MB tech support: is it usually pretty bad?

[labler88]

Its been a long time, but I'm thinking of rolling up my sleeves and building a computer again. I've thought that I might be happier with a machine I build on my own than what I can buy from HP and Dell.

What makes me hesitate is the number of bitter complaints in reviews posted on Newegg and elsewhere. I know, dissatisfied users are likelier to post reviews, and some post reviews deliberately to smear a competitor's product. Still, the impression I get is:

(*) Hardware compatibility is still catch as catch can. Problems with SATA 6gb controllers, with motherboards seeing all the memory they're supposed to see, with RAID set-ups and loading Win 7 and lots more. Yes, many reports systems that bolt together and post just fine, but many others run into problems that take weeks to resolve.

(*) Horrible or non-existent tech support. 1/2 hour on hold for a toll call, then disconnected. No response to e-mails. Endless wait for RMAs.

And all the manufacturers seem equally guilty in this regard. "I'm done with atrocious Asus support, it's Gigabyte for me from now on." "Gigabyte tech support totally blows, I'm sticking with Intel." "Intel tech support is the worst in the business, I've learned my lesson, back to Asus."

Letting HP or Dell build the computer is starting to look more attractive after all.

So, Tom's Hardware readers, my questions:

Is it really that bad? Can I expect to run into problems, or am I being misled by the high percentage of unfortunate, dissatisfied users who write reviews?

Is there a motherboard manufacturer that provides reasonable technical support?

 

[jlynch1]

I can't really comment on the support for motherboards or any other component as I am currently waiting on shipments of the buck of my first machine.

I do know this however, people are far more likely to post a review about a negative experience than a positive one. By-and-large, companies like Asus, Gigabyte (the motherboard I got btw), and Intel are in business still because they make quality products that work for most users. Because of their high price tags the negative users come out in droves to b**** and moan about their problems.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

^+1

I myself don't worry much about the warranties - if it goes bad i just buy a new one. But Asus, EVGA, MSI (and even giggy) have never let me down. Any boards i buy from them are quality boards.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

^ this +1 more

 

[labler88]

Thanks, jlynch1, Gekko Shadow and xxsker8er101xx, for sharing your thoughts. And jlynch1, I see your point: would these companies still be in business if they didn't make quality products?

I might just take the plunge and see how I do, but I feel nervous. I've scanned many, many comments forums in my years online, and think I've gotten good at separating the wheat from the chaff -- but there's enough smoke in comments about pc component manufacturers to make me suspect some real fire underneath.

I think the Asus tech support line is a toll number in Indiana. I wouldn't want to sit on hold for a half hour on a toll call to the midwest, and sure wouldn't want to do it if the CSR dropped the connection once I finally got through.

Or consider this thread, from the ASUS forum, about SATA 6G issues:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20100816061857468&board_id=1&model=Rampage+III+Gene&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

'That's Windows NT stuff,' is what I thought, when reading the bending-over-backward that users had to do to get 6G SATA to work. I expected compatibility issues of that type in the days of Win NT. Not with Win 7!

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback, and I'll either take a chance or play it safe with a built-by-someone-else box.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

Good luck with that mate =). I personally prefer taking the risk - you're not limited to the manufacturer's hardware. You know what you're putting In your system and you can hand-pick what you want.

But that's just me x)

 

[rand_79]

I order 95% of stuff from newegg. A few years back I ordered 3 boards for 3 systems.
1 was DOA.. in wierd way the clock generator was bad and would go wonky at times and other really wierd stuff. I prepaid rma for a MSI board.. Got that one shipped back the bad gigabyte. The msi wouldnt even power on .. was super DOA. Plopped down another 200$ got a premium ASUS.. and it finally worked..

the only 2 bad boards I got in about 65 boards over 10 years. Were back to back.

If I didnt know what I was doing that could be 2 bad reviews.. and I havent posted a single review on the other 60+ that worked.

Generally you have to read the whole review .. decide if its credible. and such.

some people are retards and give it bad review because ups crushed it etc.

 

[Gekko Shadow]

I order 95% of stuff from newegg. A few years back I ordered 3 boards for 3 systems.
1 was DOA.. in wierd way the clock generator was bad and would go wonky at times and other really wierd stuff. I prepaid rma for a MSI board.. Got that one shipped back the bad gigabyte. The msi wouldnt even power on .. was super DOA. Plopped down another 200$ got a premium ASUS.. and it finally worked..

the only 2 bad boards I got in about 65 boards over 10 years. Were back to back.

If I didnt know what I was doing that could be 2 bad reviews.. and I havent posted a single review on the other 60+ that worked.

Generally you have to read the whole review .. decide if its credible. and such.

some people are retards and give it bad review because ups crushed it etc.

^+1 definitely. one bad board does not mean the whole manufacturer is bad lol