* I'm really confused * It seems that ALL motherboards suck!

[bigbonthabeat]

I've been doing lots of research reading what people have to say about different motherboards. I'm looking for one that is LGA 1366 to fit with the new Intel i7 920. I looked on new egg for ASUS, Gigabyte and EVGA (it seems these are 3 reliable brands according to what people say). But after loooking at all of the reviews, it made me think that ALL 3 of these brands suck. For example, I read one review and someone said "I'm done with ASUS, I'm switching to Gigabyte." So I search the Gigabyte reviews and it says "I'm done with Gigabyte, I'm switching to ASUS."

I'm really confused at this point. I like the ASUS P6T, but I'm afraid I'm going to have problems with it (or any other motherboard I buy). What should I do?

thanks!

 

[huron]

I wouldn't put all that much weight into what reviewers say. Yes, take it into consideration, but do so with a grain of salt.

Check out tech sites (like here, anandtech, etc) and see. The P6T was always one of my recommendations and had been a good board for many.

I think that those three brands you listed are very good. People have problems with components from time to time - no brand is going to be perfect.

 

[rodney_ws]

I always assume that a large % of the people reporting problems with their computers have caused their own problems. Just read through the forums... people do some DUMB stuff. I try to filter out those "It don't work so I'm giving it 1 star" reviews and zero in on the more relevant ones.

 

[rodney_ws]

I received 2 sticks of OCZ Platinum memory and both tested bad. Since these are supposedly hand tested by OCZ, I had a hard time convincing myself that they arrived bad. My NewEgg review? 3 stars. It was just as easily my fault as theirs and we'll never know if I did something to damage them or if they arrived bad.

It's weeks later now and I should be getting my replacement RAM tomorrow according to the tracking info (finally!) However, nothing OCZ did would warrant a 1 star rating. Those people are overreacting. Go with a decent brand, spend a little more than and cross your fingers... everything should be fine.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Don't count the newegg reviews much, some are good but others are mostly computer newbies self-inflicting thier own problems and taking the anger out on a completley innocent product even if it wasn't the problem. If you know what you are doing, know how to properly troubleshoot a computer problem, know that everything in a computer is interdepedent and something at fault might not always be at fault, and you realize that the user is the problem in almost every case, not the part then almost any brand will work for you, asus, gigabyte, and evga are the most popular and are very good quality products for thier price and purpose. Look at thier specs and benchmarks<those are what count...and reviews from technical people who know what they are doing.

 

[bigbonthabeat]

Don't count the newegg reviews much, some are good but others are mostly computer newbies self-inflicting thier own problems and taking the anger out on a completley innocent product even if it wasn't the problem. If you know what you are doing, know how to properly troubleshoot a computer problem, know that everything in a computer is interdepedent and something at fault might not always be at fault, and you realize that the user is the problem in almost every case, not the part then almost any brand will work for you, asus, gigabyte, and evga are the most popular and are very good quality products for thier price and purpose. Look at thier specs and benchmarks<those are what count...and reviews from technical people who know what they are doing.

What do you mean by specs and benchmarks? And where can I find some good reviews from technical people who know what they're doing?

thanks!

 

[nebulaoperator]

Specs-specifications, benchmarking is a test. Mobo(motherboard) goes through variety of different test and normaly they test a few motherboards so they can do comparison after all. There plenty site for that reason like ( benchmarkreviews.com/ overclockers.com )and so on. Just cope with that amount of information

 

[bgd73]

a grain of salt is all it takes to make it come crashing down.


they do all suck, you need to learn the board specifically. I stopped at socket 478...
the sockets suck after that.

go for the smartest power supply ever, it will add some hours to whatever..
avoid raid.
do go for dual channel doubled.
HT is a winner,
multicore is a hoax.

be sure it really does 100watt for you cpu...take a look to the left of socket.
be sure there is more than one inductor
be sure there is an array of mosfets cooled...
empty spots on the board? those suck as bad as hat made them revise it in the first place...

have some xtreme2 auto urethane with fast hardener handy...

 

[amnotanoobie]

Looking at the newegg reviews of the P6T, 57% five stars of 300 is actually pretty good, and there is a very good chance that if you buy one it would work flawlessly. (Though there are some instances of bad luck and you'd get a DOA, but this is like the chances of getting hit by lightning. You know it is possible, but the possibility is marginal, but if it happens to you, it might just be bad luck.)

Compare that with ECS BLACK SERIES GF8200A, which is a known "cheap" brand that historically has high rates of return. (Looking at it 37% five stars of 379 is pretty low).


*My rule with newegg is that 50% or higher five stars is a pretty good product. Below 40% and you might experience problems. Though that's my thing.

 

[jsc]

I have had great success with Gigabyte motherboards. I have three, plus a household system, and one I helped a friend build.

Others have had the same sort of success with Asus.

To find reviews, google "<motherboard model> review".

 

[bigbonthabeat]

a grain of salt is all it takes to make it come crashing down.


they do all suck, you need to learn the board specifically. I stopped at socket 478...
the sockets suck after that.

go for the smartest power supply ever, it will add some hours to whatever..
avoid raid.
do go for dual channel doubled.
HT is a winner,
multicore is a hoax.

be sure it really does 100watt for you cpu...take a look to the left of socket.
be sure there is more than one inductor
be sure there is an array of mosfets cooled...
empty spots on the board? those suck as bad as hat made them revise it in the first place...

have some xtreme2 auto urethane with fast hardener handy...

Wow...a lot of info in one post thanks

 

[bigbonthabeat]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Also, I'm planning on buying a processor from someone on craigslist. He has all the receipts and he says it's boxed not OEM. Does anyone think it's a bad idea to go for this?

 

[OvrClkr]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Also, I'm planning on buying a processor from someone on craigslist. He has all the receipts and he says it's boxed not OEM. Does anyone think it's a bad idea to go for this?

I would not buy a CPU off of craigslist. You don't know in what shape it will be in. Buy a brand new CPU, don't settle for anything less.

Just like everyone else said, don't pay attention to all the reviews you see on the Egg, even though many are legit there are too many un-educated users that do not know much about PC's and definitely should not be building in the first place. Just look for a board that has a good track record and you will be fine. RULE #1, make sure you ground yourself before you touch the board during installation... This is mainly one of the reasons you will see a negative review on the EGG where the user states " GARBAGE" !!! or STEER AWAYYY!!!!! All boards are factory tested before they leave the assembly line, so that just gives you proof that the damaged was caused by the user. A small % of shipped boards are damaged during transit, so there is a very small chance this will happen to you. And then there is poor quality manufacturing, this normally pertains to inferior brands. ASUS, Gigabyte and EVGA do not fall under that category

 

[bigbonthabeat]

I would not buy a CPU off of craigslist. You don't know in what shape it will be in. Buy a brand new CPU, don't settle for anything less.

Just like everyone else said, don't pay attention to all the reviews you see on the Egg, even though many are legit there are too many un-educated users that do not know much about PC's and definitely should not be building in the first place. Just look for a board that has a good track record and you will be fine. RULE #1, make sure you ground yourself before you touch the board during installation... This is mainly one of the reasons you will see a negative review on the EGG where the user states " GARBAGE" !!! or STEER AWAYYY!!!!! All boards are factory tested before they leave the assembly line, so that just gives you proof that the damaged was caused by the user. A small % of shipped boards are damaged during transit, so there is a very small chance this will happen to you. And then there is poor quality manufacturing, this normally pertains to inferior brands. ASUS, Gigabyte and EVGA do not fall under that category

Do you think it's a bad idea if it was never used and he has all the reciepts and warranty is still valid ?

 

[amnotanoobie]

Do you think it's a bad idea if it was never used and he has all the reciepts and warranty is still valid ?

How could you really tell if the user never used the processor? He might have just some 90% isopropyl, clean the surface of the old thermal material, smack it in with an unused fan, and all the packaging.

Problem is you couldn't tell if any of the transistor innards aren't burned due to a bad overclock. Till you slap it into your motherboard, start overclocking, then everything goes to hell.

 

[bigbonthabeat]

How could you really tell if the user never used the processor? He might have just some 90% isopropyl, clean the surface of the old thermal material, smack it in with an unused fan, and all the packaging.

Problem is you couldn't tell if any of the transistor innards aren't burned due to a bad overclock. Till you slap it into your motherboard, start overclocking, then everything goes to hell.

Wouldn't a warranty cover that?

 

[coppertrail]

I always assume that a large % of the people reporting problems with their computers have caused their own problems. Just read through the forums... people do some DUMB stuff. I try to filter out those "It don't work so I'm giving it 1 star" reviews and zero in on the more relevant ones.

I too am getting ready to build an 17 920 box and had the same thoughts. I'm going to purchase my components through Newegg and will get the extended warrantee on the Motherboard and possibly the memory. When you look at it, it still ends up being cheaper than buying a system through Dell, HP, etc with their 2/3 year warrantee, plus I know the components I'm getting.

If you get the warrantee and your Mobo fails in 6 mo., you deal with Newegg for a replacement rather than the manufacturer. FWIT, I've decided on an EVGA board, the $259 model .

 

[OvrClkr]

Wouldn't a warranty cover that?

Not if the CPU was fried due to overclocking... The reason I want you to buy a new CPU is due to the fact that if the CPU is faulty from the get-go you can return it and get a replacememt. Try to buy all your hardware from one place, it makes life a whole lot easier

 

[jsc]

Do you think it's a bad idea if it was never used and he has all the reciepts and warranty is still valid ?

If it was still in a factory sealed box, OK. Otherwise, it's still a bad idea.