After calls from bit-tech back in January for MSI to include support for 125W CPUs on its mainstream AMD 790X motherboard, the K9A2 CF, and more recently with the launch of the AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition, others have found more boards across the breadth of the channel don't support 125W CPUs either.
MSI contacted bit-tech to inform us of about the change in its motherboard strategy - while mainstream and inexpensive boards are very cost sensitive: so more power phases could be the difference between competitive and uncompetitive products, four out of six MSI boards in this market have been launched with full 125W CPU support: K9A2GM-FIH (AMD 780G), K9N2GM-FIH (Nvidia GeForce 8200), K9A2VM-FD ( AMD 780V), K9N2GM-FD (Nvidia GeForce 8200).
The two boards that only support up to 95W CPUs are the more basic K9A2GM-F v2 (AMD 780V) and K9N2GM-F v2 (Nvidia GeForce 8200).
MSI still hasn't updated its K9A2 CF where we still feel its needed most and when asked if it was intending to, MSI said it was undecided at the current time (releasing a new board will hurt current board sales, however releasing a revision will make it hard for the consumer to know which they are buying).
Kudos to MSI for taking the initiative, although we could find none of these boards available just yet. It also clearly labels its website to make sure people take note - something other companies fail to note, usually citing broad "AMD Athlon/Phenom" support.
We still won't recommend the K9A2 CF until it's updated with a power greater overhead either - but it's one in a minefield of support for 125W processors, so if you're looking for a cheap upgrade with the mind to overclock - check carefully before buying.
Are you overclocking an AMD chip? Do you buy mainstream boards? Let us know in the forums.
MSI contacted bit-tech to inform us of about the change in its motherboard strategy - while mainstream and inexpensive boards are very cost sensitive: so more power phases could be the difference between competitive and uncompetitive products, four out of six MSI boards in this market have been launched with full 125W CPU support: K9A2GM-FIH (AMD 780G), K9N2GM-FIH (Nvidia GeForce 8200), K9A2VM-FD ( AMD 780V), K9N2GM-FD (Nvidia GeForce 8200).
The two boards that only support up to 95W CPUs are the more basic K9A2GM-F v2 (AMD 780V) and K9N2GM-F v2 (Nvidia GeForce 8200).
MSI still hasn't updated its K9A2 CF where we still feel its needed most and when asked if it was intending to, MSI said it was undecided at the current time (releasing a new board will hurt current board sales, however releasing a revision will make it hard for the consumer to know which they are buying).
Kudos to MSI for taking the initiative, although we could find none of these boards available just yet. It also clearly labels its website to make sure people take note - something other companies fail to note, usually citing broad "AMD Athlon/Phenom" support.
We still won't recommend the K9A2 CF until it's updated with a power greater overhead either - but it's one in a minefield of support for 125W processors, so if you're looking for a cheap upgrade with the mind to overclock - check carefully before buying.
Are you overclocking an AMD chip? Do you buy mainstream boards? Let us know in the forums.
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