Mephisto Master Chess vs Novag Obsidian

Hello,

Preferring to move the pieces in real rather than a computer, I would like to buy a desktop chess computer. During my research, I found two models that seem close to me in terms of performance, the Mesphisto Master Chess, and the Novag Obsidian.

I can't make my choice, and i would like to have your opinion on these two machines, which you prefer and why? I also read on several forums that Novag was a fair bit on the openings. Is it true?

Thank you in advance.

Thanks for your answer. And concerning the opening book, do you found a significative difference between them? On the link you gave, it says that the Master chess has 50 000 halfmoves, vs 8900 for the Novag. Isn'it a problem?  Which of these two machines has a style of play more 'human'?

J'ai l'obsidian, la finition est pourrie donc je déconseille. Je n'ai pas le Méphisto / saitek donc je ne peux pas commenter. J'ai le novag citrine mais l'obligation de se brancher est un vrai repoussoir.

De nos jours je recommenderai plutôt un smartphone et un vrai échiquier, c'est plus efficace et moins cher.

Ouais, effectivement, j'ai aussi lu qu'il y avait des problèmes de bulles sous le clavier notamment... Mais bon, si ce n'est que ça, et que l'ordinateur fonctionne quand même, ça ne me pose pas de problème. Au pire, il est garanti deux ans...

C'est surtout une tare esthétique mais vu que ces ordis n'ont plus grand chose pour eux à côté d'un smartphone, ça fait tache.

@Vladimurr : Les logiciels sur smartphone sont sûrement plus puissant, mais le problème, c'est que je n'en ai pas ;-).

So, i think i'll buy the Novag, some say it is more fun to play, and i like the wooden pieces. If I am disappointed, I will not hesitate to share it on this forum, same thing if I am satisfied! Thanks to those who replied.

After a long time, i can give my opinion on the Novag Obsidian.

So, as i was feared about, the opening book is really limited. After d4 d5; c4, it always answer by dxc4. That's just an example. There is always the possibility to enter the blow ourselves, but it is a bit tedious when you have to do for many openings.

Without this, i'm satisfied by this computer. For my level (around 1600), it's more than enough. Maybe a little weak in pawns finals.

Aesthetically, it is a bit tight, as has already been said. The wooden parts are very apréciables however.