Product comparison · 2 motherboards

ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX vs GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX

34specifications compared
20differ
14identical
22known for one product only

Key differences

The GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX has 8 GB more maximum internal memory than the ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX (16 GB vs 8 GB). The GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX has 6 more USB 2.0 connectors than the ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX (12 vs 6). The GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX has 1 more SATA connectors than the ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX (6 vs 5). Processor manufacturer: AMD on the ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX, Intel on the GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX. Processor socket: Socket AM2 on the ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX, LGA 775 (Socket T) on the GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX.

Processor manufacturer
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:AMD
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:Intel
Processor socket
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:Socket AM2
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:LGA 775 (Socket T)
Maximum internal memory
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:8 GB
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:16 GB
USB 2.0 connectors
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:6
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:12
Number of SATA connectors
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:5
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:6
USB 2.0 ports quantity
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:6
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:8
eSATA ports quantity
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:1
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:0
PS/2 ports quantity
- M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX:1
- GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX:2

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of M3N78-EM, GA-EP43-S3L
56 specifications	A ASUS M3N78-EM motherboard Socket AM2 micro ATX Model M3N78-EM View product	B GIGABYTE GA-EP43-S3L motherboard LGA 775 (Socket T) ATX Model GA-EP43-S3L View product
Processor2 differ
Processor manufacturerDiffers	AMD	Intel
Processor socketDiffers	Socket AM2	LGA 775 (Socket T)
Memory1 differ
Number of memory slots	4	4
ECC сompatibilityKnown for one	ECC & Non-ECC	Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum internal memoryDiffers	8 GB	16 GB
Memory voltageKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1.8 V
Storage controllersidentical
RAID levelsKnown for one	0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O2 differ
USB 2.0 connectorsDiffers	6	12
Number of SATA connectorsDiffers	5	6
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
S/PDIF out connector	Yes	Yes
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
CD/AUX audio in	Yes	Yes
ATX Power connector (24-pin)	Yes	Yes
Number of EATX power connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Power fan connector	Yes	Yes
Number of chassis fan connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Chassis intrusion connector	Yes	Yes
Number of COM connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of IEEE1394 connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
CPU fan connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O ports8 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers	6	8
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
eSATA ports quantityDiffers	1	0
PS/2 ports quantityDiffers	1	2
Firewire (IEEE 1394) portsDiffers	1	0
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers	1	0
HDMI ports quantityDiffers	1	0
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	1	0
Headphone outputsDiffers	1	6
Microphone in	Yes	Yes
S/PDIF out port	Yes	Yes
Modem (RJ-11) portsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	0
Network1 differ
Networking featuresDiffers	Gigabit Ethernet	10/100/1000 Mbit
LAN controllerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek RTL8111C
Features2 differ
Motherboard form factorDiffers	micro ATX	ATX
Audio chipDiffers	Realtek ALC120	Realtek ALC888
Audio output channels	7.1 channels	7.1 channels
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Compatible operating systemsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Microsoft Windows Vista/XP
Expansion slots1 differ
PCI Express x1 slotsDiffers	1	4
PCI Express x16 slots	1	1
PCI slotsKnown for one	2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Expansion slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	2 x PCI
BIOSidentical
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	64 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
BIOS typeKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	AWARD
Weight & dimensions2 differ
WidthDiffers	244 mm	305 mm
DepthDiffers	244 mm	210 mm
Packaging content1 differ
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Trial softwareDiffers	Anti-Virus	Norton Internet Security
Bundled softwareKnown for one	Express Gate ASUS PC Probe II ASUS Update	Unknown — not stated by the source
Other featuresidentical
Floppy disk drive connector	Yes	Yes
Graphics controllerKnown for one	NVIDIA GeForce 8	Unknown — not stated by the source
Special featuresKnown for one	ASUS MyLogo 2	Unknown — not stated by the source
Manageability featuresKnown for one	WfM 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOR @ Ring, WOL/WOR @ PME, PX	Unknown — not stated by the source
S/PDIF in portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes

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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