ASRock Wants the Best Mobo Ideas in the World

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Instead of trying to get rid of all the legacy items I think I have a better idea. There probably isn't much of an improvement in performance by removing all of the legacy hardware from a motherboard besides spacing or visual reasons (just my guess).

I think things like the IDE connector shouldn't be removed, but instead built into the back panel so there is easy external access that only requires an IDE cable. Sure the IDE port is rather large but there's plenty of room in there for one to be fit in somehow under all the USB ports or something to that effect. Maybe have it lay across the top of the LAN ports like a table top. The wiring would be tricky maybe but I would think doable.

This back panel could possibly be engineered in such a way that it could also be used from inside the case, which would remove the need to have one physically on the board. This seems like a step back in the engineering of placement since a cable plugged into this port would then be wanting to go right over the CPU and RAM to where most HD bays are located, but I think if a thin new IDE cable is included that is long enough to go around the board and reach where HD bays would be located then it would fix that issue.

With this setup it would add more space to the inner side of the motherboard, on the outside of the RAM, maybe allowing for things to be moved around and adding something extra like SAS raid controllers or bigger CPUs or better sound chips or who knows what.

And please quit putting such horrid sound chips on great motherboards. I don't know why Creative and other great sound chip manufacturers don't get their sound chips onto more motherboards. The sound quality between a good sound card and onboard sound is just so great and it doesn't seem like something that would be that expensive to include.

I think keeping legacy items is good because old things can last a long time! Taking care of them this way would hopefully create more room for extra newer things while not removing the convenience of the backwards compatibility.
 
Another idea for the sound card issue. Just include a sound card that goes into pci-e slot instead of onboard. That way the sound is included with the purchase and the space on the motherboard can be used for something that's worth a damn. This way when someone decides they want a better sound card they can just take the one that was included out and there's no wasted space on the motherboard like a disabled sound chipset.

Sound is one of the few things (or maybe the only thing) on a motherboard that I always end up wanting to upgrade really badly sometimes.
 
Motherboard that can work independently without CPU, RAM, Video card, storage (has its own onboard just for diagnostic, monitoring, testing software) . So if one or more of them is having trouble (can not boot, etc) the motherboard still can show the the user if the new ram, or current ram, or the cpu, etc is the cause of problems. (sorry if I copy someone's idea, I only read the first page of the comments)
 
A few semi soft rubber nubs to cushion between the motherboard and the case. To be placed by the company or have an adhesive back for the customers to apply. Placed under SATA connectors, PATA connectors, expansion, or RAM slots to reduce stress on the motherboard.

Possible research new motherboard materials to stand up in submerged oils tanks. Maybe a graphite motherboard so it would not break down from vegetable oils. I think many enthusiast may resort to this cooling method over water blocks.
 
I realise this is weird but how about a mobo that supports different sockets? It could be modular (Module 1: Socket dependant parts like the proccessor; Module 2: Socket idependent parts such as SATA and USB) and if one has a let's say LGA 1156 chip and wants to upgrade to Sandy Bridge or AMD in the near future, he wouldn't have to buy two motherboards, just a module for the socket dependant parts.

Not to mention that some standards don't often change, for example the SATA ports, the HDMI, PCI-E, PCI, USB or the PSU connecting slot. Yet a motherboard has to also have these things (lol @ mobo without SATA) and both the company and the user have to pay because these have to be constantly made too (the fabrication line has to be changed whenever a new mobo model appears which means costs for the company, and the user has to pay these things and a difference to help the company pay the fee for the change in the line).

Look towards the other advantages: Having a modular mobo means that it could be better organised(in levels for example) and more compact which would mean miniaturising the cases which is something that EVERYONE would like (same performance, tinier costs, less space)

Here's a suggestive concept image:
http://extremeportal.hi2.ro/images/52y4sftjc0ye27v22o.png

Note: I'm not sure if this is posible, and I realise the masive costs it implies, but it's in the advantage of both the user and the company imo, as both will spend less in the future.
 
