Upgrade CUZ P4 motherboard died -- Is ASUS CRAP nowadays ?

[Ragnar]

One day i plugged in my digital camera to the usb port on my Antec P180
case to transfer some photo's. Usually this triggers a program that
came with the camera. Now the computer
..... died .... When rebooting, an amarcan operator voice called out
with incredible speed CPU Error, CPU Error, CPU Error, CPU Error,
.....etc, etc

After seraching manuals, mailing Asus, reaing FAQ I came to the
following.
- The USB ports of the South Bridge on my ASUS P4P Deluxe is sensitive
and it could blow up reulting in the annoying message.
- The Antec USB port on th case is poorly grounded and likely to create
the above type incident.
- ASUS has a three year warranty and will repair this for free. But the
supplier of my PC
has only a one year warranty, so he don't give a damn.
- If you are ready to open your PC, take out the montherboard, take off
the CPU add-in cards, memory, then you can send it to ASUS with a check
of 10 Euros. Then ASUS will send the card to slovenia and if you are
lycky, you will have a functioning board back in 7 .... IS SAID SEVEN
.... weeks.

An eqivalen cards consts 60 Euros. I have to pay 20 Euros to send and
get back a card after 7 weeks and I have the pleasure to mount the
computer again (or pay the dealer above 50 Euro's to do it).

So why didn't ASUS warn me on their home page about these problems ?
(the forum on this MOBO had 900 pages)
So why don't they repair the computer ?
So why don't they have a local stock to make a std replacement a bit
faster ?

Anyway, I came to the conclusion, better upgrade, reuse my recently
purchased DDR 3200
(2* 1MB). It will be faster.

The choice to be reasonably concervative and get quite ok performance
would be the following
- AMD 3800x2 processor. I get two cores, 64 bits low power consumption,
I can use the DDR 3200 sim's.
- A motherboard for 939 socket
- A new graphics card for PCI Express
I opted for a ATI All-in-Wonder X800 XL DVB-T - 256 Mo PAL/SECAM -
PCI Express

But which motherboard, everybody says ASUS (A8N-E or A8N-SLI Premium-
fanless an 8 SATA connectors). But as I stated above, my confidence in
ASUS is now down very low.
But the ASUS forum allrzeady has a lot of prolems
- don't work with more than 2 simm's
- don't work with Maxtor 300 Giga Harddisks

So I found another the DFI Lanparty nF4 SLI-D, which seems to have good
reviews.
Except, it might be hard plugging in large graphics cards according to
a review.

So what do I do
- Do I trust ASUS and forums to work this time ?
- Is DFI better (reputed to be quality, japaneese capacitors etc)
- Is there another MOBO manufacturer which is reputed for even more
stable mainboards ?

Basically I would want.
- Good performance for ripping videaos and running some other capacity
requiring apps
(no gaming, don't have the time or patience)
- Little noice and heat
- Possibility to plug a lot of SATA (fastest possible) and also ATA
drives
- Two Ethernet connexions won't be bad, if gigabit it's better for the
future

Maybe ASUS is good anyway. Maybe having x hundred entries in their home
page
on the A8N-SLI Premium forum is a good point finally and means problems
will be
corrected. Maybe it means thay have started to become arrogant.

Is DFI or another motherboard manufacturer quicker to respond, more
serious when
it comes to make their MOBO rock stable? If this can save me another
experience
like with the P4P800 Deluxe.

And what do I have to do to make sure my ATI All-in-Wonder X800 XL will
plug into and run on the MOBO I get ?

Thanks for advice. The seven weeks will be over soon, but I think this
decision is crucial.
Don't have time for tooo many mistakes.

