Thursday, March 26th 2015

ASRock Also Announces 970M Pro3 Micro-ATX Socket AM3+ Motherboard

by
btarunr
 Discuss (27 Comments)
In addition to the high bang-for-buck Fatal1ty 970 Performance, ASRock announced one of the very few AMD 9-series chipset based socket AM3+ motherboards in the micro-ATX form-factor, the 970M Pro3. Based on the AMD 970 chipset, and built to be priced well under $99, the 970M Pro3 supports AMD FX processors with TDP of up to 125W (that excludes FX-9000 series). Drawing power from a 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS, the board offers a 5-phase CPU VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, one PCIe 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the southbridge), and one each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity on the 970M Pro3 includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. 6-channel HD audio with ELNA capacitors, gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear panel, two by header), make for the rest of its modern connectivity. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS.

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27 Comments on ASRock Also Announces 970M Pro3 Micro-ATX Socket AM3+ Motherboard

#1
TheinsanegamerN
Speak of the devil, I had just commented on the other story on the complete lack of micro atx 900 series boards
"4 + 1 Power Phase design"
Goddammit.......
Posted on Reply
#2
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
It should look better with Crosshair VI Gene.
Posted on Reply
#3
TheinsanegamerN
btarunrIt should look better with Crosshair VI Gene.
Has that board ever been officially confirmed? I remember polls for an AMD ROG mATX board two years ago, but nothing has come of it.
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#4
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
TheinsanegamerNHas that board ever been officially confirmed? I remember polls for an AMD ROG mATX board two years ago, but nothing has come of it.
C6Fmla, C6Gene, MSI 990FXA Gaming 7, and I think Gigabyte G1Gaming are in the pipeline, IIRC.

Source is my magic ass, of course. You'll have to take my word for it.
Posted on Reply
#5
GAR
Amd needs new chipsets and new cpu's, this chipset been around since 2009
Posted on Reply
#6
hojnikb
I bet we're gonna see some "new" boards, based on 760G chipset (yeah, thats a chipset from 2007).

Talk about beating a dead horse.
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#7
Chaitanya
Has anyone else noticed, this motherboard has the stupidest placement of USB 3.0 front panel header right near the rear panel audio connectors.
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#8
ManofGod
ChaitanyaHas anyone else noticed, this motherboard has the stupidest placement of USB 3.0 front panel header right near the rear panel audio connectors.
Actually, considering where everything else is, that is a good place for the USB 3 header to be. Otherwise, the only other place to put it would block the primary PCIe slot. This is a mATX board afterall.
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#9
peche
Thermaltake fanboy
ManofGodThis is a mATX board afterall.
the point here....
Posted on Reply
#10
ManofGod
My only disappointment with this board is that it was not developed a lot sooner. I recall hearing folks saying they did not buy AMD because there were no mATX FX boards available. Now, this board is only worth it for me as a new, secondary build. However, I can no longer buy an FX 8300 or 8310 cheap anymore.
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#11
peche
Thermaltake fanboy
ManofGodMy only disappointment with this board is that it was not developed a lot sooner. I recall hearing folks saying they did not buy AMD because there were no mATX FX boards available. Now, this board is only worth it for me as a new, secondary build. However, I can no longer buy an FX 8300 or 8310 cheap anymore.
what about Fx6300?
also this board:
Asus M5A78L-M:


im waiting mine. for crunching !
Posted on Reply
#12
ManofGod
pechewhat about Fx6300?
also this board:
Asus M5A78L-M:


im waiting mine. for crunching !
Except, at least for me, without 8320 or 8350 support, that board made no real sense at all.
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#13
peche
Thermaltake fanboy
you were looking for a cheapss amd chip and motherboard?
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#14
ManofGod
pecheyou were looking for a cheapss amd chip and motherboard?
mATX does not have to be cheap. That said, I am not going to spend $40 more for a cpu that was on sale at a cost of $89 when I do not need a new build. Someday, eventually, I am going to build a separate machine that I will install Linux on but for now, I do not need it.
Posted on Reply
#15
peche
Thermaltake fanboy
ManofGodmATX does not have to be cheap. That said, I am not going to spend $40 more for a cpu that was on sale at a cost of $89 when I do not need a new build. Someday, eventually, I am going to build a separate machine that I will install Linux on but for now, I do not need it.
my bad,
Posted on Reply
#16
lastcalaveras
ManofGodActually, considering where everything else is, that is a good place for the USB 3 header to be. Otherwise, the only other place to put it would block the primary PCIe slot. This is a mATX board afterall.
also the 970 chipset does not have native USB 3.0, so it'd be a lot of trouble from the USB 3.0 controller near the rear i/o to run traces past the northbridge on this board to the front.
Posted on Reply
#17
Mr B
GARAmd needs new chipsets and new cpu's, this chipset been around since 2009
If it ain't broke why fix it?
Posted on Reply
#18
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
Mr BIf it ain't broke why fix it?
They're not broken, but they sure are old.
Posted on Reply
#19
Chaitanya
ManofGodActually, considering where everything else is, that is a good place for the USB 3 header to be. Otherwise, the only other place to put it would block the primary PCIe slot. This is a mATX board afterall.
I really like the right angled USB 3.0 header found on MSI boards. It doesn't come in the way of any add-in card on the motherboard also there is little chance that connector can come off . On the other hand the one near the rear panel will be a headache with aftermarket Tower styles CPU coolers and AIO water cooling kits(120mm and 140mm which mount to rear of case).
Posted on Reply
#20
micropage7
i like that, black and white looks classic and the board looks pretty normal, no bling-bling hsf, no oversize fans
Posted on Reply
#23
Mr B
FrickThey're not broken, but they sure are old.
So when something is old is has to be replaced irrespective of whether it would be actually worthwhile?
Posted on Reply
#24
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
Mr BSo when something is old is has to be replaced irrespective of whether it would be actually worthwhile?
Obviosly no, but this is a 2015 motherboard with 2009 technology. In practice it doesn't matter much because it has USB 3 and SATA 6gbps, but still.
Posted on Reply
#25
TheinsanegamerN
Mr BSo when something is old is has to be replaced irrespective of whether it would be actually worthwhile?
considering that AMD's chipsets use more power than intels, their feature sets are quite outdated, their cpus are power hogs compared to intel, their performance is lower than intels, and people are choosing intel in droves, id consider AMD replacing that hardware isnt just worthwhile, it's a necessity.

If it still works for you, great. but clearly, that line of thinking has gotten AMD in trouble, as FX is a dead horse, and most gamers go with intel. AMD had 35% of the cpu market IIRC, back when phenom II was in, according to steam. today, its down to 28%, and still falling. this is not sustainable.

Im giving them till zen comes out, and if they still havent gotten their game together, im going back to intel. a nice high end micro atx board isnt that hard to make, and these chipsets should have been upgraded back in 2012.
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