Which board DFI, MSI, ASUS, or Gigabyte

[ExpertNovice]

I have read the various threads and know the opinions are vast. So, i'm posting what my opinions are based on the facts that I have found and asking you to tell me what the reality is on the features, what I have missed, etc.. Yes, I know my head is missing... ok?

I want PCIe instead of AGP. Not negotiable.

What I do care about: Stability and active forums for when things go wrong
What I don't care about: OC, SLI, Serial or Parallel ports.
What I do with my computer: is my business... wait. I play games but not the most intense games, program with VBA. I *MAY* do some editing of pictures taken with a digital camera, but that remains to be seen. It is one of the reasons that I initially liked the Gigabyte. That is all.

Why an SLI board if I don't care about SLI? It appears to me that SLI boards have the better features, support, and don't cost much more.

Currently my order of preference is DFI, MSI, ASUS, and then Gigabyte. This is solely based on features as I perceive them.


Four boards:
ASUS A8N SLI Premium
MSI K8N Neo4/SLI Platinum
DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR
Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI


All have or support:
2 LAN controllers
4 IDE Drives
4 SATA 2 drives
10 USB ports


ASUS, DFI, & MSI have 2 IEEE 1394A ports VIA VT6307 where Gigabyte has 2 IEEE 1394B firewire 800 ports by TI chip. A win for Gigabyte. (probably not important to me)

ASUS, DFI, Gigabyte have an Sil3114 SATA controller which is not SATA 2 compliant. MSI has an Sil 3132 SATA 2 controller. A win for MSI. (probably not important to me)

On board Sound. MSI kicks butt with it?s ?Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit Hardware 8-Channel with Dolby Digital encoder.? However, DFI is very close with it?s ?Karajan Audio Module based on Realtek ALC850? since it has almost as low a cpu usage as the Creative. Leaving ASUS amd Gigabyte in the dust. I would compensate for ASUS and Gigabyte by purchasing a sound card. (Uncorrupted sound ismportant to me but I'm not an audiophile, so MSI and DFI get a gold star for sound logic.)

PCI / PCIe Ports
...................ASUS.......MSI............DFI.....Gigabyte
x16 PCIe........2*..........2*..............2.............2
x1 PCIe.........2............1*..............1.............2
x4 PCIe.........0**..........................1
PCI...............3............3............... 2.............2
*The second x16 PCIe slot can be used as an x1 slot.
**An x1 & x4 form slots exist between the two x16 slots. It sounds like the slot is x4 form but only supports 1 lane.



So, ASUS and MSI provide an extra PCI slot. I would not plan on using a PCI slot on the MSI board but would add a sound card to the Asus and Gigabyte. Thus, ASUS has 2 extra PCI slots but Gigabyte has only 1, for future expansion. (A loss to Gigabyte)

The DFI board gives more PCIe options but currently the only PCIe boards, other than video cards, is an x1 network adapter. Tom's Hardware claims the Asus has an x4 option but I have my doubts about Tom's report. (A gold star for DFI and a bonus for ASUS)

The Gigabyte comes with a Dual Bios. A nice feature allowing ?easy? recovery from a bad BIOS flash or unstable settings. DFI is even better, it allows you to save ?favorite? settings and easily restore! Asus comes with a built in "Bios Savior." A ?Bios Saviour? would apparently have to be purchased, downloaded, and installed for the MSI board. Perhaps, the MSI also has such a feature built in. (A possible loss for MSI)


Additional thoughts:
Gigabyte: The memory sticks have no separation. Seems as if they would get hot.

MSI and DFI have an active forum for help. DFI developers appear to be particularly active in the forums.

DFI apparently uses Japanese capacitors which are considered the best. After capacitor issues which have killed multiple MSI boards taking many weeks to correct each time I?m particularly sensitive to this issue!


Now, please give me your thoughts and set me straight.

 

[imported_Kensai]

MSI according to what you want.
DFI is for overclockers. I don't recommend Asus or Gigabyte boards anymore except for server applications.