 

[johns]

ASUS mobos are overpriced toys. I'll guarantee no
tech would mess with them. Nobody has the time
to fight with all the RMAs, and basically wind up
in a non-profit business. I just built up a very
nice system with the Gigabyte GA-k8nf-9 mobo.
It is very affordable and reliable. Its only problem
is the 3 pci slots are to one side of the board
right next to the pci-e 16 slot. If you add a Zalman
cooling fan to your video card, you will only have
2 pci slots. However, the GA-k8nf-9 has 2
pci-e X1 slots right in the middle of the mobo.
The new TV-tuner cards coming out are
pci-e X1 low profile, and that leaves plenty of
room for a cpu cooler with a 92mm fan. That
way you have a super quiet and cool system.
I have in this system .. sound card, modem,
video card, and tv-turner with a spare X1 slot,
and room for rear firewire and external SATA
cables. I also was able to add more USB ports
to the front of the Antec case with a 5 1/4 inch
faceplate which included camera card readers.
Unlike the gigantic ASUS mobos, the k8nf has
a small footprint, and is no problem to install
even in a small or low profile case. Finally,
every question I've had about the mobo, has
been instantly answered by Gigabyte tech
support .. a good group.

johns

 

[Mike T.]

ASUS mobos are overpriced toys. I'll guarantee no
tech would mess with them. Nobody has the time
to fight with all the RMAs, and basically wind up
in a non-profit business.

ahhhhhhh, someone else in the business, I see. Funny how all the so-called
experts review Asus mainboards on a bench for 3 or 4 hours and conclude that
they are awesome, but the real workers out in the field who support this
crap KNOW BETTER. -Dave

 

[Dennis]

ahhhhhhh, someone else in the business, I see. Funny how all the so-called
experts review Asus mainboards on a bench for 3 or 4 hours and conclude that
they are awesome, but the real workers out in the field who support this
crap KNOW BETTER. -Dave

I've never had a problem with any of my Asus hardware so take what
their saying with a grain of salt. As with most things, ask 10
different people and you'll get 10 different opinions.

I have an old Asus P4T thats been on 24-7 for well over 5 years and
it's been flawless. Recently I got an Asus A8N Priemium w/ Two Asus
brand Nvidia cards and an Asus DVDR. I have had no problems. I have had
problems with cheaper MB's though.

I think we missed the most important line in his post though:

"The Antec USB port on the case is poorly grounded and likely to create
the above type incident. "

.....His mobo is innocent.....

 

[JAD]

Bah

 

[JAD]

ahhhhhhh, someone else in the business, I see. Funny how all the so-called
experts review Asus mainboards on a bench for 3 or 4 hours and conclude that
they are awesome, but the real workers out in the field who support this
crap KNOW BETTER. -Dave

Bahhhx2

 

[Don Freeman]

I've never had a problem with any of my Asus hardware so take what
their saying with a grain of salt. As with most things, ask 10
different people and you'll get 10 different opinions.

I have an old Asus P4T thats been on 24-7 for well over 5 years and
it's been flawless. Recently I got an Asus A8N Priemium w/ Two Asus
brand Nvidia cards and an Asus DVDR. I have had no problems. I have had
problems with cheaper MB's though.

For a former employee I used to have to spec out the PC's to our vendor for
building them out. With all the 3rd party peripherals and our required 5250
emulation cards, the only motherboard that consistently worked for us
without conflicts were ASUS brand boards, I learned this through some very
painful trial and error. This was the reason I chose an ASUS for my first
project in nearly ten years (I do software now). Now maybe within this ten
year time period their quality has gone downhill but I certainly hope not
and so far haven't personally seen any evidence of it.

 

[johns]

Except that I'm the real thing I'm not some board swapper
in the field. I'm first a senior e-tech .. to the component level,
and then I'm a troubleshooter with many many years
experience. ASUS "ain't" coming in here again.

johns

 

[johns]

"The Antec USB port on the case is poorly grounded and likely to create
the above type incident. "

....His mobo is innocent.....

