Product comparison · 2 motherboards

ASUS A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX vs MSI Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX

42specifications compared
22differ
20identical
31known for one product only

Key differences

Processor manufacturer
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:AMD
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:Intel
Processor socket
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:Socket FM2+
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:LGA 1150 (Socket H3)
Supported storage drive interfaces
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:SATA III
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:SATA, SATA II, SATA III
RAID levels
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:0, 1, 10, JBOD
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:1, 5, 10
USB 2.0 connectors
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:2
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:3
Number of chassis fan connectors
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:1
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:2
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:2
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:4
PS/2 ports quantity
- A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:2
- Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:1

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of A78M-E, Z97M-G43
73 specifications	A ASUS A78M-E AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX Model A78M-E View product	B MSI Z97M-G43 Intel® Z97 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX Model Z97M-G43 View product
Processor3 differ
Processor manufacturerDiffers	AMD	Intel
Processor socketDiffers	Socket FM2+	LGA 1150 (Socket H3)
Compatible processor seriesDiffers	AMD A	Intel® Celeron®, Intel® Pentium®
Maximum number of SMP processorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Memory1 differ
Number of memory slotsKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1333,1600,1866,2133,2400 MHz	1066,1333,1600,1866,2000,2133,2200,2400,2600,2666,2800,3000 MHz
Maximum internal memoryKnown for one	32 GB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Unbuffered memoryKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal memoryKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	32 GB
Storage controllers2 differ
Supported storage drive interfacesDiffers	SATA III	SATA, SATA II, SATA III
RAID levelsDiffers	0, 1, 10, JBOD	1, 5, 10
Graphicsidentical
Maximum graphics card memoryKnown for one	2048 MB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Parallel processing technology supportKnown for one	Not supported	Unknown — not stated by the source
Graphics card familyKnown for one	AMD	Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum resolutionKnown for one	4096 x 2160 pixels	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O2 differ
USB 2.0 connectorsDiffers	2	3
Number of SATA II connectorsKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
S/PDIF out connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of chassis fan connectorsDiffers	1	2
Peripheral (Molex) power connectors (4-pin)Known for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Front panel audio connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Serial port headersKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Rear panel I/O ports3 differ
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	2	4
eSATA ports quantityKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
PS/2 ports quantityDiffers	2	1
Firewire (IEEE 1394) portsKnown for one	0	Unknown — not stated by the source
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	0	1
DVI-I ports quantityKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Headphone outputsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone inKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
DisplayPorts quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
S/PDIF out portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Digital audio optical outKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	6
Network2 differ
Ethernet interface typeDiffers	Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
LAN controllerDiffers	Realtek RTL8111GR	Realtek 8111G
Features3 differ
Motherboard chipset familyDiffers	AMD	Intel
Motherboard chipsetDiffers	AMD A78	Intel® Z97
Audio chipDiffers	Realtek ALC887	Realtek ALC892
Cooling typeKnown for one	Passive	Unknown — not stated by the source
Windows operating systems supportedKnown for one	Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Basic x64, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Professional x64, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Starter x64, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Windows 8, Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise x64, Win	Unknown — not stated by the source
Expansion slots1 differ
PCI Express x1 (Gen 2.x) slotsDiffers	1	2
PCI-X slotsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 (Gen 2.x) slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
BIOS3 differ
BIOS typeDiffers	UEFI AMI	AMI
BIOS memory sizeDiffers	64 Mbit	128 Mbit
ACPI versionDiffers	4.0a	5.0
Clear CMOS jumperKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Processor special featuresidentical
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)Known for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Weight & dimensions2 differ
WidthDiffers	226 mm	244 mm
DepthDiffers	188 mm	244 mm
Packaging contentidentical
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Bundled softwareKnown for one	ASUS utilities ASUS Update Anti-virus software (OEM version)	Unknown — not stated by the source

A dash means the value is not stated by the source. Unknown values are never counted for or against a product, and there is no overall score.

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