The Asus M5A97 motherboard, built on the Socket AM3 + platform, can hardly be attributed to the affordable budget class. And it's not at all the price (5,000 rubles), which is twice the cost of low-cost solutions based on AMD chipset. The board’s functionality is designed for fans of overclocking components (such as a processor, memory and video adapter). In this article, the reader will be able to get to know the product better: see a full review, find out the technical specifications, and the owners reviews will help you draw your own conclusions before buying a motherboard.
Packaging and equipment
The box with the device is quite informative, unlike cheap competitors. Its back panel contains a photo of the Asus M5A97 motherboard with a detailed description of all technologies and their capabilities, which is quite convenient for both the seller and the buyer - all the functionality just needs no explanation. It is worth noting that there are two modifications of the same device on the market that have the names “EVO” and “PRO”. The difference between them is insignificant - the latter has additional DIGI + ports.
As standard, there is nothing special: plugs, cables, driver disks and an instruction manual for the Asus M5A97 motherboard. The instruction in Russian facilitates installation for beginners when buying and installing. The device itself is packed in a dense antistatic bag.
Cooling system
The first thing that catches your eye is the abundance of installed aluminum radiators on the surface of the motherboard. In addition to the lattice of the south and north bridge, the manufacturer installed additional cooling on the power elements of the device. The opinions of users, judging by their reviews, are divided here. Some believe that conventional grilles would not be enough for decent cooling, small coolers would be just right. Others, represented by owners of expensive video cards, claim that the radiator on the north bridge of the Asus M5A97 motherboard will still have to be removed, since it interferes with the installation of the video adapter. In any case, the fact that the device is very hot during operation is obvious, respectively, attention should be paid to cooling inside the system unit.
Expansion slots
The presence of two expansion slots for PCI-Express 16x for installing video adapters will immediately attract the owner’s attention, but you shouldn’t rejoice, the manufacturer limited the mode of operation of the lower slot to PCI-Express 4x. A strange decision, because the Asus M5A97 motherboard is positioned as a device for players.
On the other hand, owners of one video card will like that two PCI slots are not covered by the video accelerator cooling system, as is often the case with budget motherboards. Without problems, you can install two additional devices (TV-Tuner, sound card or other device).
The company's designers equipped their device with two PCI-E x1 slots, one of which will definitely be available after installing the video card. In the Russian market, only a few know about their intended purpose. Recently, the transition to SSD drives is carried out by many users, however, the SATS III mode has speed limits. To overcome the high-speed barrier, SSD disks appeared on the market for installation in the PCI-E x1 slot, which are several times faster than the SATA standard. In the next decade, this technology will supersede the old SATA format.
Work with disk drives
The Asus M5A97 board does not have an old IDE interface, many do not need it, but there are users who own expensive DVD drives that still perfectly fulfill all their tasks (Plextor, for example, which will work for another decade). The four SATA pores also look somehow unconvincing on the motherboard. There are 2 additional eSATA connectors, but in our country they somehow have not gained popularity.
The device supports the creation of arrays, this is done at the level of one integrated chip and is controlled using BIOS software. As users note in their reviews, it is still more convenient to work with an external controller connected to the expansion board. It’s more reliable, because when changing the motherboard, it’s impossible to restore the integrated array.
RAM
The manufacturer found a place to place four DDR3 connectors on the Asus M5A97 motherboard. Reviews in the media assure that this is the right approach to consumers. The memory operates at frequencies up to 2133 MHz, although a limitation of 1886 MHz is provided for in hardware, everything else is achieved by overclocking. You can increase the amount of RAM up to 32 gigabytes, and you can install any modules you like. However, for the Dual mode, it is still better to use the same memory bars.
An additional function “MemOK!” Is built into the system BIOS, which is responsible for “lapping” all installed memory modules. In fact, it tests all the strips individually, finding the same timings in the modules. After which it sets the most productive mode in which all devices can work simultaneously. Previously, the user was doing this, calculating the largest common factor, set the timing in the BIOS.
