ASrock

[Bernardg]

Anandtech is a very strong supporter of ASrock. Other sites claim that ASrock products are made by Elite (ECS) that is a poor supplier.

I really like the product but am worried about having quality and support problems.

Any comments?

Thanks in advance
Bernardg

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I would also like to know.

subscribed

p.s. i thought they were made by Asus

 

[o1die]

I have used asrock for years, and had no more issues than with other brands. Several brands are or have been made by ecs. I've used their boards for years, and am typing this reply on an ecs g33 board. No problems in 8 months of use. The difference is in the bios setup, and online support and bios updates, which are better with asus or msi. If anything, I've had the most issues with gigabyte, but haven't used their newer models.

 

[tcsenter]

The first motherboards launched by ASRock were just rebranded ECS boards, but that was only the first six or seven models. ASRock has designed its own boards ever since then. Who cares where it was manufactured.

FYI: ASUS has outsourced boards to ECS and Foxconn, as needed during peak demand. Many ASUS entry-level value boards during the Socket A and 478 days were either ECS designed or manufactured.

 

[hans007]

ecs is basically the 2nd largest motherboard manufacturer in the world . They make fairly high quality products now , no worse than foxconn etc. I think some gigabyte and I know some abit was made by ECS.

 

[Stumps]

I always thought that Asrock were a poor mans Asus...

They are pretty good any way, My 4coredual VSTA has given me no problems for the last 2 and half years.

 

[Beanie46]

ASRock is chaired by Ted Hsu, one of the co-founders of parent company Asus. ASRock was originally spun off from Asus in 2002 in order to compete with companies like ECS and Foxconn for the commodity OEM market. Since then, however, ASRock has also gained momentum in the DIY sector and plans for moving the company upstream began in 2007 following a successful IPO on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

 

[deimos3428]

I have an Asrock motherboard, and have had no problems with it. However, I'm not crazy about their practice of disabling the built-in AMI BIOS recovery procedure. That might be a big deal for some:

http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=65951.0

 

[Bernardg]

Let me rephrase my question: I buy a motherboard every 6 years. Price is therefore not much an issue. Is it ther best I can buy?

 

[Beanie46]

Asrock is a budget board brand despite trying to move up. Same class as MSI and ECS and Biostar.

Not in the same class as Gigabyte, Asus, EVGA, etc.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Bernardg
Let me rephrase my question: I buy a motherboard every 6 years. Price is therefore not much an issue. Is it ther best I can buy?

ASRock has both value-segment and premium models. What are you looking at?

 

[Bernardg]

I am looking at a AM2 board

ASRock AOD790GX/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
140W phenom w/ 128M sideport memory, AM3 CPU ready

I do not how to get the link to Newegg. $100.

Is that a good choice? Some reviewer say that I should go with a AM3 board for future
ioptions but I do not understand why.

Thanks for your inputs.

Bernardg

 

[deimos3428]

I have that exact board and I like it. I've had it since February and so far it's been problem-free. I'd buy from Asrock again. However, whether or not it is a good choice depends on what you plan to do with your computer.

You likely won't be breaking any overclocking records, but it's good for low- to mid- range computing* and has an excellent set of features and good quality for the price.

* For that matter, you can also do reasonably crazy things and the motherboard won't hold you back: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=588218

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: Beanie46
Asrock is a budget board brand despite trying to move up. Same class as MSI and ECS and Biostar.

Not in the same class as Gigabyte, Asus, EVGA, etc.

MSI and Biostar are definitely not budget brands. Foxconn, MSI, ASUS, and GIGABYTE are the top motherboard producers and produce motherboards in all price ranges.

This doesn't look like a budget board to me.

Neither does this which is held as the best AMD motherboard.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
MSI and Biostar are definitely not budget brands.

Biostar certainly is, or was. I realize that they are trying to become "top tier", but they always were a budget brand.

 

[Keitero]

Biostar was hit or miss for me. Their T-Force boards are great budget boards that perform almost on par with the likes from Asus/MSI/Gigabyte/DFI. The older boards were flops mostly. As for ASRock, they seem like a knockoff to me, but I know that they make some interesting board designs and I would have no issues choosing them if I was on a budget crunch.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
MSI and Biostar are definitely not budget brands.

Biostar certainly is, or was. I realize that they are trying to become "top tier", but they always were a budget brand.

MSI certainly wasn't.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
MSI and Biostar are definitely not budget brands.

Biostar certainly is, or was. I realize that they are trying to become "top tier", but they always were a budget brand.

I think Biostar still has a ways to go before "top tier" status. Sure, their boards are overclocking really well and the quality keeps improving, however they need better warranty and end-user support.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Bernardg
ASRock AOD790GX/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

I do not how to get the link to Newegg. $100.

If you're concerned about ASRock, there are competing ASUS, Foxconn, Gigabyte, and MSI boards within only $10 ~ $15 of that (some after rebate):

ASUS M4A78-E AMD 790GX HDMI - $110.00 AR

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AMD 790GX HDMI - $115.00

Foxconn A7DA-S AMD 790GX HDMI - $105.00

MSI DKA790GX AMD 790GX HDMI - $105.00 AR

 

[Bernardg]

Hi deimos3428,

Thank you for giving me confidence.

Bernardg

 

[Bernardg]

Thank you for the inputs. Most inputs are not terribly enthusiastic about ASRock given the wealth of other established suppliers like those listed by tcsenter --ASUS, Gigabyte, Foxconn, MSI. Am I correct?

Bernardg

 

[Bernardg]

Thanks tcsenter and others,

Are you in general saying that, given the number of choices from better established suppliers in the same price range, I should probably stay away from ASRock and go with ASUS, Gigabyte, Foxconn, or MSI?

Bernardg

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: Bernardg
Are you in general saying that, given the number of choices from better established suppliers in the same price range, I should probably stay away from ASRock and go with ASUS, Gigabyte, Foxconn, or MSI?

No, I'm saying that since the ASRock isn't saving you more than several dollars, why not just buy what you want or makes you feel better?

 

[Bernardg]

Thanks tcscenter, I finally understand.

 

[Bernardg]

Operator malfunction. Sorry