ASUS an unsafe bet right now?

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magneticballs

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I've narrowed my choice of motherboard for my new i5-2500k build to an ASUS P8P67 Rev3.0 or a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 based on the features I need and the fact that they're both in stock locally and priced the same ($135 canadian after rebates).

Overall it seems like the ASUS is the best choice because I'm not planning any dual-GPU stuff and the fan control options on the Gigabyte suck, but I'm seeing a LOT of complaints online about ASUS boards failing lately.

Check out the Newegg ratings, there are almost as many 1/5s as there are 5/5s, lots from the past month, and even a lot of the higher ratings are from people who's boards failed and gave credit for the features anyway. A guy I know who work at a store also says more ASUS boards are coming back than others.

I'm going for a modestly overclocked (~4.5 Ghz) near-silent gaming build, no Crossfire, and I want to use onboard fan control, both of which the ASUS looks better for.

Is this problem being blown out of proportion or should I stay away from the ASUS board?
 
B

beenthere

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I've been building high end PCs for over 20 years and IME Asus mobos are RAM sensitive and less reliable than Gigabyte mobos. I don't know that Asus has any abnormal issue with their mobos right now. It may just be the normal high return rate? For performance and reliability I recommend Gigabyte mobos.
 
suteck

suteck

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I seem to be choosing the Gigabyte boards also lately. They hold up better for me than the asus boards have been. What good are extra features if your board is in the rma mail?
 
ko888

ko888

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The P8P67 Rev 3.0 has been replaced by the P8P67 Rev 3.1. They seem to be clearing out the remaining stock of Rev 3.0 still in the distribution channel hence why they are offering the mail-in rebate.

Rev 3.1 motherboards are suppose to be using the new ASMedia USB 3.0 controller in place of the NEC USB 3.0 controller on the Rev 3.0 motherboards.

As to any other fixes or differences, I haven't heard about any. The four Newegg.com Customer Reviews on the Rev 3.1 motherboard isn't a big enough sample to gauge if the stability and reliability have improved over the Rev 3.0.
 
M

magneticballs

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Thanks guys. Double checking the online inventory, the Rev. 3.0s only seem to be in stock at the location furthest away from me. Rev. 3.1s are full price, giving the bargain advantage to the Gigabyte, as long as I don't need the better VRMs I'd get in boards $15 - 25 more expensive.

Used a Gigabyte in my current machine, so well used to the pigeon engrish and no need for a graphical BIOS.
 
geofelt

geofelt

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As an early adopter, I bought a ASUS P8P67-M PRO motherboard. When the P67 chipset issue surfaced, Asus offered a credit card exchange for a rev 3 board which was most convenient. Gigabyte required you to return the motherboard to the original vendor first for exchange, leaving you without a motherboard for the duration. Point is, that ASUS addressed the problem well.

Any motherboard can have an issue, particularly when new. The issue will get resolved as bios updates are released.
My advice is to buy a motherboard that has been out a while, so any lingering issues have been resolved.

Look carefully at the negative reviews. Many times, the user was trying to do something out of the ordinary, or was trying to use unsupported ram.

I have used ASUS,ASROCK, and Gigabyte, and they were all good, at least for me.
 
M

magneticballs

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I've just realized an Asrock P67 Extreme4 may be in stock nearby, tempted. For a $25 premium over the Gigabyte I'll trade the unneeded Z68 features for fan control and a front USB 3 panel that would've cost me $15 by itself.

I'll probably look for the Asrock first.
 
geofelt

geofelt

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ASROCK is a spinoff from ASUS originally intended to produce low cost motherboards. They have succeeded in producing highly featured motherboards at a good price. I have been pleased with them.

But, I question the need for their extreme motherboard if you are on a budget.

1) Do you really plan on sli? Motherboards supporting that will be more expensive. You will also need a stronger psu than a strong single card would require. If you are planning on triple monitor gaming, then sli is in the cards. If not, then a good single graphics card is all you need.

2) How much should you value fan control? All motherboards have them to some extent. But, I find that constantly varying fan speeds is annoying. Why not set the fans at a good speed and let them stay there. When the demand gets higher, the parts will heat up a bit, but so what? The increase is never enough to cause damage. A graphics card can go to 100c. and the cpu to 70c. before they downclock to protect themselves. In any case with two 120mm intake fans, you will get sufficient cooling.

3) The specs for motherboard usb3.0 headers have not yet been standardized so far as I know. Motherboard vendors may or may not have such internal headers, and case vendors don't quite know how to handle them. Some will offer adapters, and some will offer rear panel pass through cables. Does it really matter though?
Will you be plugging any hard drives into the front ports on a regular basis? That is the only type of usb3.0 device that can utilize the speeds.
I actually find it more convenient to plug my external usb3.0 backup into the rear usb3.0 port and leave it there. I just switch the drive on when I need to do a backup. The front usb3.0 ports are compatible with 2.0 and work fine for thumb drives and cameras.
 
markula

markula

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When I bought my i5-2500k I got the option of a package deal with a motherboard. even though the two mother boards (Asus and gigabyte) were similar in price and features, I went with the gigabyte simply because it had a black Finnish and I liked the look of it. Sometimes little dumb things like that can drastically change sales when features and price are neck and neck between leading brands. Don't know if that would explain rma rates though.
 
