MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard Review

Any motherboard manufacture using the same chipset and same form factor when tested, should fall within roughly a 3% margin of the competition. When we tested the MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard  against the Gigabyte GA-G.1 Sniper A88X the results were a back and forth battle of one or two points here and there. So what would make you buy one vs the other? Price? Performance? Features? Brand? How about any or all of them.

The price of the MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard is $119 USD, which is slightly more than the more than the Gigabyte Board and you get Assassin’s Creed HD for free.

Performance was right on when compared to the Gigabyte board. This should instill some confidence that MSI built the board right and there is not any major issues with the board.

The MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard contains a decent feature set. The audio boost on the motherboard works well. Sound is clear and crisp and using the included Sound Blaster Cinema software can enrich the experience. For those that use USB audio instead of the 3.5mm jacks, MSI is able to maintain a constant 5v to ensure top audio quality. The components on the motherboard are top notch as well and should ensure years of use from the MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard.  The OC Genie worked well for me. At level 1, the board was able to jump 300 Mhz. The included software bundle is easy to use and works well. MSI’s command center allows the user to control almost every aspect in reference to CPU speed and voltage, Memory speed and over clocking. The only issue that I had during the benchmark session, was the Killer network card. I tested the card over and over and each time got similar results. But, benchmarks don’t always translate into real world results. I did not notice any network slowness during use or when gaming. I didn’t really notice any improvement either. I feel that features, more than performance sets one board apart from another.

Overall the MSI A88X-G45 Gaming Motherboard is a great candidate for any AMD build. The board can support the new Kaveri APUs as well as any FM2 socketed processor from AMD.

[sc:must_have_award ]