MSI vs ASUS Motherboards Comparison – Who’s the Best in 2023

ASUS and MSI (Micro-Star International) are both globally acclaimed Taiwanese tech companies founded in 1989 and 1986, respectively. Both produce quality motherboards that make choosing a mobo difficult for consumers. In this article, we shall compare the pros and cons of both, in general, to aid readers in making the right choice as per their needs.

MSI vs ASUS Motherboard COMPARISON

Motherboard Stability

ASUS offers efficient motherboard stability as compared to MSI. Even though MSI offers good motherboard stability even when overclocking the motherboards but only in top-end variants and not otherwise.

ASUS on the other hand offers greater stability when it comes to its motherboards and is far more reliable. Even when overclocked to their absolute limits, these ASUS motherboards exceed their competitor in every way.

So, we can conclude that ASUS motherboards exceed their rivals at MSI when it comes to stability.

Software

MSI offers decent software and support to their customers. However, ASUS has many important software solutions to counter MSI. ASUS offers more granular software through their advanced AI Suite 3. ASUS motherboards are famously renowned for offering user-friendly BIOS. They provide their users with regular and frequent updates and are generally easier to use compared to MSI. Hence, we can comfortably conclude that ASUS exceeds MSI in software and support with timely updates.

Check Orange light on ASUS Motherboard

Warranty

It is no secret that MSI only offers a 1-year warranty period for almost all their hardware excluding some higher-end boards. This warranty period however pales in comparison to the warranty that is provided by the people working at ASUS.

ASUS provides almost all of their customers with a minimum 3-year warranty period on almost all of their hardware excluding their higher-end TUF gaming series which provides a 5-year warranty period comfortably dominating their competitors.

General Performance

When it comes to general performance, it is no surprise that ASUS beats MSI. ASUS is a far better manufacturer of motherboards and other hardware. ASUS provides a higher-end and more expensive experience compared to MSI which is a relatively budget-friendly alternative.

Overclocking

ASUS motherboards are generally better than MSI when it comes to maintaining cool and optimal temperatures while ensuring peak performance. This can be seen during overclocking of the motherboards. ASUS motherboards have strong VRAM designs that allow the processor to be overclocked without any significant overheating or throttling of the motherboard.

MSI motherboards offer good overclocking stability but only in their high-end motherboards, however, the midrange MSI motherboards would suffer from thermal throttling and overheating when put under the same stress as a good ASUS motherboard and, while the MSI motherboard would face throttling issues when trying to overclock, ASUS would comfortably sit at an idle temperature under heavy load.

Check How To Know If GPU Is Compatible With Motherboard?

Features

In terms of respective features, both ASUS and MSI motherboards offer similar features and do not vary greatly. For example, the top-end X570 motherboard for both MSI and ASUS offers support for PCIe 4.0 and M.2 slots, both offer WiFi6 and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 and even more features in their top-of-the-line models.

We can say that both MSI and ASUS offer similar and not too varying features so this category can be concluded as a tie between both.

Design

Both MSI and ASUS motherboards vary in their designs from one another. ASUS being the top-end brand offers their users all-black, classic motherboard designs. RGB Lights make the design more appealing to a young audience.

MSI on the other hand offers an overall modern look and design compared to its competitors at ASUS. They offer sleek carbon fibre designs and more RGB lighting is present.

MSI makes comparatively more eye-catching designs, however, the final choice comes down to the user’s preference. You can go for either a classic design from ASUS or a Sleek Modern-Designed motherboard from MSI.

Price

ASUS motherboards are generally more expensive than the majority of MSI boards. This comes down to their improved general stability, software, support, warranty, overclocking and cooling capabilities, and their amazing reliability along with the brand value. Due to these reasons, it is expected that ASUS boards would cost a bit more than MSI boards. They are overall better and provide an exclusive experience.

Nonetheless, MSI provides value for money and a budget alternative to ASUS for consumers with tight budgets for such hardware.

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CONCLUSION

We can point to a clear winner in almost all departments, i.e., ASUS motherboards. They provide better performance, features, amazing warranty periods, and better software compared to MSI which are the most important factors and aspects when purchasing a motherboard. One should keep these factors into account before choosing what motherboard one wants to go for.

For an average user, MSI boards are more than enough and provide satisfactory performance, warranty and reliability, however, if one chooses to purchase the most high-end product, ASUS is definitely the more professional choice to opt for.

Check: ASUS ROG Swift 500HZ Gaming Monitor

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1- How to enter BIOS on MSI motherboards?

There are many ways to enter BIOS on MSI motherboards. The two most commonly employed ones are:

– Through BIOS/UEFI Key:

Repeatedly press the BIOS key on startup (mostly Del but rarely F2 key)

– Through Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

• Open the Windows start menu on the taskbar.

• Click ‘Power’. Holding the Shift key, select ‘Restart’ and it will bring up WinRE.

• Select ‘Troubleshoot’ > ‘Advanced Options’. This will take you to another set of options. Select ‘UEFI firmware’ setting > Restart.

• After restarting, you will be taken into the BIOS.

 2- How to enable XMP on MSI motherboard?

To enable XMP on MSI motherboard:

• – Enter BIOS

• – Locate the XMP button

• – Select Profile 1 or 2

• – Press F10 to save and reboot.

3- How to enable Secure Boot on ASUS motherboard?

To enable secure boot on ASUS motherboard:

• – Go to BIOS

• – Press F7 to enter Advanced Mode

• – Go to Security > Secure Boot > Secure Boot Controls

• – Set to Enable.