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If you’re looking to build a budget FM2 or FM2+ system, the Asus A88XM-Plus looks an enticing prospect with its low price. It’s a microATX board, which means that you don’t get the same range of expansion ports as on an ATX board.
Even so, there are just two PCI-E x16 slots. The main slot runs at the full speed using the PCI Express 3.0 standard, so this should be the home for a single graphics card. The second x16 slot runs at x4 and conforms to the PCI Express 2.0 standard. You can use both slots together for dual-GPU graphics using CrossFireX, or you can just use the second PCI-E x16 for an expansion card. There’s also a PCI-E x1 slot and a single PCI slot, but the latter will be obscured if you install a graphics card.
There’s no need to install a graphics card, as the AM2+ CPUs have decent onboard graphics that will cope with light gaming. With the VGA, DVI and HDMI outputs you can connect multiple monitors, too. This is a great news as you may be able to save money by not having to buy an external graphics card.
You won’t run out of RAM, as the A88XM-Plus has four DDR3 memory slots that can support up to 64GB of RAM at maximum speeds of 2,133MHz or 2,400MHz when overclocked. This is more than most users will ever need, but it’s handy to have the headroom to expand.
The board’s A88X chipset board has eight SATA3 ports. This takes the hassle out of installing new drives, as you can be sure that each one will be performing at the best speeds as soon as you plug it in.
Ports are well catered for on the backplate. Alongside the four USB2 ports there are two USB3 ports, although a header means you can add two additional USB3 ports. There are also two PS/2 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port and three 3.5mm analogue jacks.
With an AMD A10-7850K processor and 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, it scored 72 overall, which is a great score for the CPU and shows that this motherboard is quick. We found its UEFI BIOS very easy to use and like the physical MemOK! Button to help with troubleshooting.
The Asus A88XM-Plus is a great FM2+ board. It doesn’t have as many USB3 ports or expansion slots as on a full-size ATX motherboard, but more than enough for most people’s needs. With excellent performance and a great low price, this board wins a Budget Buy.
