# My Asus M3A review



## jpierce55 (Jan 5, 2008)

I knew the Phenom would not oc well when I purchased it, but expected more from the board I bought.

First off: This board has a horrible layout! 

Despite photo's making them look good the NB and SB heatsinks are tiny. The northbridge runs scorching hot. In fact I have a Swiftech SB h.s. here that would make a better replacement for the oem sink. Two problems with replacement. one is that the original sink is held on with a metal clip that is a permanent attachment, I have no clips like that. The second and more major problem is the fact the NB is so close to the cpu that my Infinity cooler clamps hit it, I had to scrape across the NB cooler to clamp my Infinity down. 

Layout is poor in other areas. The cpu fan socket is at the upper right hand corner, it could be a far reach for some fan cable. Even more directly above the cpu is a fan attachmetn. (where the cpu fan should attach imo) This attachment is useless for any of my fans, none will reach. The mosfets are also located near the cpu and have no form of cooling . If you use a floppy the floppy cable is going to be stretched. My last layout problem is poor location of the clr cmos jumper, I need tweezers and a steady hand to squeeze in there.

Second is performance, in fact this board has none!

I put in my 5000+BE first, in the old KA3 MVP it ran 3.15ghz, the ram ~900mhz. The KA3 was a mid range overclocker, by no means top dog. This board only reaches 3ghz and 428 on ram.  I suspect the hot NB to be a partial problem. The Phenom 9600 only clocks to 2.46, the max fsb is only 214 on this board no matter what HT speed is selected. The bios lacks nearly all options including ram timings that I can only set with AOD. Unless I am missing something I see know way to get more. In fact if the BE did not have an unlocked multiplier it would have been limited to way lower! 

PCI-E bus speed is locked at 100 as minimum, my other board locked at 100 period. So..that should not be a problem, but for some reason my g-card will not oc pas 823 core stable after putting this board in. On the other hand the ram of the g-card is going higher, all the way to 1250's stable. ATI tool will not work past one reboot after installing this board and I am now using RT. Is this coincidence? 

So in all my pc in any benchmark is slightly slower than with the KA3 and 5000 BE. Bios updates supposedly force the TLB update and would murder performance. I will try to play around with this board a little more before giving up, see if I can tweak something, but I see nothing to tweak so I doubt anything else is there.

In all this is a poor board, and the ECS 770 would likely be a better option esp. at $70 vs the $80-90 price on the M3A. The layout makes this board a poor choice even as a budget board, and the price does not make for a budget board at all. The Phenom may be a weak quad, but the board is just crap.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 6, 2008)

I updated to the latest bios.

With the new bios I can change vcore on the x2, but limited to 1.25 on the Phenom. Some settings are now unlocked. Oddly the HTT speed is now limited to 1.8 on the Phenom and 1000 on the X2.

214 fsb is still the max stable for the Phenom or BE and the thing locks with anything over 216. The NB cooler is suspect, it could blister a person. I stuck some ram sinks on the top and sides of it, I don't know of an aftermarket cooler will fit.

I got over 3.2 stable with the 5000be with the new bios almost instantly, but that is with the unlocked multiplier set at 15.5. A normal cpu would still suck. This might be an o.k. board for the 9600 BE, but the NB cooler is still in the way.


----------



## Ketxxx (Jan 6, 2008)

Can we get some piccytures?  Also dont be so fast to dismiss the mobo, performance and OC issues will likely be fixed in a BIOS update, Asus have been quite good like that for the past year or so now.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 6, 2008)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2667650 another review. I never tried it with cool and quiet enabled, might have made a difference? Somehow he got more fsb with the AM2 chip than I can.

Ketxxx bios may help but I have never seen a north bridge run that hot before. It scares me a little, to hot to last long imo.


----------



## Ketxxx (Jan 6, 2008)

I bet that NB will be cooled right down if you remove the HSF, take the rubbish thermal pad off and use AS Ceramique instead, as well as lap the base to a nice smooth finish.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 6, 2008)

It may but I don't have any laying around, all I have is as5


----------



## Ketxxx (Jan 6, 2008)

Go to your local DIY store then  get some course sandpaper and some very fine grit (1000+) to finish the surface, then apply AS ceramique (its not liable to cause any problems, AS5 may due to the materials its made from)


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I might try that Ketxxx, else it looks like the board is coming back out and shelfed next to the Phenom. I have to run 1.475 volts and 3.2ghz to reach the same bench speeds I had before because of the slower memory. It could be wrong but showed my processor hitting 48c and 55c at 1.5v.(my cooler was cool to the touch even the heat pipes barely felt warm) I don't have a better temperature reader unfortunately, I don't want to burn up the better of my two processors.


