Test: Asus M3A78-T

Konklusion

Den lille brune fætter med de mange muligheder, både hvad angår tilslutning og fuktionalitet, men bestemt også overclocking har været problemfrit at arbejde med. Designet kunne diskuteres herfra til evigheden, men jeg vælger at vurdere det udelukkende på funktionalitet, og ikke på udseende da det alt andet lige er en individuel smagssag. Hele 3 PCIe og onboard HD3300-grafik virker dog som et noget kejtet sammensurium, og helt ærligt virker det som lidt som et skud i tågen. På den anden side, så kan jeg jo ikke tillade mig at brokke mig over alle disse funktioner, hvis bare prisen passer. Men nogen mega-sællert spår jeg ikke dette finurlige bundbræt at være, simpelthen fordi jeg tror mange vil lade sig forvirre over sammensætningen.

Innovation/Teknologi - N/A
(Her vil senere blive tilføjet en score, vurderet efter chipsættet).

Bundle/Tilbehør - 3
En af de mindre bundles fra Asus, der i mine øjne ikke helt stemmer med prisen. Det er fint vi får Q-connector og en bagplade med blød bagside, men ud over det er der faktisk kun de nødvendige kabler mv.

Design/Layout - 4
Teknisk set, så er layoutet gennemtænkt og veludført, og når boardet er i stand til at maxe vores CPU ud, så fejler funktionaliteten heller ikke noget. Der er dog ikke nogen power/reset-knapper eller andet forførende.

Software/BIOS - 4
Det er ikke hver dag man har mulighed for at overclocke onboard-grafik, og selv om jeg vil klassificere boardet her som et medie-board, så fandt vi rigelige muligheder for at overclocke CPU'en til bristepunktet samtidig med onboard-grafikken, der fik et pænt nøk opad. Dertil kommer så Asus' flotte softwarepakke, der ikke efterlader nogen savn efter mere.

Ydelse - 4
Der er ingen tvivl om at boardet her er med på den værste, når det kommer til overclocking, og det gælder både for CPU, som for onboardgrafikken, hvilken det lykkedes os at tweake ret hæftigt.

Pris - 3
Boardet koster lige under kr. 1000,- i de danske netbutikker. Det er omkring 100 spir mere end Gigabytes MA790GP vi for nyligt har haft kigget på. Sammenligner vi de to, så får man med Asus-boardet og en extra PCIe 16x port - hvilket bringer det samlede antal op på 3 - samt muligheden for at installere ExpressGate på en eksisterende harddisk. Om det er 100 kroner værd, tjah, det kommer helt an på om det er features man har behov for. Et setup af 3 stk. mindre grafikkort og onboard HD3300 der arbejder sammen i CrossFireX lyder dog næsten blasfemisk. Alt i alt synes prisen at afstemme mulighederne.

Test: Asus M3A78-T

Bundle - Tilbehør	3
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	4
Ydelse	4
Pris	3
Samlet	72%

UK summary

The brown fellow with the large amount of possibilities, both regarding connectivity and functionality and certainly also overclockability, has been a problemfree experience to work with. The design could be discussed from here to eternity, but I'll stick to a conclusion based on the functionallity, and not the looks, as it will be fairly individual from person to person how attractive it is. A massive 3 PCIe connections and onboard HD 3300 graphics seems quite arbitrary, and honestly a bit freaky. On the other hand, it would be idiotic to bitch about all these functions, if only the price matches the abillities. But a mega-seller I do not deem this board to be - simply because I think most poeple will be to confused about the mixture.

Innovation/Technology - N/A
(Score will be added later, when the chipset part is completed).

Bundle/Accessories - 3
The bundle is certainly not one of the bigger we have seen from Asus, which in my eyes doesn't quite match the price of this board. Its great to get Q-connectors and a soft I/O-shield, but other than that, its basic necessities, like cables and such.

Design/Layout - 4
Technically the layout is well tough out and done, and when the board is able to max. out our CPU, then the functionality is certainly up there with it. Regredibly we didnt find any power/reset buttons onboard, or anything else seductive for that matter.

Software/BIOS - 4
Its not every day you have the opportunity to overclock onboard graphics, and even though I would classify this board as a media-board, we found opportunities to overclock the CPU to the breaking point, while the onboard graphics followed along upwards. Adding to that, is Asus' handsome bundle of software, leaving us wanting nothing more.

Performance - 4
This board tango's alright when overclocking the CPU, as well as the onboard graphics, which we managed to tweak aplenty.

Price - 3
The board is priced at just under DKK 1000,- in the danish webstores. Thats about DKK 100,- more than the Gigabytes MA790GP we recently has our hands on. When comparing the two, Asus's advantages comes down to the extra PCIe port - making it a total of 3 - and the option to install the excellent ExpressGate feature on an existing harddrive. Whether its worth the extra 100 or not, really only depends on weather you want the extra features. A setup of 3 low-end discrete graphics cards and the onboard HD 3300 working in CrossFireX does, however, sound borderline blasphemic to us. ALL in all the price seems to match the features.