Instead of having a 2d board with not a lot space to put stuff on have the board designed more like a parking deck. Many levels and ramps allow you to put more stuff on it yet still have it be connected. You could have more stuff like the onboard wireless components on one level, the sound components on the next level, and finally onboard lan on the next level. I just like the option to have as many onboard things as possible because most of the pci slots are blocked by giant the video cards and their heatsinks. Due to the way cases and other non-motherboard hardware is designed it is impossible to have free pci slots for sound or wireless so more onboard stuff is needed.

This would also free up a lot more space elsewhere. For example I cannot pull out just one sata connector to the motherboard because they are spaced so close together so I have to pull them all out. They should be more spaced out.

An onboard flash drive or solid state drive that you could either install an OS on or that had utility programs such as a disc partitioning program, memory test program, or other diagnostic programs would also be good.
 
Hmmm ok, actually the whole thread is full of technical stuffs that doesn't actually makes much sense to normal users like me... Don't get me wrong... i can construct my own PC using random parts from random brands and etc but some of these are just too much for me to ever try to read/understand....

First off, i will have to say that ASROCK is fairly a good brand but it lacks originality unless people actually do research about it which most people don't or are too lazy or simple minded to do... I was trying to look for an Asrock's true 333 x58 mobo in Malaysia and China but failed to make people understand the brand I'm referring to... (and that those who understood the brand told me that nobody sells it here) so first off is availability and getting the word out... if people like your brand, knows about it but can't get it, theres no point to have the best mobo in the whole world if you can't sell it to people who wants em..

Secondly as mentioned previously is the lack of originality, don't get me wrong, i like the whole mobo's coloring of Black and Blue and some white... But it doesn't stands out in the dark especially as an enthusiast's mobo who usually have chassis that can see through into the insides to showoff their parts. Example, if i see red and black, its ASUS ROG, if i see blue and white, its GIGABYTE..... I can't really tell the difference in a dimly lite casing if its a Asrock or not due black and dark blue... both are too dark... maybe sth like yellow and black (Bee?) or green and black or even white and silver ??? Make it simple for people to know your brand... the technical stuffs comes later...

thirdly, its the market your trying to target... Some examples... ASUS uses its ROG to target high end gamers, so whether or not these people understand whats those things are.... they will wanna buy a ROG part just because it looks cool and cost more than others... Make it look cool... even if its costly if its cool people will want it, furthermore if you can make it look cool and say "Its as cool as ASUS's design [ROG or not] but half the price !!!" people will buy.... i don't think changing the outlook of the heatsinks, adding some LED or adding a logo etc would add much to the total production cost. Looks comes first performance later since you guys are mid-tier but doesn't mean mid-tier can't be good looking.

Forth, iTX... I've been wanting to make a iTX PC ever since 2006 but the boards and compatible parts out there are just not juicy enough to justify spending money into it unless i have parts leftover from a previous PC that can be used... Gigabyte came out with the H55N-USB3 in which i think a following of fans will emerge soon to make sth like the mini-austin club or sth with me as one of their members... (i wanted to make my next build with the x58 Platform and a Asrock mobo due to being attracted by the True 333 slogan) but what gigabyte offered hit me in all the soft sweet spots and i just had to change to iTX P55. Now i have a cute mini iTX PC in a silverstone sugo casing. Venture into the unknown... gigabyte's first ITX board packs such a punch that it punches all the competition out of the pool and into the bin. I wouldn't have even considered making an iTX pc if it weren't any of the top brands... Being one of them, Asrock didn't see this as an opportunity and missed out.

Fifth, you guys already got half the idea i mentioned above with your ASROCK HTPC with USB3.0 that is said to be able to support 3D vision, why not expand on that ? For people who doesn't want to go through the hassle of making themselves one, you already have the product, but why stop there and not take it apart and sell the parts separately ? Your VIA® PV530 Processor (1.8 GHz) just doesn't cut it.

Asrock is a good brand (IMO) but i didn't get the chance to actually use its product other than visit websites for reviews.. so i hope you guys can improve on that since i'm gradually stopping to be a supporter for something that i can only heard/read of. So my comments here are for ASROCK to beef up and add more colors and variety to the market... the first impression is always more important than having a stack load of impressive working history in the resume... cause its always the thing people think of first before the content of the resume...
 
