Gripes with current manufacturers...

[ironic_sobriquet]

okay, so I need to vent... and I'm posting an ideal motherboard at the bottom of the page... so if you don't care about my rantings scroll down...

I'm getting pissed off by all of the compromised hardware we have foisted on us just because making niche hardware doesn't make as much money...
SO WHY NOT MAKE OPEN ENDED HARDWARE!?!
instead of disappointingly poor on board audio, give us a checklist and let us pick from several PCIe 1x cards (Or just don't include one and slash $50 off the tag...)
OR
if in the case of smaller boards like the mini ITX where you only get at most, one expansion slot, which isn't going twords audio, you're telling me I have to compromise because you think I'm unwilling to spend an extra $50 on quality onboard audio... well let me tell you something... were I using a larger board, I'd already going and ending up buying a $100 x-fi card to replace the stinky load you tossed on my board...

and why do high end GAMING mother boards STILL HAVE LEGACY I/O PORTS!?!
PATA AND PS/2? this baffles me beyond belief... bonk the PATA and get rid of the AHCI (unless it's emulated IDE through your SATA controller, then you free up a port for SATA)
ALSO! get rid of the PS/2 and free up the space for more USB ports... who in their right mind still uses a PS/2 HID? you can buy a USB multifunction keyboard/mouse combo from bestbuy for under $30



there were a few boards that actually fell into the "no (or not too much anyway) BS" category, first was the Foxconn Bloodrage (/gti) the GTI was a refined version with a significant price reduction, changes include the removal of Firewire, the absence of a SAS controller chip and a simpler cooling system on the chipset (they don't give you the 90mm fan for the north bridge) and power regulation hardware and also switched from giving you an X-fi card to a Xonar card... last thing about this mobo (GTI and reg.) is it only supports three sticks of ddr3 1800(2000oc'd) RAM... not really much of a problem considering the processor your plugging into this baby, but still... this is a full sized ATX motherboard, and the future is an unpredictable place...

another, still full of compromises... but giving you awesome capabilities in a super tiny product was the DFI LanParty Mi Mini-ITX 1156 p55 overclocking motherboard, the first Mini ITX board to accept Intel's i7 range of processors... (bitchin...) it had a decent on-board sound driver (It say's xFi on the board, but on the spec sheet is say's Realtek ALC885 which I've never heard of... I'm guessing this is the audio processor that sound blaster uses in their xFi products?) plus you get a PCIe x16 slot for a video card! it's a really nice board... but then you look at the back i/o ports and notice ps/2 ports... why? again... this is marketed to gamers who want a compact rig... you're not going to plug a ps/2 mouse/keyboard into your brand new i7 gaming rig... so why waste the real estate... especially on a mini ITX... AND they only give you three SATA 3gbps ports... thats it... maybe it's a limitation on the south bridge... but seriously... three? move them to the front of the board and stack them... I'm not really upset about this... cause it IS a very small motherboard... and you don't really need more than two 1tb 7200rpm drives in a RAID0 but still... three drives in a RAID5 would be nice, especially if you're dragging it around to geekouts and the like every weekend...

to be honest, I like both mobos... and they both lack something different, and with some refinement... could be totally kickass mobos...

one last thing, and this is more of a curriosity, if anyone cares, or knows... why don't they solder IC's to the underside of a mobo? you use standoffs, so they wouldn't touch the case... I'm getting into micro electonics next semester... so if no one knows maybe I'll ask my professor...

all in all I guess I'm saying I really really want a good SMALL motherboard (micro ATX is good but I love how small the mini ITX boards are!) with solid onboard audio or if micro atx then NO onboard audio and a PCIe 1x port, modern I/O ports (and enough of them!), and for the love of all that is holy GIVE US A BIOS THAT DOESN'T SUCK MONKEYDICKS!...

let me know if you think any of what I've said is unfounded or absurd... I guess you will probably let me know regardless of what I say, so let the hammers fly!

-Ian

 

[ironic_sobriquet]

I thought I should ask, what do you guys want to see in a motherboard?
what is your ideal motherboard for what ever you do?

