Product comparison · 2 motherboards

ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD vs MSI Z68A-G43 (B3)

47specifications compared
20differ
27identical
24known for one product only

Key differences

The MSI Z68A-G43 (B3) has 1 more USB 2.0 connectors than the ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD (4 vs 3). The ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD has 4 more SATA III connectors than the MSI Z68A-G43 (B3) (6 vs 2). The MSI Z68A-G43 (B3) has 4 more SATA II connectors than the ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD (4 vs 0). Processor manufacturer: AMD on the ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD, Intel on the MSI Z68A-G43 (B3). Processor socket: Socket AM3+ on the ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD, LGA 1155 (Socket H2) on the MSI Z68A-G43 (B3).

Processor manufacturer
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:AMD
- Z68A-G43 (B3):Intel
Processor socket
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:Socket AM3+
- Z68A-G43 (B3):LGA 1155 (Socket H2)
RAID levels
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:0, 1, 10, JBOD
- Z68A-G43 (B3):0, 1, 5, 10
USB 2.0 connectors
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:3
- Z68A-G43 (B3):4
Number of SATA III connectors
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:6
- Z68A-G43 (B3):2
Number of SATA II connectors
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:0
- Z68A-G43 (B3):4
Number of Parallel ATA connectors
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:2
- Z68A-G43 (B3):0
Number of chassis fan connectors
- M5A78L/USB3 AMD:1
- Z68A-G43 (B3):3

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of M5A78L/USB3, Z68A-G43 (B3)
71 specifications	A ASUS M5A78L/USB3 AMD Model M5A78L/USB3 View product	B MSI Z68A-G43 (B3)View product
Processor3 differ
Processor manufacturerDiffers	AMD	Intel
Processor socketDiffers	Socket AM3+	LGA 1155 (Socket H2)
Compatible processor seriesDiffers	AMD Phenom II X2, AMD Phenom II X4, AMD Phenom II X6	Intel® Core™ i3, Intel® Core™ i5, Intel® Core™ i7
System bus rateKnown for one	5.2 GT/s	Unknown — not stated by the source
Processor thermal power (max)Known for one	140 W	Unknown — not stated by the source
Memory1 differ
Supported memory types	DDR3-SDRAM	DDR3-SDRAM
Number of memory slots	4	4
Memory channels	Dual-channel	Dual-channel
Memory voltageKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1.5 V
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1066,1333,1600,1800,1866,2200 MHz	1066,1333,1600,1866,2133 MHz
Maximum internal memory	32 GB	32 GB
Supported memory module capacitiesKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
Memory slots typeKnown for one	DIMM	Unknown — not stated by the source
ECC сompatibilityKnown for one	Non-ECC	Unknown — not stated by the source
Storage controllers1 differ
Supported storage drive interfaces	SATA II, SATA III	SATA II, SATA III
RAID levelsDiffers	0, 1, 10, JBOD	0, 1, 5, 10
Graphicsidentical
On-board graphics card	No	No
Parallel processing technology supportKnown for one	Not supported	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O5 differ
USB 2.0 connectorsDiffers	3	4
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectors	0	0
Number of SATA III connectorsDiffers	6	2
Number of SATA II connectorsDiffers	0	4
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsDiffers	2	0
S/PDIF out connector	Yes	Yes
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
CD/AUX audio inKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No
ATX Power connector (24-pin)Known for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Number of EATX power connectors	1	1
CPU fan connector	Yes	Yes
Number of chassis fan connectorsDiffers	1	3
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Parallel connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
TPM connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Peripheral (Molex) power connectors (4-pin)Known for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of COM connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Rear panel I/O ports4 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers	2	4
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantity	2	2
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
eSATA ports quantity	0	0
PS/2 ports quantity	2	2
Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports	0	0
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers	0	1
HDMI ports quantity	0	0
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	0	1
DVI-I ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Headphone outputsDiffers	3	1
Microphone inKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
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	0
Parallel ports quantityKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Networkidentical
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
LAN controller	Realtek RTL8111E	Realtek RTL8111E
Features2 differ
Component for	PC	PC
Motherboard form factor	ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipset familyDiffers	AMD	Intel
Motherboard chipsetDiffers	AMD 760G	Intel Z68
Audio chip	Realtek ALC887	Realtek ALC887
Audio output channels	7.1 channels	7.1 channels
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Compatible operating systemsKnown for one	Windows	Unknown — not stated by the source
Expansion slots1 differ
PCI Express x1 slots	2	2
PCI Express x16 slotsDiffers	1	2
PCI Express slots versionKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	2.0
PCI slots	3	3
BIOS1 differ
BIOS typeDiffers	AMI	UEFI
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	16 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
ACPI versionKnown for one	2.0a	Unknown — not stated by the source
Weight & dimensions1 differ
Width	305 mm	305 mm
DepthDiffers	216 mm	220 mm
Other features1 differ
S/PDIF in portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	No
Controller interface typeDiffers	UltraDMA 133/100/66	Intel Z68 (B3)

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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