Question 1

is this a 32 or 64 bit motherboard?

Accepted Answer

This is a 64bit AMD board. I have a A Series A8 5500 3.7 GHz in it with 16 GB DDR3 ram. Works great have loaded. Linux, Windows 2012 on it with no issues. Built in WiFi is a extra on such a small board and working in both OS builds I have done to date.

Question 2

Does this board come with wifi out of the box?

Accepted Answer

Hi Joey,

This board comes with both wifi and wired connection out of the box.  Like most motherboards you have to use the included CD to install the drivers which did work without issue.  What I did not know is it comes with a really cool antennae with a small magnet base and wire so you can plug it in the back and attach the wire to the upper corner or top of your case so it stays snugly in place.

Question 3

Does this motherboard support Windows 8?

Accepted Answer

A motherboard is just a piece of hardware. As long as the processor is powerful enough along with the amount of memory and hard drive space.

In this case you can have enough RAM & powerful enough processor to run Windows 8 no problem. Just be sure to meet the minimum requirements of hardware to run it but you should go with the recommended requirements to have a smoother running system.

Question 4

what type of cpu and cpu fan is supported by this case?

Accepted Answer

You can use any of the AMD 'A' series FM2 socket... A4, A6, A8, A10. But the higher you go in the series the more heat you generate.  I used the A4 with the included fan and it works perfectly. How large a fan you could mount would depend on the size of the case. I used the iStarUSA S21-20F2 ITX case and it does get pretty warm. I don't think there is room in the case for a fan larger that the one that comes with the AMD 'A' series.  There are provisions in the case to mount a couple of 2 3/4 inch fans but the machine will sound like a 747 taking off. Also note that the case has provisions for mounting up to 2 SSD drives or hard disk drives the same size as an SSD.

Question 5

Will this support an AMD A10-7850K "Kaveri" out of the box? Or will it need a BIOS update?

Accepted Answer

The Kaveri chips do not appear on the supported CPU list on MSI's website.  This may not mean that it definitely won't work (the list may need updated) but you may want to look for a board that specifically says it supports Kaveri.  Or maybe search for the details of the latest BIOS updates for this board to see if they mention Kaveri.

Question 6

Can the PCIe x16 slot be used for anything besides a video card?  Possibly a TV Tuner card or sound card?

Accepted Answer

I'm not really sure?  I put a video card in, but pulled it when one of my customers wanted a custom system.  I used a small factor form case and an AMD processor with embedded video in the cpu, which worked great for general use.  If any add in cards are pci e for this slot, they should work, but look at the details for the card your considering.  All in all this was a nice MB with alot of features for a small factor build.  For the price this board worked well, and my customers haven't had any problems.

Question 7

Can I use a standard cpu and NOT an apu with this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

APU and Athlon II processors with the FM2 Socket are compatible with this motherboard. For a full list of compatibility, check here:

http://www.pc-specs .com/mobo/MSI/MSI_FM2-A75IA-E53/1823/Compatible_CPUs

Of course, without an APU processor, you'll need a graphics card.

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