CPU/Mobo Asus M4A78-EM/1394 or Biostar A785 GE

F

flexman

Disciple
Hello

I am looking to build a few PCs for office use based on the AMD Athlon II X4 620. Some may feel that this CPU is overkill for for use in an office (word processing/web & no image/video editing or playing games etc.); however, the prices seem low enough to invest so that the hardware remains current for 4-5 years.

I am considering the Asus M4A78-EM/1394 or Biostar A785 GE motherboards. The Biostar A785 GE is cheaper by around 1K compared to the Asus M4A78-EM/1394, which I believe is the cheapest model from Asus with DVI output and supporting AM3 socket (the 1394 socket is of no use).

The rest of the system (budget in brackets):
Processor - X4 620 (5700)
Motherboard - Asus or Biostar (4700 or 3800)
160GB/250GB HD - Seagate or WD (2000)
2GB Memory (2 x 1GB Dual Channel) - Kingston/Ocz/Corsair (1500)
Cooler Master Case 330 Elite (2100)
Cooler Master eXtreme 350W (please suggest reliable alternative for this) (1650)
Monitor - 17" or 19" Square with 3 yrs warranty (6000) (please suggest)
Gigabyte/Benq KB/MM Set (450)

Max Budget - 24K

I would like to receive some feedback on users of either of these motherboards and feel free to make any suggestions. My only requirement for the MB is AM3 socket support and 710 Southbridge. The 780G (in Asus) or 785G (in Biostar) Northbridge chipsets are not of any considersation for office use and neither is sideport memory.

And could someone please confirm the warranty period on this Biostar motherboard. Some retailers say 1 yr and some say 3 yrs. Asus, I believe, is 3 yrs.

Thanks for reading!
 
Well i'm too planning to buy Asus M4A78-EM/1394.
But i have a doubt whether it unlocks Phenom II 550's core.
To the best of my knowledge it should unlock the cores since it has SB710 which has ACC feature.
But if someone can confirm it ability to unlock core it would be very grateful to me....
 
I'm gonna buy Asus M4A78-EM/1394 but just now i have discovered the Asus site showing that the back panel I/O has only .1 x PS/2 Mouse / Keyboard.

I have normal keyboard and mouse(non usb).

Will i be able to connect both KB and mouse??

If only one which one will be it KB or Mouse????
 
Bump.

I am sure someone on TE would have experience of Asus or Biostar MBs! Please share your satisfaction (or disatisfaction) with either of the brands and experiences with technical support/warranty etc.

Cheers!
 
hello friend ,
since you have shown your affinity towards amd cpu let me tell you you are intelligent few for trusting next gen technology at older gen price.
you have got confused as to which motherboard to choose from asus or biostar
let me tell you i am currently using asus M4A 78EM/1394 with phenom x2 550 i am disappointed by its heating issues troubles i bought the asus brand as i had lot of confidence as you have in its quality.
but now i am finding this issue very challenging to cope with.you can find my entire system information in tech enclave.
so if you find your system configuration reasonable and motherboard would handle it comfortably without any issues then go ahead otherwise i would always recommend you to go for biostar , gigabyte etc.
any help regarding PC hardware software feel free to ask i would be priviledge to share my indepth semiconductor knowledge with you.
 
You may also use AMD 740G chipset with SB 710. They support AM3 cpu (AM2+) with DDR2

I dont think there is need for such high performance CPU.

I am from Finance sector we use lots of Excel ,Financial Packages, Accounting packages such as Tally, Busy, Creative Accounts etc.

You must choose a board with good Ethernet chipset such as Gigabit LAN. We face slow response when we opening/Save/Close some of Files on Network (Excel). We currently using Pentium D CPU with 1 or 1.5 GB DDR RAM, mostly 915G chipset boards. They sometime run 2-3 days continuously (if someone forgot to turn off his cpu)

Display: Doesn't matter but things must be clear to read.

Sound: Go to Hell!

Power: CPU must be 45nm so that they draw less power and generate lesser heat. ( We put lots of files beside CPU / on the cpu) Use ATX cases!! these provide good ventilation. PC still runs fine!!

PSU: Cooler Master 350 watt PSU is good enough.

Cabinet: You might consider cheaper options also (I am talking about only Cabinet not PSU)

RAM: DDR2 or DDR3 Maximum capacity of RAM in Single Slot (i.e., if motherboard has 2 slots and each slot supports Maximum 2GB stick on Each slot go for single 2 GB slot instead of 2 1GB RAM Sticks)

I really dont think there is a huge performance gap between DDR2 supporting AM3 motherboard and DDR3 AM3 motherboard for Office use. (Not for gaming)

Go for AMD CPU / Motherboard Combo
 
My friend recently bought Asus M4A78-EM/1394 And AMD Ph II X2 550 and after update bios he can easily unlock other 2 cores ...
 
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