ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO Pro Reviews

ASUS is definitely running things the way they should be, as the M4A785TD-M EVO is another solid addition to a great line-up of existing motherboards. Toss in a cheap Athlon II processor, a couple sticks of DDR3, a few other basic components and you are looking at a great home theater PC. Integrated graphics provide the needed horsepower for Full HD 1080p video playback via the HDMI port. Eight channel on-board audio is also available for your multi-channel sound system. As the benchmark results show, overclocking can provide great gains in performance. The M4A785TD-M EVO was able to surpass the overclocked speed of the rival motherboard in our experience, which allowed it to dominate in each and every benchmark. Gaining the upper hand in today's budget concious world provides ASUS with a big win. At around $95, the ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO is a great buy.

Slapping a new brand name to give an old chip a leg up is a popular ruse in the PC industry. Do not, therefore, assume that the Asus M4A785TD-M EVO and its AMD 785G northbridge is necessarily old hat. For the most part, it's identical to the supposedly newer 880G found in Gigabyte's competing 880GMA-UD2H.

Any user looking for an inexpensive upgrade to an older system, such as the Core 2 Duo machine used in this article, would be well advised to take a look at look at the M4A785TD-M EVO paired with a low end AMD Athlon-II processor. For that matter, any multi-media user, low-end overclocker, or casual gamer would be able to find a great use for the M4A785TD-M EVO. Under $100, feature rich motherboards are sometimes difficult to find. The ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO provides features, functionality, and great performance at an entry level price.

In conclusion, we loved the M4A785TD-M EVO. At a sub-$100 pricepoint, you simply can’t find a better mATX AM3 motherboard. As such, we’re pleased to award it with the Hardware Canucks’ “DAM GOOD VALUE” award.

Despite a few flaws, a sparce bundle and slightly confusing BIOS, Asus' M4A785TD-M EVO delivers in the performance stakes and looks good doing it. For the price, we really can't complain.

The table below shows how the three 785G boards rated during our assessment. The ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO was an easy choice as the best of the bunch reviewed today. It generally topped the benchmarks among them. It had the lowest temperature measured and its power consumption numbers were in line with the others. The only improvements we spotted are some minor ones concerning its layout but there's no doubting its overall quality and build. Of course, you'll have to pay for it at around US$95 (or S$188 locally), it's close to breaking the US$100 mark.