----------



## Wile E (Jan 7, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> It may but I don't have any laying around, all I have is as5



AS5 is fine. You just have to apply it sparingly, so it doesn't bleed over the chip onto any components. I use AS5 on all my chipsets.


----------



## tkpenalty (Jan 7, 2008)

Ketxxx said:


> Go to your local DIY store then  get some course sandpaper and some very fine grit (1000+) to finish the surface, then apply AS ceramique (its not liable to cause any problems, AS5 may due to the materials its made from)



lol... AS5, i've used it on GPUs and NBs a lot... never ran into problems. Its only if you are unco and put a large blob of it off the die when it would cause a problem. And btw, it would be even more scorching hot to touch with more heat going to the heatsink with the improved conductivity


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I got some ceramique and a the Thermaltake cooler near home and on sale, I had to take the fan off the nb cooler it sits close to the cpu fan it is cooler to the touch. I don't know about performance yet.

Edit: The anchors pulled out of the motherboard shortly after posting this, it won't hold the weight of that cooler . I put the oem back on with the Thermaltakes fan attached and I did polish it and use ceramique.

I will put the TT cooler on the old mobo if I put it back in, or when I can afford a new motherboard for the Phenom (that could be awhile at current pricing, spend much and I could have an Intel).


----------



## nanohead (Jan 8, 2008)

I bought the M3A32 MVP and I'm not happy with it either.   I just ordered the MSI K9A2 to try that one. 

The heat doesn't matter actually on the chips.  They are all designed to run at varying temps, warm doesn't necessarily mean anything, neither bad nor good.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 8, 2008)

No boost in performance, kind of figured. I also tried the Phenom again with the Crystal CPU deal. When I get home later today I am dropping back in the KA3 and counting my losses.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 9, 2008)

This is my best Sciencmark 2 score with the Phenom, I know it is blurry. It is at 2461.5ghz and 428 on memory. That is the best stable it will do. The X2 get ~1700 at a touch over 3.2ghz with 405 ram, but 1.475vcore. The KA3 gets 1740 with 3.15/450 but 1.45vcore.

Aquamark hit 92000, less than the 2.67ghz Brisbane and 1900 x-fire. The X2 on this board hit 113,450 vs 119,000 on the KA3.

I will ad the 3DMark06 in a few minutes.


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 9, 2008)

What dividers are you using?

For the bus do 1 divided by 1, and on the multi do 11 divided by 1
Turn your HT down, then try to overclock.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 9, 2008)

CPU multiplier is at stock 11.5 and bsod if I try to lower it to 11. I have ran the nb multiplier from 5-9 with no change. Ht ref. clock maxes at 214, must be what others are getting as well, that does not even matter with the X2 for me. A big problem is that voltage is limited on the Phenom, cpu vid can be changed up to 1.25v.

As far as the bus 1/1 you mention, I don't understand.

BTW current bios is beta, they know it is not good.

justapost from xtremesystems, I tried joining but could not, since you have read my post maybe you can send me a pm. I got the TT cooler on my nb and you are right heat was not the problem. I used super glue to glue the anchor in :O.


----------



## Urbklr (Jan 9, 2008)

The whole bios problem at first, i had experienced with my old M232-MVP board, it was a rushed effort by asus to get a phenom supported bios out there...i believe


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 10, 2008)

@ justapost, still no sign on and I get any emails to the forums back as undelivered mail. So the cross forum talk continues, lol. I did mention in my email to Asus on the memory performance, together we should get things through to them. Do you know what the other memory choices are for, I have never seen them before?

Also have you watched the mosfets, they seem to be cool on my board despite not having h.s. or fans. I don't think the MSI firecracker event is likely.

Tell noee to unistall aod and try it with the BE, that is what I had to do.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 12, 2008)

Turning off AOD and running HT at 1200 got my 214fsb 100%stable. AOD is a problem with this board it looks like, hopefully future updates will help.

@justapost No Asus did not respond to me either, not even a "we received you email" message.


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

Have you used the new aod 14?


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

Does you bios have this setting?






