ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO and M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 Motherboards Review

Conclusion - M4A785TD-M EVO

We loved the M4A785TD-V EVO, and we were equally impressed by it’s little brother, the M4A785TD-M EVO.

Considering the board’s compact nature, we found it’s layout to be very good. There were no obstructions with large heatsink tower coolers as well as dual slot, full-length video cards. It’s heatsinks are also very low profile and kept out of the way.

Perhaps the most unexpected surprise the “M” brought to the table was it’s very capable overclocking ability. Giving Phenom II processors a stable 1.55V, unlocking cores and booting into Windows at a 352MHz reference frequency are not the first things that come to mind with mATX boards – but the M4A785TD-M does just that. This is an awesome little tweaker board. Those interested in an inexpensive, overclocker-friendly AM3 board for SFF purposes won’t be disappointed with the M4A785TD-M EVO.

We were also thoroughly impressed by AMD’s 785G and the Radeon 4200 IGP. Although it’s gaming performance is nowhere near discrete card levels, it is certainly isn’t what most have come to expect from integrated graphics. Those interested in pushing the IGP will be pleased to know that we managed an 800MHz core clock, coupled with an awesome 2000MHz sideport DDR3 clock. This did require quite a bit of overvoltage and some active cooling on the 785G heatsink, but an excellent result none the less.

About the only thing we found a tad disappointing were the heatsinks on the 785G/SB710 and the lack of a MOSFET heatsink. Given this board’s excellent overclocking abilities, we couldn’t help but think it a disservice to outfit it with such a compact cooling system. With that said, we should definitely clarify that the cooling system is more than sufficient for a stock or mildly overclocked system.

And finally, we couldn’t leave out mentioning some of the extra features we wouldn’t expect in a board of this price. Support for both 1394 (FireWire), HDMI 1.3, DVI and even optical digital video output were nice to find. The GPU-NOS and Probe II applications were also a nice addition, but it’s a shame that it doesn’t bundle with TurboV.

In conclusion, we loved the M4A785TD-M EVO. At a sub-$100 pricepoint, you simply can’t find a better mATX AM3 motherboard. As such, we’re pleased to award it with the Hardware Canucks’ “DAM GOOD VALUE” award.


Pros:

- All solid capacitors and 2oz copper PCB
- Good overall layout
- Very capable IGP solution, VGA, DVI and HDMI 1.3 output
- Included 1394 support – rare in budget priced boards.
- Very effective and tweakable load-line-calibration! Solid voltage regulation and 140W CPU support.
- Very good overclocker – took our X2 550 to new limits and had no trouble with 1.55V
- 352MHz reference clock achieved!
- Great IGP overclocking headroom, exceeded 800MHz on the core and 2000MHz on sideport
- Easy to unlock Deneb processors and good unlocking options.
- Retail BIOS is very solid, easy to navigate and bug free.
- Probe II, GPU-NOS are excellent applications
- Excellent price at less than $100 CDN and easy to find


Cons:

- No MOSFET heatsink, and other heatsinks too small
- Weak accessory bundle
- We want TurboV for the M4A785TD-M as well!