Testseek.co.uk have collected 42 expert reviews of the MSI 970 Gaming and the average rating is 82%. Scroll down and see all reviews for MSI 970 Gaming.
October 2014
(82%)
42 Reviews
Average score from experts who have reviewed this product.
Users
(74%)
611 Reviews
Average score from owners of the product.
82010042
The editors liked
Gaming audio and networking
Aggressive pricing
Updated feature-set
Capable overclocker
Low price
Backwards support for AM3 and AM3processors
Killer Gigabit NIC
Sound Blaster Cinema 2 software
Gaming peripheral ports
Support for dual graphics cards
Smart styling
Effective Click BIOS is easy to navigate using a mouse
Solid performance
The editors didn't like
Mediocre USB 3.0 implementation
AMD 970 chipset does not support USB 3.0
OC Genie 4 barely overclocks the FX8350 CPU
The passive coolers require a decent amount of air flow to avoid problems
If you are a PC gamer or building a gaming HTPC and you want to use AMD processor architecture then you need this motherboard. At HMP we have reviewed a number of motherboards designed for gaming but we have not seen a motherboard with so much considerati...
Published: 2015-01-30, Author: Ryan , review by: HEXUS.net
Gaming audio and networking, Aggressive pricing, Updated feature-set, Capable overclocker
Mediocre USB 3.0 implementation
The MSI 970 Gaming motherboard sports an aggressive price tag of £80 ($100). Whether it needs to be that aggressively-priced is questionable. MSI, we feel, could have considered the 990FX chipset for enhanced PCIe lane availability while only marginally i...
Published: 2014-09-29, Author: Leo , review by: kitguru.net
Low price, Backwards support for AM3 and AM3processors, Killer Gigabit NIC, Sound Blaster Cinema 2 software, Gaming peripheral ports, Support for dual graphics cards, Smart styling, Effective Click BIOS is easy to navigate using a mouse, Solid performance
AMD 970 chipset does not support USB 3.0, OC Genie 4 barely overclocks the FX8350 CPU, The passive coolers require a decent amount of air flow to avoid problems, Poor positioning of the EPS power connector
The MSI 970 Gaming motherboard looks very smart in appearance with a colour scheme that is mainly black with a hint of red. This has a downside as the board is slightly more complicated to set up than we would like, thanks to the absence of colour coding ...
The 970 Gaming put in some solid benchmark results and despite a few hiccups, namely the very average on-board audio and poor SATA 6Gbps write speed, did manage to overclock out test CPU to 4.6GHz, which isn't bad at all for a £70 motherboard. What's more...
Good price/performance ratio, Good multi-core performance (vs Intel i5), Good aesthetics
Lower memory support (vs Intel 9 series)
Comparing AMD versus Intel platforms is an endless debate and this review could really spark the decade old rivalry between the two chip makers. Hence, I can clearly draw certain lines that are obvious coming from the test and benchmark results of the MSI...
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Published: 2015-03-21, Author: Alex , review by: modders-inc.com
Gaming on a budget can be tough, especially when tough economic times or living in a developing country dictates that every penny must be saved. I have been there and let me tell you its not fun. Even now that things are better, I am still being cautious...
Published: 2015-01-28, Author: Ian , review by: anandtech.com
Regardless of the conclusions derived from the new FX-E series of processors from AMD, they see the $600 PC gaming market as a vibrant source of sales and upgrades. When it comes the FX-8320E and FX-8370E, their argument is always about performance to an...
Good overclockability, Excellent bang for the buck, Pushes 970 chipset beyond its specifications
Minimalist feature set; lacks native support for new interfaces, — AMD's dubious commitment to the desktop market, — No hardware buttons, — OC Genie disables XMP
Although MSI offers a variety of Gaming motherboards, the MSI 970 Gaming is the only AMD gaming motherboard in their lineup. If you want to step up to the top-end 990FX chipset, your only MSI choice is the MSI 990FXA-GD80 , a “mainstream” motherboard, alt...
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(89%)
Published: 2014-12-30, Author: Brian , review by: pcmag.com
Attractive styling. Surprisingly low price. Support for two graphics cards and AMD's FX-9590. Robust software suite includes RAMDisk app. High-end audio and Ethernet.
Only two USB 3.0 ports on I/O plate. Limited PCIe lanes, PCIe 2.0 for dual-video-card configs. Its 970 chipset means some modern features are absent
The MSI 970 Gaming is a stylish black and red motherboard that boasts a Qualcomm Killer Ethernet chip, audio-grade capacitors, and a sub-$100 price, although the chipset is somewhat dated....
Surprisingly low price, given looks, features, Support for two graphics cards and AMD's power-hungry FX-9590, High-end audio and Ethernet features, Attractive black-and-red styling, Robust software suite includes RAMDisk app
Aging 970 chipset means some modern features are absent, Only two USB 3.0 ports on I/O plate, Limited PCIe lanes, PCIe 2.0 for dual-video-card configs
Those looking to build an affordable, attractive AMD-based gaming PC will like the MSI 970 Gaming, with its Killer Ethernet chip, audio-grade capacitors, and sleek black PCB. The chipset's circa 2011, but considering the board's features, looks, and unde...