Sorry. The image was broken.
I hate these uploading sites >_>
http://great person-land.hi2.ro/uploads/1084067825.png (sorry if the link is offending to anyone)
@above
onboard SSD => price explosion
a onboard flash stick or mini-HDD (like 1GB of space ;D) would be cool tho
+1
 
Just make power/data cabling more effective in terms of airflow. What's the use of having 3 fans of 12 cm in front of the chassis if all the air gets stopped on the cables? Just make all the power connectors go to the bottom of the motherboard (next to psu) and then with smaller cables supply the power to the devices. The same thing with data, move it to the ends of the motherboard. It would be nice having all the connectors at 90º. One other thing about heat flow, if the gpu is the component that generates more heat, why not move it to the top of the cpu? Why does the cpu have to catch all heat from the gpu?
 
So to start off, ASRock, a global motherboard manufacturer announced this week that it wanted its customers to decide what they put in there next line of motherboards. They even said to submit ideas that may not even exist yet.

When I read this, I put together my own list of things I would like to see on a next generation motherboard.

I think one incredible feature for a motherboard would be an interchangeable CPU socket. My current motherboard has an AM2+ socket, and although I am replacing my motherboard soon, it is still a generation old. It would be far more easy if I was able to just unscrew the socket, and replace that, to upgrade to a better CPU, then buy a completely new motherboard.

The next feature is a backwards compatible PCI Express 2.0/3.0 slot. PCI Express 3.0 was unveiled earlier this year. It could be a year or 2 before we really start seeing it, but still it will be nice to be able to plug in my current graphics card into a new motherboard.

Port wise, standard audio ports, 6+ USB 2.0, 2-3 USB 3.0, and maybe more then just 1 IEEE port which is standard on many current motherboards. I have multiple firewire devices that I need to plug into my current motherboard and it is very limiting then just having one.

Other then that, just over all expandability is the name of the game. I recommend that ASRock’s next generation motherboards need to have lots of SATA connectors, and PCI/ PCI 2.0/3.0 slots. The ability to crossfire your video cards is essential to high performance PC’s. I suggest a minimum of 2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots.

Beyond that, keep the power consumption low to keep the boards compatitble to less powerful power supplies with an easy overclocking system, and ASRock would have my perfect motherboard.
 
I think, Asrock should design a AMD motherborad with Dual cpu AM3 support and one intel motherboard with Dual intel cpu core i7 1366 support. because you never cant find any motherborads with dual cpu support that support dual cpu intel core i7 1366 and dual AMD AM3.
I'm sure These motherboards will have a good market and proponent in the world. and you should pay attention to this topic that there has a long distance between very Hi end cpus(example: xeon series) and midrenge cpus. and you can fill it with these products. specially this order is very good for AMD Customers because AMD dosent have any very top cpus in competition with Intel Xeons.
I'm crazy about asrock.good luck asrock.
 
I would love to see these features together in an ASRock Mother Board :-
__________________________________________________________

1) Triple Channel DDR3 2000 .

2) E Sata Port on the Rear Panel .

3) Firewire IEEE - 1394 A or if possible B .

4) Wi Fi Card or Wireless Lan Card , if possible a Draft N Card inbuilt or as a PCI-E 1X Riser Card .

5) Better Audio - Atleast equivalent to Creative Extreme Music . X-Fi quality would be awesome.

6) On Board Hardware Switches with LEDs for Power On/Off , CMos Reset.

7) CMOS Reset on the Rear Panel so that we do not need to open the case in case of system Instability/Booting failure due to Overclocking or mistakenly done any wrong Bios Settings.

8) USB 3.0 Ports & SATA 6Gbits/sec.

9 ) This is NOT compulsory but would be nice - An On Board Graphics equivalent to ATI Radeon 5650 series or Nvidia 8800/9800 GTX series.The more advanced Graphics you could integrate the better .This will be just an added bonus & NOT compulsory because most of us will be using a dedicated Graphic Card anyways.But it will come handy if the Graphic Card gone bad due to any reason We we need to RMA it.Then this integrated card will come handy for those of us who does not own more than 1 Graphic Card. :) I am going to repeat it again Sir that having an Integrated Graphic Card is NOT mandatory in this era of high-end Dedicated Graphic Cards. :)

10) It is also optional & NOT mandatory.I would like to see an High-end Board which will have an option ( either integrated or via a PCI-E 1X Riser Card ) of an Analogue & DVB-T TV Tuner Card.


