Product comparison · 2 motherboards

ASUS M3A78-VM motherboard AMD vs MSI P45 Neo2-FIR

31specifications compared
13differ
18identical
22known for one product only

Key differences

Processor manufacturer
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:AMD
- P45 Neo2-FIR:Intel
Processor socket
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:Socket AM2
- P45 Neo2-FIR:LGA 775 (Socket T)
Maximum internal memory
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:8 GB
- P45 Neo2-FIR:16 GB
Number of SATA connectors
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:6
- P45 Neo2-FIR:8
PS/2 ports quantity
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:1
- P45 Neo2-FIR:2
Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:0
- P45 Neo2-FIR:1
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantity
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:1
- P45 Neo2-FIR:0
DVI-D ports quantity
- M3A78-VM motherboard AMD:1
- P45 Neo2-FIR:0

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of M3A78-VM, P45 Neo2-FIR
53 specifications	A ASUS M3A78-VM motherboard AMD Model M3A78-VM View product	B MSI P45 Neo2-FIR View product
Processor2 differ
Processor manufacturerDiffers	AMD	Intel
Processor socketDiffers	Socket AM2	LGA 775 (Socket T)
Compatible processor seriesKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme, Intel® Core™2 Quad
Memory1 differ
ECC сompatibilityKnown for one	ECC & Non-ECC	Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum internal memoryDiffers	8 GB	16 GB
Internal memoryKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	0 GB
Storage controllersidentical
RAID levelsKnown for one	0, 1, 0+1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Graphicsidentical
Maximum graphics card memoryKnown for one	256 MB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O1 differ
Number of SATA connectorsDiffers	6	8
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of EATX power connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Power fan connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of chassis fan connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of COM connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of IEEE1394 connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Rear panel I/O ports4 differ
PS/2 ports quantityDiffers	1	2
Firewire (IEEE 1394) portsDiffers	0	1
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers	1	0
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	1	0
Headphone outputsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone inKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Serial ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Network1 differ
Networking featuresDiffers	Gigabit LAN	IEEE1394 / FireWire, Realtek 8111C
Features1 differ
Motherboard form factorDiffers	micro ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipsetKnown for one	AMD 780G	Unknown — not stated by the source
Audio chipKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek ALC888
Compatible operating systemsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Win Vista
Expansion slots2 differ
PCI Express x1 slotsDiffers	1	2
PCI Express x16 slotsDiffers	1	2
BIOSidentical
BIOS typeKnown for one	AMI	Unknown — not stated by the source
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	64 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
Weight & dimensions1 differ
DepthDiffers	244 mm	305 mm
Packaging contentidentical
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Other featuresidentical
Graphics controllerKnown for one	ATI Radeon 3200	Unknown — not stated by the source
I/O portsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1 x IDE

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.

More motherboard comparisons

All motherboard comparisons