ASRock Wants the Best Mobo Ideas in the World

[slyder]

I would like to see MOBO and graphic card compatability to allow use of any card(s) without blocking adjacent slots while providing room for cooling. I agree that legacy features could be eliminated, along with on board audio, for those applications where they simply won't be used.

 

[Kahnabus]

I would like to see embedded ssd's added to them, one large enough to install the OS to. Another thing that would be nice is the ability to upgrade your system to future peripherals without having to replace the board. Things like PCIe 2.0 to 3.0 and sata 2 to 3 without having to buy a new board or adding expensive cards. It would also be nice to have better embedded audio that has its own cpu to power it as apposed to using vital system resources. GUPS are the only peripheral currently running under their own resources. Space is usually not an issue for gamers so making things more expandable and upgradeable is one of the most important for the enthusiast that doesn't have money to rebuild yearly.
Future-wise, I would like to see full OS instructions embedded into chips directly on the board. No more installs and obviously would make for the fastest OS on the planet. Tech has gotten out of control and no one is honestly taking full advantage of it. One of the things I love most about ASRock is the flexibility. It seems that you have gotten away from this a bit. I remember my first ASRock board I could upgrade my CPU and RAM. Those were good days. You should be getting back to this as it saves consumers a lot of money.

 

[Trebormojo]

These boards are so nice, in fact they have lots of the features from ideas in this thread already! I need an upgrade bad. Here's another round of ideas (don't forget my other comments) - you said far fetched was ok:

- Temperature gauge plug for your beer fridge so you can monitor your beer temperature on your I/O panel and in your OS
- World of Warcraft or Star Wars themed board etc...
- Old school RPM gauge for cpu clock, temp and disc RPM (may be a better case feature than mobo) maybe just a steam-punk style board
- Sort of like track lighting, a bar that you can adjust your connectors up and down based on your case.
- Like those roadside big arrow signs, a led display or single little lights, that is programmable to light up your logo or the temp or words
- Load some boards with Google OS

I'll think of more later.

 

[jaquith]

Then ASRock needs to just look at EVGA, and start from scratch.

 

[chris1979]

A floppy emulator in bios so we don't need to conjure up a working 1.44mb floppy drive just to load them raid drivers for older os installations. This creating of a new os cd is too much of a hassle and nobody has a floppy anymore anyway.

Fits nice with a bios os (based on arm or x86) to download/update drivers via internet, virus scan and partition management (copy, merge, move, delete,etc)

Hardware stuff i wouldn't care for.

 

[stasdm]

Do not be stack with 7-slots design.
Even P55 chipset can nicely support 3-way SLI/CrossFire, a couple of RAID cards and some PCIe x1 card all running at a time.

Here is why:
- The best mothern GPU may not utilise more than 1.25GB/s even in theory (really less in practice). In SLI/CrossFire mode the slave cards nearly do not use PSIe - all the cards interaction goes over bridges (well, AMD may work w/o them, but looses come productivity). So, 1.5GB/s is over the heard for 3-way SLI/CrossFireX
- The best modern RAID cards can not utilise more than 3GB/s, So up to two may be added (though see no big sence in that).

To my mind the TOP P55 mobo should have a PCIe bridge that provides:
- 3 x PCIe x16 double-width slots (marked GPU (or PCIe x1) only use - just to be on the fool-proof side)
- 2 x PCIe x8 connectors (one for RAID card, another for other use - might be someone would like to set 10GB LAN connection), though, I'd prefer to have an on-board 8-ports SAS 6G RAID 0/1/10 controller (with an option to upgrade it to RAID 5/50/6/60 by the "tablet key") - will make the unnesesary to use Marwell pseudo-6G SATA
- one-two PCIe x1 links to USB 3.0 controllers
well, even a couple of LAN ports may be proveded from it, using x1 controller link

As a result we'll have an ultra-wide 12-slots mobo that will beat in functionality even most dual-Xeon ones:
- 3 x dual-width PCIe x16 "graphics" slots
- 1 x PCIe x8 slot (with on-board SATA 6G RAID) - else 2 x PCIe x8 slot
- Up to 4 south bridge PCIe x1 slots (two-three links may be used on-board, say, for dual LAN and eSATA
- 1-2 PCI slots - no need for more, but at least one may still be helpful
To keep in 12-slots width one PCIe x1 and one PCI may be installed after second and third PCIe x16

The board width will nicely allow to use 2-3 PCI controllers (and their resulting contacts) for all legasy features, the vendor would like to add

 

[htgoetz]

I am NOT an enthusiast doing overclocking, but I am buying some of the enthusiast hardware. I like to reuse good hardware from my previous computers and therefore I appreciate to have PATA and 2 PS/2 connectors. Some members of my extended Family are still using a floppy and therefore that's needed in general as well.
New features are nice to have, but some of the old are important to reuse the older hardware.
Cable management and cooling are the top-issues I would like to see improvements.
Cooling: Why not put something below CPU and chipset to enable cooling of those components from the backside of the mobo as well. It should be possible to move the heat to the case. Maybe an efficient cooling solution for the cpu can be completely integrated into the mobo.
Cable management: If possible, i would like to see some of the connectors for 5 1/4" devices at the top right corner of the mobo. In case there are still floppy- and PATA connectors the top right corner of the mobo should be the aim and not the lower left corner as with some mobos. The power connector should be at the very top of the mobo, pointing upwards (90 degree).

