An up-to-date £80 gaming motherboard for the AM3+ platform. AMD's AM3+ socket and associated chipsets have been on the market since 2011, which is a long time in the fast-moving world of desktop PC technology. The age of AM3+ poses a challenge for consumers looking to get the best value for money in their next build. AMD's CPUs may be hitting the right notes on price to performance but the rather dated selection of AM3+ motherboards are less compelling, pushing a lot of consumers towards Intel's newer Z97 platform that's flooded with choice.

MSI is looking to change that with its 970 Gaming motherboard which revitalises a stagnant AM3+ motherboard market. As its name suggests, the 970 Gaming makes use of AMD's 970 chipset, which is not quite as high-spec as the 990X or 990FX chipsets, granted, but the choice of the lower-end chipset does allow MSI to hit an aggressive price point of £80 here in the UK. From a feature perspective the MSI 970 Gaming is as good as more expensive Z97 equivalents such as the MSI Z97 Gaming 3 and Gaming 5.