I see that all the time with that Antec USB port shorting
and causing a reboot. It just needs to be positioned
correctly. Open the case and look at it. Easy fix.
Never had a Gigabyte mobo get mad about it
though. And I've seen the ASUS mobos panic
over a simple line surge. Those onboard ASUS
power caps are cheap, and will short out. Then
the mobo runs unregulated, and becomes a chronic
rebooter if the AC line drops just enough.

johns

 

[johns]

Their quality just never went up. They designed ahead of
their time, but then went little further, if any at all. Who
needs all those jumpers ? For that matter, the vendors
will play with those jumpers, and your mobo can come
in an absolutely weird state ... especially if it is a refurb
.... and it will be !!! Nobody needs to be playing around
like that. And the Gigabyte mobos won't let you. ASUS
reminds me of Gateway. They just never got going
again.

johns

 

[johns]

Bah

First intelligent thing you've said in a while. That is
exactly how I feel about ASUS. I spent way too
much time RMAing rebooters.

johns

 

[Dave]

Except that I'm the real thing I'm not some board swapper
in the field. I'm first a senior e-tech .. to the component level,
and then I'm a troubleshooter with many many years
experience. ASUS "ain't" coming in here again.

johns

Hey, same here. I'm first and foremost a senior e-tech, stuck in IT HELL.
I haven't done much real repair work in years, though. I've got a very
expensive soldering station that's never been plugged in. Still do some
soldering here and there, but make do with a 40W pencil iron that I own
myself. I can troubleshoot to the component level if necessary. I usually
don't have time to get that detailled, though. Sometimes it's frustrating
to know what is wrong, and not be allowed to fix it. I've replaced plenty
of Asus boards with other brands, just so I know I won't have to **** with
THAT system again. I wish I had some input into the building stage.
I'd specify NO ASUS components. Of course, then I'd probably be unemployed,
as I'd have nothing to fix, ever. (!) -Dave

 

[Mike T.]

First intelligent thing you've said in a while. That is
exactly how I feel about ASUS. I spent way too
much time RMAing rebooters.

johns

You have rebooters? Shit, at least yours BOOT. -Dave

 

[JAD]

Hey, same here. I'm first and foremost a senior e-tech, stuck in IT HELL.
I haven't done much real repair work in years, though.

and you can have an opinion about ASUS?



I've got a very

 

[jdk]

I can vouch for DFI's service here in the US. When my computer stopped
working
a month after I built it, I called DFI and they gave me an RMA #
without question,
I don't recall exactly how long it took, but I got it back, I'd say,
within 10 days which included shipping across the country, out-going
and returning. When it still didn't work, the technician walked me
through some testing procedures, having me take the board out of the
case to eliminate the possiblity of shorting against the case and
running it with minimal components, etc... when it still didn't work,
he said that he suspected the processor, so he told me to send it back
to him WITH the processor, giving me his DFI FedEx # rather than going
through the RMA dept again. He tested it again and informed me that my
processor was dead, since the board worked with his test processor.

AMD would not offer me very much in the way of helpful information
because they don't include DFI on their list of "approved"
motherboards, but they will take it back for evaluation.
I suspect they don't approve DFI boards because they are highly
overclockable, so kids are probably out there frying up AMD processors
on a regular basis with DFI boards.. However, from my limited
experience, and from what I've read, it's a good board, if used
properly. To address your concern about adding large graphic cards, I
am using tandem graphic cards in SLI mode, and didn't have a problem
installing them because of lack of space, but the fat round power
cables from the Ultra PSU would not fit between them, so I had to get
the regular flat cables from Ultra.. I think Ultra has phased out those
big fat spark plug size cables, because they were unwieldy for many
systems.

JDK

 

[jdk]

I can vouch for DFI's service here in the US. When my computer stopped
working
a month after I built it, I called DFI and they gave me an RMA #
without question,
I don't recall exactly how long it took, but I got it back, I'd say,
within 10 days which included shipping across the country, out-going
and returning. When it still didn't work, the technician walked me
through some testing procedures, having me take the board out of the
case to eliminate the possiblity of shorting against the case and
running it with minimal components, etc... when it still didn't work,
he said that he suspected the processor, so he told me to send it back
to him WITH the processor, giving me his DFI FedEx # rather than going
through the RMA dept again. He tested it again and informed me that my
processor was dead, since the board worked with his test processor.

