Not too long ago I purchased an MSI GP72 series thin and light 17" gaming laptop and was extremely satisfied with it, excellent graphics in a portable package. I later purchased the Oculus Rift and found that my beloved laptop barely missed the compatibility specs to run VR - I tell this story because it led me into the adventure of a lifetime...Building my very own desktop with the new AMD Ryzen 7 1800x. I was about to purchase a motherboard from a competitor because it was so highly rated, but a friend who recently did his build (and inspired me to do mine) told me that if he could do it over again, he would have chosen MSI over the giga-competitor. That's some of the best advice I have ever received...
Installation: I'm computer savvy but it has been over 10 years since I built a computer, so I was nervous - but following the included quick guide, I had installed my Ryzen 7 1800x, and two eight gigabyte sticks of crucial vengence memory, and before I knew it I was placing the board into the case (mid tower CoolerMaster MasterBox 5). A few turns of a screw driver later and I'm closing up our patient and getting ready for first boot. Cross your fingers!
First boot: AMAZING! I cannot believe that I nailed the installation on the first shot. The computer posts and the bios pops up - and let me tell you the Bios is unlike any I have ever seen before. The interface is graphical and it really is way more intuitive than I expected. It even offers an automatic Overclock feature that left my jaw agape.
Pros: Rugged design, simple installation, and extremely easy and intuitive bios and features. I had windows installed in under 10 minutes.
Cons: None, except of course the new x470 is coming soon, and I'm so impressed with this motherboard I will undoubtedly buy the next gen when it arrives. Also, in order to be entered into a longshot sweepstakes to probably not win more MSI products, according to the official rules, I have to make the following untrue statement: I am writing this review to enter into the MSI Reward Program. Now that I've said that, I can tell you honestly and with my whole heart that I mean everything I have said about this motherboard, and in fact had to come back an edit it to include that statement. It's really stupid, and it's not true, nor have I been influenced in any way by promotion or any compensation of any kind. - but maybe I'll get lucky and win a stuffed animal dragon! lol
Final thoughts: I'm a big MSI fan, and they've earned it through great customer service and warenty and just overall feature and performance of every one of their products that I have used so far. Do yourself a favor, and even if you choose a different model, choose MSI - a decision you will never regret, and that's my word.
| Processor | athlon |
|---|---|
| RAM | DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 2133 MHz |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 9 |
