MSI Releases X79A-GD45 PLUS Motherboard

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memadmax

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MSI makes decent boards...
The one that has been lurking in my case for almost the past 4 years is still alive and well(P45 Neo2).
The only problem that I have is that alot of things are lost in the asian to english translations, and their BIOS can be quirky sometimes.
 
It seems to cover the important bases well while not going overboard on the unnecessary fluff and it has a price that isn't horrible for an X79 board. I like that, assuming that the price is within that range of around $200-$250 USD.
 
[citation][nom]jankeke[/nom]A stupid question (maybe) : Why do they still use USB 2.0 ports, especially on high-end boards ?[/citation]
That's what I'm talking about. It takes these companies so long to let go of the old technology for motherboards. We're finally beginning to see a majority of boards without conventional PCI slots. I think the last conventional PCI device I owned was a sound card circa 2002. The OEMs must buy a crap-ton of connectors and controllers when the tech is introduced and just use them until they're gone whether they remain in demand or not.
 

ojas

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[citation][nom]jankeke[/nom]A stupid question (maybe) : Why do they still use USB 2.0 ports, especially on high-end boards ?[/citation]
Maybe because they're cheaper, so you could put more for less, and most stuff is still limited to 2.0 on the peripheral side of the story. Or at least, that's what i can think of, though i wish too that they'd drop 2.0 entirely now.
 

ojas

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[citation][nom]soulkiller[/nom]Simple.... because USB 2.0 devices dont work on 3.0..... 3.0 works on 2.0 ... So.. thats why.[/citation]
WHAT? NO. :no:
 
[citation][nom]soulkiller[/nom]Simple.... because USB 2.0 devices dont work on 3.0..... 3.0 works on 2.0 ... So.. thats why.[/citation]

That's wrong.

[citation][nom]ojas[/nom]Maybe because they're cheaper, so you could put more for less, and most stuff is still limited to 2.0 on the peripheral side of the story. Or at least, that's what i can think of, though i wish too that they'd drop 2.0 entirely now.[/citation]

USB 3.0 ports tend to require special drivers and have software issues far more often than USB 2.0 ports. At least without the proper drivers installed, USB 3.0 ports often don't work at all, so I'd hate to have a computer that had no legacy USB connectors to fall back on in case of issues. Basically, although I don't see good reason for a whole six USB 2.0 connectors, it wouldn't make sense to drop 2.0 completely. Having at a bare minimum of two USB 2.0/1.x connectors should be necessary for a long time yet and no more than four seems necessary to me.
 

jankeke

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[citation][nom]soulkiller[/nom]Simple.... because USB 2.0 devices dont work on 3.0..... 3.0 works on 2.0 ... So.. thats why.[/citation]
Hmmm ... I still have a USB 2.0 stick, I'll try it on a USB 3.0 connector.
I've been checking quickly on the net qnd I'am quite convinced USB 2.0 devices work on USB 3.0.

 

jankeke

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[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]That's wrong.USB 3.0 ports tend to require special drivers and have software issues far more often than USB 2.0 ports. At least without the proper drivers installed, USB 3.0 ports often don't work at all, so I'd hate to have a computer that had no legacy USB connectors to fall back on in case of issues. Basically, although I don't see good reason for a whole six USB 2.0 connectors, it wouldn't make sense to drop 2.0 completely. Having at a bare minimum of two USB 2.0/1.x connectors should be necessary for a long time yet and no more than four seems necessary to me.[/citation]
That sounds reasonnable to me. 2-4 USB 2.0 and lots of USB 3.0.
A mouse or a joystick, etc... don't need USB 3.0. They could make keyboards with USB 3.0 ports though.
 

SinisterMessiah

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I've had luck with MSI in the past, but my most recent motherboard purchase was a Z77A-GD65 and I have had nothing but problems from the start, mostly revolving around PCI-E issues. After RMA'ing two boards, they finally released a few BIOS updates that improved PCI-E compatibility but I still have some quirky things pop up from time to time. It seems like a lot of their Z77A boards have been having sporadic PCI-E related issues so hopefully the Z79's are more reliable. MSI does make some good looking boards though.
 

fkr

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yes USB 2.0 devices work on USB 3.0 ports.
My daughter yanked my keyboard out of the back of my computer and I am to lazy to plug it back into that USB 2.0 port. I do have a USB 3.0 back there with an extension on it for my USB 3.0 flash drive. So I plugged my keyboard into that, my keyboard works fine and I am pretty sure this cheap SIIG keyboard is not USB 3.0
But just use logic here. USB is everywhere there has to be backwards compatibility.
 

jordanjkj

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[citation][nom]soulkiller[/nom]Simple.... because USB 2.0 devices dont work on 3.0..... 3.0 works on 2.0 ... So.. thats why.[/citation]
Is that why my usb 2.0 wirless adapter is working in my usb 3.0 slots? same with my flash drives.
 

Vorador2

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[citation][nom]jankeke[/nom]A stupid question (maybe) : Why do they still use USB 2.0 ports, especially on high-end boards ?[/citation]

For compatibility. Older OS preboot environment don't play nice with USB 3.0.
 
[citation][nom]NotYetRated[/nom]Looks like an advertisement to me.I do NOT consider just TWO Sata3 ports in a new motherboard to be anywhere near "high-end"[/citation]

Point, but really, how many people going for this board are going to care about having only two SATA 6Gb/s ports? Anyone who needs more has plenty of other choices. Here, we get a more affordable board without all the fluff that most system builders don't ever use and it's even got enough PCIe 3.0 x16 slots for a triple graphics card array at a semi-decent price.

Most regular builders even up to high-end enthusiasts aren't going to need more than one or two SATA 6Gb/s ports. Heck, most of them don't even need SATA 6Gb/s at all. Calling it far from high-end for not having unnecessary amounts of SATA 6Gb/s ports is like calling an i7-3770K far from high-end just because it only has two memory channels despite the fact that for even the majority of people using it, the difference would be minuscule.
 

sna

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[citation][nom]jankeke[/nom]A stupid question (maybe) : Why do they still use USB 2.0 ports, especially on high-end boards ?[/citation]

coz each USB3 can handle upto 1/2 G/s and thats one PCIe Lane

if you want all USB to be USB3 you will loose alot of PCIE Lanes in the machine.

the Ivy Bridge cant have 2X PCIE 16X SLI , it is limited to 8x , 8x for example .. imganine loosing that for adding USB3 onboard.

the SandyBridge and xeons support 16x PCIe X2 coz the cpu has more lanes built in than the ivybridge.
 

renosablast

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What only TWO SATA3 ports? Most competing boards have anywhere from 4-6. Rather limits one's RAID options unless using a PCIe RAID card.
 
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