Question 1

Will a vga cable work with this?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as long as your processor has integrated graphics. I used the onboard VGA port with the AMD A10-7850K processor for a fresh install of windows before switching to a dedicated GPU.

Question 2

Can I use this without a separate video card? I was getting an AMD apu for the top notch integrated graphics because I'm not a gamer.

Accepted Answer

Yes, it's the FM2+ socket and supports AMD apu's. I am currently running the  A10 7860k on it. 
But I would suggest checking their main website for compatibility with your APU, I purchased a gigabyte motherboard before this and the 7860 was the only one it did not support :(.

You can google A88m-g/3.1 and go to ASRock's site, on the left it has a link to the list of support CPU's

Question 3

what are the power supply requirements?

Accepted Answer

I am using a 750Watt max PSU specifically because I plan on running a high end graphic card.  The motherboard (if you're using an APU with builtin graphics) can run on a 500Watt just fine.  I would recommend using a higher wattage PSU though for future upgrade compatibility.

Question 4

What is the 8 pin connector at the top near the cpu slot and is it neccesary to have for the computer to run?

Accepted Answer

Suggest you download manual from AZ-Rock:

Look at page eleven of the manuals pdf file. I think the 8 pin connection you ask about is the 2nd power connection and very definitely required to be connected for the board to run.

Page eleven will answer any other questions you may have.

Question 5

my case has a case 20 pin USB 3.0 connector will it work with this?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I was using one of these connectors on this motherboard. By the way, this mobo is perhaps the best one in terms of performance/features - price!

Question 6

will a AMD A4-7300 Richland Dual-Core 4.0 GHz Socket FM2 65W Desktop Processor AD7300OKHLBOX work with this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes AMD APU chips will work on this board , it has support FM2 and FM2+

Question 7

Still the question, will this board boot from installed M.2 PCIe SSD?

Accepted Answer

I have the SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 NVMe 256GB SSD and could not get it to boot from this device.
In fact, my M.2 device was not even recognized in the M/B M.2 slot and I had to use a PCIE adapter just to be able to use this SSD drive at all.

Question 8

Will this board work with the 65 watt APU's like this
 ( AMD A8-7600 Kaveri Quad-Core 3.1 GHz Socket FM2+ 65W AD7600YBJABOX / AMD Radeon R7 ) ?

Accepted Answer

The board is designed to work with AMD's APU series FM2+ socket chips.  I personally went with an A10 chip but it should work just fine with an A8 chip as well.

Question 9

Does this motherboard allow overclocking?

Accepted Answer

Yes. This is one of the best FM2 boards you can get in terms of features.
I was able to overclock my AMD 7860K 800MHz up to 4.4GHz with this board.

Question 10

Will I need to do a BIOS update with this before using it with a Kaveri CPU?

Accepted Answer

No you don't. I recently purchased this motherboard and installed the AMD A8-7600 on it. It booted right up and I was up and running in no time.

Brand	ASRock
Model	A88M-G/3.1

CPU Socket Type	FM2+ / FM2
CPU Type	FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors

Number of Memory Slots	4x240pin
Memory Standard	DDR3 2400+(OC) / 2133 / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066
Maximum Memory Supported	64GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1 @ x16 mode) * PCIE 3.0 is only supported with FM2+ CPU. With FM2 CPU, it only supports PCIE 2.0.
PCI Express 2.0 x16	1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3 @ x4 mode)
PCI Express x1	1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot
PCI Slots	1 x PCI Slot

Serial ATA (SATA)	8 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s Connectors, support RAID, NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
M.2	1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3, supports type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x4 (20 Gb/s) * If PCIE3 is occupied, M2_1 will be disabled. * Supports ASRock U.2 Kit.
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

ASRock A88M-G/3.1 FM2+ / FM2 A88X (Bolton D4) Micro ATX Motherboard

Learn more about the ASRock A88M-G/3.1

Customer Reviews of the ASRock A88M-G/3.1

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Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

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Manufacturer Contact Info

Back I/O Ports	1 x D-Sub / 1 x DVI-D / 1 x HDMI / 1 x LAN (RJ45) / 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out / 1 x PS/2 / 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A / 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 / 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 / 6 x Audio Jacks
PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
Video Ports	1 x D-Sub Port 1 x DVI-D Port
HDMI	1 x HDMI
RJ45	1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
USB 3.1	1 x USB 3.1 Type-A Port (10Gb/s) (ASMedia ASM1143) (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)) 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Port (10Gb/s) (ASMedia ASM1143) (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
USB 3.0	2 x USB 3.0 Ports (AMD A88X (Bolton-D4)) (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
USB 1.1/2.0	2 x USB 2.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical
Audio Ports	HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

Onboard USB	2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection)) 1 x USB 3.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection (ASRock Full Spike Protection))
Other Connectors	1 x COM Port Header 1 x TPM Header 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (1 x 4-pin, 1 x 3-pin) 2 x Chassis Fan Connectors (2 x 4-pin) 1 x 24-pin ATX Power Connector 1 x 8-pin 12V Power Connector 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset	Realtek ALC1150
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset	Realtek 8111-GR
Max LAN Speed	1Gbps

Physical Spec
Form Factor	Micro ATX
Power Pin	24 Pin

Item#: N82E16813157689