Friday, January 22nd 2016
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MSI Intros 970A-G43 Plus Socket AM3+ Motherboard
MSI unveiled the 970A-G43 Plus socket AM3+ motherboard. Priced under $100, this board offers a modern feature-set for mid-range gaming PC builds based on AMD FX processors. The board supports socket AM3+ processors with TDP of up to 125W. The board is based on AMD 970 + SB950 chipset. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 4+1 phase VRM. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, which support up to 32 GB of DDR3-2133 MHz memory.
Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, featuring a reinforcement brace; one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports; two USB 3.0 (front-panel) ports, 8-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC892), and gigabit Ethernet (Realtek controller). The board is driven by UEFI firmware, and supports modern Windows 8.1/10 features.
Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, featuring a reinforcement brace; one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports; two USB 3.0 (front-panel) ports, 8-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC892), and gigabit Ethernet (Realtek controller). The board is driven by UEFI firmware, and supports modern Windows 8.1/10 features.
65 Comments on MSI Intros 970A-G43 Plus Socket AM3+ Motherboard
Or do you also still believe in the MHz myth? Only look at the video memory when buying a graphics card? And think that more watts are better when buying a PSU? :roll:
does not stack with the picture!
Did I ever say anything about what I believe? Move on and find your next person to judge.
A 4+1 design that can deliver 30A for each phase is a bad idea. A 4+1 design that can deliver 60A for each phase with a high efficiency is perfect and doesn't even need a heatsink.
It's like saying a FX-6300 is a better CPU then a I5 6500 because a I5 6500 is faster then a I5 6400 because of the higher frequency. So then a FX-6300 needs to be much better because the higher clock and more cores.
Most people here know that's bull shit, but still believe that every phase in every VRM is the same. I find that strange. So don't say it's bad before you actually know the specifications of the VRM.
So again, be careful with your assumptions.
B: More phases of the same kind of MOFSET will always reduce heat because the heat is proportional to the square of the current going through a circuit.
C: If you think that budget board is going to have MOSFETs that can handle 60A per phase without a heatsink, you're delusional.
D: Fewer phases usually means more switching and MOSFETs produce most of their heat when they're changing states (on to off or off to on,) not when they're simply on or off.
Even efficient VRMs are going to create heat and at higher power draws, that amount of heat will only increase. Keep your comments to yourself if you're going to be a twit about it.
Other than MSI had some reason to dump parts and this is a creative solution from marketing. It just stupid late.
That's why I think its better to get a cheap celeron or i3 over the cheap FX chips
Nearly all of MSI's 970 boards are problematic in part due to their VRM design. Let's recap: no MOSFET heatsinks, the exact same 4+1 that MSI uses everywhere, with the same conventional MOSFETs/MOSFET layout.
From the past failures of MSI's 4+1 collection, as well as the "HIGH FAILURE RATE" and "AVOID FOR OC" and "AVOID FOR 8-CORE" plastered everywhere in red on MSI's page in the OCN AM3+ VRM Database, I think that's a pretty good indication that it's a shitty design that needs to go.
If you want to buy a relic of a 4+1 design with a few bits of added bling such as a black PCB, slightly updated audio, and a metallic PCIe slot, go ahead. That doesn't make it a good board, and it doesn't make careful scrutiny a display of stupidity.
Till next year I guess.:roll: