is MSI a decent board? relaible

snadge

snadge

snadge

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Iam tempted to get MSI as our budget is short and they have cheap P67 that allows 1600Mhz ram without OC and has UEFI too - they use decent caps so they say etc

thanks
 
Aye, MSI make some really nice P67 boards.

Here is a review of the P67A GD53. The P67A G45 and C45 are also nice boards (though the C45 can't do SLI/CF).

Just to be clear - most S1155 boards will work fine with 1600MHz RAM, since the memory speed is mainly limited by the memory controller (which is on the CPU) which is only rated to 1333MHz - even though we know that with two sticks you can run memory much faster than this - even though you are technically overclocking the memory controller (though not overclocking the CPU per se). What you will usually see in product pages is 1600MHz memory speeds classed as "(OC)" - this doesn't mean you need to overclock the CPU itself or the motherboard to get these speeds to work - but you do need to overclock the memory controller on the CPU (which at 1600MHZ with two sticks is no issue).
 
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was thinking more of MSI P67A-C43 B3 as its cheaper (budget)
will it last? ive always considered MSI to be "bottom of pile" with brands
 
Yea, the MSI P67A C43 should be a decent board - but given the price and features difference I would strongly suggest spending the extra ~£9 and go for the G45.
 
cmndr_andi said:
Yea, the MSI P67A C43 should be a decent board - but given the price and features difference I would strongly suggest spending the extra ~£9 and go for the G45.
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what is the difference? I cant see any on their website?

i googled the board and found loads of complaints of high temps on their forums... well i seen a couple listed on google... im joining there now to see if there are any known problems... everytime I look at only stores you see many reviews for Gigabyte and ASrock boards but never any for MSI or Asus... its as if people 'stay away' from them... - the attraction was of course the price and being able to run 1600mhz ram without OC... my dad doesnt want to OC everything if he can help it..cos I could just spend £18 more on a Gigabyte board and OC the 1600Mhz memory (which will be running at 1333Mhz) to 1600Mhz - I did this with my friends gigabyte 2 years ago and no complaints yet
 
snadge said:
i googled the board and found loads of complaints of high temps on their forums... well i seen a couple listed on google... im joining there now to see if there are any known problems... everytime I look at only stores you see many reviews for Gigabyte and ASrock boards but never any for MSI or Asus... its as if people 'stay away' from them... - the attraction was of course the price and being able to run 1600mhz ram without OC... my dad doesnt want to OC everything if he can help it..cos I could just spend £18 more on a Gigabyte board and OC the 1600Mhz memory (which will be running at 1333Mhz) to 1600Mhz - I did this with my friends gigabyte 2 years ago and no complaints yet
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snadge said:
...a quick glance at the forums also show may have problems with UEFI standard, looks like BIOS might be best after all
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I have 2 MSI P67 boards and have had no problems with the UEFI BIOS, or temperatures, or anything else for that matter.

They've been a joy to use.

Don't people write in sentences these days?
 
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I think people don't regard MSI as highly as Gigabyte or ASUS based on past performance. In previous generations their boards often had issues with onboard cooling or inferior OC ability and people remember these issues.

However, with the current generation of sandy bridge board MSI have done very well. They have use high quality components that have the ability to run hot and remain stable (hence reducing cooling requirements), overclock well and include high-end features (like SLI/CF and x8/x8 dual card arrangements) in their lower-end boards - so undercutting their competitors. Hence I would buy a MSI s1155 board with confidence (also, they just upgraded their warranty length to three years).

As for running 1600MHz without OC, as I mentioned - since Intel's spec only rates the s1155 CPUs to run memory at 1333MHz then to run 1600MHz at full speed then you techically need to overclock the memory controller (which is a part of the CPU) no matter what board you pick, it is just part of running higher-speed RAM. This is not the same thing as overclocking the CPU - you can run 1600MHz RAM but also keep the i5 2500K chip at stock 3.3GHz speed.

As for the difference between the C43 and G45, the C43 only has one full-size PCIE x16 slot so it can't support SLI or crossfire. The G45 in contrast has two of these slots and supports both SLI and CF at x8/x8 speeds (ie the best speeds available with a p67 chipset without using a bridging chip) - so the G45 offers you many more options in terms of graphics upgrades for only a few quid more. The G45 also has more USB3 connectors.
 
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Nothing wrong with MSI boards, my last one was a MSI, did exactly what I wanted it to do, completely reliable.
 
cmndr_andi said:
I think people don't regard MSI as highly as Gigabyte or ASUS based on past performance. In previous generations their boards often had issues with onboard cooling or inferior OC ability and people remember these issues.

However, with the current generation of sandy bridge board MSI have done very well. They have use high quality components that have the ability to run hot and remain stable (hence reducing cooling requirements), overclock well and include high-end features (like SLI/CF and x8/x8 dual card arrangements) in their lower-end boards - so undercutting their competitors. Hence I would buy a MSI s1155 board with confidence (also, they just upgraded their warranty length to three years).

As for running 1600MHz without OC, as I mentioned - since Intel's spec only rates the s1155 CPUs to run memory at 1333MHz then to run 1600MHz at full speed then you techically need to overclock the memory controller (which is a part of the CPU) no matter what board you pick, it is just part of running higher-speed RAM. This is not the same thing as overclocking the CPU - you can run 1600MHz RAM but also keep the i5 2500K chip at stock 3.3GHz speed.

As for the difference between the C43 and G45, the C43 only has one full-size PCIE x16 slot so it can't support SLI or crossfire. The G45 in contrast has two of these slots and supports both SLI and CF at x8/x8 speeds (ie the best speeds available with a p67 chipset without using a bridging chip) - so the G45 offers you many more options in terms of graphics upgrades for only a few quid more. The G45 also has more USB3 connectors.
Click to expand...

thanks for all the replies and much needed confidence boost :)

thanks cmndr_andi for that post as thats really helped, I didnt know that all P67 boards would not run memory at 1600mhz without OC, many thanks for that as it helps with the decision making a lot...cheers

i dont think my dad will ever SLI/CF, he only plays FSX and isnt a real gamer, but for few quid extra its probs worth getting.

only thing Iam worried about is if UEFI is actually worth pursuing as it seems to be plagued with teething problems.

would 1600Mhz ram run at 1333Mhz fine or would i be best buying 1333Mhz ram?
 
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Aye, 1600MHz RAM will happily run at 1333MHz, in fact when you first install it in the PC it should default to that speed (since that is the intel default speed for these CPUs). Hence picking up a kit like this for £31 would be a very good idea. If you reckon he would make good use of 8GB RAM, then this kit is a good deal.
 
aye (you must be geordie or scot are you? im a geordie like..) can I ask why buy 1600Mhz then if it only runs at 1333Mhz on the board? would not be better getting 1333Mhz memory? cos either way to reach 1600Mhz (should you wish too) would require overclocking anyway
 
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