1/1 then OC. Then when u have ur oc u want do 2/1 3/1 4/1 and so on.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 12, 2008)

Unfortunately none of those exist. I am waiting for reviews on the new Biostar, if it gets some reasonable speeds I may sell this and get it, or just live with the x2. At least I know what to work for if I do get a good board .

Here is a quote of the xtremeforums:
"214MHz is stable here too. Can boot with max 235MHz.
Tried 220MHz with a lower NB multi (8x) but it was not stable (that's what DaMulta recommended you).
M3A does not have a bios option for the nb multi. But the multi can be tweaked with wprcedit in the range ht-multi<=nb-multi<9.
Hope to get 235MHzx11 stable once we get vcore options in the bios."


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

Well I wonder if they are going to add that. 

I think I had my NB at 3 and my HT at 4 multi at 11 and ref clock at 260 with my 2.8Ghz OC.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 12, 2008)

Right now I am finding the HT is stable at 6, but nothing lower. Asus did not respond to me or justapost, I would also like to know what support they will add.

With Science Mark; the Phenom ran 1200 at 2.3ghz and 1410 with 2.46. Based on that 2.7ghz would pass the x2 performance. 3dmark would pass the x2 by far at that point.

I would not have been disappointed with ~2.6ghz, seems most get that. I hope somebody reviews that Biostar board soon, if it does better I will get it. I won't shell out the money for a high dollar board now, or I could have been with a q6600.

I thank you for your input DaMulta, it does give me a better idea of what is wrong.


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

Before I turned down my NB I couldn't OC it at all. The HT lower isn't stable because the NB is set to high.

I could run 245 X 11 stable. I did the stable test for over 24 hours at one point.


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

This is ASUS if the setting is needed, they will add it. I have faith in that.


----------



## nanohead (Jan 12, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> This is ASUS if the setting is needed, they will add it. I have faith in that.



Argh... I wish I had your faith in them.   My M3A32-MVP mega expensive board is just plain lousy.   The BIOS is just so brain damaged, I can't even begin to describe it.

They just came out with 802 a couple of days ago, that fixed some things, and reorganized parts of it, but it is just SO murky and peculiar.   

I also just bought the MSI K9A2 as well, and that is MUCH more stable.   Far less weird things, OCed quickly and painlessly with ALL the same parts, much simpler BIOS.

I'm a dope for paying $250 for the M3A32


----------



## DaMulta (Jan 12, 2008)

Issues fixed

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=49508


----------



## nanohead (Jan 12, 2008)

Yep.  I just posted what I've seen so far with that new BIOS.  Better for sure, but still not worthy of a $250 mainboard.....


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 14, 2008)

@justapost, this cross forum talking really sucks! In anycase I still can't sign up and my emails to the forum still come back undelivered.

I would like to try that bios if you are not against signing up and sending me a pm on this forum.


----------



## justapost (Jan 16, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> @justapost, this cross forum talking really sucks! In anycase I still can't sign up and my emails to the forum still come back undelivered.
> 
> I would like to try that bios if you are not against signing up and sending me a pm on this forum.


I joined as crosstalking aint no way. Upped the bios and posted a link on xtremesystems, now go for the ref HT WR.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 17, 2008)

Yeah, I really wish I could join in the talk over there but.....

Thanks I got it downloaded. The x2 is back in, I see that bios lets the x2 boot with a higher ht (I doubt the setting is stable). I might play with it a little more tomorrow afternoon and see where the x2 will go.

Wow 1.7+ volts that would pop the be fast!


----------



## justapost (Jan 17, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> Yeah, I really wish I could join in the talk over there but.....
> 
> Thanks I got it downloaded. The x2 is back in, I see that bios lets the x2 boot with a higher ht (I doubt the setting is stable). I might play with it a little more tomorrow afternoon and see where the x2 will go.
> 
> Wow 1.7+ volts that would pop the be fast!


I meant the phenom ref HT, as this board can do more than all other atm.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 18, 2008)

I knew what you meant, but the x2 is what I have in atm. This new shows some potential for the future from all you have stated, I am pleasantly surprised. I will try the 9600 again this weekend. Was it still possible to disable the TLB fix like you showed in the earlier post?

IIRC, I see somebody stating the x2 did worse with the 501. I actually reached another 30mhz with the new bios at the same voltage, and it looks stable.

