MSI K8N Diamond Plus is equipped with an audio controller, based on Sound Blaster Audigy SE. Cognominal Audigy SE card is an exact copy of the Live! 24-bit. (The old product bears a new name probably for marketing reasons.) Launched as a budget solution, Live! 24-bit turned out quite successful. It's no worse than Audigy cards in its functions (7.1 audio format, 24 bit 96 kHz, high-quality software support for 3D audio in games and EAX 3.0 extensions).

MSI did a good job to make a High-End board. We should mention the original dynamic overclocking technology, which controls not only a processor, but also system parameters. The expert design of the model and its interesting bundle allow us to recommend it to all enthusiasts, who will also get a tiny bonus from the sterling SLI x16 in games. The only serious disadvantage is the price, which is nearly $100 as high (at the time this article was written) as that for the expensive MSI K8N Diamond (on NVIDIA nForce4 SLI, with the same integrated audio).

What concerns a tube in the audio section, we should point out a difference from the pioneer among tube motherboards - AOpen AX4B-533 Tube. In this AOpen model, the tube was integrated into the motherboard. But the MSI motherboard has the tube unit connected to standard outputs at the rear panel and this unit is not a mandatory component. Moreover, it can be used with any other motherboard and sound card.