MSI 970A-G43 or ASUS M5A97 R2.0?

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LimitedWard

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Dec 15, 2013
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I recently purchased an MSI 970A-G43 motherboard for my first PC build. Soon after receiving the product, I read tons of reviews of problems with this board, mainly regarding its lack of VRM heatsink. I have been searching online for an alternative for this mobo in the same price range, and a lot of people recommend the ASUS M5A97 R2.0. The problem is that this board runs for $95 new. That's $25 more than what I paid. On top of that, I will have to pay for a restocking fee + shipping if I return the MSI board.

Should I:

    ■ return the MSI motherboard and get a different one instead? If so, do you recommend the ASUS or a different board?
    ■ keep this motherboard and buy heatsinks for the VRM?
 
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photonboy
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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The VRM issue is mainly about OVERCLOCKING.

The Asus is apparently better, but that board is hardly an aggressive overclocking board either. For that you'd need a better board. There are apparently QUALITY DIFFERENCES as well, but the MSI board has a 3-year Warranty. Almost every board has comments about "didn't boot" or "DOA" or "didn't last long" so it's sometimes hard to determine just how good a board is.

I don't think buying heatsinks for the VRM's will make much difference as I don't think the instabilities are primarily a heat issue but rather a decision choice in the quality and number of components. Again, that's a budget decision. They had to make it, because YOU have to make it.

I can't make the decision as to whether to keep the board or not, but if you really want to make a difference then spend $120 to $200 on a different board, and do a lot more research into QUALITY (20+ customer reviews), overclocking, and other features.

(All this is assuming you really are overclocking)
 
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LimitedWard

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Hmm, interesting. On a similar note, the 970a-G43 advertises a special "OC Genie II" that supposedly overclocks automatically. Would the board remain stable using its built in OC feature, or should I simply not trust it? I'm using an FX-6300 if that makes a difference.

I've never overclocked before, nor do I plan on doing any significant overclocking on this build.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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The motherboard needs to provide stable power to the CPU. The higher the overclock, the harder this becomes. This is why more expensive boards have better circuitry and heatsinks to ensure things remain stable.

The power supply also matters, but it only needs to get the required voltage for the CPU within a certain tolerance. The circuitry on the motherboard is more important in this sense as even the BEST power supply won't help if the motherboard isn't designed well. A good CPU heatsink is also important for removing heat (or being quieter than the stock cooler even in idle), but that's for dissipating HEAT.

My suggestion would be to KEEP the motherboard, but like ANY system make backup plans in the event of a failure.
I'm not sure if this helps. My advice would be to NOT overclock the FX-6300 with that board.
 
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LimitedWard

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Okay, sounds good. If I were to return this board for a different one, which would you recommend around that price range? I've specifically been searching for boards with USB 3.0 and DDR3-1866 support.

The three alternatives I've found so far are the following:

  • ■ MSI 970A-G46
    ■ BIOSTAR TA970
    ■ and of course, the ASUS M5A97
 
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LimitedWard

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Yeah I sorta figured that was the case. What about the other two? I'm guessing the ASUS is better than the Biostar, but there's also $20 price difference.
 
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LimitedWard

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I think I'm just gonna take the plunge and buy the ASUS. Everyone says it's a great board, and perhaps I can get Newegg to void the restocking fee considering I haven't opened the box to the MSI.

Thanks for all the help :)
 
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Skpstr

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Oct 9, 2013
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I have the same setup, (needed to drop a few bucks at the last minute to stay withn budget and had nowhere else to take it from, I was going to get the M5A97) and, after I had already had it up and running, found out it was not such a good board.

Several people on here did tell me that it's OK if you don't OC, and should be OK even with Genie enabled (3.8Ghz instead of 3.5)

So my plan is to leave it as is for now, get an M5A99 (imstead of the 97) when I can afford it, and THEN OC it to 4.2+Ghz.
 
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