Are MSI Motherboards reliable?

[karcar549]

So im looking to buy an msi motherboard.People said that msi used to cut corners but the z97 mpower has all the features i need and is priced as same as the maximus 7 hero.So the only thing stopping me from buying the z97 mpower is the reliabilty.So are msi motherboards reliable?

thanks

 

[Woomack]

I wouldn't say they're reliable. New MSI boards are better but I still had bad experience with every MSI board I had.
I had no chance to test Z97 MPower but I haven't seen many positive comments like it was any special board. It's working pretty good in reviews but for some reason overclockers are trying to avoid them.

Let's say if you build your PC and won't touch it for longer then I see no reason why shouldn't buy it but if you are going to play some more, overclock etc then I would grab something else. ASRock OC Formula, Gigabyte OC or ASUS Hero/Ranger are better option in similar price.

 

[Robert17]

I've had some of all MBs over the years. Woomack is correct in that in years past, and I mean over 10 years ago, MSI produced MBs on the lower rung of boards. Recently they seem to have upped their game in my experience. My MSI Z77 MPower was one of my favorites lately. I would not rule MSI out of consideration; in fact I have an MSI A78M-E35 A78 MATX on order which I expect to receive today.

There's a current thread running here regarding ASUS warranty service you may want to spend a few moments with: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=746681 as well.

 

[karcar549]

so is it safe to get an msi z97 motherboard?I will probably use this mobo for 4 years

 

[Robert17]

Safe? At this point I may be under-reading your question. They won't harm you. They won't harm your components. Have you read through MB reviews here or elsewhere? That would be a good place to start.

 

[Witchdoctor]

I have been using an MSI board in my gamer/grinder for over two years now.

no problems here, overclocks great

In fact it was an MSI that just won the Intel Challenge at Computex in the air/water category

However I agree with Woomack I would not use one for a benching platform, simply put there are better options out there.

I do see this company getting better and better, they also advocate for the overclocking community with the MOA competition every year.

 

[karcar549]

by safe i meant that will they fail early??its not nice to have a motherboard fail on you after a 1 year or 2 of use.

 

[Woomack]

No one can guarantee how long it will run without failure no matter what board/brand you pick. Manufacturer will give you 3 year warranty.

 

[Supertrucker]

Most recent msi board i had was a p67 gd-65, good solid board with a lot of features and one flaw. Load line calibration options in the bios didnt work, so it was always enabled, and it wasnt just trying to combat vdroop, it was set so high i got vgain under load, about .05v if i recall right. The board ended up going into a friends build with a much more mild overclock, but it still works fine.

I also did a budget build at christmas last year involving a z87-g43 and a 4670k cooled by an h60. A very no frills board but it still works and hasnt had any kind of bad behavior.

 

[karcar549]

thanks everybody gonna get the asrock oc formula as woomack suggested.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I would get the Z97X-UD3H or Z97 Extreme6, personally.

 

[Nebulous]

I wouldn't say they're reliable. New MSI boards are better but I still had bad experience with every MSI board I had.
I had no chance to test Z97 MPower but I haven't seen many positive comments like it was any special board. It's working pretty good in reviews but for some reason overclockers are trying to avoid them.

Let's say if you build your PC and won't touch it for longer then I see no reason why shouldn't buy it but if you are going to play some more, overclock etc then I would grab something else. ASRock OC Formula, Gigabyte OC or ASUS Hero/Ranger are better option in similar price.

I would have to agree. I had nothing but issues with MSI. My personal choices would also be Gigabyte, Asus or ASRock.

 

[Woomack]

There is new GB Z97X-SOC and Force ( the only difference is LAN card ). Both are in pretty good price ( ~$170-200 ) and offer many overclocking options. Not all like orange boards and then ASRock Z97 OC Formula is also near $200. If you don't need full ATX but wish to save some money then Z97M OCF can be as good for OC but cost ~$135.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=asrock_z97_oc_formula-_-13-157-520-_-Product

 

[sno.lcn]

MSI has always been hit or miss for me. I've had some high-end ones die the first day (repeatedly) and some low-low-end ones run like champs for years and years.

 

[Witchdoctor]

thanks everybody gonna get the asrock oc formula as woomack suggested.

Good choice IMO , my z87mOCF is a beast, Mem profiles actually work

 

[Woomack]

Good choice IMO , my z87mOCF is a beast, Mem profiles actually work

Just because mem profiles on ASRocks are tested on regular RAM , not cherry picked samples like in ROG boards. I couldn't make to run even 1 profile on ROG or GB OC boards with my memory. Each time I had to lower 1-2 memory ratios.
Anyway I'm used to set everything manually so I don't care much about profiles but they're pretty handy for more regular users who wish to set something more than standard SPD/XMP without learning all timings and trying to stabilize everything for couple of days.

Well, I also have ASRock Z87M OCF and it's a great board. It's auto tweaking some options for optimal performance so the only option that you may enable is performance mode for memory. On my memory it's giving up to 2GB/s higher memory bandwidth.

 

[karcar549]

Just because mem profiles on ASRocks are tested on regular RAM , not cherry picked samples like in ROG boards. I couldn't make to run even 1 profile on ROG or GB OC boards with my memory. Each time I had to lower 1-2 memory ratios.
Anyway I'm used to set everything manually so I don't care much about profiles but they're pretty handy for more regular users who wish to set something more than standard SPD/XMP without learning all timings and trying to stabilize everything for couple of days.

Well, I also have ASRock Z87M OCF and it's a great board. It's auto tweaking some options for optimal performance so the only option that you may enable is performance mode for memory. On my memory it's giving up to 2GB/s higher memory bandwidth.

i also set up memory speed and timings manually.

 

[Witchdoctor]

I don't have the patience or the understanding of it
Every time I work on my sub timings I muck it up

 

[caddi daddi]

the sub timings always get me also.
the fact is we dont see any msi boards come through the amd side of the forum, must be a reason for that, we see gigabyte, asrock and asus. I myself have 15 asus boards and have had few issues, those that i have had all had to do with the nics and that became a known issue and it seems that they got it fixed.

 

[EarthDog]

I mean, all of what this user wants to do can be done on a $150 (or even less) motherboard. There isn't a need for the 'made for overclocking' /$200 boards for air and water. That said, you want one.. grab it and beat the snot out of your CPU... we will help!