Product comparison · 2 motherboards

MSI A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX vs MSI CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX

46specifications compared
18differ
28identical
18known for one product only

Key differences

Processor manufacturer
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:AMD
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:Intel
Processor socket
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:Socket FM2+
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:LGA 1150 (Socket H3)
Supported memory clock speeds
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:1333,1600,1666,2133 MHz
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:1066,1333,1600 MHz
Supported storage drive interfaces
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:SATA III
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:SATA II, SATA III
Maximum graphics card memory
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:2048 MB
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:1760 MB
DirectX version
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:11.1
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:11
Number of SATA III connectors
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:6
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:4
Number of SATA II connectors
- A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX:0
- CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX:2

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of A78M-E45, CSM-B85M-E45
64 specifications	A MSI A78M-E45 AMD A78 Socket FM2+ micro ATX Model A78M-E45 View product	B MSI CSM-B85M-E45 Intel® B85 LGA 1150 (Socket H3) micro ATX Model CSM-B85M-E45 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®
Memory1 differ
Memory voltageKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1.5 V
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1333,1600,1666,2133 MHz	1066,1333,1600 MHz
Supported memory module capacitiesKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	16GB
Unbuffered memoryKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Storage controllers1 differ
Supported storage drive interfacesDiffers	SATA III	SATA II, SATA III
RAID levelsKnown for one	0, 1, 10	Unknown — not stated by the source
Graphics2 differ
Maximum graphics card memoryDiffers	2048 MB	1760 MB
Graphics card familyKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Intel
DirectX versionDiffers	11.1	11
Discrete graphics supportKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Internal I/O4 differ
Number of SATA III connectorsDiffers	6	4
Number of SATA II connectorsDiffers	0	2
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsDiffers	1	0
Number of chassis fan connectorsDiffers	1	2
Serial port headersKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Number of SATA connectorsKnown for one	6	Unknown — not stated by the source
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Rear panel I/O ports3 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers	2	4
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	4	2
Headphone outputsDiffers	6	1
Microphone inKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Features2 differ
Motherboard chipset familyDiffers	AMD	Intel
Motherboard chipsetDiffers	AMD A78	Intel® B85
Cooling typeKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Passive
Windows operating systems supportedKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	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
Expansion slotsidentical
PCI Express x1 (Gen 2.x) slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	2
PCI Express x16 (Gen 3.x) slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
PCI slotsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Weight & dimensions2 differ
WidthDiffers	243 mm	228 mm
DepthDiffers	243 mm	244 mm
Other featuresidentical
Parallel port via internal headerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Serial port via internal headerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
BIOSidentical
Clear CMOS jumperKnown for one	Yes	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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