Review: Sapphire PURE Platinum A75 motherboard

by Tarinder Sandhu on 9 August 2011, 12:33 3.5

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD), Sapphire

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa6t7

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Final thoughts and rating

It makes implicit sense for Sapphire, one of AMD's staunchest supporters, to release an FM1-based motherboard complementing the nascent range of A-series APUs.

The £100 PURE Platinum A75 is an enthusiast-orientated board that's solid in most respects, though a UEFI front-end for the BIOS and a second x16 mechanical PCIe slot, availing two-card CrossFireX, would definitely help broaden its appeal.

Competitive in the benchmarks when run with a range-topping A8-3850 APU in the socket and exhibiting rock-solid stability with a 133MHz master clock, Sapphire sweetens the deal by bundling in a USB 3.0 front-mounted box and a coupon for the tasty DiRT 3.

Undeniably strong in certain areas, most notably for enthusiast-grade features, the Sapphire PURE Platinum A75 is a reasonable companion for an A-series APU. A lack of CrossFireX support and part-UEFI BIOS put it behind some of the competition, however.

The Good

Enthusiast-grade features
USB 3.0 box and DiRT 3 coupon included
Very stable at 133MHz APU clock

The Bad

No PCIe x16 CrossFire support
UEFI BIOS needs a front-end

HEXUS Rating


Sapphire PURE Platinum A75


HEXUS Where2Buy

TBC.

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