ASUS motherboard M2-CROSSHAIR vs MSI K9A2 Platinum

Comparison of motherboard M2-CROSSHAIR, K9A2 Platinum

42 specifications	A ASUS motherboard M2-CROSSHAIRView product	B MSI K9A2 PlatinumView product
Processoridentical
Processor manufacturer	AMD	AMD
Processor socket	Socket AM2	Socket AM2
Processor system buses supportedKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	2600 MHz
Memoryidentical
Number of memory slots	4	4
ECC сompatibilityKnown for one	ECC & Non-ECC	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Maximum internal memory	8 GB	8 GB
Internal I/O1 differ
USB 2.0 connectorsDiffers	3	6
Number of SATA connectors	6	6
Number of Parallel ATA connectorsKnown for one	0	—Unknown — not stated by the source
S/PDIF out connector	Yes	Yes
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
ATX Power connector (24-pin)	Yes	Yes
CPU fan connector	Yes	Yes
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Yes	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Number of IEEE1394 connectors	1	1
CD/AUX audio inKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Power fan connectorKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O portsidentical
USB 2.0 ports quantity	4	4
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
eSATA ports quantity	2	2
PS/2 ports quantity	2	2
Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports	1	1
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityKnown for one	0	—Unknown — not stated by the source
HDMI ports quantityKnown for one	0	—Unknown — not stated by the source
DVI-D ports quantityKnown for one	0	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Microphone in	Yes	Yes
S/PDIF out portKnown for one	Yes	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Digital audio optical outKnown for one	1	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Featuresidentical
Motherboard form factor	ATX	ATX
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Audio chipKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek ALC888 / ALC888T
Expansion slotsidentical
PCI Express x4 slotsKnown for one	1	—Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 slotsKnown for one	1	—Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI slotsKnown for one	3	—Unknown — not stated by the source
BIOSidentical
BIOS typeKnown for one	Award	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Other featuresidentical
Audio outputKnown for one	Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports	—Unknown — not stated by the source
EZ plug connectorKnown for one	Yes	—Unknown — not stated by the source
Floppy disk drive connectorKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Storage controllersidentical
RAID levelsKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	0, 1, 0+1
Networkidentical
LAN controllerKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek RTL8111B
Weight & dimensionsidentical
WidthKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	305 mm
DepthKnown for one	—Unknown — not stated by the source	245 mm

A dash means the value is not stated by the source. Unknown values are never counted for or against a product, and there is no overall score.