ASRock 960GC-GS FX Share Experience

I got this motherboard a month ago and it runs great so far. I bought it because I had a Phenom Quad Core 9500 2.2GHz in one of our old computers that wasn't being used. I installed that CPU in this mobo and it started up with no problems along with the DDR2 RAM. It worked fine with that CPU, internet browsing and streaming online videos was now a breeze especially on Netflix. 

Yesterday I received my new AM3+ 6300FX black edition CPU and installed it with some new RAM DDR3 8GB Kingston Hyperx 1600MHz at first it didn't start so I thought it was defective memory module but tried them in my other computer but it booted up fine so I reseated them and I had to push them in a little more with a bit of force and it booted up just fine. I also had to take out my Geforce GT610 graphics card also for it to boot I don't know why but I read on a forum somewhere that could be the problem for it not to boot up. I will update this if anything should happen.

My setup:
ASRock 960GC-GS FX Motherboard (of course)
AMD 6300 FX 8-3.5 GHz Black Edition unlock
HyperX DDR3 1600
Sapphire R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 OC
Western Digital 1TB HDD
Corsair CX600M watt PSU
Cooler Master G-Elite 430 Black Mid-Tower ATX Case

ASRock 960GC-GS FX Support | Drivers Download | Manual | CPU Support List | Memory QVL

Update:

I've had this board for two months now still running great. I got a new graphics card last week, a new Sapphire R7 260x 2gb GDDR5 overclock edition. I installed in with the drivers from the cd that came with it and is working awesome. I first bought this mobo just to use my older parts from an older computer but I ended upgrading everything, making it into a decent computer. So far I've really enjoy it and I can even play Farcry 3 on ultra settings...no joke. For my ram to run 1600mhz I went to BIOS and adjusted there. I do not intend to use this motherboard that long for gaming I just wanted something now. In the near future I plan on getting a MSI 970 gaming motherboard or a Gigabyte 990FX series motherboard but have to save up for that first. Overall I do enjoy this motherboard for internet browsing, Netflex, and playing Farcry 3 cause that's the only game I got right now lol.

Specifications

General
CPU	- Support for Socket AM3+ processors - Support for Socket AM3 processors: AMD Phenom™ II X6 / X4 / X3 / X2 (except 920 / 940) / Athlon II X4 / X3 / X2 / Sempron processors - Support for Socket AM2+ / AM2 processors: AMD Phenom™ FX / Phenom / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon X2 Dual-Core / Athlon 64 / Sempron processor - Supports 8-Core CPU - Supports AMD OverDrive™ with ACC feature (Advanced Clock Calibration) - Supports AMD's Cool 'n' Quiet Technology - FSB 2600 MHz (5.2 GT/s) - Supports Untied Overclocking Technology - Supports Hyper-Transport 3.0 (HT 3.0) Technology
Chipset	- Northbridge: AMD 760G - Southbridge: AMD SB710
Memory	- Dual Channel DDR3/DDR2 Memory Technology* - 2 x DDR3 DIMM Slots** - Supports DDR3 1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory - Max. capacity of system memory: 16GB*** - 2 x DDR2 DIMM Slots**** - Supports DDR2 1066*****/800/667/533 non-ECC, un-buffered memory - Max. capacity of system memory: 8GB*** *DDR3 and DDR2 are supported separately. **DDR3 memory is only supported by installing AM3/AM3+ CPU. ***Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® 32-bit OS. For Windows® 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation. ****DDR2 memory is only supported by installing AM2/AM2+/AM3 CPU. *****Support with AM3 / AM2+ CPU.
BIOS	- 16Mb AMI legal BIOS - Supports "Plug and Play" - ACPI 1.1 compliance wake up events - Supports jumperfree - SMBIOS 2.3.1 support - CPU, VCCM, NB Voltage multi-adjustment
Audio, Video and Networking
Graphics	- Integrated AMD Radeon 3000 graphics - DX10 class iGPU, Pixel Shader 4.0 - Max. shared memory 512MB - Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 2048x1536 @ 60Hz
Audio	- 5.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec)
LAN	- PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s - Realtek RTL8111G - Supports Wake-On-LAN - Supports LAN Cable Detection - Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az - Supports PXE
Expansion / Connectivity
Slots	- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2 @ x16 mode) - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot - 2 x PCI Slots
Storage	- 6 x SATA2 3.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
Connector	- 1 x ATA133 IDE Connector (Supports 2 x IDE devices) - 1 x Floppy Connector - 1 x IR Header - 1 x Print Port Header - 1 x Chassis Intrusion Header - 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin) - 1 x Chassis Fan Connector (3-pin) - 1 x Power Fan Connector (3-pin) - 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector - 1 x 4 pin 12V Power Connector - 1 x CD In Header - 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector - 1 x SPDIF Out Connector - 3 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 6 USB 2.0 ports)
Rear Panel I/O	- 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port - 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port - 1 x Serial Port: COM1 - 1 x D-Sub Port - 4 x USB 2.0 Ports - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED) - HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Other Features / Miscellaneous
Unique Feature	- ASRock OC Tuner - ASRock Intelligent Energy Saver - ASRock Instant Boot - ASRock Instant Flash - ASRock OC DNA - ASRock APP Charger - ASRock XFast USB - ASRock XFast LAN - ASRock XFast RAM - ASRock X-Boost - Hybrid Booster: - CPU Frequency Stepless Control - ASRock U-COP - Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.) - ASRock AM2 Boost: ASRock Patented Technology to boost memory performance up to 12.5%
Support CD	- Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial, Google Chrome Browser and Toolbar
Accessories	- Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield - 2 x SATA Data Cables
Hardware Monitor	- CPU/Chassis temperature sensing - CPU/Chassis/Power Fan Tachometer - CPU Quiet Fan - CPU Fan multi-speed control - CASE OPEN detection - Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore
Form Factor	- Micro ATX Form Factor
OS	- Microsoft® Windows® 8 / 8 64-bit / 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista™ / Vista™ 64-bit / XP / XP Media Center / XP 64-bit compliant
Certifications	- FCC, CE, WHQL - ErP/EuP ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)

