It was to me, although I got my Doom for less than MSRP so the gap is even greater. This is the first board that's MINE and I'm still a novice, so I got something a bit nicer than an off the shelf IS or Ronix. I'm not opposed to a custom SC in the future. I love a lot of the art that's available so that's what I'd want if I ever felt like I was good enough to justify the price. We'll see.