Question 1

ami able to crossfire 2 pcie 3.0 cards in this motherboard ?(i was thinking of radeon r7 260X cards, but any example is fine)
thanks in advance

Accepted Answer

It is possible, PCI-E 3.0 is backward compatible to 2.0, you would just be maxing the cards at PCI-E 2.0 speeds instead.

Question 2

usb 3.0 header:
some people on here say they dont have pins, some people say the plug is soldered shut, other websites say it does or doesnt have it, so i am going to ask definitively;
people who bought AND RECIEVED this exact board model (because other people claim theyve gotten updated/different models on other sites): what is the condition of the usb header? completely absent, soldered shut, no pins, what?

many thanks for your answers.

Accepted Answer

It is easy to see why there might be confusion. ECS uses the same motherboard pcb for a dozen different models they sell. On each model they have different options. So on many models like this one there are a lot of spots missing pins that look like something should be there.

The specs for this motherboard has support for two sets of front panel 2.0 usb ports. They are there. So are the 3.0 ports on the back panel as in the specs.

Oh, and be warned if your front panel usb ports connectors have the wrong pin layout for what is on the motherboard, it will blow up a cheap power supply, literally. Smoke and everything. I found that out the hard way. Expensive brands like Corsair power supplies simply won't turn on.

Question 3

Hi, just bought this board but having trouble getting th display to appear. I have an r9 270x plugged in and nothing will display. There was no beeps of any kind from the board and everything seems to be running. I tried the video card on another cmputer and it does load up and display. Is there some setting ok the board maybe?

Accepted Answer

Try all the PCI 16x slots, if it still fails, try a Bios Reset. if it still fails, contact ECS and they will give you more information. I never have received this board i got, and lost out, since they don't cover people stealing things off of the porch. .  Hope it works out for you

Question 4

1) Will it work with a FX-8150 processor right out of the box and without an BIOS upgrade? 2) Does it have VRM heatsinks? 3) Do you have any issues with overheating (assuming you don't overclock)?

Thank you

Accepted Answer

1) I would think that CPU would be fine. I run a FX6350 which is also am AM3+ and 125W CPU.

2) Not sure if I even know what a VRM heatsink is.

3) I do not overclock my components and they run very well for temps. Sitting at idle/basic desktop apps I am seeing;

13C for the CPU (AMD FX6350)
26C for the Mainboard
26C for the HDD (1TB WD Black)
29C for the Video card (Sapphire 7950)

While gaming in Tera or Rift at +Ultra settings I am getting the following temps;

42C for the CPU (AMD FX6350)
29C for the Mainboard
26C for the HDD (1TB WD Black)
42C for the Video card (Sapphire 7950)

All of this is with the stock cooling fans for all components along with an added 120mm rear case fan.

Question 5

I am also having touble with booting up. When i turn it on the fans and lights turn on but i get no signal on monitor and no beeps. I have moved my RAM in different slots every time but no change. Is sonething wrong with the motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I would make sure you have the 8 pin power connected located on the upper left (blue plug).  Make sure the video card is in the top 16x slot and try just one stick of RAM at a time.  Also try disconnecting everything except the power, video card, CPU fan and one slot of RAM.  Power off and unplug, reset CMOS and try again.  You may want to carefully reinsert the CPU after taking off the heatsink carefully by turning the heatsink back and fourth until it unseals so you don't pull out the CPU with it.  Reapply some thermal grease when you put it back together.  I have this board with the AMD 8350 with Kingston Hyper X RAM and 2 GTX260s and it's working good so far.

Question 6

Hi. I was wondering, does this motherboard have Windows 8.1 support and compatibility? Checking ECS' site for this board reveals that they do support Windows 8, but checking the "Downloads" section for this motherboard does not supply and Windows 8.1 options, just Windows 8 options. So I am wondering if using the Windows 8 drivers would be just fine or if the board doesn't have Windows 8.1 compatibility.

The reason I asked is because I've often seen Windows 8.1 drivers set apart from Windows 8 drivers.

Accepted Answer

I dont know. I had a different motherboard made by Asus and it advertised itself as windows 8 compatible. Windows 8 couldnt install anyway. When i got this motherboard (in the hopes that windows 8 would work on it), windows 8 still didnt work. After contacting Microsoft Tech Support, I still couldnt do it. I assume that the issue that i had was not with the motherboard. most (if not all) of the drivers for windows 8 are also used in windows 8.1 so i assume that it would run 8.1 just fine. The 8.1 driver and chipsets are a cheap advertising scheme that is has strikingly resemblant to claiming something comes with a "free" item after you have already given the company money. The guys at microsoft said that RAM was the issue but I'm not so sure. Anyway, it should work. If it doesnt windows 7 will work fine (that is what i use).

Question 7

Ok so I was looking to upgrade once again my motherboard, from asrock 960GM/U3S3. I was wondering what version of motherboard is this one? is  it (v1.0 or V1.1)?

Accepted Answer

I ordered one on 3/20/2014 and it was V1.1.

Question 8

Does this board have 8+2 phase VRM?

Accepted Answer

I checked the Review on Guru3D and it says it has 6+2 Phase you can check it your self as well.

Regards

Question 9

Are all 3 X16 slots true X16? Or is only one x16 and the other two are only X4 pin-out?

Accepted Answer

All three slots are X16.

Question 10

Can this motherboard fit a Cooler Master 212 Evo heat sync when positioned in a way that faces the fan towards the ram? CM212 EVO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Accepted Answer

The fan will fit if you use the slots furthest from the CPU but if you want to use the closer slots you will need ither thin ram or place the fan facing away from the ram.  With that heat sink you can turn the fan around on its mount and pull the air through the heat sink the stock setup pushes air through.

Brand	ECS
Model	A990FXM-A

CPU Socket Type	AM3+
CPU Type	FX / Phenom II

Number of Memory Slots	4x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 2133(OC)/1866/1600/1333/1066
Maximum Memory Supported	(please note: Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows 32-bit OS. For Windows 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation)
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 2.0 x16	3 x PCI Express 2.0 x16
PCI Express x1	2 x PCI Express x1
PCI Slots	1 x PCI Slot

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

ECS A990FXM-A AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Learn more about the ECS (EliteGroup) A990FXM-A

Customer Reviews of the ECS (EliteGroup) A990FXM-A

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Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

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Manufacturer Contact Info

LAN Chipset	Realtek 8111E
Second LAN Chipset	Realtek 8111E
Max LAN Speed	2 x 1Gbps

PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
USB 3.0	2 x USB 3.0
USB 1.1/2.0	6 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical
Audio Ports	5 Ports

Onboard USB	4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors	1 X 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 X 8-pin ATX 12V Power Connector 1 X 4-pin CPU_FAN connector 1 X 3-pin SYS_FAN connector 1 X 3-pin PWR_FAN connector 1 X Front Panel switch/LED header 1 X Front panel audio header 1 X Onboard Buzzer Support EZ charger (grey color) 1 X S/PDIF out header

Physical Spec
Form Factor	ATX
Dimensions (W x L)	12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin	24 Pin

Item#: N82E16813135345