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ECS H55H-I Mini ITX Motherboard Snap Review

The greatest benefit to all of the computer component miniaturization is that, over time, you can get increasing amounts of computing performance in smaller spaces. Thankfully motherboard manufacturers are now keeping up with the improvements.

The ECS H55H-I Mini ITX Motherboard allows you to cram your favorite Intel LGA 1156 CPU into some tight quarters and even sports video output for your graphics infused processor. Guru3D has the review:

The product comes from ECS and is tagged as H55H-I, despite what you might think or feel about Mini-ATX, this little motherboard has it, it’s packed and loaded with features. Pop on a Clarkdale based processor like the Core i3 or Core i5 series and you can use it’s HDMI, DVI of DSUB graphics connector. Audio ? No worries the embedded Realtek ACL 8982 eight channel audio codec will happily output to analog or coaxial or optical TOSLINK S/PDIF connectors, need USB ? Well, the rear panel has six of them, need SATA2 ? Here we spot four ports and one eSATA, dual channel memory ? Yep supported, up-to 1600 MHz and in the end if you do not want to use the embedded graphics from the processor, then you can even pop in a full x16 PCIe graphics card and make a wicked gaming rig out of this incredibly handy H55H-I motherboard.

Fully loaded and tiny, can’t ask for much more than that!

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IBASE MI952 Mini-ITX Motherboard

IBASE Technology introduced the MI952 Mini-ITX motherboard. The MI952 embedded platform is based on the AMD 780E chipset. The board is ideal for high-end embedded client applications such as industrial automation, test and measurement, digital signage, and surveillance systems. Standard I/O connectivity includes high definition audio, two Gigabit LAN, two SATA, eight USB, and four serial ports. Samples of the IBASE MI952 AMD 780E-based Mini-ITX motherboard are available now.

IBASE MI952 Mini-ITX Motherboard Features

• Support AMD Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 / Athlon II / Sempron, up to 2.9GHz processors
• AMD 780E with built-in Radeon HD3200 internal graphics
• With DVI-I, DVI-D and HDMI display interface
• Two Realtek RTL8111C PCI-E Gigabit LAN
• 4x COM, 8x USB, 2x SATA II, HD audio
• Watchdog timer, 1x PCI-E x16 expansion slot

The IBASE MI952 is compatible with both AMD Athlon dual-core processors and low power AMD Athlon single-core processors from 8W to 65W. Through the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, the motherboard comes with an array of display interface such as DVI-I, DVI-D and HDMI, and supports two independent displays. It also has an optional 128MB GDDR3 dedicated frame buffer (sideport memory) for optimization in power savings and video decoding.

