Opinion-Experience Request: MSI K8N Diamond

[SP Goodman]

Hi Folks,

I'm seriously considering this motherboard for a pair of new builds and
would like to hear from people with experience with the MSI K8N Diamond.

Thanks in advance!


--
Stephen Goodman

* Cartoons about DVDs and Stuff
* http://www.earthlight.net/HiddenTrack
* The Loop Of The Week since 1996!
* http://www.earthlight.net/Studios

 

[Eric]

MSI boards are usually solid as a rock.

You can look up the purchaser reviews on a site such as
http://www.newegg.com/.

If the specifications provide what you need, get one - or more.

You can find all the info you need, including a manual from
http://www.msicomputer.com/.

Eric,
PC Buyer Beware!
http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/

 

[SP Goodman]

Thanks!

I'm in the UK - where bargain hunting is a necessity! - and I've found one
for £94 so far... It's still a hoot to me how the old IBM Schedule of Price
Announcements still holds up, March 1 and December 1, even though IBM
doesn't "do" PCs really anymore, and everyone still changes their prices
accordingly...

 

[Charlie Wilkes]

Hi Folks,

I'm seriously considering this motherboard for a pair of new builds and
would like to hear from people with experience with the MSI K8N Diamond.

Thanks in advance!

I have a cheaper version of the MSI K8N (Neo2/NF3). It came with a
better-than-average manual and other visual cues of being a first-rung
contender as opposed to a knock-off.

My board was made to suit overclockers. When I got into the
overclocking menu, I found a humorous choice... private (default),
sargeant, captain, major, colonel, or general. My CPU is a captain
and cannot be promoted further. But that is a significant overclock,
and the system is very stable at that setting.

The same menu also provides options for tweaking voltages to really
optimize everything. It's just a nice board.

Charlie

 

[Don B]

Here's another, largely favorable, review

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/26/msi_k8n_diamond_plus/

 

[SP Goodman]

Here's another, largely favorable, review

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/26/msi_k8n_diamond_plus/

Thanks!

Actually I didn't get the Diamond Plus, but the K8N Diamond.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/shopper/reviews/70613/msi-k8n-diamond.html

The Diamond Plus didn't get such a good review on the level of overclocking:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/shopper/custompc-labs/85387/msi-k8n-diamond-plus.html

And since I was buying for the purpose of being able to upgrade the Athlon
64 3700+ to higher rates when they become reasonably affordable, that gave
me concerns I wasn't willing to feel adventurous with, since I'm building
our two new machines at the same time, and just don't want to have a
seamless, smooth implementation now, and in the future. I like the Creative
chipset and its additional headroom too.

So here it is, I'm waiting for just a few parts left (seems the UK unions
even prevent Saturday delivery this weekend!):

MSI K8N Diamond
AMD Athlon 64 3700+
Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2
Crucial 2x1GB 184Pin DIMM PC3200 Non-ECC Unbuffered
Western Digital Caviar 250GB S300 8mb 7200rpm
Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Drive / Media Reader
CoolerMaster 534 case
CoolerMaster Real Power RS-450 - ACLY PSU
CoolerMaster Susurro CPU Fan (if it's still noisy)

The good old ViewSonic GS771's are still working fine, CRT still rules!
Holding off replacing our keyboards but looking at the MS Wireless Optical
Desktop 5000 for my wife... I'm going to try to refit my good old IBM
keyboard (pre-Lexmark sell-off) into Bluetooth, and look for another
wireless mouse with 5 buttons...

[slavering, waiting]

Stephen Goodman

* Cartoons about DVDs and Stuff
* http://www.earthlight.net/HiddenTrack
* The Loop Of The Week since 1996!
* http://www.earthlight.net/Studios