M

magneticballs

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geofelt

geofelt

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Sounds like your system will be much like mine.

1) Look for a M-ATX motherboard. They are smaller and cheaper.
I use a ASUS P8P67-M-Pro, which has worked well, but the more modern equivalent Z68 based unit is the ASUS P8Z68-M Pro
It has plenty of internal fan headers. The ASRock Z68M/USB3 looks similar for a lesser price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157270
I use speedfan, mostly to monitor temperatures, but you can also use it to manage motherboard fan speeds.

2) Look at the Silverstone TJ08-E case. It comes with a two speed 180mm fan. I have the fan on low and undervolted, with no need for an exhaust 120mm fan. It cools my GTX580 well and is virtually silent. There is a microcode patch to reduce the minimum GTX... fan speed from 40% to 30%, but it is really not needed. You can set the gpu fan speed profile in software. You may have to shop for it, it sems to be in high demand and out of stock quickly:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163182
The case comes with usb3.0 front ports, and a usb3.0 to2.0 converter cable.

3) My GTX580 is a EVGA superclocked. I never hear it under load. I think the direct exhaust type cooler gets the heat out of the case quickly.
 
M

magneticballs

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I'm avoiding M-ATX boards in general to leave room for cards and tinkering with the video cooling. I need a slot for a wireless adapter at the very least, and I'm not counting on the onboard sound. I know the current gen sound is supposed to be a lot better, but they said the same thing when I built my current system.

After my last response I gave the USB 3 more thought, realized I'm being stupid. Most of my USB copying isn't in a hurry, and anytime it is I can spare an extra 10 seconds to use the rear ports. Even if I find myself using them constantly I can route extension cables to the front.

The lower-end ASrock boards (the Pro3s) should give me the same fan control, cost the same or less than the Gigabyte UD3H, and I'll only sacrifice the front USB 3 and a couple useless SATA III ports. I'll see if I can find one of those first.

*Edit: Considering this as my first choice.
 
jaquith

jaquith

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Yeah! I had Soooooooo much fun with Gigabyte -> http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/276715-30-x58a-ud3r-raid-bsod-disk-boot-failure ; one of my 1st posts here.

I'm in this section all of the time, I build very high-end and have been doing it for quite sometime. Limiting myself to P67/Z68:
ASUS ; 90%+ of the problems are from old BIOS; Fix -> Update your BIOS ASAP.
Gigabyte ; I've seen bad batches of UD3, UD4, UD5 and many 22nm BIOS 1st editions; Fix -> don't use the 1st 22nm BIOS version.

Overclocking, is all bout the: Luck of th e CPU, vCore and cooling. The minimum based on fact is to use 12-Phase or higher MOBO's on the LGA 1155; it use to be 16-Phase on LGA 1366.

Cheap vs Enthusiast vs High-End - for OC'ing 4.50GHz + (Enthusiast and High-End) then add/search for your doodads.

Minimum recommended for 4.5GHz+:
ASUS:
P67 ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION ; best 3-WAY + PhysX LGA 1155 - period
P67 ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) or (REV 3.0) ; USB 3.0 controller difference only
Z68 ASUS P8Z68-V PRO

Gigabyte:
P67 GA-P67A-UD7-B3 ; 3-WAY
Z68 Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD5
Z68 Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 ; 3-WAY, wacky price performs the same as GA-P67A-UD7-B3

EVGA:
P67 EVGA P67 FTW 160-SB-E679-K2
Z68 EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-K2
 
jaquith

jaquith

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RE: ASUS boards are coming back than others - ASUS sells 7-to-1 more than other MOBOs.
ASUS - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus ; US$18.5 billion (2009)
Gigabyte - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte_Technology ; US$ 2.5 billion ?(2010)

From another post:
Yeah, I've read the 'Feedback' and in other posts I've addressed concerns.

Example - "If you NEED 1 that works BUY 4"
The chances of a DOA MOBO, a real one, are about 1 in 50 or less. IF some bozo has 3 or more DOA then the 'builder' is taking an otherwise 'good MOBO' and 'killing it' themselves - 9/10 by shorting or bad PSU. - period!

Example - "Screwd up"
1. Remembering settings - DO NOT USE *ANY* AI Suite (ASUS) or it's equivalent on MSI, Gigabyte, etc. The BIOS reads the 'tweaks' from those Apps and changes the BIOS according to the Apps NOT the manual BIOS settings.
2. SATA - since LGA 1155 the SATA default is AHCI NOT IDE, and often Windows uses Start = 3 = IDE by Default; see - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

Example - "Defective board, nightmarish experience"
1. Metal Backplate HSF - this is typical when there's Metal -> MOBO contact
2. Standoff - many cheaper Cases use 'punch-out' standoff's and/or the Standoff's are misplaced; Metal -> MOBO contact. Some Cases that have pre-installed Standoff's do so with mATX (uATX) positions NOT ATX.
All Examples of Shorts (Grounding, Dead, Cross connecting, etc).

