Asus M5A97 R2.0 vs. MSI 970 motherboard

[Ryan1123]

Hey, I am trying to decided between these 2 motherboards.

ASUS M5A97 R2.0: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008V9959O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
MSI 970 GAMING: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LUY72F6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I plan on pairing them with an AMD 8320 CPU and keep it at or near stock speed. I have always bought asus motherboards in the past but have been reading some mixed reviews of them recently. If anyone has any experience with either of these boards or other recommendations they would be greatly appreciated, I am looking to keep the motherboard price near $100.

 

[Alpha3031]

I'd go with this: http://www.outletpc.com/oc9267-gigabyte-970-am3-sata-6gbps-atx-motherboard.html?utm_source=oc9267-gigabyte-970-am3-sata-6gbps-atx-motherboard&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker&utm_content=Gigabyte%2B-%2BMotherboards%20%3E%20AMD%20Socket%20AM3

Since it's also a 8+2 phase, not 4+1, if you change your mind, it'll be good for OC too.

 

[Vici0us]

I have M5A97 R2.0 in HTPC and it's a great board. I was even able to OC FX-8120 from 3.1GHz to 4.3GHz. I definitely recommend it, have had it for a year and a half without a single problem.