14 DAY TRIAL // MSI will soon expand its motherboard lineup to include at least one solution that will support AMD's upcoming A-Series accelerated processing units based on the Llano architecture, the micro-ATX A75MA-G55.
Just as its name implies, the board is built around AMD's A75 chipset and is most probably a mid-range solution, judging by its designation.
However, MSI has added pretty much all the features that one would expect a Llano system to include and the A75MA-G55 even features two PCI Express x16 slots.
Only one of these functions at x16 speeds, while the other one is limited at x4, since AMD doesn't allow for the 16 PCI-E lanes available in the Llano on-die PCI Express controller to be split into two x8 slots.
This means that building a CrossFireX setup isn't possible, but the motherboard is compatible with the Hybrid CrossFireX mode in which a discrete graphics card can be combined with the Llano integrated graphics to deliver improved performance.
Other expansion features include four DDR3 DIMM sockets, one PCI Express x1 slot, a legacy 32-bit PCI slot and the boards also include six SATA 6Gbps ports (four of these are angled).
These are driven by the AMD A75 chipset that is connected to the Llano CPU via an x4 PCI Express link.
On the rear I/O panel, users will be greeted by four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, a PS/2 port, a Gigabit Ethernet connector, 7.1-channel audio and by a series of video outputs, including D-Sub, DVI and HDMI.
Two more USB 3.0 ports are available via an on-board pin header that is color-coded blue and is placed near the legacy PCI slot.
No information regarding pricing and availability was made public by MSI at this time, but the micro-ATX A75MA-G55 is expected to be made official together with AMD's first desktop Llano processors. (via Expreview)
