ASRock and MSI

sportwarrior

sportwarrior

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Messages
309
I almost hate to ask this question in its own thread, but I've been crippled by over-analysis and could use some help. I've targeted the 6800 XT for my next build. ASRock and MSI both have cards at the extreme upper end of my price range. Is there any reason I'd choose one over the other from a brand standpoint? I am leaning toward the MSI, but mainly because I am unfamiliar with ASRock's work in the GPU space. Obviously they make solid main boards, but how is their work with graphics cards?
 
Which one weighs more?

Asrock makes average cards, but so does MSI. Asrock has a better rep for CS, but I've never had to use it. I have had to use MSI's, and it was adequate but nothing special.
 
I'm leaning towards MSI, only because of their serial number based warranty (if it still works that way, haven't had a MSI card for a couple of years).

Also, my MSI 1080 Seahawk, 2080S Gaming X Trio, and 3090 Gaming X Trio were all decent cards and gave me no issues.
 
I'm not sure about weight, but the MSI is definitely shorter. The ASRock sags, apparently, so I'd imagine it's heavier.

My original plan was to go with a 3070, but with prices the way they are it doesn't make much sense to me to not drop an extra 50 or so on a significantly better card in the 6800 xt...
 
Reason I mention weight is that it generally correlates to better cooling.

Not a guarantee, by any means, but it's an indicator.
 
You may want to check out XFX as a possibility too. I went with their 6900XT myself due to how well it was built, and the look.
 
The MSI has had some solid reviews from reputable sites. The ASRock is more of an unknown. I've taken a look at the XFX Merc, as well, but once I do that i start questioning whether I need a 6800 XT at all and I circle back to the 3070. Such is the life of an indecisive over analyzer.
 
sportwarrior said:
but once I do that i start questioning whether I need a 6800 XT at all and I circle back to the 3070.
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If you're looking at 1440p, the 6700xt is worth looking at. Can be had for $370 new nowadays.

On-topic: Have a MSI 6800xt, seems pretty good except the power limit is lower than other card for overclocking (9% instead of 15%). Flashed with a different BIOS (Saph) to get around this.
 
Yeah, this is the struggle, too. My eyes are wide right now after so long without a new build. But there is a reasonable part of me that wonders whether I shouldn't just go for something like a 6700 xt now and leave budget for an upgrade down the line. It's probably the smarter move, but I'm not thinking with my brain right now...
 
Any high level card you get right now will likely not perform that well on your older system. I upgraded from a 3770k system I built in 2013 to a ryzen 3900X in 2019, keeping my same 1080Ti. Just upgrading to a faster cpu let me get the performance being held back by my older slower processor. So I wouldnt throw tons of money on a high end card for your current system, and a 6700XT should be decent with a chance to grow in a new system when you replace it.
 
Lol my sig PC is a 12 year old build that has been, at various points, a gaming PC, a grad school computer, a professional home work station, and entirely mothballed. It's currently set up exclusively as a media server. It's still listed on my sig simply because it's my last custom build (but my 3rd overall). In the meantime I'm on my 3rd laptop in the last 12 years, which serves as my primary workstation and occasional gamer.

My current plan is to pick up an AM5 cpu/mobo combo in the next few weeks as the foundation for an entirely new build. At this point I'm simply trying to decide if I should compliment the build with a relatively frugal 6700 xt or a relatively splurgey 6800 xt. If I go 6700, it'll be a sapphire. But the 6800 xt would either be an MSI or the ASRock... hence, of course, this thread haha.
 
sportwarrior said:
The MSI has had some solid reviews from reputable sites. The ASRock is more of an unknown. I've taken a look at the XFX Merc, as well, but once I do that i start questioning whether I need a 6800 XT at all and I circle back to the 3070. Such is the life of an indecisive over analyzer.
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I feel you. Im in the middle of a new build as well and have "decided" for sure which card I am going to get multiple times, lol. Both are good at 1080p. I was going to go with a 3070 as well, but one of the first things I bought was a new monitor to run in 1440p. I have a 6gb 2060 and at 1440p I was running out of vram on Warhammer 3. This problem is only going to get worse with newer games so if you plan on going 1440p I think the 3070 is going to fall short with only 8gb of vram.
 
Deathmetal99 said:
I feel you. Im in the middle of a new build as well and have "decided" for sure which card I am going to get multiple times, lol. Both are good at 1080p. I was going to go with a 3070 as well, but one of the first things I bought was a new monitor to run in 1440p. I have a 6gb 2060 and at 1440p I was running out of vram on Warhammer 3. This problem is only going to get worse with newer games so if you plan on going 1440p I think the 3070 is going to fall short with only 8gb of vram.
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It already can in certain games with extra texture packs installed.
 
Deathmetal99 said:
I feel you. Im in the middle of a new build as well and have "decided" for sure which card I am going to get multiple times, lol. Both are good at 1080p. I was going to go with a 3070 as well, but one of the first things I bought was a new monitor to run in 1440p. I have a 6gb 2060 and at 1440p I was running out of vram on Warhammer 3. This problem is only going to get worse with newer games so if you plan on going 1440p I think the 3070 is going to fall short with only 8gb of vram.
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Lol I gave gone through this exact analysis, right down to the same game. Part of why I shifted from nvidia to AMD on this build is longevity... The amount of VRAM in the Radeon cards are gonna give them a longer practical lifespan than the RTX cards.
 
I can guarantee you won't regret MSI 6800XT unless you want to apply some RGB scheme other than default with some undervolting in mind - MSI Center (soft needed for Mystic Light) is resetting power limit and zero rpm feature in AMD drivers. But thats the only downsides. No coil whine - which is quite unique...

...XFX Merc319 are best air cooled variants, BUT DONT GO TO 6800 XT MERC319 CORE - it's only produced version, and you can't buy Merc319 Black anymore (they look the same, only difference in shop is its name - CORE vs. BLACK). Very lot of these have coil whine, which is impossible to get rid off - I tried 3 pieces, all possible solutions and none of them even make it quieter

ASRock.... Got very unpleasant experience with their 6 motherboards (B550 & X570 chipsets), not sure about coil whine, but temps are similar (slightly worse than MSI). Also keep in mind support level - at ASRock it's very low (at least in EU - Poland).
 
Deathmetal99 said:
Whats your thoughts on 12gb for 4K?
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I won't reccomend it. Many says it's fine, it's only allocation memory that shows more than 8GB VRAM, but let's just take facts:
- more new games will utilize UE5 engine and many other RAGE, and other engines, requirements are still going up
- lots of games from consoles will be ported not from PS4 /Xbox One, but XSX/PS5 with better textures in mind
- in 4K all current cards need DLSS/FSR to run with 60 FPS at new games, (so I chooses 2560x1440 display instead) so in the end 4K is still compromises...

As for 12GB VRAM it's suitable NOW for 1440p, can't imagine how 16GB will handle 4K, but if NV is putting that number in (only real one) 4080, it means that will be minimum (remember, they always saved on VRAM).
 
vlad_8011 said:
I won't reccomend it. Many says it's fine, it's only allocation memory that shows more than 8GB VRAM, but let's just take facts:
- more new games will utilize UE5 engine and many other RAGE, and other engines, requirements are still going up
- lots of games from consoles will be ported not from PS4 /Xbox One, but XSX/PS5 with better textures in mind
- in 4K all current cards need DLSS/FSR to run with 60 FPS at new games, (so I chooses 2560x1440 display instead) so in the end 4K is still compromises...

As for 12GB VRAM it's suitable NOW for 1440p, can't imagine how 16GB will handle 4K, but if NV is putting that number in (only real one) 4080, it means that will be minimum (remember, they always saved on VRAM).
Click to expand...
I had originally decided I was going to go with a 1440p setup, but then I found a Neo G7 monitor which is 4k for $450 bucks off. Now I'm trying to find a card to match it. I was going to go with a 40XX, but then I started worrying about availability and of course just how bloated Nvidias claims are on its performance. I found a 3080 12gb for $590 which hasn't arrived yet, but I may just go with a 6900xt or a 3090. At least the G7 looks great even in non native 1440p. I guess I can live with that for a year or 2 if I have to.
 
To OP, what is your price limit? I just saw that slick deals posted the asrock 6800xt for under 500. As a 3070 FE owner I would buy that in a heart beat. As of now I haven’t found the 8GB to be lacking for 1440p but I have noticed with ray tracing on usage gets fairly close to the limit. 16GB would make me feel a lot better as to longevity.
 
MSI if you ask me. Been using them since X470 days.....Asus lost me as a customer as I do not like the quality or effort they put into their motherboards today.
 
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