ASRock FM2A85X Extreme4-M FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: It was working great for 2 months

Cons: All of the sudden the onboard NIC failed and it takes 40 sec. to POST

Pros: turn it on and go. Easy install; worked with everything I plugged into it no problems. windows7 and all
good layout. I like ASRock's BIOS fine, and It allows to boot from multiple devices and OS's. overclock is easy if you want to do that.

Cons: none yet, but we are not asking a whole lot from it...

Other Thoughts: I built a Win7 PC for the mominlaw. I used this board and an A4-5300. It is a HUGE upgrade from the previous system- a dual core XP build.
I replaced the mobo, cpu, and added an SSD. Not a cheap upgrade, but a screamin office PC that should keep up for years.

Pros: It never worked the first time I hooked it up because LO AND BEHOLD, I never plugged in the motherboard power connector. But it booted up wonderfully!

Cons: Can't think of any at the mo...

Other Thoughts: Build: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB:: AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket FM2:: SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD120KW 2.5" 120GB:: COOLER MASTER HAF XB RC-902XB-KKN1

Manufacturer Response:

Dear ASRock Customer

Thank you for your purchase and review. Your feedback is important to us. If you have any technical questions or warranty issues in the future please contact us at user@ASRockamerica.com. We can assist you shortly

Thank you

ASRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@ASRockamerica.com

Pros: Good on board graphics; excellent features (USB boost, fast boot to OS, LAN monitor); plenty of USB ports. Shuts off the onboard video as soon as a video card is detected, no need to disable in the BIOS.

Cons: Onboard video began to go out within two weeks of purchasing.

My monitor began to lose signal randomly. The only thing that would fix it would be a turning the computer off and back on again. I thought it was a problem with the cord, so I bought a new one and it seemed to be fine. On day 27 my video stopped working all together. I swapped out cords, tried another monitor, nothing was working. I didn't have enough time to get it to NewEgg for an RMA so I got with ASRock who said it would take about a week after they received it for it to be fixed and sent back. I can't be without a computer for that long, so I had to pick up a video card.

Back plate I got with the motherboard is pretty flimsy and bowed. I had to hold the motherboard in place while tightening it down or the screws wouldn't line up properly with the holes in the tower. Minor inconvenience.

Other Thoughts: Overall I'm very happy with this motherboard. I got it for an excellent price, and other than the video going out, it's performed spectacularly. I gave it two stars because of the huge inconvenience it is to have to do an RMA, the money lost from purchasing a video card, and the time and productivity lost while my computer wasn't working.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear ASRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sorry to hear that the mainboard has malfunction after 27 months of use which’s due to nature of electronic product, it can happen. We glad to do the replacement service. If you have any technical questions or warranty issues please contact our Tech Support at http://www.ASRock.com/support/tsd.asp. We can assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@ASRockamerica.com

Pros: This is the second ASRock motherboard I have used. In my opinion, this board is as good or better than some costing twice as much. It is built well and uses quality components. The UEFI is exactly what it should be; simple to navigate and powerful. Overclocking is easy as pie and the utilities are actually quite useful. This is the ticket for a Micro ATX gaming rig.

Cons: I can't find any cons to this motherboard. I have been building systems for 20 years and this is as good a board for a home P.C. as I have seen.

Other Thoughts: Granted, there are more powerful options available. However, this one is well worth the price.

Pros: price

Cons: on board sounds was DOA. Just static and noise...updated BIOS and drivers...its definitely a HW failure. Even in the BIOS there is so much interference that I can barely make out the sounds as I move from tab to tab.

Other Thoughts: It's almost not worth RMA'n this Mobo due to the price. if I cant get sound to work via sound card or some other means then I will consider RMA. QC from ASRock on these cheaper mobos is weak and consumers are left to deal with the issues, costing them time and money! I strayed from my tried and true mfr and now I am paying the price...never again.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear ASRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sorry to hear the sound onboard has malfunctioned which due to nature of electronic product, it can happen. Please download and install the driver at link " http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A85X%20Extreme4-M/?cat=Download " , try with another known good speaker to check if its solved. If you have any technical questions please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/support/tsd.asp. We can assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@ASRockamerica.com

Pros: Great! Using an A10-5800K and clocked at 5GHz just to see what it was capable of and did with out breaking a sweat. Keep it typically at 4GHz and it runs great. Had a EVGA GTX 275 but graphics were only slightly better compared to that of the onboard graphics so I ditched it and just use the onboard. If you want something cheap and actually efficient (of course without having a separate video card) its great

Cons: None so far.

Other Thoughts: A10-5800K
BFG 550 PSU
Corsair 4M SSD
2x4GB of DDR3 1866

Pros: Great specs, good price, easy to work with form factor in Mid-Tower ATX Case.

Built 3 other APU boxes with different ASROCK Mobo's and have been very pleased until now. In fact his has been my first dud MOBO in about 5 years... First RMA to newegg ever.

Cons: Build went easy as usual, put components together easily enough. First time I tried to boot to bios with HDMI output, no video. I figured it was a fluke, cycled power, and everything posted as usual.

Windows and driver installation went without a hitch. Started transferring some files via USB 3.0, then lost video signal and only CPU FAN 1 and CD Rom had power. MOBO was not responsive to power button either. Tested the jump drive, no issues...

I figured the PSU was bad, tested it no issues. Tested all other components aside from CPU and MOBO, RMAing both...

Other Thoughts: This could be an amazing MOBO. Most likely I just got a dud and this was a fluke because ASROCK has been even more reliable than ASUS in my experience (contrary to popular opinion).

Manufacturer Response:

Dear ASRock Customer

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sorry to hear that the mainboard has malfunction after hours of use which’s due to nature of electronic product, it can happen. Please update the replacement mainboard's working fine. If you have any technical questions or warranty issues in the future please contact us at http://www.ASRock.com/support/tsd.asp. We can assist you shortly.

Thank you

ASRock SUPPORT
Tech Support Email: user@ASRockamerica.com

Pros: Loving it so far with my A10 5800K. Lots of features, the UEFI is awesome, etc.

Cons: none so far.

Pros: inexpensive, feature packed, upgradeable

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: have this paired with 8gb GSKILL ddr3 2133 ram and A10 5800k with graphics overclocked to 1ghz for my HTPC/power director rig. amazing