ASRock H61M-GS: the ideal motherboard for an office computer

An excellent motherboard of a budgetary level for creating an office personal computer is the ASRock H61M-GS. Its parameters allow you to solve simple problems without problems, and the price is really capable to surprise.

Niche product

ASRock H61M-GS is aimed at the niche of the most affordable personal computers. At the same time, there are no serious requirements for its speed and performance, but the price is really important. Therefore, the lot of this component are office computers. Optimal in combination with this product will look like entry-level chips with two physical cores and two logical information processing streams: Pentium and Celeron. Of course, you can use the more productive CPU models in combination with the H61M-GS, but in this case the level of functionality of this motherboard will be a limiting factor that will not allow to maximize the use of all the features of a more efficient CPU.

System board delivery kit

The standard equipment for this product is designed to solve the problems of entry level. It includes the following:

• The operation manual and warranty card are the complete list of documentation.
• Installation disk with software. In addition to typical motherboard drivers, there is also a specialized software application.
• The motherboard itself is the H61M-GS.
• 2 cords for connection to the system board of the drives.
• The metal plate is a stub.

Board design and layout

ASRock H61M-GS is produced in the form factor MicroATX. Its dimensions are 244 mm in height and 244 mm in width. The lower third of the board is occupied by expansion slots. At the very bottom are the connectors for connecting additional USB ports and the front panel of the chassis. To the right of the expansion connectors under the aluminum radiator is located the "south bridge" of the chipset. In the lower right corner of the board are SATA ports for connecting drives. In this case, there are only 4. In the middle of 2/3 of the top of the board is a socket for installing the CPU. To the right of it are slots for installing RAM modules and a connector for the power supply. To the left of the processor socket are grouped wired ports for connecting various devices.

Chipset

The motherboard ASRock H61M-GS, as it is easy to guess from its designation, is based on the H61 chipset. It combines a minimum level of functionality and affordable cost. The thermal package of this chipset is 6.1 W, and it is manufactured according to the norms of 65 Nm technical process. The maximum amount of addressable RAM is 16 GB, and support in the chipset interface USB 3.0 is completely absent. Like all the latest developments of Intel in the field of system logic, this chipset is based on a single chip, which in the language of professionals is called the "southern bridge". Its task: the exchange of information with additional controllers that are connected to the PC with the help of expansion slots. But the second part of the set of system logic is directly in the semiconductor chip of the CPU. Its specialists are called the "northern bridge", and the main task of the component is the exchange of information with RAM.

Socket and processors

The ASRock H61M-GS motherboard is equipped with a LGA1155 processor connector. It can install any processor based on the Core architecture from the company "Intel" second or third generation. But here the functionality of the board, as noted earlier, is really enough only for entry-level chips, which include a budget Pentium or Celeron. You can put here and more high-speed chips, but their speed will limit the weakest link in the form of a chipset chipset.

Ports of wired interfaces and slots for controllers

A modest amount, as by today's standards, of RAM can offer ASRock H61M-GS. Specifications indicate the presence of only 2 slots, in which you can install only 2 modules of 8 GB. On the one hand, against the background of modern advanced motherboards, which allow you to install even 64 GB - this is not enough. But on the other hand, for the office PC more RAM is not exactly needed. The expansion slots in this case are only 3. All of them comply with the PCI Express specifications. One of them, which is the longest, operates in the 16 X mode and is designed to install a graphics accelerator into it. The other two work in 1X mode and are needed to install various additional controllers (external sound card, port controller, TV tuner). But the list of built-in ports in this case is:

• 2 PS / 2 for the mouse and keyboard;
• 2 video outputs: VGA and DVI (alas, the most current HDMI in this case is not);
• 6 ports of USB 2.0;
• 1 RJ - 45 for connection to a computer network.

The opinions of the owners and the real value for today

The balanced product of the initial level was the H61M-GS. To its disadvantages, according to reviews, you can only consider the lack of an HDMI-connector. But most modern monitors are still equipped with VGA or DVI. So problems with the output of the image should not arise. But the advantages of her are:

• Low cost - up to 70 dollars.
• Rich functionality, both for entry-level motherboards.
• Support for CPU based on the architecture of "Kor" second and third generations.

Often, users ask the following question about the ASRock H61M-GS: "USB ports do not work or the integrated graphics card does not work, what should I do?" In these cases, it is necessary to check the drivers and, if necessary, reinstall them. In the rest - it's a great platform for an office computer, but nothing more.

Results

ASRock H61M-GS allows you to create high-quality office PCs. Moreover, with the release of new updated platforms, its cost has decreased, and the difference in speed with them is not so great. Therefore, it is perfect for assembling an office personal computer.