MSI Performance Gaming AMD X470 Ryzen 2ND and 3rd Gen AM4 DDR4 DVI HDMI Onboard Graphics CFX ATX Motherboard (X470 GAMING PLUS Max)

I've never built my own PC before. I knew I wanted something like an x470 so I could continue to upgrade it over time. I researched on Reddit and various youtube channels, and the x470 gives me what I need. Mainly, it will support AMD processor upgrades for about as long as I could ever want. If I ever want to overclock anything, it will also be able to handle that, thanks to solid heat management built into the board.Again, I've never built a PC. Even so, installation was very straightforward. It fit into my case well, the processor was easy to install, and the ram went in nicely. The stock cooler that came with my CPU went in well. And to my surprise, my red Ballistix ram looks totally sick with the red board. I'm not really an RGB guy, but even my wife thought that it looked killer (see included picture, pardon my yellow lights and cable management).I was nervous I'd break something during installation, but all the screws went in well. Everything is labeled so you don't mess anything up. The RAM required some pressure to get in, which i was afraid of, but it went in fine. The only tricky thing was the case's front panel cables, but that's not on MSI. Helpfully, MSI included a diagram on how to install those in the Manual.If there was anything tricky for a beginner on this motherboard, I didn't run into it.Once I got to updates, the MSI Live software basically did everything for me. I did flash the new BIOS, but I don't think I had to do that. I just wanted to see if I could do it on my own. I could! And I've never touched anything like that before. In any case, the software keeps everything up to date and made updating everything easy. It'll even auto-detect your board and help you register it so you don't have to plug in those long serial numbers on your own.I'm currently running an AMD 2400g, which has integrated graphics so I don't yet need a graphics card. It can run all the modern games at decent settings. It's not going to blow anything away, but I'm mainly producing music, so it's not a huge deal. Once I save up enough for, say an AMD 3700x and a decent graphics card, this thing will chug away at anything on great settings.I also knew I wanted to boost my Crucial Ballistix RAM a bit, and from what I researched, this board was a solid option at a good pricepoint to do so. Something about the way it's built handles heat well, I guess. It's not like, super pro enthusiast level, but I'm not pushing any envelopes here. I was considering the x570 boards, but those are bleeding edge. Going with the x470 gaming plus, I saved about $100.I then played around with overclocking, because I like fiddling with technology. The BIOS makes it super easy. Literally, you can just click the boost button, and it will do it for you.The included ram settings are some of the coolest things for a beginner. The board comes pre-loaded with settings that are researched to be stable. I'm currently running 16gb of 3200mhz RAM. With the included BIOS, I clicked a recommended setting to run it at 3466mhz. Completely cool and stable at that setting. That little tweak made a large difference in the stress test (I used Cinebench, which many youtubers use for their videos). I'm going to leave it there, because...I ran into trouble trying to stray beyond my knowledge.I tweaked some more advanced settings with AMD's Master utility and pushed things too far. My computer wouldn't come on. I panicked a bit, but fortunately, MSI thought ahead about people like me and included a "reset CMOS" button. You just unplug your PC from the wall, hold that for 5-10 seconds, and it resets the board back to default settings. Came on again right away, perfectly.Saved my beginner butt pretty well.So, I'm currently running my processer at 3.9ghz and my DDR4 RAM at 3466mhz. Super stable. If I'm playing a game, I'm playing Apex Legends and Path of Exile. Both look great on my crappy monitor (part of the eventual upgrade list) and run smooth. So far, audio production hasn't seen any issues, though I've not gotten into anything heavy.To answer some basic questions:Best features: Included overclock settings (see included picture) and CMOS reset. Bumped my Cinebench score from 850ish to 1500. When I pushed further outside of the BIOS and messed everything up, I just reset it and everything was peachy keen.Why this board?: I wanted advanced and upgradable. I read MSI treats its customers well compared to other manufacturers, and I knew I'd get updates on this guy. So I got the x470 gaming plus, which is upgradeable, and a really solid pricepoint.It definitely exceeds my expectations, but I'm a beginner, so I don't really know what to expect. But if you're a beginner, know that my experience was great, and they even kept me from messing stuff up with the CMOS feature.If there's any weakness to the product, I'd love for MSI to include a piece in which to put your case's cables, then plug that piece into the motherboard. The diagram is fine, but I've got big hands and those are really small pieces and pins. A labeled plastic guide would have made that brilliant, but some cases have that, some don't.Other than that, the x470 board has been great for me, having never built a computer before. I mean, they basically update everything for you (see MSI live screenshot), which really helped me out.

Let me begin by saying this mainboard has impressed and delighted me. I would not get another one for any reason. You should probably get this too.But MSI? Are you reading this? First, thank you for taking the care to build an excellent product and making it look good. Sincerely. Lovely job overall and I am very, very grateful for it.That having been said. . . .If you want a bit of constructive criticism, I've got some. Don't worry: it's quite minor.In an otherwise just-about flawless board with stunningly good firmware, I am dumbfounded and utterly perplexed by the following:1) AMD virtualization extensions are considered an "overclocking setting". I expected this in the advanced option section, or maybe security (thought that would have been weird too.) But overclocking? Did that entire menu begin existence as the "Way too complicated for the casual user" menu? Because that would make sense. I'm not aware of virtualization extensions being in any way useful to an overclocker. Maybe I'm naieve?One could expect to find virtualization extensions in the CPU settings menu. It's not there. It's an overclocking setting. Huh.So -- with an otherwise flawless menu system with a degree of control I'm frankly astounded and delighted by, this utterly stumps me. It could well be one of the only less-than-perfect decisions made in the design of the firmware for this board. The other one is:2) The AMD virtualization extensions were labeled: "SVM" without any real clarification in the menu. Using the search function for "Virtual" did not find "SVM". There was not any apparent documentation or hints to lead to this option. Search in firmware is a luxury and a very, very good idea. If I could humbly make a crituque, I'd suggest making sure that "Virtualization", "Virtual", "AMD-V", and similar terms all point to SVM. Please.Adding to this, Google will only help if you mention the mainboard model / chipset, manufacturer, and desired function together. And that because people have posted related information on forums.SVM, if you google it, is an AI / machine learning algorithm. Sure, there is "VM" in there, but I was looking for "AMD-V" like VirtualBox or VMWare call it.So, SVM is supposed to stand for "Secure Virtual Machine." That's fine. And I should have thought of that. But if one is already not expecting to find this in the overclocking settings menu, then seeing this zip past on the screen will not excite recognition immediately.It took me a little while and one good google querry to figure this out. And I feel like I should have figured this out without even that. It took all of, what, 10 minutes from me going to knowing I had a problem to being delighted again.So, really, that is not a reason not to get this mainboard. It is absolutely wonderful, from layout to performance to stability to configuration -- at least so far. The workmanship is excellent and it is priced very competitively.I love it. Let's be clear: this motherboard has made me happier than any other I've ever owned.Except for the above very small, easily resolved things, I so far think this thing is perfect. I'm writing about this because: A) somebody might read this and realize they really DO NOT NEED TO RETURN A PERFECTLY GOOD MAINBOARD, and B) With all the very, very good decisions made and the overall terrific job done on this product, this one strange placement of this option is rather amusing.But yes, if you're wondering: with SVM enabled, this thing does the job admirably. The performance is flawless as far as I have found so far. This board may be gamer-centric -- especially in marketing -- but general productivity and programming are supported just as well. If you want a solid, quality platform to process just about anything, the value and flexibility this board offers is most welcome.Get this board. You won't regret it. Just remember to Google wisely if you can't find what you're looking for in setup.