 

[Guest]

no IDE,serial,lpt,firewire,com,floppy... and other legacy stuff
no integrated audio and grafic
just one gigabit lan, sata3, usb3...
2 pci-e*16, 2pci-e*1, 2pci...
angled memory slots...
top quality digital pwr...
good passive cooler, and top quality parts....
and manualy controled fan conectors (3-12V)...

 

[sushmit]

hi, there i actually want a very unique kin of motherboard like it should have very futuristic design with vr buitifull attaractive design on it like for boys, design of fire at back side of motherboard. also a very cleverly designed lightening in it like using of neon etc. at least 8 usb port, ps/2 port, vga port, uncluding a built in sound blaster, unexpected ram, can be connected to case with the help of hand screws for easy removel or installation, if possible a kind of alarm system should be there for instant power supply problems, at least 4 sata ports and two idea port, pci slots may vary, compatible with latest processors like intel i7 extreme addition, also if it's possible to have a inbuilt wifi in it, also if there is possiblity for inbuilt graphics card which supports games released till 2002 at least. a kind of container in which it can be kept may be made of glass or tranparent plastic material for safety from short circuits or blows due to overload. also if it is supporting digital screen in front of case, providing information about condition of cpu, temp. and power usage then it will be really so cool. i/o ports can be easily replacable without sholdering it or desholdering to replace damaged ports. uses low power as much as possible 'cause as we know global warming is getting too dangerous and to save electricity for future generation, also it would be great if there will be inbuilt blootooth for easy installation of latest wireless devices without using bluetooth dongle for device. a TV tunner (optional),one switch turbo boosters for high performance, most important small in size (compact) and plssssssssssssssssssss.......... as low price as possible so that everyone can enjoy computung with ease and enjoyment.

THANKS. AND WILL BE GLAD TO KNOW IF SOMETHINGS POSTED BY ME ARE REALLY POSSIBLE OR NOT.

 

[elbert]

Been thinking about his a while and think I came up with a good ideal based partly on my prior posts. I'm not sure if 4 memory banks are possible but no matter the old SIMM tree approach should allow 4 RAM sticks for each bank. Put these 8 DDR3 dual channel or 12 DDR3 triple channel slots on a daughter card. Design a slot for all the chipsets memory banks to work with this slot. The daughter card should have plastic cover with 2 screw in holders like the back of case for PCI and PCIE cards. Place 2, ill name internal PCIE, PCIE 1X slots on both sides of the daughter card. The one between the daughter card and CPU could be used for a PCIE fan. This card should hold 2 fans one for blowing cool air from the bottom onto the CPU H&S and the other for blowing air on the RAM. The PCIE 1X slot near the outer edge of the mobo can be used for a SATA/PATA card.

 

[marimax]

my opinion is, upon reading almost 60% of those posts above, including mine couple of days ago, that AsRock needed us tell we want more optics implemented on a mobo, and less electric noise, so to start the era of optical bridges, optical networking, optical FSB (improper, but that's the idea), optical SATA, so to bring fiber to the mobo level, too. I'd love that, and happy to learn so many things though, 10x.

 

[Toddosan]

Lets see, for starters a decent video card not some gimped watered down stuck under 30FPS on modern games. Power connector in a good spot for once. A better selection of micro ATX boards that dont cost an arm and a leg.

 

[jedi940]

Some of this has been echoed before, but I haven't read all 17 pages of comments so I don't know if all of this has been suggested yet.

