Deciding between 2 motherboards.

[imStorm3r]

Hi, I'm planning to upgrade my rig and after comparing a lot of motherboards I got stuck just at the last 2.
The motherboards are MSI Z370 TOMAHAWK and MSI Z370 SLI PLUS.

The only differences between those 2 are that one of them has SLI while the other doesn't (I'm pretty sure we know which is which) and the audio ports.
The TOMAHAWK has Realtek® ALC892 Codec and SLI PLUS has Realtek® ALC1220 Codec.

I'm not really interested in doing SLI but the price difference is not big at all, so I want to know if it's worth to go for 1220 instead of 892.
Will it make my speakers or mic sound better?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, the audio is noticeably better. At least, to audiophiles. If you will be using high quality headphones or stereo equipment, it's probably worth the small price difference for the higher end codec.

It also matters HOW you will be outputting sound. Some sound outputs won't even use the integrated soundcard. Only if you will actually be plugging something into the soundcard will it be a factor.

 

[imStorm3r]

I use some cheap old speakers named Trust Universe 2.0 and I use the microphone from my webcam lol. I will get a 7.1 or 5.1 setup in the future, but my focus is not that atm. The difference is just 13$ in my country. Is it worth it?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so rather than JUST give you the quick and easy answer, which would be that based on reviews and feedback here on the forums, the Tomahawk is probably the better board despite the lower end codec, let me ask you this.

Is there a particular reason you are looking at MSI instead of some other options? Are MSI boards significantly less expensive or more readily available in your country?

Do you have past experiences using MSI hardware that makes you brand loyal for some reason?

 

[imStorm3r]

Yea, pretty much I'm a MSI fanboy. Never had problems with their products.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Then in that case, between those two boards, other than the codec, I don't see anything compelling for the SLI board besides of course SLI, and in the US the Tomahawk is the more exensive board in any case which usually, but not always, means it's the product with richer features or higher quality component selection. Based on reviews I don't see any major, glaring differences in those two boards.

The SLI Plus has beefier PCIe slots that are reinforced and looking at some other reviews that came out shortly after Z370 was released I can see that the SLI Plus USED to be more expensive by about twenty bucks than the Tomahawk, so it could really go either way and the Tomahawk does have some on board lighting lacking on the SLI Plus I think, if you care about that. Mainly, they are the same basic board with only minor differences.

 

[imStorm3r]

I get your point, but I just checked the audio specifications of my current motherboard and it has Realtek® ALC1150. Might as well go for something that is better. I'm going with the SLI one because who knows if I'll be interested in the future in doing SLI. Thanks for helping me out!

 

[Darkbreeze]

SLI is basically a dead technology. Single card solutions are able to keep pace with modern demands and resolutions, unless your are gaming at 4k Ultra, and Volta will likely see the GTX flagship models bring even better ability to do that than current GTX 1080ti models, which can already do it for a lot of titles.

Plus, most game developers are no longer including SLI or Crossfire profiles for most games. No point in doing so if multi-card configurations are minimal at best.

Still, I agree that it can't hurt to have the better codec, although for most people they'd never notice the difference anyhow. Better is almost always, well, better.