[Gigaland] Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI with AMD 6800K: Small but Powerful
Today I get to test another ITX mobo for AMD's FM2 processors namely the Gigabyte F2A85XN-WiFi. This is a motherboard aiming for the high-end iTX/HTPC/Gaming build which offers great realty to your desk space while not compromising on quality, stability and durability. So now let us go and explore this small but powerful motherboard.
The box is clearly labelled with the features you are getting in this motherboard like the components used to make this motherboard as durable and dependable. The included accessories are not many but I like the WiFi antenna that was included in this package.
Master Hobbit himself:
The motherboard layout is superb the duo-tone color scheme of Gigabyte will surely catch the eye of people who puts the looks of their motherboards on top of their list. The 4pin 12v is put very near to the PCI-E slot which may become an issue if you are putting huge GPU with think back plate, but then again I doubt you will be putting those type of GPU in your ITX build.
The motherboard is clearly built with durability in mind hence the marketing for their UltraDurable series products and indeed they are not joking with all solid caps used and IR PowerStage ICs used and lastly a very dependable DUAL-BIOS which really removes any worries. They did not stop there they also made the PCB of the motherboard as durable as it can be by implementing the glass fabric on PCB to protect from humidity.
The Gigabyte F2A85XN-WiFi have the basic 4 SATA III ports with internal USB 3.0 and as for the placement I think it is good but it would really depend on which case you are putting this motherboard. The WiFi used in this is an atheros with support up to 300Mbps which is more than enough for simultaneous streaming of HD contents while downloading and even playing online games. At the back IO we can that it is meant to be ready for eyefinity with dual HDMI and a Dual Link DVI and I am glad Gigabyte opted for a DVI here instead of a VGA port. There is an acceptable number of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 at the back and clearly this is also meant to support high end audio with the 8 channel Audio and an Optical Digital audio output.
This was taken while Prime95 is running with an ambient room temperature of about 28c
as you can see the VRMs are very cool nothing to worry about even on an overclocked 6800K and take note there is no active cooling done to it since I am using a tower cooler.
Router Asus RT-N56U (situated outside the living room)
Atheros WiFi (situated inside the room)
2.4Ghz
5Ghz
My Take:
I would like to say that I was impress in the capability of this motherboard to oveclock an AMD 6800K while still keeping itself cool. This could probably one of the very few FM2 ITX motherboard that is capable of doing it. The features it gives both in durability and functionality is superb, this is really a good buy if you are considering a high end HTPC build with durability, stability and peace of mind in the list. The wifi antenna included might not be the fastest but it could still give you decent bandwidth. Performance overall for this motherboard is very good.
With AMD APU especially with Richland it makes a possibility to have a gaming/htpc rig while not bursting your wallet and couple it with a very good FM2 motherboard such as this then I would say you got an ultimate gaming/htpc rig. the power consumption even on overclock is very good and temperature as well so putting this inside an ITX casing would not be a problem as you don't have to worry of heat and especially exploding parts.
Gigabyte is true to their word and they really define what is an Ultra Durable motherboard.
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