Motherboard Manufacturers
Could somebody compile a good list of all or most of the motherboard manufacturers whos products are available in the USA and aren't crap.
I want this because I want to check out what everyone's got and I never seem to be able to remember a lot of brands.
I want this because I want to check out what everyone's got and I never seem to be able to remember a lot of brands.
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(Keep in mind this is my oppinion don't flame me if your is diffrent
1.Tyan (never seen a dead one)
2.Asus (seen very few dead ones all over relieable and fast boards)
3.DFI (fast boards newer ones are relieable)
4.Albatron (relieable)
5.Msi (fast and fairly relieable)
6.Epox (fairly relieable but not so fast)
7.Abit (not so relieable but very fast)
8.Asrock (if you gota go value *there owned by asus* there relieable and cheep)
Brands to avoid
1.Pc Chips (havent seen a live one)
2.Forgot the brand model T (computer store in whitby) computers uses it in there machines
3.Ecs (Better the pc chips same compeny tho ...)
I like Chaintech but their new lines are uninspiring, that said the socket 478 875 based board the 9CJ-S Zenith roxors my boxors and the socket A NF2-400 based Zenith also kicks butt.
Asus, MSI, Abit, DFI, and maybe Epox for single CPU systems.
ECS for a FAH machine only. I wouldnt buy albatron, asrock, pc chips, gigabyte, chaintch, or soyo for a system of mine.
1. Tyan
2. MSI
3. ASUS
Single CPU, no overclocking:
1. ASUS
2. MSI
3. Abit
Single CPU, overclocking:
1. DFI
2. ABIT
3. ASUS
What I will never buy:
1. PC Chips
2. Gigabyte
3. Chaintech
4. Asrock
5. Soyo
If faced with buying another socket 478 board I'd either choose a DFI 875 PRO B or another Zenith and likely would get the Zenith because DFI's halloween color scheme really doesn't tickle my fancy at all.
I really don't understand what this aversion you have to Chaintech boards is based on, ever own one? :shakehead
but do most people put asus at the tops of their lists? I've had nothing with bad luck with mine, it's rma'd for the 3rd time now. Of course I havn't had experience with any other models, but 4 boards tend to stand out on me.
Also, do you guys and gals know if the support is based in the U.S. for the brands you like? I hate it when support is in China. Just go to www.asus.com and you can obviously tell the site was not made in the U.S.
For example:
ABIT's US office: www.abit-usa.com
ASUS's main www.asus.com.tw will give you links to their various overseas offices.
http://usa.asus.com/index.htm for their US office
and yes, they do have support in the US... ASUS for example:
I agree with everything there but asrock :S
I have 2 machines powered by them both going strong 2 years and Ive never really seen a dead asrock and ges put a ton of them in value machines (Before we decided to cut the price and downgrade to ecs)
Ive never had a issue with there boards Or seen someone with a issue (well other then that guy who keep blowing his usb on his boards here on sm)
Also asus's rma department is great
I sent in a asus a7n8x-x because the board was a rev 1 and was dusty so they sent me a new one rev 2
Ah, how would we survive if the companies followed the hard drive companies? I don't even want to think about it.
For example, I would never buy a Chaintech.. Not because they're bad, but because DFI and Abit would probably do the job better.
ASUS makes excelent boards although for a long time they were fugly as sin, I think they've finally (thank God) caught on that looks do matter somewhat to prospective mobo buyers.
MSI, I just have never been terribly impressed with them, what they could acheive OC wise an ASUS would trump it even without as many bells and whistles in the bios. Never really impressed me although their socket 939 NF3 Ultra board looks to be a nice comeback for them.
Back to the matter at hand, 2003 was a banner year for Chaintech, their motherboards looked hot, ran like stink (in a good way) and had a killer loadout of accessories, lately they're just blah.
Madmat, I'm glad you have been having a good experience with your Chaintech boards; I just hope that you don't need to talk to their tech support bunch in the future.
or is there something I forgot to do other than pay them twice?
Scary when you and I agree so amazingly close on a post with so many variables. I might shuffle the ranking but the members on each list are close.
For 2 cpu rigs you gotta chunk supermicro and Intel in for the xeon boards. Super stable. No OC'ing but they are both some of the most STABLE and well supported 2 cpu rigs made in the world. And yes I have used them all at this point it seems. (long sigh...)
Tex
I agree almost to the letter here with Thrax, except that I did buy a Chaintech board for my Micro-ATX machine. The reviews were a lot higher for it than for the micro-atx offerings from the 'good' brands in the nForce2 boards they had. I don't regret it. I do regret buying the Chaintech 7.1ch sound card I put in the machine just a little bit, though - for driver reasons. But not I'm way o/t.
Anyway, Good thread!
I guess you don't remember me sending my Zenith back in late December or early January. Here's a tip for you, call them. I called them, got my RMA number, sent my board in and had a new board sitting in my hands 11 days later.
Personally I almost never use web forms to do anything and if they ask me "Can you email us?" when I call I'll laugh at them and say "I wish I could but my PC's dead, that's why I'm not online." and that usually shuts 'em up.
I've dealt with Asus RMA dept. via email one time, in reference to my $500 5900U that died on me over a year ago and I still haven't heard a peep out of them but thankfully newegg took care of the matter instead although they did pro-rate the card and gave me a card worth 70% of what I paid for the Asus.
My advice to you mudd is to call Chaintech and talk to a customer service rep. If you need it I have the number scrawled down in my manual (which incedentially is 86 pages long).
Now the system i'm using has a GA-7N400 Pro2 in it and it's been running non-stop now for over a year and a half. I've tried overclocking it once or twice without any luck, but that's no big deal. I prefer to run it stock speed anyways.
Why is that so many people here dislike Gigabyte though? I have used quite a lot of systems with their boards in them and i have been quite impressed with their performance.
I also have another system here with an MSI board in it (Celeron 1.4GHz), but i havn't had it long enough to pass judgement on it. It seems to be running fine though.
baj
Tex