ASUS Unveils First Apollo Lake Motherboard

ASUS is often regarded as the leading motherboard maker and has an excellent reputation among consumers. In particular, their motherboards have exceptional reliability and the BIOS layout caters to extreme tweakers without confusing those who want to apply a simple multiplier overclock. Of course, the company doesn’t just fixate on the enthusiast market and releases a wide range of products for the budget-conscience user. Recently, ASUS announced the J3455M-E, which is the first motherboard to natively support Intel’s Apollo Lake platform. More specifically, the J3455M-E supports the Celeron J3455 SoC which incorporates a quad-core processor running at a 1.5GHz base frequency and turbos up to 2.3GHz.

On another note, the embedded CPU has a tiny 10-watt TDP and you can install up to 16GB of RAM. Connectivity-wise, the motherboard has a PS/2 keyboard port, PS/2 mouse port, parallel connector, D-Sub, HDMI, two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, RJ45 and three audio jacks.

Here is the specification in full taken directly from ASUS’ product page:

• CPU
  Intel® Celeron® Quad-Core J3455 SoC onboard Processors
• Memory
  2 x U-DIMM, Max. 16GB, DDR3 1866/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
  Dual Channel Memory Architecture
  * Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).
  * The default memory operation frequency is dependent on its Serial Presence Detect (SPD), which is the standard way of accessing information from a memory module. Under the default state, some memory modules for overclocking may operate at a lower frequency than the vendor-marked value.
  * Due to the chipset limitation, we recommend that you use single-sided 4GB or 8GB, or double-sided 8GB DDR3 per DIMM slot. The maximum memory for the two DIMM slots is 16GB.
• Graphic
  Integrated Graphics Processor
  Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/RGB ports
  – Supports HDMI with max. resolution 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz
  – Supports RGB with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
  Maximum shared memory of 512 MB
• Expansion Slots
  1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x1 mode)
  2 x PCIe 2.0 x1
• Storage
  2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s),
• LAN
  Realtek® RTL8111H, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
• Audio
  Realtek® ALC887-VD2 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC *¹
• USB Ports
  Built-in Controller :
  4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)
  Built-in Controller :
  4 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, black)
• Special Features
  ASUS 5X Protection :
  – ASUS LANGuard – Advanced LAN protection
  – ASUS Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection – Short circuit damage prevention
  – ASUS ESD Guards – Enhanced ESD protection
  – ASUS High-Quality 5K-Hour Solid Capacitors – 2.5x long lifespan with excellent durability
  – ASUS Stainless Steel Back I/O – 3x more durable corrosion-resistant coating
  ASUS Exclusive Features :
  – AI Suite 3
  – ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
  ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution :
  – Stylish Fanless Design Heat-sink solution
  – ASUS Fan Xpert
  ASUS EZ DIY :
  – ASUS EZ Flash 3
  – ASUS MyLogo 2
  – ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
  – Push Notice
  ASUS Q-Design :
  – ASUS Q-Slot
  – ASUS Q-DIMM
• Operating System Support
  Windows® 10 , 64bit
• Back I/O Ports
  1 x PS/2 keyboard (purple)
  1 x PS/2 mouse (green)
  1 x D-Sub
  1 x HDMI
  1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
  2 x USB 3.0 (blue)
  2 x USB 2.0
  1 x Parallel port(s)
  3 x Audio jack(s)
• Internal I/O Ports
  1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s)
  1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s)
  1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
  2 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
  1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
  1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
  1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
  1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
  1 x Internal speaker connector(s)
  1 x System panel(s)
• Accessories
  User’s manual
  I/O Shield
  2 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
  1 x Supporting DVD
• BIOS
  128Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI3.0, WfM2.0,SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 3, My Favorites, Quick Note, Last Modified log, F12 PrintScreen, F3 Shortcut functions and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information
• Manageability
  Wfm 2.0, DMI 3.0, WOL by PME
• Support Disc
  Drivers
  ASUS Utilities
  EZ Update
  Anti-virus software (OEM version)
• Form Factor
  mATX Form Factor
  8.9 inch x 7.0 inch ( 22.6 cm x 17.8 cm )
• Note
  *1:Use a chassis with HD audio module in the front panel to support an 8-channel audio output.

Unfortunately, there’s no details regarding pricing just yet but I’m sure all will be revealed rather soon.