More info: IBASE Technology

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Habey USA Introduces EMB-3500 ARM-based Nano-ITX Motherboard

Habey USA announced their EMB-3500 ARM based Nano-ITX motherboard. The new embedded board features 13 COM ports, USB ports, multiple video output options, SATA port, SD card slot and 4GB onboard NAND storage. The Habey EMB-3500 replaces the MITX-6500 board at half the size with the same number of COM ports. The EMB-3500 motherboard is ideal for touchscreen applications for kiosks, self-service terminals, and digital signage.

Habey EMB-3500 Embedded Board Features

• ARM Based Nano-ITX Form Factor
• Low Power Freescale ARM Cortex A9 i.MX 6 Series
• Onboard 1GB DDR3 RAM and 4GB iNAND flash
• HDMI+ VGA+ LVDS, Independent Multi-Display
• 13 Serial Ports
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Onboard USB-WiFi option and 3G capability
• Native Support for Android 4 and Linux OS
• Integrated 3D Graphics and 1080p Encoding/Decoding
• 120mm x 120mm

The EMB-3500 is a motherboard with an ARM based Freescale Cortex A9 i.MX6 1GHz Solo, Dual, or Quad Core processor and has a 1GB DDR3 RAM and NAND flash. The ARM based board supports 1x dual channel 24bit LVDS,1x HDMI, 1x VGA port, 2x Gigabit LAN, 2x CAN, 1x SATA2, 12x RS-232, 1x 485/232, 5x USB 2.0, 1x USB (OTG), up to 40pin GPIO interface, and can be extended camera module.

More info: Habey EMB-3500 Embedded Board (pdf)

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Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 Review

This motherboard supports AMD® AM3+ multi-core processors with unique L3 cache and delivers better overclocking capabilities with less power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR3 memory support and accelerates data transfer rate up to 5200MT/s via HyperTransport™ 3.0 based system bus. This motherboard also supports AMD® CPUs in the new 32nm manufacturing process.

Unleash True Core Performance Intelligently

ASUS Core Unlocker simplifies the activation of a latent AMD® CPU—with just a simply key. Enjoy an instant performance boost by simply unlocking the extra cores, without performing complicated BIOS changes.

Specifications

CPU	AMD AM3+ FX™/Phenom™ II/Athlon™ II/Sempron™ 100 Series Processors Supports CPU up to 125 W AMD Cool 'n' Quiet™ Technology
Chipset	AMD 760G (780L)/SB710
Memory	2 x DIMM, Max. 16GB, DDR3 1866(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture * Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). * Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Install a 64-bit Windows® OS when you want to install 4GB or more memory on the motherboard. * AMD FX Series CPU on this motherboard supports up to DDR3 1866MHz as its standard memory frequency. * AMD AM3 100 and 200 series CPU support up to DDR3 1066MHz.
System Bus	Up to 5.2 GT/s HyperTransport™ 3
Graphic	Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3000 GPU VGA output support : RGB port - Supports RGB with max. resolution 2560 x 1440 @ 75 Hz Maximum shared memory of 1024 MB Hybrid CrossFireX™ Support *1 Supports DirectX 10
Expansion Slots	1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI
Storage	AMD SB710 controller : 6 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), blue Support Raid 0, 1, 10, JBOD
LAN	Realtek®, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Audio	Realtek® ALC887 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC *2
USB Ports	AMD SB710 controller : 10 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black, 6 at mid-board)
ROG Exclusive Features	Overclocking Protection : - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features	ASUS Power Design : - ASUS EPU-4 Engine Turbo Key Core Unlocker ASUS Exclusive Features : - Ai Charger - Anti-Surge ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - ASUS Q-Fan ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS MyLogo 2
Back I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 keyboard (purple) 1 x PS/2 mouse (green) 1 x D-Sub 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 2.0 1 x COM port(s) 1 x Parallel port(s) 3 x Audio jack(s)
Internal I/O Ports	3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 USB 2.0 port(s) 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x Internal speaker connector(s) 1 x System panel(s)
Accessories	User's manual I/O Shield 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s)
BIOS	16 Mb Flash ROM, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI v2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS V2.5, ACPI V2.0a
Support Disc	Drivers ASUS PC Probe II ASUS Update Anti-virus software (OEM version)
Form Factor	uATX Form Factor 9.6 inch x 8 inch ( 24.4 cm x 20.3 cm )

Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 Drivers & Tools Download here.

