AM2, AM3, AM3+, FM1, FM2, FM2+.

In your case, the processor you've selected has a FM2 socket and your motherboard supports FM2/FM2+. However, if your processor had a AM3 socket then your FM2/FM2+ motherboard would not be compatible; and this goes vice versa if the motherboard only supported AM3/AM3+ and your processor is FM2.

Best of luck, 
Rod

Question 9

What BIOS update does this motherboard come with?

Accepted Answer

Mine was current as well. But I would suggest installing MSI's Live Update utility to keep all drivers and BIOS current. Works very well.

Question 10

What do I need to connect a  USB 3 to this mother Board?
My case has a front USB 3 port  and a 3 USB cable 
Thanks

Accepted Answer

Buy a motherboard that supports USB 3.0-- this only supports usb 2.0. In this general price range you  can probably find one.

Questions & Answers