 

[n yusef]

1) Your post should be stickied--It shows that you did research before you posted (found pros and cons about the products), and described in detail what you want and don't care about.
2) I would get the MSI board. You say that you don't care about overclocking, so the main reason for using the DFI board is gone, and the other features that the DFI board has are made up by its problems: It is very picky about RAM, it takes user intervention to get it to work well (depending on your setup--I had to set the command rate to 2T, set the DRAM bank interleave to disable, and flash the BIOS for it to boot into Windows using dual channel RAM). AND, this is from a guy who is using a LANParty Ultra-D to post this message.

 

[Painman]

Given those 4 options and your needs/concerns, I'd probably pick the MSI SLI too. To address your concern about caps - I have a Neo4 non-SLI and its caps are: Matsush1ta, Chemi-Con, Rubycon. The big PWM area caps are Matsush1ta and Chemi-Con. Good stuff.

 

[ExpertNovice]

Looks like I'm going MSI! Thanks for the input.

Case, PSU, and MoBo are now decided. Case is in my possession. Now, to research the video card.

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: Painman
Given those 4 options and your needs/concerns, I'd probably pick the MSI SLI too. To address your concern about caps - I have a Neo4 non-SLI and its caps are: Matsush1ta, Chemi-Con, Rubycon. The big PWM area caps are Matsush1ta and Chemi-Con. Good stuff.

Are you talking about the MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Athlon 64 Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard ?? I was looking at getting that for a new inexpensive rig

 

[myrcgarage]

Thanks a lot OP. It helps me a lot . I think I am leaning toward the MSI too. What memory would you recommend for this board? I heard it is picky about memory. Would the Corsair Value Ram work for it?

Thanks

 

[Painman]

Originally posted by: Jawo
Are you talking about the MSI K8N NEO4-F nForce4 Athlon 64 Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard ?? I was looking at getting that for a new inexpensive rig

Neo4 Platinum is the board I am referring to.

 

[Fallengod]

Just fyi, depending if you need the cpu, FRYS has mobo deal with that 64 3200+ and the DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR for like $354 or something close to that.

 

[walkman]

Excellent comparison detail between the boards!


On the MSI board -- One website (Hard OCP) removed their 'Recommended' award for this board because there had been too many unresolvable problems for some overclockers. Does anyone know if these problems have been resolved?




- Also, it's been reported that the new G7800 GTX boards won't fit on this board because a cap is in the way.

 

[peleejosh]

Originally posted by: walkman
Excellent comparison detail between the boards!


On the MSI board -- One website (Hard OCP) removed their 'Recommended' award for this board because there had been too many unresolvable problems for some overclockers. Does anyone know if these problems have been resolved?




- Also, it's been reported that the new G7800 GTX boards won't fit on this board because a cap is in the way.

Only when you try to put a 7800gtx in slot 2, there are no clearance issues with the 7800gtx in slot 1

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: myrcgarage
Thanks a lot OP. It helps me a lot . I think I am leaning toward the MSI too. What memory would you recommend for this board? I heard it is picky about memory. Would the Corsair Value Ram work for it?

Thanks

Check out http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_sp...p?model=K8N_Neo4_Platinum/SLI&class=mb There is a "Recommended Memory Combination List" in the mddle. At the top in the left frame look for the Corsair link.

I have not chosen the memory yet. My problem is that I am considering 2GB of memory and don't know whether to get two double sided DDR 400 or four double sided DDR 333 or....

HOWEVER, check out these links:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?p=192330#192330

The DFI and MSI both have on board sound that offload the processing from the CPU. The MSI is better but, the MSI may still require a -5V wire for the on board sound to work. It would seem a bit silly to purchase a MoBo where the deciding factor in purchasing it was the onboard only to have to purchase a sound card because the on board sound does not work. I will be using the Antec Phantom 500.

Thus, I may be purchasing the DFI board.

 

[myrcgarage]

Originally posted by: ExpertNovice

Originally posted by: myrcgarage
Thanks a lot OP. It helps me a lot . I think I am leaning toward the MSI too. What memory would you recommend for this board? I heard it is picky about memory. Would the Corsair Value Ram work for it?

Thanks

Check out http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_sp...p?model=K8N_Neo4_Platinum/SLI&class=mb There is a "Recommended Memory Combination List" in the mddle. At the top in the left frame look for the Corsair link.

