Final thoughts, HEXUS.awards and HEXUS.right2reply
Final thoughts, awards, and right2reply
When dealing with a budget board, it all boils down to three questions: "Can I build a suitable system around this board cheaply?", "Will it be both stable and perform well?" and "Can I upgrade easily?". Let's look at those points, shall we?
Firstly, combine an AM2 Athlon 64 3500+ and two sticks of 512MiB DDR2 RAM with this board and it'll set you back ~£185-£200 at the time of writing. Swap onto Socket 939 and DDR1 RAM and you can have the same-rated CPU with ECS's RS482-M for a around a tenner less. Either way, it can be done cheaply. If you're looking for a cheap media centre build, the lack of a TV-Out bracket in the RS485M-M's bundle lowers its appeal. Similarly, poor USB performance will be a problem for some, but that's a down side on both boards.
ECS's RS485M-M survived an 8-hour burn in test in the HEXUS.labs without any trouble, so there are no obvious stability problems. As for performance, we've seen in our benchmarks that our configuration didn't have an advantage over Socket 939. Unluckily for the board, we reckon it was the CPU's memory dividers, not the board itself, that lead to this. Take care when choosing your CPU. Still, performance wasn't worse than the RS482-M and yes, it will perform OK, even in games, with a relatively cheap X1300 or similar card. Stick with the Xpress 1150 graphics only if you don't want to play games, or are happy to do so at extremely low settings for both resolution and quality.
It's when we get to upgradeability that the RS485M-M has a chance to break ahead. Socket 939 isn't going anywhere for a while, and while we found ECS's RS482-M to have decent scope for upgrades, it stands to reason that based on AM2, the RS485M-M has better prospects. They've both got PEG slots, but the CPU support in the RS485M-M will, over time, prove superior.
Of course, one man's upgrade is another man's system rebuild. While some like to add bits now and then, others may put up with what they've got until it's time to replace the whole works. In the latter case, it doesn't really matter what platform the board is on, if the performance is the same.
The bottom line is that the RS485M-M is a good value board and a gateway into the world of AM2. Ask yourself if you'll be dropping a newer CPU in at some point. If not, then a budget Socket 939 solution may be just as good, but if you are, then there's no significant price premium to deter you from this simple, yet functional, AM2 board.
HEXUS Awards
We have on our hands another good value board, so here's an award to suit:
