Poll: The best motherboard manufacturer?

[VoodooExtreme]

You left out EPOX!!!
Rock solid mobo

(Still voted for Aopen cuz I never had any problems with that either... had it for a long time)

 

[LXi]

Epox added.

 

[Supergax]

I'm pretty much stuck on Soyo motherboards, even though the Intel SE440BX's I've used in the past were solid too (just out of date). We have some servers at work running on SuperMicro mobos, which work like champs.

 

[Sunner]

I voted Asus, I've used them both in my work(as a support tech) and on a lesser scale for private stuff.

Never had a problem with any of their boards, unless you count having to do BIOS updates for Win2K and such as trouble.

Also, their homepage is IMO by far supperior to every other manufacturer's in its ease of use and design.

As for price, where I live there really isnt much of a price diff between Asus, Abit, MSI or whatever you wanna buy, at best its like $20 which is pretty much nothing in the big picture.

 

[schmoe]

It's kinda funny that people pick Asus now... When I got the BX board everybody was saying "Abit"....

I say Asus cuz that's what board I got and it's been the best board that I've ever had.

 

[Muadib]

Asus!!!

 

[CrimsonWolf]

MSI...

They are inexpensive, packed with features, high quality, and stable. What more could you want? However Asus boards are pretty good as well.

 

[Thorn]

I'd have to vote Asus due to their incredible track record over the last several years... hell, they practically invented mainstream overclocking with the T2P4 back in `96 (it still ranks as one of my favorite boards of all time). It was awesome to be able to buy a P166MMX and OC it to an astounding 250MHz (83x3)!!

MSI would have to be second, they've done great things lately but they'll have to continue that for a while longer to get the nod as "best", AFAIC. And lastly, Tyan gets an honorable mention due to the wonderful (and inexpensive) SMP designs they've put out over the years.

 

[cmaMath13]

A'Open

I am personally getting an Asus, which I consider a great board, but I think overall A'Open's are the best.

 

[Linh]

my vote goes to asus

 

[Noriaki]

I like the way doomguy put it:

<< I'm an Asus owner but I voted for MSI because they've been releasing solid, reliable, feature filled and low priced motherboards. >>



I have an Asus board (K7M) and have used serveral K7Ms, P5As (and P5ABs), a few P3V4Xs and a pile of P3B-Fs, and I think Asus makes excellent quality boards. But lately MSi has been putting out Asus quality boards with a feature set the size of ABit's, MSi has impressed me alot the last 6 months. I'm not in the motherboard market right now, but if I were I'd be looking at MSi. Asus has been a long time favourite, but I think MSi has displaced them as top spot, though Asus would be a close second, but you don't get two votes.

Oh yeah and MSi's 6 PCI slots standard is nice, it seems most Asus boards are only 5 :frown: Stupid AMR...

 

[Mem]

Well it`s between Asus &amp; MSI, &amp; I think MSI has the edge on stability &amp; value for money so it`s MSI.Btw for those that don`t know MSI stands for Microstar,you would be surprise by how many don`t know that.

 

[oldfart]

ASUS for me. I agree with Thorn. I also have an old P55T2P4 (HX chipset board). I just put the latest greatest socket 7 chip in there, the AMD K6-3+ 450. It requires a 2.0Vcore. Yep, that ancient arse old board had the option, as well as a 75Mhz bus speed, updated bios, etc. They are very future proof. I also have a CUSL2 as my main system. Best mobo I've ever run across. I just put together a system for a buddy using the MSI 815E. Its also very nice, but not quite up to CUSL2 IMHO. Just a few picky things I guess. CUSL2 has AGP Pro, MSI doesn't. No heatsink on the 815 chip on the MSI. I thought the bios had a very &quot;cheesy&quot; look to it compared to the Asus. Reminded me of the old socket 7 stuff. Had to set a jumper to get to 133 FSB. Not big things, I'm just picky. I would say the MSI is a better value (the reason I used it). It has onboard sound and the ASUS doesn't for about $30 less. I haven't used either of the new generation Athlon boards so I can't comment on them. I gave MSI a 2nd chance after a horrendous experience with the BX-Master. That thing was a complete POS. It would not recognize an Aureal Vortex 2 sound card in any slot other than 1, or maybe slot 2. Many others had the same problem. It would also not go beyond 122 FSB with a Voodoo 3 AGP card. Many others also had this same issue with it. I was lucky enough to own both of them! I returned it and got an ASUS P3B-F, and it worked perfectly. I could put the sound card in any slot I wanted, and ran 140 FSB.

 

[atom]

I have boards from Asus, Soyo, and MSI in various systems. All are great. Right now I'd have to go for MSI for price, features, and stability. All 3 companies I've mentioned have rock solid boards but the price advantage of the MSI in most cases give it an edge.

Still have a soft spot for Soyo though. My first PC I ever built from scratch had a Soyo board.

 

[Horsepower]

Recently for me it has been Epox. My supplier talked me into the first when I built my first Athlon. The 2 Epox boards I have used have been rock stable. My previous experience was with Asus (lots of messing around afterwards to get things right), Intel (canned from Dell, not real flexible), and Shuttle (no problems with a cheapie).

 

[LXi]

Sorry I just have to cut in...

<<Just a few picky things I guess. CUSL2 has AGP Pro, MSI doesn't.>>

Are any of the best 3D accelerators in the market using AGP Pro? No.


<<No heatsink on the 815 chip on the MSI.>>

Does it really matter? No. Even if it doesn matter they can be had for like 2 bucks.


<<I thought the bios had a very &quot;cheesy&quot; look to it compared to the Asus. Reminded me of the old socket 7 stuff. Had to set a jumper to get to 133 FSB.>>

Appearance = everything? I dont think so. Abit is using the old Award BIOS just like MSI and nobody's complaining, and many web sites such as FiringSquad actually prefers the practical, simple and easy to use MSI BIOS over the fluffing Asus BIOS.

 

[GT1999]

Overall best motherboard manufacturer is ASUS. MSI has been doing good recently, but overall I would vote ASUS, by far.

 

[oldfart]

AGP Pro. None yet, but there will be. Future proof, like the extra voltage settings on the old HX board that weren't needed back then either. They are needed now. I can't see how having an extra feature can be a bad thing. If the next card that comes out is AGP Pro, I can use it. BTW, I know you really like the MSI board. So do I. I wasn't bashing it or anything. I bought it mostly on your recommendation. As I pointed out in my other post, I think its a better value. I just think the CUSL2 is a bit better. My opinion. Yours is different. That's ok.

 

[LXi]

Alright that cool, Im glad you gave the MSI a try, Im surprised someone actually listened to what I said, thanks.

 

[jacobnero6918]

The Asus A7v is a great motherboard but at $156 not the cheapest.

The Soyo newest board has almost everything the Asus does accept only cost $98

MSI is also a good middle ground motherboard although there priced at the same as the ASUS places I've looked lately.

 

[LXi]

<<MSI is also a good middle ground motherboard although there priced at the same as the ASUS places I've looked lately.>>

First of all MSI is not middle ground, they're as good as Asus or even better at times. Their K7T Pro2A is at ~$110 which is like $30 cheaper than the A7V, if thats not cheaper I dont know what is.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

ACK@$*)(@&amp;$... Votes for ABIT???!@*#?#

LXI,

you'd be surprised at how much I sympathize with you on the part about how no one listens to you...


Mike

 

[LXi]

If you're talking about MSI, yes.

If you're talking about the difference between &quot;the best&quot; and &quot;your favorite&quot;, yes and yes.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Who voted for FIC!! OMG thats terrible.

 

[RoboTECH]

LOL, &quot;middle ground&quot;

It's only &quot;middle ground&quot; in that the word hasn't gotten out fully that MSI makes the most stable, baddest ass mobo's around.

As I said before, Asus' days of dominance are over. Long live the new king, MSI.