The ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe arrives in a diminutive box with the product name and some specifications listed on the front.
Inside there is a very comprehensive bundle, including several SATA cables, a remote controller (with keyboard on one side), literature on the product, a software/driver disc, wireless antenna and a backplate. They also supply a wireless USB adapter.
The motherboard is a little marvel of engineering, cramming a ton of features into such a small space. It is supplied with a blue and black colour scheme and the CPU socket is reasonably free from surrounding components. The board measures 6.7 inch x 6.7 inch ( 17 cm x 17 cm ).
There are four SATA 6 Gbps connectors at the corner of the board. There are only two fan connectors however, one marked CPU and the other chassis. I had hoped for a few more to handle chassis fans. To the right of the SATA cables is the front panel connector. ASUS include a large passively cooled heatsink in this area to help with cooling and stability. There is a single 4 pin CPU power header closeby.
Internally there is the following I/O port support:
1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s)
1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s)
1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x Internal speaker connector(s)
1 x Chassis Intrusion connector(s)
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
The board has two memory slots with support for DDR3 memory up to 1866mhz.
At the edge of the board is a single PCI E x16 slot to help enhance the graphics capabilities.
The I/O panel is very impressive offering the following connectivity:
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
1 x Bluetooth module(s)
1 x DVI-D
1 x DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
1 x eSATA 6Gb/s
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
2 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
3 x Audio jack(s)
1 x Clear CMOS button(s)
2 x Wi-Fi antenna port(s)
Building a system is straightforward, although you are limited with the CPU cooler size due to the tiny dimensions of the Mini ITX platform. Still, apart from wanting a few more fan headers on the PCB, ASUS have everything covered.
Excellent, I love mini itx. dont often get boards that overclock well in this sector however.
Asus rock, but they didnt give me much help with my last board when it failed. went through a whole load of crap with the dealer. will stick with amazon from now on as their support system is second to none.
Good review, they make nice boards. I do think this is overpriced, its £30 more than the gigabyte Z68 you reviewed last week……. doesnt seem to make sense for A75.
Good overclock. Intel can’t overclock. not i3 anyway 😉
Thanks for the terrific review.
Can all three on-board video heads (DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort) be used simultaneously, or does triple-monitor action require adding a graphics card?