Poll: The best motherboard manufacturer?

[Syborg1211]

Although my vote went to MSI and Asus is great, what is wrong with Abit? I am running on one as we speak. Abit was the best back around the BX days. My Be6-2 is a perfectly stable board... I can't even remember the last time this system crashed (other than when my graphics card heatsink fell off, and you cant really blame the motherboard unless you say it's all the motherboard's fault for hanging the graphics card upright) and it is on 24-7.

 

[andrey]

Asus definetely will be number one choice, with MSI coming at the second place.

 

[Midnight Rambler]

Intel and Asus.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

LXI,

That, and more so the fact that people don't listen to other's on a BBS who really know their stuff(not really me, but others for sure). They would rather read a Website review and totally believe it.

For example, i've seen John, and Modus, both very experienced computer people come into your threads and back-bench your support of MSI.

For me, its like the socket-A cooling situation. People like JohnCar(who has decades of Thermodynamics work) and Shoarthing are ignored for the sake of believing "Anandtech" because Anandtech wrote it.


Mike

 

[LXi]

Well people got their opinions, thats the thing. Usually they believe their favorite IS the best, to give a classic example, those Abit supporters, I think they know well enough Abit isn't the absolute best in making motherboards, but they still voted for them. It's kinda like the 2 party system in the US government, the only two real choices were Asus and MicroStar.

We still have many knowledgable people believing in Asus, that explains why Asus has been gaining so much ground in the poll. Right in this thread, compuwiz1, thorn, and andrey all voted for Asus, so did many others, they have their reasons.

 

[Super6]

Best mobo manufacturer? Asus. Real world favorites include Soyo, MSI, and recently Epox.

Super6

 

[Subversal]

I don't base no where near my whole decision on a website's recommendation. Mostly it gets my attention but thats it. Now using 3 MSI boards, 2 ASUS, and 2 ABIT I'd have to go with MSI overall. All three make great boards but I just don't have the time to "tweak" boards like I used too.

 

[LXi]

Please cast your vote! I appreciate it.

 

[borealiss]

i see what some of you are saying about "favorite" and "best". if i were to pick favorite, it would be soyo. if it was "best," i would have to go with intel.

 

[Shockwave]

I figure everyone should know what I like...Abit is my *personal* favorite, but...overall, I would probably have to go with MSI. BUT!! I will NEVER EVER EVER again admit that..............

 

[Thorn]

I voted Asus for several reasons.

1.) They have a tradition of outstanding quality that spans several years.

2.) They've supported OCers longer than any other mobo maker (see comments about afore mentioned T2P4).

3.) They're readily available everywhere.

4.) They have some of the most feature-rich/future-proof products available.

5.) A track record of great SMP boards.

6.) Top shelf stability under almost any situation.

The things I don't like about Asus.

1.) Pricey

2.) I wish all their retail boards had 6 PCI slots standard.

And really... that's about it. I don't mind spending some extra bucks to get their quality, maybe some people do. If so, that's their choice. Sure, MSI has really improved a lot. And for OCers and most home users they're a great choice, but overall I have to give the nod to Asus. They've been hitting it hard for far too long to overlook. That's the mark of a great board maker (the best board maker IMO)... not just a great board. And isn't that what we were asked to judge?

 

[Xanathar]

I noticed no one mentioned Supermicro, or IWill. Dont forget some of the high end boards now

 

[Romaleos]

I vote SOYO. Their motherboards are the best in terms of price/performance/stability.
Currently, I own an Asus but I think their boards are overpriced.

 

[fdiskboy]

Just bought an Abit KT7-RAID.

Won't be buying Abit again.

 

[KaiLord]

I vote MSI.

On a side note I have an old Biostar that runs 24/7 for connections sharing (and of course RC5) Its running a PI 233 @ 290 and I never have problems with it.

 

[LXi]

Please vote, thanks again.

 

[LXi]

...

 

[Varborta]

I own an MSI and heard so much about ASUS maybe asus is better but so far MSI K7TPRO is solid. I'll have to lean toward MSI count me as MSI!

 

[dennilfloss]

Well, I had an Aopen AX6BC and was very satisfied with it til it was nuked by a virus. Took Aopen one full month to come to that conclusion and tell me that they would not replace it. One month without AnandTech. :Q Needless to say, I switched to an ASUS P3B-F and I'm happy with it so far. I am upgrading to a Duron and have decided to go the Microstar rather than ASUS way.

 

[gtd2000]

I started with an Epox MVP3-E very stable and reliable, upgraded to an MVP3-G when I got a TNT card - very stable and reliable.

Upgraded to a C300@450Mhz on an ABIT BH6, I can only say the ABIT was excellent for overclocking but not impressed otherwise. It ran my C300@450 but apart from that pretty useless - only one stick of RAM could be used when overclocked, furthest ISA slot would not detect my ISA modem.

Now running an ABIT BX6-2.0 with a PIII450@600, better than the BH6 but not brilliant...I think windows is more likely to be the cause of my major grip - memory resources.

Have a Mega Star T6BXA BX motherboard that runs my PII350 @ 466Mhz (133FSB) totally stable at default volts, seems no worse than any other motherboard?

So far Epox has given the best satisfaction..... but maybe not the best..

 

[LXi]

This is my opinion, but... voting for motherboard manufacturer isnt much different from American politics, there are only two real choices in the voting booth, Republicans or Democrats. Asus or MicroStar.

 

[RoboTECH]

I think people are placing a bit too much stock in Anand's recent website review

The MSI BX Master has been around for quite awhile, and has royally kicked ass for quite awhile.

Having been a reformed Asus/Abit nut, the MSI's I've built have been absolutely fantastic. Liked the MSI so much, I ditched the Abit!

I like Asus, but they still have VERY ANNOYING problems with

1) TRUE BIOS overclocking
2) voltage control
3) Temperature reading

Sorry. MSI has shown zero problems.

Abit still has that obsession with the POS HPT ATA controller. Blah. MSI uses Promise onboard, and it's a whoel helluva lot better. Their QC seems to be a lot better, too. I've had to return Abit motherboards. Never had to return an MSI.

Soyo is okay. They're just kinda....boring. Nothing special. Decent price, but rarely the leaders or the innovators.

Supermicro produces some nice dualie boards. My bro has had a pair of 700s @ 933 for awhile now, loves it to death.

As for me, MSI has won me over, and that was BEFORE Anand got with the program and gave them their well-deserved credit.

 

[gtd2000]

Lxi,
US politics r a joke.......lol
Hope the motherboards can be taken more seriously.... a lot more seriously..where else in the world but the US of A
btw .... "US" has a totally different meaning in other countries....the latest election farce only helped confirm it..

 

[Fisher999]

I know I'll get reemed for this but (prior to the Vancouver i-820 and the i-810 mobos) my vote goes to INTEL.

I know, I know, limited flexibiltiy and BIOS options, no overclocking, etc...

But even reviews at THIS site as well as the other respected sites including Dr. Tom's have pointed out that for overall RELIABILITY and STABILITY, INTEL manufactured the finest motherboards (with the exceptions noted).

Also, both the sites mentioned often point out the AOpen has consistently manufactured boards of high reliability and stability and having had experience with them I can attest to that fact.

 

[Gothmoth]

INTEL BX BOARDS = ASUS, Aopen.

AMD BOARDS = MSI (nothing else)