MSI K8N Diamond Plus Review...

**One4yu2c** · April 9th, 2006

http://hardwarelogic.com/news/129/AR...006-04-11.html

Not one to rest on their laurels, nVidia improved upon their intial nForce chipset with the nForce4 x16 SLI. Previous versions drop the bandwidth down to x8 per slot when running two video cards, but not so on this new chipset. Showing up fashionably late for the nF4 party, MSI steps into the lime light utilizing this new chipset with their K8N Diamond Plus motherboard.

_____________________________________
Here it is folks, my last review for HardwareLogic. We had originally planned to put it up before the weekend, but ran into some formatting issues that delayed posting. C'est La Vie! It's been a blast writing for HL and holding Rich's hardware hostage in the process - always a good sport, he is. But enough goodbyes, we already have a thread dedicated to that elsewhere in the forum.

Getting back on topic, let me say that I've been very impressed with MSI in their s939 lineup. Traditionally, they've never been particularly high on my radar, but they caught my attention when I got my hands on a K8N Neo2 Platinum when it debuted. Well, everything I liked about that board - feature rich, fast, great overclocking potential, stable, affordable, decent customer service - is present and accounted for on K8N Diamond Plus, and I have a new favorite motherboard, eclipsing my love affair with Asus A8N32-SLI. The uber diehard overclocking crowd with their homebrew liquid nitrogen setups will still demand a DFI, which are also fantastic, but this is one fine motherboard that IMO demands serious consideration.

fps justin · April 9th, 2006

nice final review paul.

Tyreal · April 9th, 2006

Farewell man! Great parting guide, but there will still be many more to come! I'm looking forward to reading your MaxPC articles. You're always welcome here paul!

Jokerswild · April 10th, 2006

Very good review Paul. I'm looking forward to your reviews in Maximum PC if they ever go digital.

**gvblake22** · April 10th, 2006

Hey Paul, Great Review! :thup:
But of course I have come equipped with questions...
On the first page you mentioned that the MSI K8N Diamond Plus is only one of two motherboards based on the NF4 SLI x16 chipset, but I thought there are three: the Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe, Abit AN8 32X, and the MSI K8N Diamond Plus?

Either way, thanks for the up close and personal look at MSI's K8N, it looks like a pretty nice board indeed. Especially the onboard Creative Audigy SE APU!! :shock: I also very much like the idea of having that "universal" PCI-Express x4 slot; adds a lot of versitility.
And I will definately be missing reading your review material here at HL and I wish you the best of luck at MaxPC!!!! :mrgreen:

**One4yu2c** · April 10th, 2006

Technology moves too damn fast, I hadn't seen that Abit released such a mobo. Good catch Blake. 8)

**gvblake22** · April 10th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Technology moves too damn fast, I hadn't seen that Abit released such a mobo. Good catch Blake. 8)

Anytime bro. You have saved me from chewing up my foot many times!

April 9th, 2006	#1
One4yu2c I don't know how to put this, but, I'm kind of a big deal. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Land of the Lounge Lizards Posts: 2,735 Blog Entries: 3	MSI K8N Diamond Plus Review... http://hardwarelogic.com/news/129/AR...006-04-11.html Not one to rest on their laurels, nVidia improved upon their intial nForce chipset with the nForce4 x16 SLI. Previous versions drop the bandwidth down to x8 per slot when running two video cards, but not so on this new chipset. Showing up fashionably late for the nF4 party, MSI steps into the lime light utilizing this new chipset with their K8N Diamond Plus motherboard. _____________________________________ Here it is folks, my last review for HardwareLogic. We had originally planned to put it up before the weekend, but ran into some formatting issues that delayed posting. C'est La Vie! It's been a blast writing for HL and holding Rich's hardware hostage in the process - always a good sport, he is. But enough goodbyes, we already have a thread dedicated to that elsewhere in the forum. Getting back on topic, let me say that I've been very impressed with MSI in their s939 lineup. Traditionally, they've never been particularly high on my radar, but they caught my attention when I got my hands on a K8N Neo2 Platinum when it debuted. Well, everything I liked about that board - feature rich, fast, great overclocking potential, stable, affordable, decent customer service - is present and accounted for on K8N Diamond Plus, and I have a new favorite motherboard, eclipsing my love affair with Asus A8N32-SLI. The uber diehard overclocking crowd with their homebrew liquid nitrogen setups will still demand a DFI, which are also fantastic, but this is one fine motherboard that IMO demands serious consideration.

April 9th, 2006	#2
fps justin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,199	nice final review paul. E2140 @ 375 x 8 = 3.0ghz 2x1 ocz system 1337s pc2-6400 5-5-5-15 @ 450mhz gigabyte P35 S3L eVGA 7600GT Stock 120 gig seagate ULTRA X-Finity 600w Sonata 2 w/ top fan G5 Lazer Mouse

April 9th, 2006	#3
Tyreal Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 2,559	Farewell man! Great parting guide, but there will still be many more to come! I'm looking forward to reading your MaxPC articles. You're always welcome here paul! I Like Watercooling. D-Tek Fuzion, MCP655, MCR220

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April 10th, 2006	#4
Jokerswild ButtHead Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,211	Very good review Paul. I'm looking forward to your reviews in Maximum PC if they ever go digital.

April 10th, 2006	#5
gvblake22 Modder-ator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tempe Desert Posts: 6,480 Blog Entries: 1	Hey Paul, Great Review! :thup: But of course I have come equipped with questions... On the first page you mentioned that the MSI K8N Diamond Plus is only one of two motherboards based on the NF4 SLI x16 chipset, but I thought there are three: the Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe, *Abit AN8 32X*, and the MSI K8N Diamond Plus? Either way, thanks for the up close and personal look at MSI's K8N, it looks like a pretty nice board indeed. Especially the onboard Creative Audigy SE APU!! :shock: I also very much like the idea of having that "universal" PCI-Express x4 slot; adds a lot of versitility. And I will definately be missing reading your review material here at HL and I wish you the best of luck at MaxPC!!!! :mrgreen: