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Why do motherboard manufacturers stop making quality motherboards?

Last response: in Motherboards
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Why do motherboard manufacturers stop making quality motherboards?

Total: 13 votes (5 blank votes)

  • They are stupid.
  • 38 %
  • Mainstream motherboards for high end CPUs just are not in demand.
  • 13 %
  • They want people to buy their more expensive motherboards that are loaded with more options, but also come with more problems.
  • 38 %
  • They think all Americans like to Supersize even their computer parts, thus don't think anyone will buy the bare essential motherboard.
  • 13 %

I recently built a Phenom II x3 720 BE computer with an ASRock M3A780GXH/128M AM3 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard. It was a good build. Total cost was around $470. The motherboard was around $80, it unlocked the 4th core, overclocked to 3.4GHz, and was stable. From rumors I read, it sounded like most motherboard manufacturers that had options to be able to unlock the 4th core stopped doing so once word got out... and made updates to the BIOS that prevented 4th core unlocking.

Anyways... I was impressed with ASRock, so wanted to build an Intel Core i7 920 computer with the ASRock x58 Extreme. The price is around $169, but the reviews everywhere are STELLAR! Everyone that has it, loves it.

The problem is, you can't find it anywhere. They have it in stock in Australia, or Japan, but nowhere in the U.S.. Newegg gets it every two weeks, but it's sold out in a day. Amazon, Fry's, Microcenter, Mwave, even TigerDirect (whom I despise ordering from), don't have it. Even the stores listed in Google Marketplace (AllrightDeals) no longer have it. Everyone carries the Deluxe or Supercomputer, but the reviews for those boards have been just decent or not-too-great.

Instead, I spend a quarter of my build money on the EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard. It's twice as expensive as the ASRock x58 Extreme, but the reviews have been mixed-to-pretty good (not stellar). So I spent $150 more than I wanted... poor me. :p 

ASRock, if you're reading this. Wtf is up? You guys just lost money to EVGA. Raise the price of the ASRock x58 Extreme to $199 and manufacture more of them. Once the price of the i7 920 drops $50, there'll be more demand for mainstream motherboards that support it. Jetway, if you're reading this, too... fix some of your BIOS issues, you can clean up the mainstream market in a few months.

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Usually people don't suggest that companies RAISE their prices. I don't also think you should blame the retailers more than the manufacturer. You could have just bought the ASRock when it was in stock at newegg. There is a nice notification feature so you get an email when its in stock. I did exactly that for my friend who was building an i7 system.

Lol, yeah, but I'd buy a $200 ASRock x58 Extreme than buy the $300 EVGA 3-Way SLI. $100 saved can go elsewhere (more RAM or another Video Card to SLI in another year) as long as I know the cheaper board is stable. I've had the notification feature on for the board, but it never gave me any notifications. It's been on my item's list for almost 8 months, but when I want to order it, everything else I want to order the prices go up. This time it's the other way around and the board isn't in stock anywhere but Newegg if they have it. It's okay though, if I really wanted to save money, I'd have just built another x3 720 system (which was for my gf), and held off on the i7 920 system.
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Nice, thanks swifty_morgan. I cancelled my EVGA 3-Way SLI and ordered the ECS X58B-A. $199.99 with free shipping and a $20 rebate. Perfect board for what I need. Now that extra $105 ($125 after the rebate, if that $20 rebate actually happens) can go to something else. :) 
Motherboard Authority

Ya know, if the board continually sells out, then the price WILL rise. That's how things work. And Newegg isn't the only retailer around.

Clearly people ARE getting this board.
Motherboard Expert

For Asrock being cheaply priced, it is because Asrock is a cheap brand, just like Foxconn, Emaxx, ECS. The Evga board that is expensive that you were looking at is the fault of EVGA for product quality.

Trouble is, I really can't say anything about the longevity of Asrock boards as their products popularity have only gained significant ground during the C2D. Probably has something to do with Asus acquiring the brand.

Certain manufacturers still produce with quality in mind, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI(?), though the prices are usually a bit higher.
Motherboard Master

I am puzzled by the difference between the title of this thread and the actual topic. How does a desired motherboard being out of stock, particularly at newegg, warrant a title like "Why do motherboard manufacturers stop making quality motherboards?"

Really!
Why are there so many horror stories about DOA and infant mortality on $200 - 300? For i7 boards I'm talking over 15% (perusing newegg reviews for Asus and Gigabyte X58s). I don't mind paying for features i don't really need if it gets me a solid board, but thsi gives me no confidence and keeps me searching for something worth my while.
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