Example - "Fire Hazard, Poor Service"
See above 'Metal' and ditto with a defective PSU; dead short.

Most folks are MORONS and should buy a Pre-Built system!!!

ANY LGA 1155 build: 1. Build it outside the CASE FIRST & TEST, 2. Update the BIOS to the latest version BEFORE installing OS and skip the First 22nm (Ivy Bridge) BIOS release i.e. use the 2nd or 3rd AFTER 22nm or the one PRIOR.

I seriously doubt that if I built the ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) I would have ANY issues, I have built several P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) and with NO ISSUES! See - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771

Similar comments e.g. "2 in a row" on page 2 - similar BOZOS!
 
M

magneticballs

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I might've actually skimmed through that thread, actually. I've definitely seen that sentence about the Gigabyte's having "indigestion" from BIOS changes.

Obviously all boards have a chance of failure, and a lot of people are causing their own. The ASUS boards stood out, though. The ~35% 1/5 ratings on Newegg compared to the 15-17% on most make it look like there's something going on.
 
jaquith

jaquith

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Being real, it's VERY RARE for someone with a Good Experience to take the time to post 'Good Stuff'. I've been dealing with the public for a longtime, and I find that you can make (anything) out of Solid GOLD -- and people will still bitch.

Additionally, I see Parroting of 'issues' that have no basis. Especially over the past year I see the overall ratings on ALL LGA 1155 MOBO's down, similar patterns with the P55/LGA 1156 versus the LGA 1366 and I suspect the LGA 2011. Reason, expense. The more expensive MOBO's/CPU/GPU typically draw folks with higher level of experiences that purchase them.

ASUS's key issue (problems) early on were 'buggy BIOS.' I rarely find a real problem with the MOBO itself, and find besides BIOS most of the problems are other components and poor installation of other components. Experience will allow you to 'see the truth' of a problem.

Next, I filter-out only the Verified Owners -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-705&SortField=0&SummaryType=2&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=true&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&chkPurchaseMark=on&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1#scrollFullInfo ; next I look at 'In Their Opinion' Tech Level to see if there's a fundamental FLAW in design ; next if that 'FLAW' pertains to my environment.

Further, I ask or look for Reviewer's whom have either used a particular MOBO and/or folks that know of 'known' problems.

In my case, I look for MOBO's that are KNOWN to have lower on average and predictable vCores, and also offer the feature needed.

I do agree that ASUS is such a large company that their 'Reply Time' is too long. One of the reasons I like, for example, EVGA is because of their superior Tech Support and Warranty/Exchange Policies. However, IF the MOBO, GPU, or whatever has 'lack-luster' performance then that renders (my) selection or recommendation poor.

--

If you post a problem that catches your eye I'll be more than happy to render an opinion or probable cause.
 
Chirality

Chirality

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ASUS is total garbage. I spent over a year trying to get a mobo I bought from them to work. It ended up killing my GPU and I had to buy another board and a GPU. I'll never buy ASUS again, not worth the hassle. Go with a company that will protect your investment in them. Just my two cents.
 
jaquith

jaquith

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If your GPU was damaged then it was your PSU - guaranteed. It's common for a damaged PSU to also damage anything it's attached to including MOBO, GPU(s), CPU(s), RAM, you name it.

You like others assume the wrong component.
 
Chirality

Chirality

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I had my PSU tested. Along with every other part of my computer. My CPU was fine, my ram was fine. I'm sharing my experience with ASUS's crap customer service and not just the quality of the board. You need both to be stellar.
 
inanition02

inanition02

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My two cents:

I currently run one PC with an Asus board and one with a Gigabyte board. My take is that Asus board performs better but the Gigabyte is more rock-stable. So, up to you on that. In middle and lower end, I'd go Gigabyte. In higher end, Asus.

I've previously owned other Asus boards with good results and one Asrock that was fine but nothing special.
 
M

magneticballs

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Even if it was the board's fault, the web is full of people saying the exact same thing about every company, and every product, ever.
 
ibsnj123

ibsnj123

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You should use gigabyte, because i faced the same problem with asus motherboard. At now my mother board is in service centre.
 
dayto11

dayto11

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I am using a Asus ROG crosshair 4 formula and i have had no issues at all including having no ram issues. 1 thing that i do like about gigabyte is that dual bios feature. Asus has mem ok which gets rid of most ram sensitivity issues not to mention they seem to be a very good company. i switched from a msi and have been very happy. if it were me i would go with Asus
 
M

magneticballs

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I picked up the majority of my components today. Went with an ASrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 for $130. Tested it to BIOS without a case or a hard drive (don't have my OS yet) with exactly the kind of fan control I was looking for and some nice debugging features: power, reset, clear CMOS and error code display on the board.

Now I need to make sure my power supply is working properly. Does 12.355v on the +12 (reading from BIOS) with only a CPU installed suggest anything wrong?
 
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