I know integrating all these features can make your Mobo Extremely Pricey but I'm sure most of us will be ready to pay that price if we get such a Premium product because we know that we won't have to regret our investment at all.

Also , I Know maybe it is NOT possible to expect so many things from a MotherBoard because I know maybe you will first want to look at making your products affordable to the masses but I am generally listing here what the features I would like to expect from a '' World Class Quality Dream MotherBoard '' . :)


Thank you for reading.Continue Rocking ASRock.We will be there with you always. :)
 
My ideal motherboard would have:

-No legacy tech (PS2, IDE, etc...)
-No on-board video
-10+ SATA 3.0 connectors on a single controller with good raid support
-2 to 4 full speed PCI-Express slots
-On board power/reset push buttons
-1366 socket
-5.1+ onboard audio
-Dual gigabit ethernet connections
-smallest form factor possible with above specs

If you cant do the above list make a mobo that has extra ram slots with a battery that can be set up as a boot drive. Something like 4-8 slots with support for up to 32 or 64 gb.
 
to improve the the sound what could be done is the DA could be on-board like normal but you should be able to add in a headphone amp card in a slot that doubles as a pcie x1 expantion slot... a digital source is a digital source you dont really need to upgrade that the amp is what makes all the difference.

what about adding in a feature like the iclear thing that filters the noise between pcie slots

i have been waiting for an affordable mobo you can install two cpus in forever no way am i forking out $700 for a mobo

molex power connector or fan headers on back io plate so you can more easily power fans on external radiators

perforate the mobo around the pcie slots so sli/crossfire rigs can get more cool air

space out ram more so it can stay cooler... more and more you see fans over ram dmms... or put two on one side of the cpu and two on the other or thee and three...

a shield over the audio components like the xonar cards have would be nice

reinforce all sata pcie power ram ect connectors on mobos please... and while your at it add some leds inside all the sata connectors so you can hot swap in the dark... add onboard ram to i cant seem to get enough ram .... and some cuda cores on the mobo would be nice too integrated physix would be a big selling point for me... usb on the mobo so i could put my wifi adapter in my case or use that power boost thing in vista with a flashdrive. you could also save bios's to this flash-drive and just flash your bios form that .... reinforce edge of mobo so i dont feel like i am breaking or bending the mobo when i plug in the 24 pin power adapter for example... integrated ssd to boot quickly to an internet browser or overclocking oriented os.. add a rechargeable system battery.. modular mosfets for so when you really want to oc
 
What would be cool is if the motherboard was capable of monitoring how much power was being used. This way you could tell what you needed to upgrade. As well the user should have an option to report this information back to a website so when we plan upgrades we have the data we need to figure out what to buy. I'm thinking about upgrading my processor and video card and when I go online to a power supply calculator it says all will work. But the manufacture says the CPU only needs 80W but testing on Tomshardware says the CPU needs 107-159. Thats a huge difference. The same goes for video cards their all over the map. Plus its cool like a car the more gauges you have the cooler it is.
 
I want:
-the 24 pin connection at the bottom of the motherboard,
sata ports on the top right corner,as well as the power/reset/hdd connection, CPU power instead of the IDE port,HD audio connector on the right side of the motherboard (all of these for cable management).
When I say right side, I mean where the SATA ports are usually located.

For functionality:
-I want more 3 and 4 pin connections for fans, distributed evenly on the top and on the right side, 3 pin female to 3 pin male extenders, as most of today's fans have relatively short leads;
-less PCI slots;
-integrated wireless and bluetooth modules;
-2 pci-express 2.1/3.0 x16, for crossfire/SLI;
-use the extra room to beef up the power delivery to the CPU;
-killer sound integrated in all the models;
-REMOTE CONTROL O.C.-ing for the top end models, and I mean literally a remote control for O.C.-ing the system;
-integrated diagnostics program(with software);
-BIOS backup on a CD inside the packaging;
-DVI connectors (no more VGA);
-Crossfire and SLI bridges as standard;
-front Panel USB 3.0 connectors, and true SATA 6 GB/S.
-a special SATA connector that allows for an HDD to automatically be recognized and assigned as a boot drive
-a switch that automatically configures RAID 0,1 etc.

