Asus F2A55-M LK (A55) Motherboard Review

We mentioned in the introduction for this board, that the A55 chipset is a no frills option and is aimed at certain segments within the market, and Asus have taken note of that when developing the F2A55-M LK. We already looked at the F2A55-M back in October and found that for a board offering a no frills option, it did give some strong results and made it a contender when looking at the FM2 platform. This is no different and also plays on the pricing heartstrings that some of us have to stick by.

The F2A55-M LK really is stripped back and laid bare, with no extra features but that isn’t a bad thing, not by any means. We find a small form factor board that can house the latest FM2 APU processors including the A10-5800k that we used today and still offer some strong performance as well as some good numbers when it comes to overclocking.

The board from face value may seem pretty basic and it is, but for HTPC use or system integrators, what extra bits do they need? Nothing and that’s why this board is on the market. Even when it comes down to cooling, we see the VRMs completely naked and this would seem to most that performance and overclockability is compromised but this couldn’t be further than the truth as we managed to get our A10-5800k up to a stonking 4.3GHz which for a board with no extra cooling and aimed at a completely different market, still leaves us gobsmacked as we write the conclusion.

The board is missing some fundamental extras that we’ve all grown accustomed to including USB 3.0 but this is where the more expensive F2A55-M comes into play which shows the sales bods at Asus have targeted the market really well by positioning boards within the retail channel at particular price points.

Speaking of price point, we find this board at a frankly amazing low price of £50, making it one of the most affordable solutions on the market, and leaves us wondering how it can still rival some of the A85X based boards we used in comparison and how it’s still able to overclock to 4.3GHz and cost less than a good night out on a Friday.

No matter who you are, whether you are an enthusiast, system integrator, or just someone who can appreciate a good deal, this board is going to appeal to you no matter what as it certainly offers a lot for the money and for us, the thing that really gave it the wow factor was the overclocking. 4.3GHz out of a board that costs £50 is simply amazing, and frankly quite frightening as maybe this shows us where the future is going with basic but effective products while still giving a good price point.