Which Motherboard should I choose?

[yasdaz]

Hi, I am building a new system and am trying to figure out which motherboard to choose. Any input would be welcome. I am building an amd system, probably an AMD Athlon64 X2 4000+ EE processor with 2 gb of corsair system elite ddr2 ram (knowing AM2 boards start at 1.8 volts for ram). I am stuck between the MSI K9N Platinum board which tends to run hot from what I have heard and the Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe which is overkill but the ultra version does not have features such as firewire and spdif out. What thoughts does anyone have? Much thanks, Yasmine

 

[covert24]

MSI. ASUS has been falling behind on there AM2 platform since Core2Duo's have been taking all the interest. The MSI is a great board except for the aluminum block on the chipset they call cooling. I have been looking for a aftermarket one but have been unsuccessful. Maybe you can Google and see if anyone has one for the MSI board as its the better chose in terms of performance, stability, and customer service. it also overclocks like a beast.

 

[yasdaz]

Hi, thanks for your thoughts. You are thinking along the lines I have already thought in that if the MSI board had had heatpipe cooling I would have gone for it in a second. You even have pointed out that you have found no alternative cooling on the market, grrr. Does anyone have anything else to contribute? Much thanks, Yasmine