ASUS is one of the companies that is part of our motherboard comparison for the Llano platform. We focus more on normal-sized motherboards, ATX and micro-ATX, something ASUS will back up with the first Socket FM1 motherboard in mini-ITX format, a perfect format for the AMD A series.
We have looked at both of the AMD A processors and beside a fully acceptable CPU performance the circuits has impressed us with good GPU performance. Besides AMD A8-3850 and AMD A6-3650 offering twice as high 3D performance as previous integrated GPUs AMD has baked in the media engine UVD3, which makes the new processors well suited for HTPC work and playing video in various formats.
ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe takes the mini-ITX format to the AMD A series in a fitting formfactor, as HTPCs are usually small and quiet. The motherboard comes in a format we are well accustomed to when it comes to mini-ITX boards from ASUS, passive cooling and loads of functionality.
The motherboards has on its 17×17 centimeters room for AMD’s Socket FM1 socket, dual DDR3 slots, a single PCIe 2.0 x16 expansion slot, four SATA ports (SATA 6.0 Gbps), connections for external USB 3.0 ports, power connectors, a passive cooled southbridge and an integrated module for Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11n).
If we look at the I/O panel we find additional USB ports, both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 format, antenna connector for the WiFi, audio ports (both analog and digital) and network connections and eSATA. There are also a couple of video outputs, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort.
The motherboard also sports ASUS’ popular UEFI BIOS and digital power supply for the lowest possible energy consumption and good overclocking.
As we noted during our tests of AMD A6-3650 we managed to lower the energy consumption of AMD’s Llano system with up to 25% through some simple BIOS settings. Together with a mini-ITX format this opens up new possibilities for HTPC builders.
ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe will be available in stores in two weeks and we hope to return with a recommended price.
| ASUS F1A75-I DELUXE Specifications | |
| CPU | AMD® Socket FM1 for A- and E2-Series Processors |
| – Supports 32nm CPU | |
| – Supports CPU with maximum 100W TDP | |
| Chipset | AMD® A75 FCH Chipset |
| Memory | 2 x U-DIMM, max.16GB, DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memory* |
| Dual channel memory architecture | |
| *1866MHz can only work with single DIMM per channel. | |
| **Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Hence, a total installed memory of less than 3GB is recommended. | |
| ***Refer to www.asus.com for the memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). | |
| Expansion Slots | 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot |
| Graphics | AMD® Fusion Graphics* |
| – Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @60Hz | |
| – Supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @60Hz (with HDCP) | |
| – Supports DP with max. resolution 2560 x 1600 @60Hz | |
| – Supports Dual Digital Display | |
| – Supports Microsoft® DirectX 11 and Hardware Decode Acceleration for H.264 / VC-1 / MPEG-2 | |
| – Supports Hybrid CrossFireX™ | |
| – Max. shared memory of 2048MB | |
| Storage | AMD® A75 FCH Chipset |
| – 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports with RAID 0,1, 10, JBOD, AHCI | |
| – 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s port | |
| Network | Realtek® RTL8111E Gigabit LAN controller |
| Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n | |
| Audio | Realtek® ALC 892 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC |
| – DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC | |
| – Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-Streaming, and Front Panel Jack-Retasking | |
| – Optical S/PDIF Output port at back I/O | |
| USB | AMD® A75 FCH Chipset |
| – 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports at mid-board, 2 ports at back I/O) | |
| – 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports at mid-board, 4 ports at back I/O) | |
| ASUS Unique Features | ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 2 |
| – ASUS EPU | |
| – ASUS TPU: Auto Tuning, Turbo V | |
| ASUS Power Solutions | |
| – ASUS DIGI+VRM | |
| – ASUS Anti-Surge Protection | |
| – ASUS EPU | |
| ASUS Exclusive Features | |
| – MemOK! | |
| – AI Suite II | |
| – Anti Surge | |
| – ASUS EFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface | |
| ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution | |
| – ASUS Fanless Design: Heat-sink solution | |
| – ASUS FanXpert | |
| ASUS EZ DIY | |
| – ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 | |
| – ASUS EZ Flash 2 | |
| – ASUS MyLogo 2 | |
| ASUS Q-Design | ASUS Q-LED (DRAM, Boot Device) |
| ASUS Q-DIMM | |
| ASUS Exclusive Overclocking Features | Precision Tweaker 2 |
| – vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.00625V increment | |
| – vDIMM: 64-step DRAM voltage control | |
| – vChipset (NB): 64-step Chipset voltage control | |
| SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) | |
| – HT tuning from 100MHz up to 550MHz at 1MHz increment | |
| – PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to 150MHz at 1MHz increment | |
| Overclocking Protection | |
| – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) | |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port |
| 1 x HDMI Output port | |
| 1 x DVI-D Output port | |
| 1 x DisplayPort | |
| 2 x Wi-Fi antenna ports | |
| 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output port | |
| 1 x LAN (RJ45) port | |
| 1 x Bluetooth | |
| 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s port | |
| 2 x USB 3.0 ports | |
| 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports | |
| 1 x clear CMOS button | |
| 3-jack Audio I/O ports | |
| Internal I/O Connectors | 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 connectors support additional 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports |
| 1 x USB 2.0/1.1 connectors support additional 2 USB 2.0/1.1 ports | |
| 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors | |
| 1 x CPU PWM Fan connector | |
| 1 x 4-pin Chassis Fan connector | |
| 1 x S/PDIF out connector | |
| 1 x speaker connector | |
| 1 x chassis intrusion connector | |
| 1 x MemOK! Button | |
| 1 x Front panel audio connector | |
| 1 x Clear CMOS jumper | |
| 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector | |
| 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector | |
| 1 x Front Panel connector | |
| BIOS | 32 Mb Flash ROM, EFI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-languages BIOS |
| Manageability | WfM 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE |
| Accessories | 2 x Wi-Fi antennae |
| 2 x Serial ATA cables | |
| 1 x remote controller and receiver | |
| 1 x I/O Shield | |
| 1 x Support DVD | |
| 1 x user’s manual | |
| Support DVD | Drivers |
| ASUS Utilities | |
| ASUS Update | |
| Anti-virus software (OEM version) | |
| Form Factor | Mini-ITX Form Factor, 6.7”x 6.7” (17cm x 17cm) |
