Asus Z170I PRO GAMING or MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC

[RRGT19]

Asus Z170I PRO GAMING

$163.99

 

MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC

$189.95

Why MSI is more expensive, what is the difference?. Which is better and why?.

[Moonzy]

Wifi and no Wifi

[RRGT19]

2 hours ago, Moonzy said:

Wifi and no Wifi

Both have Wifi built in.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, RGT said:

Both have Wifi built in.

oh, didnt notice the asus one has it

 

idk, just typical pricing i guess

[RRGT19]

3 hours ago, Moonzy said:

oh, didnt notice the asus one has it

 

idk, just typical pricing i guess

Which one do you think is the best, or maybe both?.

[Moonzy]

4 minutes ago, RGT said:

Which one do you think is the best, or maybe both?.

personally i just buy the motherboard that fits my needs and looks great while doing it `-`

 

it might just cost more just for the extra features you'll never need

[ArkTheYO]

compare the no ports you require and which one has more no. of powerr chokes(those metal cylindrical caps or blocks near the cpu) and the warranty and then choose among the two. Do see the customer reviews before selevting any motherboard! Now you are set to buy a good motherboard! Though both of them are real good motherboard's!

[Steel_Wind]

The price difference arises not only out of comparing the Asus PG with the MSI PG, but as between Asus product line in terms of market positioning. MSI is a major player, but they are dwarfed by ASUS in the current market in which ASUS remains the clear market leader in enthusiast mobos.

ASUS has the Z170A and the lower end of the ROG line (RANGER and GENE) to consider in terms of price point. In my view, the Asus Pro Gaming is really, in fact, the lowest end of the ROG board line.  And that's a problem for ASUS, as that perception is widely shared and the board sells at the MSRP it is at quite well, while cutting into the higher margins of the Maximus VIII GENE and RANGER models.

 

As a consequence, the Pro Gaming is not carried by all major resellers as they perceive it to be to be priced inconveniently and cannibalizes sales.  

I have two of the Asus Pro Gaming Mobos (ATX versions) used in a 6600k and 6700K build. I was very happy with the mobos. There were some early complaints in the first few months after release last year concerning mmory XMP profiles, but all of that was fixed as of January 2016's BIOS updates. Solid board and a great bargain.

[NumLock21]

Look at the specs of both boards and you'll see the difference.

[Steel_Wind]

Actually, the difference is extremely hard to see, and comes down to which storage devices and inputs the Z170 chipset is dedicated to on both boards. It looks like for practical purpose, the MSI supports 4x Sata III internal connectors vs the Asus 2 - and the MSI supports 4 external USB 3.1 vs the Asus 2 x external 3.1 ports. 

And that's really about it.