H61 motherboards are very inexpensive, but the H61M-S isn’t great value for money
Written By
Published on 7 March 2012
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1 / 3
Our rating
Reviewed price £43 inc VAT
Foxconn’s H61M-S uses the H61 chipset, which is intended to be used in entry-level LGA1155 systems. Take one look and the board’s budget heritage is clear to see, because it only has a single PCI-Express x16 slot, one PCI-Express x1 slot and two PCI slots on offer. Worse still, installing a dual-slot graphics card obscures the PCI-E x1 lane.The rest of the board is equally spartan, although the ports that are included are rather cluttered. The four SATA2 ports and two SATA3 ports point outwards instead of to the side, which can make cable management a chore. Plus, the front I/O panel headers aren’t labelled, which means you’ll need to keep the manual close to hand. Three USB headers can increase the number of ports from the included four, but because there are no USB3 headers you’re limited to the two on the rear I/O panel.It has one HDMI, one VGA and one DVI port, which means you’ll have plenty of choice if you plan on using your processor’s integrated GPU. Audio I/O is somewhat limited because there are only three 3.5mm jacks, but these can be reassigned to act as inputs or outputs. Although it performed very well in our benchmarks, it’s difficult to recommend the H61M-S. It has a very compact board layout and there’s no way to overclock your system using the BIOS. Therefore, it doesn’t represent good value for money, even at £43.
If you’re looking to build a PC on a very tight budget, then consider an AMD-based system instead, with lower motherboard and processor costs. Otherwise, you’ll be muuch better off buying a slightly more expensive board, such as the excellent Asus P8Z68-V LX.
Written by
Tom Morgan
Tom started writing about technology right after graduating from University, but has been a games and gadget fan for as long as he can remember. Beyond photography, music and home entertainment, he's also the first port of call for all reviews content on Expert Reviews.