Dedicated Home Theater PC Motherboard
1. Needs to be quiet - passive cooling everywhere
2. Integrated hardware
- Dual tuner
- Bluetooth
- Wireless a/b/g/n
- IR reciever
- Easy to use remote control for tuner (non computer savvy people
should still be able to watch TV without problems
3. Minimal extras
- Maybe 3-4 USB 3.0 (back panel) one header for front panel
- 2-3 SATA (1 for SSD and 1 for Blu-ray drive 1 extra)
- 2 Ram slots
- no legacy support
- no integrated audio
- no integrated video
- 1 gigabit ethernet
4. Full Overclocking support/features (not so much for
overclocking but for undervolting to save power)
5. Other standard stuff
- onboard power/reset switch
- onboard clear cmos
- right angle power connectors (all) on top of motherboard)
- adapter for connecting powerled/reset switch/power switch/HDD led
6. Onboard slots
- 2-3 PCIe x16 slots (not all need to be full 16x)
- 2 PCIe x1 slots one at the top and one at the bottom

Basically a minamalist board to serve as a HTPC front end only. It will not be for gaming so SLI/crossfire is optional. All input devices will be wireless so I don't need options for that. Wireless/wired will be used for streaming from a media server. Cooling can be taken care of through ultra quite case fans (1 or 2) so optimize passive cooling accordingly.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, ALL INTEGRATED HARDWARE SHOULD HAVE FULL LINUX SUPPORT WITH DRIVER UPDATES AS NEEDED. This includes the onboard dual tuner.

Basically the perfect HTPC front end computer (in my opinion) whose only job is to be quiet, cool, and put a picture on the screen.

 

[americanherosandwich]

Sometimes it's the little things that matter most:
1. Don't put the HD Audio at the far bottom left side of the motherboard. Not all cases have HD Audio connectors that can reach that far, especially if you have some big video cards in the way. Two video cards, and you can forget about it.
2. Same with the CMOS reset switch. I've had one motherboard where it was located next to where all the outputs were. It was nice being able to press a button rather than having to open the side panel on the case everytime it needed to be reset.

Some nifty extras:
3. Have some sort of integrated adaptive capability where people can daisy chain 2 PSU's to the motherboard. If you're going to make the motherboard of all motherboards, it's going to need more power.

Realm of possibility:
4. Rather than having software RAID, how about incorporating an integrated SATA III controller card with a BBU to the SATA II/III ports?
5. Imagine a motherboard where it starts as a mini-ITX motherboard, but then you can attach an add-on to make it a micro-ATX, and another to make it an ATX and another to become an E-ATX? Each add-on would incorporate more features, like the ability to SLI or Crossfire, etc. In theory, most users would start off with the mini-ITX board because of cost constraints, but then buy the necessary attachments for what they want to include in their system when they want to upgrade. This means they don't need to buy a new motherboard. In addition, these add-ons would be compatible with different base mini-ITX motherboards. Thus, if someone had the ATX add-on, but an AM3 mini-ITX motherboard, they can buy an Intel mini-ITX motherboard and that ATX add-on would still work.

Anyways, that's my 5. I could probably keep going, but I need to go back to work, lol.

 

[Guest]

I would like to see MORE space between the video card slot and the lower slots. Installing a 'double' width video card makes the slot below unusable.

Allow 6 sata's with out raid but with the option for JSOB. My board has 6 but if JSOB I can only use 4.

Include eSata port multiplier suppot.

That's all I can think of now...

 

[chris1979]

[citation][nom]kartu[/nom]That's one dumb idea. Did you think about the costs?[/citation]

This should probarbly be an idea for intel. Let them include a SSD in the processor so we get optimal bandwith.... I rather like the idea of my OS to boos in less then a millisecond.

 

[americanherosandwich]

Lol, I like the person's strategy of putting the useless message (thumb's down) on everyone's idea but theirs.

 

[chris1979]

[citation][nom]americanherosandwich[/nom]Lol, I like the person's strategy of putting the useless message (thumb's down) on everyone's idea but theirs.[/citation]

Thats not gonna elect them from winning a motherboard anyway... It's what the engineers elect as best idea probarbly.

 

[rooket]

1) Try to design a motherboard that does not need capacitors. This would extend the lifespan of the product by many, many years. But I doubt this is really possible with current technology. I haven't studied electronics in college but generally I know most electronics need capacitors to filter direct current.

2) move the RAM slots to the other side of the CPU or closer to it. These often get in the way in smaller cases when trying to remove a hard drive. I'm always having this problem with my Asus board that I am using now.

3) why is there a molex connector on this board those look cheap. just put another 4pin on there.

what would I want on a new motherboard? usb 3.0, onboard sound, at least one ATA/100 connector, four internal USB 2.0, four USB 3.0 on the back panel, another 4 USB 2.0 on the back panel I guess, at least one PCI slot as long as it doesn't interfere with the system speed, two PCI-E x16 slots, who needs 3 video cards? I have 3 slots on my EVGA and I only use one of the slots LOL. having at least 2 makes you feel like you can expand at least even if you don't. two of the smaller PCI-E slots although I never use those, 6 RAM slots so I can put at least 6GB of RAM in there relatively inexpensively as I don't see that I'll need more than that on a desktop board..I'm running 12 in the server board. one CPU slot, I don't need any fancy connections for sound just rear panel 1/8" and internal to hook up to front panel, if it has onboard video it should have HDMI these days to be current and easily plug into HDTV, the LED display I never felt I needed on a motherboard, SATA RAID mirror capability without having to plug a drive in external (I've built Asus systems like this unaware that one drive had to be external, that is stupid..you'll break the mirror if you unplug one. this should all be internal because normally a mirror is 100% internal in a computer)

Well I feel my suggestions are too obvious maybe they can use some of it. Oh and more than 3 year warranty would be good, as usually my Asus boards die right after the 3 years term of warranty is up. Maybe this has been resolved by implementing those solid capacitors I see on this board. Just making sure that the vendor of the capacitors is making a good product.

