ASUS - M3N78EM or M3A78EM

[shirazhansen]

Hi all,

I'm building an AMD machine and have narrowed down my mobo choices to these two - Asus M3A78EM (4900 Rs) and M3N78EM (4600 Rs).. Any suggestions on which one is better? The Asus site sez the M3A78EM has an HDMI port (Link), but this month's Digit has Agent 001 saying tht it doesnt.. which one's right?

The rest of the config is as follows :

CPU - Phenom 2 X4 920 (10200 Rs)
RAM - 2X2 GB Kingston (3200 Rs)
Asus DVD RW Dual layer (1900 Rs)
HDD - 1 TB Seagate (4900 Rs)

Thanks in advance..

[desiibond]

My pick would be M3A78-EM. 780G is better for gaming and looks like the phase switching in M3A is better than that in M3N.

Also, check Gigabyte Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H And Gigabyte MA78GM-S2HP (with Dolby Live)

[dOm1naTOr]

BIostar 790GX mobo for 4.6k too is good. Its a full ATX mobo.

[saqib_khan]

^^ Yup, +1 dOm1naTOr .

[popularbhaskar]

hi,
i have more or less the exact configuration.i bot them quite recently and dont have them in my hand yet. i will have that by next weekend. I can see how the performance is and let you know if u want..
my config:
AMD X4 920
OCZ 2*2 1066 MHZ
M3A78-EM

I will let you know once i have my pc setup...

[shirazhansen]

@popularbhaskar : Ok, u're goin for the M3A.. any idea if it has an HDMI port? Also, where and for how much are u getting ur 1066 MHz RAM sticks?

@desiibond : I c u're usin the Gigabyte board.. have u had any problems with it so far? I did consider it, but opted for Asus after reading a couple of negative reviews on it..random shutdowns, bios issues etc..

@dominator : Umm.. i hv no idea abt a biostar mobo.. is it a lot better than asus/gigabyte? Coz if it's not, then i'd rather stick to a better known brand.. this pc's gonna be for an elderly relative, so i wanna keep things as simple as i can..

I see no one's said anything abt the prices so far.. so i guess they are pretty fairly priced, huh? I know they might be a little high coz i'm buyin frm my local vendor back at home, but as long as they are not grossly overpriced, i'm happy.

[damngoodman999]

AMD phenom 2 920 having BIOS problem with M3A78-EM board , so better go for Gigabyte

As choose 790GX chipset to pull out better performance from Phenom 2 X4

[desiibond]

@shirazhansen, I haven't faced any problems with this motherboard till now. It's a rock solid board and is also a stable one for overclocking.

[popularbhaskar]

i got it for about Rs 2000 from US from Newegg.com. For the Mobo i still have not had a chance to test it with my X4 920 yet though i have my motherboard already. wait till this weekend and i can demystify the cloud.
@@damngoodman999: where did you read about the bios issues of X4920 with M3A78-EM and when you say bios issues.. can you be specific..
I will test the rod my self as well..
-popularbhaskar

[damngoodman999]

Originally Posted by popularbhaskar

i got it for about Rs 2000 from US from Newegg.com. For the Mobo i still have not had a chance to test it with my X4 920 yet though i have my motherboard already. wait till this weekend and i can demystify the cloud.
@@damngoodman999: where did you read about the bios issues of X4920 with M3A78-EM and when you say bios issues.. can you be specific..
I will test the rod my self as well..
-popularbhaskar

What to specify the BIOS ??

As when i connect my Phenom 2 940 in to M3A78-Em board i had many crashes & freezing , the bios was culprit after i update the BIOS still many problems Cold boot - BSOD

[desiibond]

@damngoodman999, did you reinstall OS after changing processor and mobo? Or did you do a fresh install already?

[otpsurvive]

@shirazhansen
Go for the ASUS M3A78EM. The only difference between the two is the graphics. It is always better to buy all the components from a single brand so that they all perform better in sync. An AMD proc with an AMD chipset based MoBo and if you decide in the future to get an ATi card, it'll all run beautifully. And yes, the M3A78EM has HDMI, Display port, DVI and VGA too.

[otpsurvive]

@shirazhansen
Go for the ASUS M3A78EM. The only difference between the two is the graphics. It is always better to buy all the components from a single brand so that they all perform better in sync. An AMD proc with an AMD chipset based MoBo and if you decide in the future to get an ATi card, it'll all run beautifully. And yes, the M3A78EM has HDMI, Display port, DVI and VGA too.

[damngoodman999]

Originally Posted by desiibond

@damngoodman999, did you reinstall OS after changing processor and mobo? Or did you do a fresh install already?

i did fresh install , M3A78-Em really need to update the Bios , but Bios dint work good for Phenom 2 940

[popularbhaskar]

guys,
I cant really wait.. I will get my processor and memory by today night. I will assemble all and let you all know how it goes. I checked the ASUS site and it does support the PHENOM 2 920.

Bhaskar

[shirazhansen]

Ok guys, I've finalised my config.. i'm going ahead with M3A78EM.. it was a 50-50 choice between it and the gigabyte mobo, as they both have more or less the same number of pros and cons.. Got my fingers crossed.. Hope it doesnt cause too much trouble.. Will post again in 2-3 days and let u know..

Cheers!

[popularbhaskar]

Let me break the shell!!
i got my proc. i am not home yet!! i will unbox and post my youtube video
take care guys

[shirazhansen]

Ok guys, I've finalised my config.. i'm going ahead with M3A78EM.. it was a 50-50 choice between it and the gigabyte mobo, as they both have more or less the same number of pros and cons.. Got my fingers crossed.. Hope it doesnt cause too much trouble.. Will post again in 2-3 days and let u know..

Cheers!

[popularbhaskar]

hey.. hold on to ur choice.. let me meet the battle first. i have bot all and i would assemble them today and let you know by this weekend how things roll..
Now i have my PH 2 -920
OCZ Ram 1066- It really really rocks!!!
m3a78-em
Let me put them all together and let you know how it goes.

[popularbhaskar]

guys..
I got my system setup and overclocked at 3GHZ. It looks cool. I did have some blue screens with my old OS and the error was wrt to HAL (hardware abstraction Layer) and ATI drivers with my old OS. I did reinstall the OS and everything rocks. I am doing further testing on the same.

[popularbhaskar]

Phenom 2- X4 920 really rocks..
I reinstalled my OS and my Drivers and no blue/red/pink screens now. Well.. i do have black screen though when i have my TFT off.. i am working on it to keep it illuminated.. LOL
I have my pc totally all set to go. The temperature does not ride over 55 degree irrespective of the time i run all four cores at full speed. The moment i drop the load it falls like sensex back to 45-48 levels.
The CPU cooler rocks.. I meant the stock one. AMD made the best bang for the buck with the Phenom 2. specially when i have bot it for 132$.

So... the below config is All good (atleast for me )

Phenom 2- X4 920
OCZ GOLD Edition- 1066 MHZ CAS 5 - 2*2 GB
ASUS M3A78-EM
WD Caviar Black 1TB
CM 335 with CM 550W PSU

Below are some some pictures shot in cow boy style:

http://rapidshare.com/files/257282573/cpu.zip

[shirazhansen]

Nice! Those RAM sticks look pretty bling! Gud to see tht u hvnt had any serious issues with ur config so far.. Hope i get similar results.. am yet to get mine.. should arrive in a couple of days.. will post again when i do..