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MSI Unveils 970A-G43 Entry-Level Socket AM3+ Motherboard

btarunr

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MSI rolled out a new value socket AM3+ motherboard, the 970A-G43. Based on the AMD 970 chipset with SB950 southbridge, the ATX form-factor board covers all the essentials for a single graphics card gaming PC build, on a tight budget. It uses a simple 5-phase VRM to power the AM3+ socket. The board uses an all solid-state capacitor loadout, by saving on MOSFETs. The CPU VRM uses inexpensive On-Semi DPAK fare. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory.

Among the expansion slots are a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (wired to the 970 northbridge), a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to the SB950 southbridge), and two each of PCI-Express 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. Storage connectivity is care of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0/1/5/10. A couple of 2-port USB 3.0 controllers wired out four ports, of which are two are given out by a standard front-panel header. Completing the package are 8-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC887), gigabit Ethernet (Realtek 8111E), and a handful of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS. The 970A-G43 is priced at $89.99.



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Niko-sem vrm rules ! Oh ! No vrm Heatsink ! ... damn !
 
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+ the price is too high for an entry level motherboad.
 
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No vrm Heatsink?, is ok for me. My GA-870A-USB3 is working fine.

Price?, to high :(

But, is good see a USB 3.0 internal header.
 
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There are holes and alignment marks for VRM heatsink why bother with that then cheap out on $1 worth of aluminum ? OH WAIT ITS MSI this explains everything.
 
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Can't wait for people to buy this and blow it up with a stock Bulldozer chip thanks to the worst, hottest type of MOSFETs you can buy and no heatsink.
 

cadaveca

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No real VALUE board has MOSFET cooler. Really, guys?

This board barely does Crossfire, even. if you buy this to OC, you've made a big mistake, however, I don't think it'll do that badly, honestly.
 
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No real VALUE board has MOSFET cooler. Really, guys

Not sure if sarcasm :p anyway
 
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I'm not into overclocking anymore, so I wouldn't buy an AM3+ board new. Refurbished and used, but not new.
 
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I ran overclocked CPUs on one of these for years with no issues at all:



Overclocked better than my MSI P45 Platinum, in fact, using the same Q6700.
 

btarunr

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Reg: VRM, there are two sets of up/dn FETs per phase. So the load (and in effect, heat) is spread that way.
 

slinger2013

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VRM and overclocking

Hey Guys, After reading this post I was scared that my mother board would blow up or something terrible, lol
I went out and bought heat sinks for my 970A-g43 , I have a KDM 875 watt power supply with 16 gb ddr3 an FX-8150 overclocked to 4.3 gigs. I am also overclocking my GTX 560 to 990 on the core with voltage adjusted on both the CPU and GPU. Very stable.

I know there are more choices out there then this board. Don't get me wrong I have a few.
But since this article I have been putting my fingers on the VRMs to check the heat. (I do have a water-cooler on the CPU). So I can slide my hand right in there. Never gets hot at all.

I play tomb-raider 2013, SWOR, Bio-shock and deadspace3.

I have a back up board in case something goes wrong. But if I don't post here... That means all is well.:toast:
 

slinger2013

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still have the board no issues......
I do notice the north bridge gets warm. but that is normal with most boards overclocked.

I may upgrade but this board is still working overclocked.
 
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