OH and lastly, for god's sake NO SIDE MOUNTED SATA TERMINALS! Why do I see those in this photo? I hate that. No side mounted drive terminals at all, those are too difficult to see when you are adding new drives to the system. I've had SATA cables that were server pulles physically snap and break off at the ends trying to fish them around side mounted terminals on motherboards and SATA raid cards before. It's always better on a motherboard to have it straight in like the older Asus boards. Yes I know we are talking the "Asrock" brand name here, but I know guys. I know

 

[magruder13]

I haven't built many computers recently since college takes all of my money but I have some things I would really like to see on a motherboard to make things a lot easier.

I hear about this new version of the BIOS that is supposed to be revolutionary. If not moving to that, then make the BIOS easier to read and a different color than blue, I'm tired of blue. When I go to bios on my Asus it is too big for my screen (its an HTPC) I cant even read half of the things on the bios. Also, there are lots of extra settings you include in the new bios's but I have no idea what they are or what they do. Of course on the right it gives a stupid, "Enable turns 'insert option here' on, Disable turns 'option' off." Don't make me search through my manual, just put it right there!!!

How about a low to mid priced over clocking newbies board? I loved to try to over clock my old desktop but I didn't know much about what I was doing. A lot of changes have happened in over clocking as of lately and they are all on the high end boards. Make a lower priced board that is affordable to newbies and makes over clocking somewhat simple to understand. Give better descriptions on what is doing what. Defiantly have dual bios, everyone screws up flashing a bios and a newbie wont want to buy a new board for something silly.

I'm not sure what board it was but this is something I LOVED when i found it. Everyone struggles plugging in the front pannel wires into the mobo, well this mobo had a removable labeled plug, that you plug everything into, then slide that ontop of the normal plugs. This eliminates the need to stare at the manual and read tiny lettering on a tiny plug and try to hit 1 of 30 little pins you cant see cuz your hands are in the way.

Those are my two cents on mobo ideas.

 

[Guest]

stop making 2-dimensional motherboards and start making 3-dimensional, all-inclusive computers (a solid block of fiberglass containing all the parts, including cpu, power-source, transistors, memory, ssd, video cpu, cooling, etc). All the user needs to do is plug it into the wall, attach a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and it'll be ready-to-go!

 

[knowom]

8 DIMM slots or a PCI-E x16 add in board with 8 dimm slots on it supporting whatever is the largest non ECC/Registered capacity DDR3 dimms available.

 

[windsety]

I want a motherboard with a that can lock down a card when inserted into a slot, USB 3.0, onboard wifi and bluetooth and LED lighting on the area where a error occurred on the motherboard.

 

[JonnyDough]

I think it would be nice to have a single new standard for motherboard information to be displayed to a small LCD monitor somewhere on the case. One simple plug from the mobo to a screen built into a case, or in a drive bay add on. We want standards!

Certainly included but not limited to:

Fan speeds, CPU/GPU/Bus/HT/Memory speeds (and temps if applicable), case temps what the motherboard is currently processing/doing (booting to OS, in setup, etc), current bios version, perhaps a feature that can cycle different components (i.e. tell me what GPU is loaded in the OS, along the mobo manufacturer and mobo model displayed on a case LCD screen would be free advertising!)

Think of Logitech's gaming keyboard, but with an OPEN STANDARD for all mobo manufacturers with much more complete info. ASRock has a sibling company that could probably help create and implement a new standard. Enthusiast motherboards anyone? Do away with the error beeps and display what's wrong with my system on the outside of my case for me! The info is already present. All we need is a tiny cheapo chip to output to a basic display. Would it add $10 to the cost of the board? Sure, but we're talking about enthusiast boards here.

 

[offerings12]

SAS Drive Controller for OS Drives and SATA for Storage drives.
For better cable management put the Power Connector at the top of the motherboard.
Cable Management Loops off the sides of the Motherboard.
**Fantasy** Water cooling built into the motherboard kind of like an Engine block in a car Built throughout the motherboard for superior cooling , this would require a Radiator unless provided with the motherboard package.