MSI K7 Master v. Epox EP-8K7A

[Prince of Persia]

I keep hearing about these two, and cost is not an issue.

Stability and compatibility are key for my system. Which one should I get, I'm split between the two! Everyone voice your opinions plz, thank you. This college student will be forever in your debt.

**any other comments appreciated as well**
AMD 1.4ghz
Gainward gf3 64mb
Turtlebeach santacruz
enlight 7237 w/ 340w
hd 40 gig gxp
pioner 106s
liteon 16/10/40
I only posted hardware that i think may have issues if any at all
So tell me which board is the best for my system. Thank you oh so much

 

[Prince of Persia]

Is the only difference between the 8K7A and 8K7A+ the ability to have a raid setup?

I won't be using a raid setup, so is there anything else the 8K7A+ has that might be useful? Is it any stabler than the non plus version?

 

[LXi]

There is no other difference besides the RAID controller. If you're going to overclock and tweak, get the Epox. If you just want a stable and easy to use motherboard, get the MSI.

 

[Athlon4all]

I personally have always considered the K7 Master the best 760 board, it has always had decent ocing options for the casual ocer, it's had stability, High performance. the only thing is no RAID, but that's not an issue for you. Epox has like he said great ocing and tweaks, and RAID, but it is also very high performing and stable. I still recommend K7 Master, despite the recent rise of Epox 8k7a, but for the ocer, and RAID guy 8k7a is a better option. I personally would get the 8k7a now when comparing these 2 boards, but I'm a overclocker, and I want to use RAID so, it just depends on the type of uses the board will be for.

 

[ArchAngel777]

<<<<If you're going to overclock and tweak, get the Epox. If you just want a stable and easy to use motherboard, get the MSI. >>>>


Oh I guess the Epox is not stable...... Strange because it seems everyone who reviewed the product seems to think it was..... Guess they were wrong and LXi who has not tested one is right?



As for the other guy, you should read all the reviews you can on the web and compare them, then go with your gut feeling. The Epox is faster by a good healthy margin, and is just as stable. As for for being easyer to setup, that would depend on the techs skill.

You said price is of no concern, but going with the Epox would save you some money.


Good luck in your purchase I am sure you will be happy with either one.

 

[Prince of Persia]

I'm not overclocking and saving some money would be nice.

Whats involved in the setup. I'm getting the 1.4tbird 266. So shouldn't it be simple if I read the manual?

Plus I have you guys to help me =)

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Archangel the MSI board is more stable I'm pretty sure, and LXi is right. They are both stable but Epox is more for the tweaker.

 

[formulav8]

I owned both and I had a couple problems with the Msi, but none with the Epox. Still I liked the Msi board. IMO though the Epox is a better board all around.

 

[Shmorq]

I was gonna get the EPOX, but since they were out of stock at newegg.com, I decided to go with the MSI. Not a big loss since I don't think they are very different at all.

 

[RedShirt]

I have the MSI board... It is very nice...

For those that get the board, the SECOND PCI slot shares with AGP, not the first... It took me a little while to figure out why my system was acting strange and this was the reason why.

After that was all straightned out, the board has been VERY nice.

 

[ArchAngel777]

<<<Archangel the MSI board is more stable I'm pretty sure, and LXi is right. They are both stable but Epox is more for the tweaker. >>>


Right about what? He is an MSI zealot. If MSI @#$% in a can and sold it, LXi would support it.


MSI makes wonderfull boards, but as for making the best..... I don't think so. Asus is still #1 on that area. Both in quality, stablity and overall performance.


I personally would go with the Epox, but that is just me.

 

[Insane3D]

&quot;Oh I guess the Epox is not stable...... Strange because it seems everyone who reviewed the product seems to think it was..... Guess they were wrong and LXi who has not tested one is right?

I don't recall LXi saying anywhere that the Epox was not stable. He was making a general statement about the boards. If you are getting a motherboard and are not interested in overclocking, the MSI should be fine...as would the Epox. The MSI boards are usually the &quot;more&quot; stable motherboards because that's MSI's #1 concern with their boards. As a result, other boards are usually faster slightly, because MSI will sacrifice a little speed to make it as stable as possible. That is not to say other boards are not stable. I think pretty much all the AMD761 based motherboards are equally stable. If LXi has a preference for MSI boards because he has had good luck with them, than he has every right to suggest MSI boards. I do not think he is a zealot because I have seen him suggest the KK266 over the K7T Turbo and he just said in his post above that if he will be overclocking to get the Epox. You do seem to go out of your way to conflict with him for some reason, but I am not sure why. This board is here for people to express their opionions, and no one person's is more important than someone else's. I use the Epox, and that is what I would suggest, but I have no problem suggesting the MSI as well because it's a good board. Also, as of now, the K7 Master is the only AMD761 based motherboard that fully supports SSE with the new Palomino/MP CPU's. Epox is working on a bios update to address this, but they do not support it yet. Now, you seem to have the opinion that Asus is best. That's funny because the A7M is one of the worst peforming AMD 761 boards, has the least options (no multiplier adjustment), but it's the most expensive. The point is Asus, MSI, and Epox are all making great boards, and to my knowledge, none of them is &quot;unstable&quot;. Just because someone says a board is stable, they are not immediately saying the other is not.

 

[LXi]

<<Oh I guess the Epox is not stable...... Strange because it seems everyone who reviewed the product seems to think it was..... Guess they were wrong and LXi who has not tested one is right?>>

I have both boards here sitting right beside me, you have neither. I never said the Epox is unstable, stop putting your sh*t into my mouth. The MSI is by all means an easier to use motherboard than the Epox, but if you're in to tweaking, Epox is your real choice. Is that clear enough for you?