 

[jsc]

I'm getting pissed off by all of the compromised hardware we have foisted on us just because making niche hardware doesn't make as much money...

You have it backwards. Motherboard designs are intended to appeal to as many builders as possible. And the mini-ITX boards are also niche products. What you want to use one for (gaming) is not their original purpose. Oh, wait - general purpose.

instead of disappointingly poor on board audio, give us a checklist and let us pick from several PCIe 1x cards (Or just don't include one and slash $50 off the tag...)

Modern HDA is good enough that that it is good enough for at least 90% of the people. Things like X-Fi and Xonar are the niche products. And you are not going to "slash $50 off the tag" of a $150 or even $200 motherboard by omitting the sound chip and the back audio connector.

and why do high end GAMING mother boards STILL HAVE LEGACY I/O PORTS!?!

Backwards compatibility - still. My G'byte P45 motherboard has that much maligned IDE connector and still has 10 SATA ports.

ALSO! get rid of the PS/2 and free up the space for more USB ports... who in their right mind still uses a PS/2 HID? you can buy a USB multifunction keyboard/mouse combo from bestbuy for under $30

I need those PS2 connectors. My KVM switch won't work without them. And besides, that same G'byte P45 motherboard has 8 USB ports on the back panel and 4 more internal ones for front panel use.

there were a few boards that actually fell into the "no (or not too much anyway) BS" category, first was the Foxconn Bloodrage (/gti) the GTI was a refined version with a significant price reduction, changes include the removal of Firewire, the absence of ... and power regulation hardware ..., ... and the future is an unpredictable place...

Power regulation hardware is the wrong place to cut corners. And if you really think about it, "future proofing" is a null concept.

one last thing, and this is more of a curriosity, if anyone cares, or knows... why don't they solder IC's to the underside of a mobo? you use standoffs, so they wouldn't touch the case... I'm getting into micro electonics next semester... so if no one knows maybe I'll ask my professor...

That's easy - production costs.

... and for the love of all that is holy GIVE US A BIOS THAT DOESN'T SUCK MONKEYDICKS!...

That's not really the problem. The problem is that everyone does their BIOS differently. For that matter, the fully adjustable BIOS is a niche product. The vast majority of PC's sold have a locked BIOS for several reasons. It's cheaper. It reduces support costs, meaning ... it's cheaper. There's little demand for it.

 

[jitpublisher]

^ I gotta lean with jsc on this one. Hopefully this is not quite a hammer toss, but here goes.
Seems to me that you want board makers to stop making boards that will suite most peoples needs, and start designing boards that meet your more specific needs? This is simply not reasonable. I am sorry, but as I read your post again, and try to find something in your statements that I may lend some compassion towards, it seems to be more the rantings of someone who is frustrated by their lack of understanding or knowledge. Please do not take offense to that, perhaps when start your new classes, you will begin to find answers to your own questions.

 

[ironic_sobriquet]

no, I don't mind the feed back, and I totally forgot about KVM switches... though I think they make USB ones (not that they're cheap).
and I suppose you're right about my ranting about my wanting more niche products rather than broad range, though the way I see it, a motherboard with no legacy ports, is not /really/ a niche product... just a product with no backwards compatibility.
I also didn't want to sound like I meant ALL motherboards should be this way... maybe just one model or series (call them: super custom! or something) somewhere my and my friends (whom helped me compile this list) could at least find something we actually want, not just something we're putting up with...

I also apologize if I came off naive or plain stupid... I have worked with computers for a very long time and sometimes when I get pissed about components not doing what I want, my logic can fall apart.

but still, A motherboard with total open endedness wouldn't be bad? I don't think this is absurd or asking too much.

I also forgot one issue I realized though sort of already know the answer to, which is the lack of WiFi on a miniITX board (again, DFI LanParty Mi) I look at ZoTec and I really love that they use the half sized mini PCIe cards... which was pure genious! maybe the next round of LanParty Mi boards will use this aswell...

thanks,
-Ian

ps: you guy's never mentioned what you want to see in a motherboard, maybe I can revise my list to appeal to a broader range of people!