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DIY Flash EEPROM BIOS Programmer

I got this Gateway Dx4300 computer motherboard with a dead BIOS chip in it, that wont start at all, so I figured it must be a corrupt bios. The motherboard was kinda nice that supports Phenom II quad processors & DDR3 ram (I think) .. so I didn't want to waste it just because it had a bad bios chip.

Buy a replacement bios chip you say ? .. sure , but i dont feel like spending $25-$35 right now for a motherboard i got for free .. so I had an idea to build a simple BIOS programmer that I can build & use to save his board and possibly others in the future ..

so the bios chip was an Macronix MX25L8005 (1MB) .. and .. luckily, it sat on a socket (not soldered in) ..

After some research, I found a few DIY kits & projects along with comercial ones like the Willem, Acron, SMARTPRO ..etc , they were all expensive. Eventually I stumbled upon a design that will probably do the job, so I built the simple circuit & started experiminteng with it .. a few attempts later, I was able to reflash the chip with a new bios that saved the motherboard from the garbage man, later I decided to add some improvements to this design to make it more convenient to use in the future.

My design is based on RayeR's with slight improvements, I have added a voltage regulator to power it directly from USB port, a switch and some LED indicators ..

Supported chips (and possibly others):

AMIC	SST	ST Microelectronic
A25L05PU/PT (64kB) A25L10PU/PT (128kB) A25L20PU/PT (256kB) A25L40PU/PT (512kB) A25L80PU/PT (1MB) A25L16PU/PT (2MB) A25L32PU/PT (4MB) A25L64PU/PT (8MB) A25L512 (64kB) A25L010 (128kB) A25L020 (256kB) A25L040 (512kB) A25L080 (1MB)	SST25VF010 (128kB) SST25VF020 (256kB) SST25VF040 (512kB) SST25VF080 (1MB) SST25VF016 (2MB) SST25VF032 (4MB) SST25VF064 (8MB) SST25VF128 (16MB) SST26VF016 (2MB) SST26VF032 (4MB) SST26VF064 (8MB)	M25P10 (128kB) M25P20 (256kB) M25P40 (512kB) M25P80 (1MB) M25P16 (2MB) M25P32 (4MB) M25P64 (8MB) M25P128 (16MB)
EON	Winbond	Macronix
EN25P16 (2MB) EN25P32 (4MB) EN25P64 (8MB) EN25P128 (16MB) EN25F16 (2MB) EN25F32 (4MB) EN25F64 (8MB) EN25F128 (16MB)	W25X10 (128kB) W25X20 (256kB) W25X40 (512kB) W25X80 (1MB) W25X16 (2MB) W25X32 (4MB) W25X64 (8MB)	MX25L1005 (128kB) MX25L2005 (256kB) MX25L4005 (512kB) MX25L8005 (1MB) MX25L1605 (2MB) MX25L3205 (4MB) MX25L6405 (8MB)
Spansion	Atmel
S25FL004A (512kB) S25FL008A (1MB) S25FL016A (2MB) S25FL032A (4MB) S25FL064A (8MB) S25FL128P (16MB)	AT26DF041 (512kB) AT26DF081A (1MB) AT26DF161A (2MB) AT26DF321 (4MB)

NOT BAD AT ALL FOR A $5 HOME-MADE FLASHER !!!

The finished PCB in action, just remember to erase the chip first before re-programming, it works best that way... the extra 3 pin white-connector you see is for my personal use to get +5VDC & +3.3VDC directly out (optional) .. you don't need to have that.

Software ???

There are many option out there that work with SPI based LPT port programmer .. I tested a few, SPIPGM (DOS) worked best for me .. the pic below is from a Window$ based GUI that I also tested .. and finaly, I will definately make a nice housing for this PCB and add a ZIF socket to make it more convenient to use ..

And off-course .. here's the schematic ..

This project being written by Nader Gator all works are credited to him.

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