For looks:
-I want flashy chipset heatsinks;
-different colour options for the same motherboard, and maybe make AMD motherboards black, green and white, and INTEL ones blue and white;
-motherboard screws painted in contrast to the colour scheme, but only included with enthusiast models.


This is my perfect motherboard. Hope I have said it all.
 
Couple of crazy ideas:
Three dimensional (cube-based) motherboards could shorten trace length allowing for faster interconnects in a much more compact space.

More intelligence in overclocking, a two phase approach.
1) Have each individual board pre-tested for signal strength and timing limits and those maximums stored in NVRAM. The BIOS would then limit the non-CPU and non-memory related settings to those values.
2) Once the CPU and memory have been inserted, have the board run a stress test on each (5 or 10 minute maximum) to determine at what settings errors begin to occur.

Stress test would consist of:
a) Random workload to heat the CPU / memory to TDP at nominal setting. (Probably a couple of minutes)
b) Begin stepping Memory to faster and faster speeds based on SPD, then over SPD limits. Keep track of all settings that generated no errors.
c) Begin stepping CPU to faster FSB speeds at normal clock multiplier. Keep track of good FSB’s.
d) Begin stepping CPU to faster clock multipliers (if applicable).
e) Test good FSB’s with good clocks.
f) Map Memory to CPU timings for best performance and auto-set in BIOS. The system may need to reduce the maximum clocks and timings by a margin of error, and system setup is complete.

This should determine the maximum overclock available, and set it automatically. When any hardware changes are detected, offer to re-run performance optimizations.
 
- Motherboard line that you could build to fit and run in your car stereo slot. Would power with battery and work just like a stereo, only a computer.
- Air pressure gauge for monitoring case pressure
- GPS antenna built into mobo
- Cable modem built into mobo like ethernet is now
- Certified Hackintosh compatible
- A way for ethernet to write directly to your disc without using the cpu/resources
- bios profiles

Don't forget my other threads! I'll write more later.
 
i stay on my position , high end gpu , get rid of pci pci-e , juste put big heatsink on top of a gpu with it`s own ram , enable slim tower low profile factor gaming at low noise , low electricity , low budget. high end , i mean something that could play sc2 on ultra setting, maybe just average . most gaming station only have videocard while the rest is onboard and change the entire computer after 3-4 years instead of upgrating.
 
I really like the new 890FX Deluxe AMD boards. (I've not looked at the Intel versions.) I like that they come with several USB 3.0 ports, not just 2, and all the SATA 6.0Gbps ports, including the e-sata ports. These motherboards are great for future proofing the data io interfaces, since they effect a lot of my day to day speed, rather than being able to put in 3 or 4 graphics cards, like a lot of the other manufacturers are shooting for with the 890FX boards.

The things I think I would change are mostly as follows:

1) The floppy port could be removed. It seems like most folks are buying a USB floppy drive these days, if they find they need one at all.

2) A little bit longer SATA cables.

3) Good Q/A checks to make sure the major Linux distributions will boot up and install. (The Deluxe3 had some problems with ubuntu 10.04 LTS.)

4) Please list several RAM modules with good timings/latencies, which will allow for the maximum amount of ram on the motherboard in the Memory QVL. (We got the kingston 4GB modules in there at DDR3 1333, which was a good start.)

5) Where possible without compromising board stability, it would be great to not have to actively cool components at the base settings. (I don't overclock, and I hate the sound.) If possible, it'd be great to put things in the manuals saying at what with overclocking you'd recommend attaching active cooling and include it in the box.

6) I'd really like a way to not compromise the PCI Express 1x slots with either the graphics cards or the heat pipes. Right now, I'd like to be able to consider using two double wide graphics cards, a pci express 1x sound card, and a pci express 1x tv tuner card, but I can't do this without removing one of the graphics cards. I think we are to the point where it would be better to compromise a standard PCI slot than to compromise a PCI Express 1x slot. I could go with older PCI cards, but generally, I prefer to buy to the newer standard to future proof my machines a little longer, especially when purchasing at the enthusiast price point/model.

 
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