Supply system
The standard six-phase (4 + 2) power subsystem scheme for all gaming devices is unlikely to surprise owners. Unless hinting at a sufficiently large power dissipation (that's what radiators installed for). To supply additional power, an ATX12V connector is used, which has 8 contacts. Pleasing users may be the lack of restrictions regarding the installed processors. The Asus M5A97 motherboard, a review of which is presented to the reader, supports all existing models of the AM3 / AM3 + format, with any heat dissipation. Considering the overclocking potential of the last eight-core device, it turns out that 140 W for the motherboard is not a problem.
However, tests show the opposite, with significant overclocking of the core, temperature sensors installed on the motherboard record a significant heating of the device. In any case, it is necessary to solve the problem with the removal of hot air from the system unit by organizing a decent exhaust, otherwise overheating during acceleration and the failure of the system board are possible.
Oddities with interfaces
As expected, the Asus M5A97 gaming device does not have an integrated video output. But the manufacturer endowed the board with full acoustic capabilities: 6-channel sound with an optical output. There is also a network interface and IEEE1394 (which no one uses in our country). Under the keyboard and mouse of the old model, the PS / 2 port (only one) is displayed.
Organized 14 USB ports. But there is a problem: ten of them are available for use and have a USB 2.0 interface. The rest are presented in the form of desoldering on the ASMedia ASM1042 controller - 2 of them are under USB 2.0 standard, the rest are designed for USB 3.0 technology. As the owners note in their reviews, the problem is solved by purchasing a remote panel on the system unit body and outputting high-speed interfaces by connecting to the system board.
Mounting Features
All owners of the Asus M5A97 motherboard must read the manual. Especially when it comes to installing the device in the system unit. After all, the manufacturer deviated from the technologies in the production of motherboards of the ATX form factor and made the printed circuit board according to its own standard. As a result, the mounting system of the device in the system unit has changed: instead of nine screws, the user needs to use six.
It’s too early to rejoice in such a simple installation, because as a result, the board does not have a rigid mount around the entire perimeter, but sags in the area where the power system, memory modules and SATA connectors are connected. Naturally, in the process of connecting all devices, one should not rely on physical strength, but on maximum caution, since breaking a printed circuit board is quite easy.
Features BIOS and its firmware
Many owners who are accustomed to proprietary BIOS flashing utilities are indignant over the introduction by ASUS of the proprietary USB BIOS Flashback technology. It is not clear why the developers considered that opening the system unit and pressing a button near the I / O controller would be less resource-intensive for the system owner than a single click on the utility button in the Windows operating system. As experts say in their reviews, this is a rare stupidity on the part of the manufacturer.
If we talk about the system BIOS of the Asus M5A97 motherboard, then here is the complete order. UEFI graphical shell will satisfy even the most demanding user - a real control panel. You can control any port, connector or interface - change the voltage, set restrictions and enable locks. Made wisely and for people. True, the interface is in English, so you can’t do without a handy manual, since it is completely Russified.
Owner reviews
Initially, the Asus M5A97 setting was optimized for full-featured operation in automatic mode, so before overclocking, you should go to the power management menu and remove all restrictions, both for overheating and voltage. In their reviews, many owners note that if this is not done, then any overclocking leads to an immediate shutdown of the computer. Fortunately, after an unsuccessful start, the BIOS system can reset to factory settings.
To the overclocking potential of the processor and RAM, not a single user had a single question. Everything works with dignity, the motherboard allows you to perform any action. If a failure is detected during acceleration, this is a problem of the device whose performance is increasing.
Finally
After reviewing the Asus M5A97 motherboard, we can make an unambiguous conclusion that the device is primarily focused on overlockers, because the main functionality for increasing productivity works perfectly. Excellent control, many settings and features, hardware and software protection - all contribute to a positive overclocking.
But for ordinary users who want to create their own home media center on the basis of this motherboard, the device will seem raw and dysfunctional. No USB 3.0, two video cards in compatibility mode will work at 4x speed, oddities with SATA ports are a trifle, but in the aggregate an indisputable factor when choosing a decent platform for your computer.