MSI has today announced its first AMD FM2+ socket based Mini-ITX motherboard. The MSI A88XI AC supports AMD's newest Kaveri APUs and is also backwards compatible with Richland and Trinity processors. Key features of this 17cm square major PC component include; Intel Dual Band Wireless AC (It's in the name), its 4K UHD and triple display support and PCIe 3.0 support.
The MSI A88XI AC is said to be an ideal solution for many home users and able to excel in multimedia, office and gaming tasks. From the specs, multimedia appears to be this motherboard's forte as it features "a wide variety of multimedia solutions such as H.264 hardware decoding, support for 4K UHD video, Blu-ray playback and 8-channel HD Audio through HDMI". Furthermore with a perky new APU installed the board supports "triple display configurations… and is ready for 4K UHD resolution with support up to 4096 x 2160". MSI says these capabilities will help it deliver amazing experiences in watching movies and playing games.
MSI A88XI AC specifications:
- AMD Socket FM2+ A-Series/Athlon Processors, also supports FM2
- AMD A88X Chipset
- Ready for Mantle and TrueAudio – depending upon installed APU
- 2 x DDR3 memory slots support up to 32GB, supports DDR3 1333/ 1600/ 1866/ 2133 MHz, dual channel memory architecture
- 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (Only FM2+ processors can support PCIe 3.0)
- 1 x Half-size Mini-PCIe slot with an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth card preinstalled
- 1 x VGA port, 1 x DVI-D port, 1 x HDMI port supporting the maximum resolution of 4096x2160@24Hz (FM2+ processor)
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports by AMD A88X, supports storage and data transfers at up to 6Gb/s, supports RAID 0/1/5/10 modes by AMD A88X
- Chipset integrated by Realtek ALC887 supporting 7.1 HD audio, 3 x audio jacks
- Gigabit LAN
- Other I/O ports: 1 x Optical S/PDIF-Out connector, 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port, 4 x USB 2.0 ports, 2 x USB 3.0 ports
- The usual MSI Military Class 4 component quality
- Mini-ITX 6.7 in. x 6.7 in. (17.0 cm x 17.0 cm)
To complement the above specs and get the most out of your system MSI also supplies its usual suite of OC Genie v4, Click BIOS 4 and Command Centre software. Using this board and a suitable modern processor you will get access to Mantle and TrueAudio technology. MSI also says that its exclusive USB Audio Power system built into the A88XI AC greatly improves the utility of high quality USB audio devices like USB sound cards, thanks to its independent stable power design.