AMD would not offer me very much in the way of helpful information
because they don't include DFI on their list of "approved"
motherboards, but they will take it back for evaluation.
I suspect they don't approve DFI boards because they are highly
overclockable, so kids are probably out there frying up AMD processors
on a regular basis with DFI boards.. However, from my limited
experience, and from what I've read, it's a good board, if used
properly. To address your concern about adding large graphic cards, I
am using tandem graphic cards in SLI mode, and didn't have a problem
installing them because of lack of space, but the fat round power
cables from the Ultra PSU would not fit between them, so I had to get
the regular flat cables from Ultra.. I think Ultra has phased out those
big fat spark plug size cables, because they were unwieldy for many
systems.

JDK

 

[JAD]

Except that I'm the real thing I'm not some board swapper
in the field. I'm first a senior e-tech .. to the component level,
and then I'm a troubleshooter with many many years
experience. ASUS "ain't" coming in here again.

johns

I have been doing this for 20 years, and am still very much in it. What you
have is an opinion (given to you). You HAVE NOTHING to base your opinion on.
According to your posts, you have been in one LAB with a very limited area
of expertise. I have used MANY different boards over the years. Gigabyte,
Aopen, are local manufactures to me and I have associates that are managers
there. Many times I get first run boards to try for free. They are both good
boards but NO better than ASUS in many cases, depending on your needs.
Screwing around at the component level, and using it for bragging rights at
this time in computer history, means absolutely nothing.

 

[Mike T.]

Hey, same here. I'm first and foremost a senior e-tech, stuck in IT

and you can have an opinion about ASUS?

Yup. I don't usually repair the boards (that's what I consider to be real
repair work), but I do have to service many systems that are built with asus
mainboards. That's specifically why I have such an incredibly low opinion
of Asus.
Or as someone else wrote:

"ASUS mobos are overpriced toys. I'll guarantee no
tech would mess with them. "

Yup. Couldn't have said it better myself. Those in the know simply do not
build with Asus. Or put another way, if you want to know how reliable a car
really is . . . ask your local mechanic. If Asus was a car brand, no
competent mechanic would drive one. Meanwhile, Motor Trend would write
glowing reviews about the latest Asus cars, after having driven them for a
few hundred miles.

Essentially, that's the situation with Asus. They (Asus) get glowing
reviews from people who don't have to service them. -Dave

 

[JAD]

Yup. I don't usually repair the boards (that's what I consider to be real
repair work), but I do have to service many systems that are built with asus
mainboards. That's specifically why I have such an incredibly low opinion
of Asus.
Or as someone else wrote:

"ASUS mobos are overpriced toys. I'll guarantee no
tech would mess with them. "

Yup. Couldn't have said it better myself. Those in the know simply do not
build with Asus. Or put another way, if you want to know how reliable a car
really is . . . ask your local mechanic. If Asus was a car brand, no
competent mechanic would drive one. Meanwhile, Motor Trend would write
glowing reviews about the latest Asus cars, after having driven them for a
few hundred miles.

Essentially, that's the situation with Asus. They (Asus) get glowing
reviews from people who don't have to service them. -Dave

coming from someone who hasn't done anything for years...i'll take that with
a grain of salt...........

 

[Dennis]

Essentially, that's the situation with Asus. They (Asus) get glowing

reviews from people who don't have to service them. -Dave

....exactly!

.....the people who use them "dont have to service them"

........because Asus are decent boards that rarely need 'service'

Get off Asus' back you bullies!!!


and I'm not sure its appropriate to compare home/personal usage to your
experiences with servicing wide-scale corporate deployments of
"McMotherboards"... Dont spew hot air with no facts.... Do you have
anything specific to tell the OP about the boards he was asking about?
(P4T and A8N I believe).