Motherboard Quality - ASRock vs. MSI/ASUS

[CV_Taihou]

Like the title states, I'm wondering how ASRock boards stack up quality wise to the MSI boards I usually use, and the ASUS boards that I know tend to be very good. Trying to help a friend build a computer and Newegg has these on for a really good price, especially considering the features the board has. I've never used ASRock boards though, so I don't know if they should be a consideration or if I should avoid them. Reviews seem ok but I figured I'd ask on here as well.

Here's the board in question
ASRock Z97 Extreme6

 

[weberdarren97]

From what I heard, ASRock is striving to simply to be a more affordable Asus. I haven't had problems with ASRock, but you don't get all of the proprietary bells and whistles that you would get from Asus. However, I have no experience with MSI boards, so I can't help you there.

 

[theyeti87]

I have had great luck with MSI and ASUS, and to a lesser extent ASRock.

Here is a Tom's review of the mobo you have selected http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/enthusiast-z97-motherboard-overclock,3893.html

From the article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-intel-amd-motherboard,3902.html

I like those three brands (throw Gigabyte in there, too).

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Asrock was basically a spinoff of ASUS , I build with ASUS and Gigabyte , don't trust MSI QC.

 

[weberdarren97]

Personally, I prefer Asus, but that's my opinion. You're free to think whatever you want.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Solution unselected , wasn't pick by the OP.

OP select when you are ready.

 

[CV_Taihou]

Asrock was basically a spinoff of ASUS , I build with ASUS and Gigabyte , don't trust MSI QC.

I swear by MSI. Had 3 ASUS boards die or show up already dead in a row, and moved to MSI right after. Have had 0 issues since. I also really like the Black/Red Color scheme on my personal Z170 Gaming M7 😛

Thanks for the review links though! I think I'm going to tell him to snag this since it seems to be a very capable motherboard, especially for the sale price.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I prefer ASUS and Gigabyte , personal preference , only 2 boards I ever returned were 2 Z97 MSI.

 

[weberdarren97]

Asrock was basically a spinoff of ASUS , I build with ASUS and Gigabyte , don't trust MSI QC.

I swear by MSI. Had 3 ASUS boards die or show up already dead in a row, and moved to MSI right after. Have had 0 issues since. I also really like the Black/Red Color scheme on my personal Z170 Gaming M7 😛

Thanks for the review links though! I think I'm going to tell him to snag this since it seems to be a very capable motherboard, especially for the sale price.

I've never had any problems with Asus boards. If you bought them from a resale shop who didn't package it correctly and they died during shipping, that's not Asus's fault.

*I don't know the exact circumstances of when or how your boards died, so I just provided a basic example.

 

[jossrik]

I always had problems with MSI but they always worked and I've always had a good time with their customer service. AsRock I was very unhappy with, but Asus is what I use now almost exclusively. I've had to use Asus customer service three times now, all for stuff that I messed up, was up front about that, and they replaced with new/newrefurb anyhow. Just off that I will buy from Asus any time I get the chance for a new build, no matter who I'm building for.

 

[weberdarren97]

I always had problems with MSI but they always worked and I've always had a good time with their customer service. AsRock I was very unhappy with, but Asus is what I use now almost exclusively. I've had to use Asus customer service three times now, all for stuff that I messed up, was up front about that, and they replaced with new/newrefurb anyhow. Just off that I will buy from Asus any time I get the chance for a new build, no matter who I'm building for.

I agree completely... And I love your profile pic BTW

 

[CV_Taihou]

Asrock was basically a spinoff of ASUS , I build with ASUS and Gigabyte , don't trust MSI QC.

I swear by MSI. Had 3 ASUS boards die or show up already dead in a row, and moved to MSI right after. Have had 0 issues since. I also really like the Black/Red Color scheme on my personal Z170 Gaming M7 😛

Thanks for the review links though! I think I'm going to tell him to snag this since it seems to be a very capable motherboard, especially for the sale price.

I've never had any problems with Asus boards. If you bought them from a resale shop who didn't package it correctly and they died during shipping, that's not Asus's fault.

*I don't know the exact circumstances of when or how your boards died, so I just provided a basic example.

It was all through a local computer shop that I had build my first computer. The first board lasted a week and then just had every USB port stop working. Second board had the same issue after two weeks. The third one went in and wouldn't even post. Took it back and asked what they could replace it with that wasn't ASUS. They suggested an MSI board, and I haven't had any issues since (computer is still going strong after 5 years now)

 

[weberdarren97]

Maybe it was a problem with not enough amperage to the P1 connector? That could cause internal BIOS errors.

 

[HeardofPenguin]

I own two ASRock boards. One is a Z170M Extreme 4 that has been wonderful and given me no problems over 5 months of medium use. The other is a Z170 iTX/ac Fatality Gaming and I had to RMA the first one sent to me (Newegg). ASRock was quite quick to respond to my emails and treated me well as they tried to help me fix the issue. I haven't owned an ASUS board but the multiple horror stories I hear about their customer service has made me shy away despite their acclaim with regard to quality (when their not DOA). I do own an ASUS MX279h ips monitor and it has been great. I ordered a second monitor and much to my disappointment was unable to get the image quality to match regardless of settings changes so I sent it back for a refund. I've done a ton of research and what I've compiled is that ASUS makes excellent stuff when it works but has terrible CS and possibly sub-par QC. ASRock has my business for the time being as long as they continue to have good CS and the boards I have continue to run smoothly. The ASrock BIOS is nice to use and is pretty straight forward. I like that about them. I say try one and stress it a bit over 20 days and if something fails or isn't right, return it and go ASUS. Hope that helped.

 

[orifiel]

I think Asus in facebook have dozen of complaints about a horrible customer service? Well at least a year I go that I checked.. lol Not that I have a bad experience with asus myself, but just saying. I dont buy asus anymore because the distributor in my country start selling crappy warranties and eat the original warranties!!
Meaning, if you rma something through them, they send you back a brand new YES, but with 1 year limited (of their own personal branding) warranty... eg if the distributor is called XXX, is going to be XXX warranty" not Asus...

So I stop buying asus for 2 reasons, the bad comments in facebook for a direct RMA, it was a huge scary experience I dont know if they fixed their customer service since and the bad distributor in my country lol. Its 2way around cannot help it.

I reported once our local distributor and raised up a customer report thingy... it took me 2 years to get my receipt and original warranty... (yes they dont give you reciept back, thats why you cannot get ur original warranty).

Ive learned one thing for all companies, no matter what the user comments about a specific product is, always check if the company that makes it is good in customer service. I always try to find balance with good customer service and something that is not the best but not the worst either if the customer service sucks, just move to the next product.

 

[samisyed301]

My experience with asrock isn't good. However their rma service is good. I got power problem in motherboard which was under warranty, replacement was within a week but same problem with that after 6-7 months. Till now I have replaced it 4 times for same problem. Bought it in December2014. Model z87 extreme 4. However my friend's board is working fine inspite of being older than mine. He have z87m extreme 4.