I have not chosen the memory yet. My problem is that I am considering 2GB of memory and don't know whether to get two double sided DDR 400 or four double sided DDR 333 or....

HOWEVER, check out these links:
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?p=192330#192330

The DFI and MSI both have on board sound that offload the processing from the CPU. The MSI is better but, the MSI may still require a -5V wire for the on board sound to work. It would seem a bit silly to purchase a MoBo where the deciding factor in purchasing it was the onboard only to have to purchase a sound card because the on board sound does not work. I will be using the Antec Phantom 500.

Thus, I may be purchasing the DFI board.

You are right about my deciding factor. I shouldn't focus on the onboard sound. Now, the more I think about it, the more I am leaning toward DFI. Reasons are:
1. If I don't OC now, I can do that down the road to squeeze more performance out of it.
2. It seems like DFI quality is better from what people on this forum is saying
3. So many people are using DFI on this forum. If I have problem, I should be able to get help.

Now, I need to decide what memory to get for the DFI since it is picky about memory. Also, I think I need at least 480W PS. That could be costly too.

 

[ExpertNovice]

Looks like I will be going with DFI as well. Neither the MSI forum admins nor MSI Sales will reply directly to my question about the -5v wire.

The DFI has the added benefit of removing a PCI slot and adding an PCIe x4 slot which gives added flexiblity to the DFI mobo.

The on board sound also off loads most of the processing from the CPU. While not a good as the MSI on-board sound the MSI will actually force me to put in a sound card because it will not work with the PSU that I want.

So, now, back to the drawing board. At least this time I am not starting from scratch! Although, I may have to reconsider the DFI Ultra vs the SLI version and remember why I chose the SLI board... probably for the sound.

 

[keeleysam]

MSI

 

[madogvt]

I just bought the DFI Ultra D about a month ago. I'm real happy with it. It smacks of quality from the packaging to the accessories to the board itself. I've had Asus and MSI boards in the past and wanted to give DFI a try because of all the good things I'd heard. You probably can't go wrong with any of the ones you're considering. I vote for the DFI.

 

[Stonemason]

Wow, Its good to hear DFI get good reviews- its the board I'm planing to purchase for my new PC. I'm planning to overclock, so this sounds great. However, I'm a bit worried about the RAm- does anyone know offhand whch brand/type it has problems with? If not I'll just reasearch it myself.

 

[l Xes l]

msi if u want rock stability... decent clocker as well..
dfi for full time overclocking... be ready to encouter issues and tweak every corner in the bios....

 

[Fallengod]

ExpertNovice, I have a question. If you arnt going sli(which is a waste of money IMO), why did you pick 4 SLI boards to choose from? If you arnt gonna go sli, you should be getting the non-sli or "ultra" versions of the boards, they are pretty much identical to each companys SLI board. SOme even use the same bios.

 

[BigWookie]

I went with the ASUS A8N-E .. pretty much the same things you were looking for. Why get an SLI board though if you are not planning on using SLI?
To get the better SB on board sound on the MSI you have to go with the SLI board. The DFI and MSI Ultras still have a less than ultimate sound solution i.e it takes up CPU time .. which is OK if you are not a gamer and want that every bit of umph to go to your CPU. I went with a SB Audigy card too.

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: keeleysam
MSI

Keep reading

Originally posted by: krnxpride83
msi if u want rock stability... decent clocker as well..
dfi for full time overclocking... be ready to encouter issues and tweak every corner in the bios....

Too many report that the DFI is rock stable with the default settings.

Originally posted by: modempower
ExpertNovice, I have a question. If you arnt going sli(which is a waste of money IMO), why did you pick 4 SLI boards to choose from? If you arnt gonna go sli, you should be getting the non-sli or "ultra" versions of the boards, they are pretty much identical to each companys SLI board. SOme even use the same bios.

Because I looked at every ULTRA board and found one was not yet released and most were lacking the features of the SLI boards. It seemed, and later proven, that the SLI boards had more features and better components. Take the MSI boards. The Ultra uses a cheap RealTek 850 sound board. The K8N Neo4 SLI Platinum uses a Creative Soundblaster 24 which offloads the sound processing from the CPU and sounds much better than the RealTek.

I found this same situation across the board.

