Roundup: Asus' latest AMD 8-series motherboards

Asus invited us to a launch event for its latest AMD 8-series motherboards, and as you'd expect from a single motherboard range based on similar chipsets; it's all very much the same, but if you're in the market for something new AMD and Asus, but don't know what you want, here's a run down of all the latest kit for you to have a gander:


Above is the new AMD 870 chipset on the M4A87TD and its EVO'd brother. Both feature the SB850 southbridge with SATA 6Gbps, which might not be uniform across the 870 market - some companies are tempted to go back to the SB750 or 710 to save a few pennies. The EVO is upgraded with "8+2" (still 4+1 but with 2x components) and a second x16 slot (although it's electrically still x4). USB 3 also makes the cut, despite the name not expressly stating so.
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At the two ends of the spectrum there's the Asus 880G: M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3, the latest integrated graphics board that replaces the popular 785G. As an EVO model it gets the same 8+2 (4+1 x2) and second PCI-E x16 slot that's again x4 electrically. The board still includes the SB850 southbridge for SATA 6Gbps, although one is moved to permanent eSATA duty. As the name suggests USB3 is also a feature.

On the right, the M4A89TD-Pro/USB3 is Asus' 890FX - the non-USB3 version we reviewed last week. It follows the MSI GD70 mentality of moving the northbridge under the power hardware and includes a basic two PCI-E x16 lanes, an x4 and the usual 6 SATA ports as well as two USB 3.


Finally there's the micro-ATX M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 - the shortened version of the ATX M4A88TD above, but with the USB 3 ports on a separate 1x PCI-E daughterboard instead. Confusingly, despite the EVO name, the power hardware is the usual 4+1 too.