[citation][nom]Avro Arrow[/nom]Heh, I think that this article should have had"(take this with a grain of salt)" at the end of the title. Intel made a BAD mistake with this crap because most of us here on tomshardware are experts, enthusiasts, technicians and hardcore gamers who do NOT buy "brand-in-a-box" desktops with Foxconn motherboards branded as Intel. That's right folks, Intel doesn't actually make their own motherboards. They contract out to Foxconn (who we know makes crap) and I'd take pretty much any motherboard make over Foxconn. Intel's motherboards are reliable? I used to be a sales rep for Tiger Direct and I'll tell you that Intel mobos are absolute garbage unless you're using the system for business apps that need all the power of a P1 with Win95! Motherboard brands have tier levels according to quality and features. Here is how they rank:Tier 1 - Legendary features, performance, reliability and reputation. These boards appeal to enthusiasts and generally are beyond reproach. These makers have legendary board series names that are recognised as the pinnacle of motherboard design. They demand a price premium for their products and still tend to outsell the Tier 2 and 3 levels at the consumer level:ASUS - Crosshair, Sabertooth, Rampage, EVOGigabyte - Assassin, Sniper, UD5, UD7MSI - Platinum, Big Bang, GDxx SeriesASUS, Gigabyte and MSI are generally recognised as the finest desktop motherboard makers in the world. Tyan and Supermicro are Tier 1 as well but in the server category.Tier 2 - Lesser-known names that are making a name for themselves by offering great performance and reliability at great prices. Generally these brands are younger than Tier 1 and don't make no-holds-barred overclocking performance boards (yet). Tier 2 also includes makers that were previously Tier 3 but have worked hard to improve their reliability, feature sets and performance:ASRock, Biostar, ECS, ZotacTier 3 - Names that are generally unknown or have dubious reliability reputations. They have a limited selection and pander more to the OEMs (Acer, Dell, HP & Lenovo) than they do to the consumer market. They are generally dirt cheap (with one glaring exception) and offer decent value for users who know little to nothing about computers (people who buy brand-in-a-box desktops). