Hi everyone! Some of you may have seen my post regarding building the Ultimate FSX Gaming PC based on the AMD 'Dragon Platform' utlitizing an AMD 790FX chipset base MoBo and Radeon HD 4890 video card. I have already ordered all the parts except the Mobo has been put on backorder. This has given me the chance to check out more MoBos and I found a brand new one from ASUS that looks great called the Crosshair III Formula. The one I have on back order is the MSI 790FX-GD70.Both boards are great and the MSI actually has more I/O ports, 4 PCIe x16 slots, 2 LANs, OC dial, supports up to 2166 speed RAM, and on board sound (Realtek). However, the ASUS board has a separate SupremeFX X-fi audio card, LCD Poster, and more. The ASUS board is a bit more expensive but seems more speciifcally designed for the gamer. One thing I don't like about the ASUS board is there is only one PS2 port for the keyboard and not one for the mouse. Stupid, I know, but I was relying on an older mouse to use with this system so I didn't have to buy one. Not a deal breaker though.So, my question for the techies is simple. Which MoBo would you recommend specifically to run an FSX system? The ASUS Crosshair III Formula or the MSI 790FX-GD70?

MSI does not build enthusiast-class motherboards. Asus however, does. The quality difference between the two brands is rather large. I wouldn't consider an MSI board for anything but a basic build for someone with very light usage in mind.

MSI does not build enthusiast-class motherboards. Asus however, does. The quality difference between the two brands is rather large. I wouldn't consider an MSI board for anything but a basic build for someone with very light usage in mind.

I know that's normally the case but this new MSI board has surprised alot of people (including me). It went up against the ASUS M4A79T and matched it or beat it in every test. The review was done by HotHardware.com. That's the reason I looked at it in the first place. It's also sold out at both Newegg and TigerDirect so it has obviously become popular.Then I saw the ASUS Crosshair III Formula and that looked awfully good as well. It's so new that there are no reviews to my knowledge but the few customer reviews at Newegg gave it an excellent rating. I really like the idea of a sound card instead of an on-board audio chip and the LCD Poster as well.Thanks so much for the input TechguyMaxC and that puts the ASUS board ahead by 1 so far!