Hey all,
I'm working on narrowing down an upgrade for my current system (see weak sys specs in my sig) and I was set on the Asus A8V mobo but then came across some forums where users were clammoring about how great the MSI K8N is. Upon that, I decided to hammer away at some research.
I came across several reviews and benchmarks and the K8N was getting glowing results, from dominating benchies to winning editor's choice awards, etc. The A8V gets good results, but it doesn't make the reviewers and users nearly as pumped about it as the K8N does. (Although I read other reviews on the A8V and those dominate too...ugh...confusing!)
That said, this has thrown a complete wrench in my plans. I currently run an Asus and have had great luck, but I've had great luck with other boards too.
I won't be doing ANY overclocking, and noise is not an issue. I want a nice reliable motherboard that has nice features and can get me great performance on a wide range of things. This system will be running Half-Life 2. Also, waiting 6 months for a new board isn't an option...I'm looking by the end of January. And I'm not really particular on motherboard design FYI.
Thanks for your assistance everyone,
Ian
PS...I'm asking because it seems like all's I can yield for either motherboard is people bitching about them...I'd like to see some pros listed about these boards too!
PPS...I called Monarch and talked to a tech and he said "Asus has always been a reliable board but the MSI one has been decent too." That just confused me more.
I'm working on narrowing down an upgrade for my current system (see weak sys specs in my sig) and I was set on the Asus A8V mobo but then came across some forums where users were clammoring about how great the MSI K8N is. Upon that, I decided to hammer away at some research.
I came across several reviews and benchmarks and the K8N was getting glowing results, from dominating benchies to winning editor's choice awards, etc. The A8V gets good results, but it doesn't make the reviewers and users nearly as pumped about it as the K8N does. (Although I read other reviews on the A8V and those dominate too...ugh...confusing!)
That said, this has thrown a complete wrench in my plans. I currently run an Asus and have had great luck, but I've had great luck with other boards too.
I won't be doing ANY overclocking, and noise is not an issue. I want a nice reliable motherboard that has nice features and can get me great performance on a wide range of things. This system will be running Half-Life 2. Also, waiting 6 months for a new board isn't an option...I'm looking by the end of January. And I'm not really particular on motherboard design FYI.
Thanks for your assistance everyone,
Ian
PS...I'm asking because it seems like all's I can yield for either motherboard is people bitching about them...I'd like to see some pros listed about these boards too!
PPS...I called Monarch and talked to a tech and he said "Asus has always been a reliable board but the MSI one has been decent too." That just confused me more.