From the benchmark results, it can be seen that the 3D performance of the integrated core seems to have surpassed most of the other intergrated chipsets in the market. When overclocked, we see almost a 8% gain in GPU performance which definitely boost the 3D performance to another level.  The result is greatly enhanced with the newer driver Catalyst 7.3 that was just released a few days ago.

In terms of USB and SATA II perforamance, they are all governed by the South bridge SB600. As we can see from previous test of the SB600 in the EPoX 690G board, the performance surpasses most of the competiting chipsets. PCmark05 score also improved. Most importantly, the board comes with passive heatsinks, that definitely save a lot of costs.

In terms of features, the board has a bit more than the 3 other boards we reviewed so far. With a host of bios options, this board is quite complete with HDMI, 1394 support. The rest are pretty standard with SATA II ports support RAID 0,1,0+1. USB ports, 1 D-SUB, 1 DVI-D, 1 x GbE LAN port and 8 ch audio.

Overclocking wise, the board does seem to have some issues with the BIOS. We tried a simple 230MHz with default multiplier and HT link lowered to 800MHz, the board just couldn't POST. I suspect the BIOS does not have overclocking options enabled.

As this board uses a DVI-D interface, you can hook it up to your LCD Monitor. Otherwise, if you want to playback HDCP contents via your MS HDDVD drive, you can do that too through the HDMI port. Audio can be chanelled to the speakers on your LCD TV through the HDMI port. Just ensure you set up with bios correctly and you are in for the best video quality.

Overall, the ASUS M2A-VM HDMI is a good choice for a Digital home if you intend to playback HDCP contents on your LCD TV. For those who captures video using Digital video cameras, the 1394 will come handy.

Pricing (US/UK)

Discuss

Pros

• 7.1 HD audio
• GbE
• Good USB performance
• Integrated 3D performance is good
• 1394
• S/PDIF
• HDMI

Cons

• On board labels are not clearcut
• No GPU o/c options in BIOS

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10.