Thanks for sharing that bios.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 19, 2008)

The new 501 bios is getting better. The only shortfall I see with it on the Phenom now is still voltage. It gives voltage options, but they don't work. 1.248 volts or less is it. I think that is the only thing holding it back now. I now get 1514 on science mark @ 2460. I can boot higher and run Orthos, but can't reboot with the settings. I can probably squeeze out a few mhz if I play with AOD now.

 Get the volts to 1.35 and I think it would scream.

One last thing, the TLB fix still has to be disabled with Crystal CPU.


----------



## Ketxxx (Jan 19, 2008)

tkpenalty said:


> lol... AS5, i've used it on GPUs and NBs a lot... never ran into problems. Its only if you are unco and put a large blob of it off the die when it would cause a problem. And btw, it would be even more scorching hot to touch with more heat going to the heatsink with the improved conductivity



1. AS5 offers VERY little performance benefit over ASC, around 2c max. So given the potential hassle AS5 can cause, ASC is a timesaving alternative thats cheaper, and has performance thats equal to AS5.

2. Improved conductivity is what you want  without it everything would burn up because heat isnt being transferred from the die to the HS fast enough. Its the improved conductivity that allows for faster, more effective cooling  to finish it off add a small 40mm fan to the HS and watch a crap stock component turn into something thats pretty good.


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 19, 2008)

Ket, I purchased a TT silencer, I removed the fan and installed it. I also used the ASC. The nb cooler I purchased sits in front of the Scythe's fan so it is running very cool now.

Well I just ran 3d mark, Aquamark3, Fur, and Lightsmark. Fur is now the same as the x2, AM is a little slower. LM is a little faster. 3dmark 

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=4772347


----------



## jpierce55 (Jan 29, 2008)

An update. One: I was wrong, the tlb fix can be turned off with AOD, but seems to have a slight power loss vs doing it via Crystal CPU... not enough to go through the effort of using Crystal.

Two: Somebody else made the discovery that F4 unlocks extra bios options including the option to choose ganged/unganged mode on the memory. 

Three: Bios 601 was released, but still no increase in CPU or NB voltage over 1.25v. They list options but voltage will not increase past those points.


----------



## boonie2 (Feb 3, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> I knew the Phenom would not oc well when I purchased it, but expected more from the board I bought.
> 
> First off: This board has a horrible layout!
> 
> ...



YOU DIDNT DO ANY RESEARCH ON THE BOARD FIRST ? JUST BOUGHT IT AND NOW YOUR GONNA COMPLAIN ? I THINK WHATS CRAP IS HOW YOU BUY YOUR COMPONENTS


----------



## jpierce55 (Feb 3, 2008)

Well somebody has to buy it first, and at the time I ordered it no reviews existed!


----------



## boonie2 (Feb 4, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> Well somebody has to buy it first, and at the time I ordered it no reviews existed!



every component has numerous reviews before its even realesed [i.e. GOOGLE] , toms hardware etc. as far as the layout problems , you could have noticed that from a picture ........... but whatever your entitled to your opinion


----------



## Wile E (Feb 4, 2008)

boonie2 said:


> every component has numerous reviews before its even realesed [i.e. GOOGLE] , toms hardware etc. as far as the layout problems , you could have noticed that from a picture ........... but whatever your entitled to your opinion



And a good portion of those reviews are on pre-production mobos, or early BIOSes. They can't be trusted anyway.

You got him on the layout tho. lol.


----------



## jpierce55 (Feb 4, 2008)

boonie2 said:


> every component has numerous reviews before its even realesed [i.e. GOOGLE] , toms hardware etc. as far as the layout problems , you could have noticed that from a picture ........... but whatever your entitled to your opinion



Every is a big word, but do me a favor and link one of the reviews for the Asus M3A, you won't find one.

As far as layout, nobody could tell from a photo that the nb cooler was in the way, that is impossible.


----------



## boonie2 (Feb 5, 2008)

jpierce55 said:


> Every is a big word, but do me a favor and link one of the reviews for the Asus M3A, you won't find one.
> 
> As far as layout, nobody could tell from a photo that the nb cooler was in the way, that is impossible.



Impossibles a big word  as a matter of fact i just read 3 reviews on the board (52 reviews at newegg - back to 12/11/07)... but it doesnt really matter does it ? the previous post was right they probubly cant be trusted , and you already bought the board anyway so...............


----------

