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MSI P6N Diamond Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionUsually, when new or highly anticipated core logic chipsets are announced, motherboard manufacturers jump at the chance to release new feature products and ride the hype. However, t...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Conclusion
MSI must have known that such a late entry for the P6N Diamond would mean weaker sales, and it's not because of its positioning or price, but more of a question of age and support. With Intel new 3-Series chipsets flooding the market and the impending DDR3 migration, high-end enthusiasts purchasing any upgrades today will probably be leaning towards a DDR3 ready solution rather than be stuck with DDR2. Of course, the expensive pricing for the nForce 680i SLI doesn't make matters any easier to decide.
However, the MSI P6N Diamond is still an amazing motherboard because of the steps that MSI has done to make it stand out. It is very well engineered with useful technologies that will actually be of interest to its target users instead of just adding more of the same. Both the hardware RAID controller and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi give real added value to the nForce 680i SLI, a chipset that already has it all. MSI's quad PCIe x16 slot implementation is also a very interesting move to get quad SLI working. DDR3 will also not be mainstream for a long time coming because of availability and performance, so the P6N Diamond is still an excellent choice for an enthusiast setup today.
Board performance matches up well with the average nForce 680i SLI, and while the P6N Diamond doesn't stand out, it doesn't disappoint either. While the P6N Diamond itself is a worthwhile investment as a motherboard, one of MSI's major shortcomings today is their inability to make real progress optimizing their software for performance and overclocking. Competitors like ASUS and Gigabyte have stepped up their game greatly over the past two years with BIOS-level improvements that improve user friendliness, response and intelligence to overclocking capability and disaster recovery. Small things like being able to save and flash BIOS images from the BIOS itself through USB devices, intuitive real-time setting displays and good overclock protection and recovery can really make or break one's overclocking experience.
MSI took a long time engineering the P6N Diamond, but the wait was worthwhile and the board is a clear cut winner. |
Usability of the P6N Diamond is still similar to the older P6N SLI Platinum, right down to BIOS options and quirks with overclocking, which means that MSI hasn't really spent time tweaking the BIOS between the two boards. There weren't even the usual options available for nForce 680i SLI specific features such as EPP toggling. This is one area that MSI has to really focus on in their high-end products to appeal more to enthusiasts and overclockers.
Bottom line, MSI still did a fantastic job on the P6N Diamond. Instead of focusing on the 'more features for the sake of more features' race with other boards, the P6N Diamond is one board that can actually claim to compliment the nForce 680i SLI. With a US$260 price tag, the MSI P6N Diamond is also one of the more affordable nForce 680i SLI boards in the market. Comparatively, both the ASUS Striker Extreme and Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 are still retailing above the US$300 mark. You won't normally see a Most Value For Money award attached to any nForce 680i SLI board, with all these features and the price of a plain reference nForce 680i SLI, the MSI P6N Diamond is a clear cut winner.
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