So what is being given up by going with SLI instead of Ultra? Usually a single PCI slot becomes a single PCIe x1 slot. Wait, that is a good thing as it gives me more options?

Of course, purchasing any component is frequently determined by our own desires and opinions. In my case (see the original post) I listed the features I wanted and compared all boards and explained what was important to me and why.

The order originally picked was: DFI, MSI, Gigabyte, Asus. The first four people said go with MSI! So I did.

I was almost done picking out components when the -5v wire problem came up. My case is the Antec P180 and the Antec Phantom 500 seems perfect for that case. So, that PSU will be used in that case. Unfortunately the on board sound of the MSI board will not work with that PSU because that PSU adheres to the ATX 2.01 specification and the MoBo does not.

Guess what. The reason the DFI was at top was because of the on board sound and the additiona PCIe x4 slot giving me additional options. It will probably never be needed.

The MSI sound was even better than DFI plus the first 4 responders said go with MSI I chose MSI. GREAT! I really wanted MSI since my current computers have MSI boards in them.

Wait. The sound won't work in the MSI board. That drops the MSI way down the list putting DFI well above the rest.

If I were willing to compromise on the PSU then the MSI would be at the top but it was MSI's choice not to follow standards. Worse, no one at MSI is willing to discuss the situation. I can't call MSI tech support for the board because I don't own the board, the sales department won't respond, and the MSI forum admins won't respond directly. One tech did respond to an owner on May 20 and said yep, your sound won't work with that PSU. Sorry.

As for being a waste of money. I would suggest that the $10-$20 difference between the MSI Ultra and MSI SLI board makes the upgrade from a RealTek 850 sound card to a Creative Soundblaster 24 sound card a real bargain. Sure, if you want to spend more money on another card (and most people do) then again, the -5v wire is a non-issue! Again, that doesn't match what I want!

Oh, yes. I'm very picky about what I own.

Originally posted by: BigWookie
I went with the ASUS A8N-E .. pretty much the same things you were looking for. Why get an SLI board though if you are not planning on using SLI?
To get the better SB on board sound on the MSI you have to go with the SLI board. The DFI and MSI Ultras still have a less than ultimate sound solution i.e it takes up CPU time .. which is OK if you are not a gamer and want that every bit of umph to go to your CPU. I went with a SB Audigy card too.

Pretty much but while it made my list it was #4. I moved from ASUS to MSI and really like both manufacturers. As for wanting every bit of umph, now you know why I prefer SCSI drives! They offload the processing from the PSU.

Sadly (hopefully) the WD 74GB Raptors will do until great SATA II's come along. Too bad they will follow the IDE trend of using the CPU for processing and not do as SCSI does!

 

[Viper87227]

Originally posted by: modempower
ExpertNovice, I have a question. If you arnt going sli(which is a waste of money IMO), why did you pick 4 SLI boards to choose from? If you arnt gonna go sli, you should be getting the non-sli or "ultra" versions of the boards, they are pretty much identical to each companys SLI board. SOme even use the same bios.

I was wondring the exact same thing. You said you don't are about SLI, so just get an NF4-Ultra motherboard. You will save yourself around $50, and probably wont notice the difference.

However, if your sticking to an SLI board (why???) then my vote goes to the Asus A8N-SLI Premium.

 

[ExpertNovice]

Originally posted by: Viper87227

Originally posted by: modempower
ExpertNovice, I have a question. If you arnt going sli(which is a waste of money IMO), why did you pick 4 SLI boards to choose from? If you arnt gonna go sli, you should be getting the non-sli or "ultra" versions of the boards, they are pretty much identical to each companys SLI board. SOme even use the same bios.

I was wondring the exact same thing. You said you don't are about SLI, so just get an NF4-Ultra motherboard. You will save yourself around $50, and probably wont notice the difference.

However, if your sticking to an SLI board (why???) then my vote goes to the Asus A8N-SLI Premium.

That board was considered. As for the reason read my first and subsequent posts. That question has been answered.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Very nice research OP! All the board are very good and I think you'll be happy with any one of them. I don't plan on going SLI but I still purchased the Asus A8N-SLI Premium and have had no issues with it. Like the Gigabyte, it uses a heatpipe for chipset cooling which is nice feature.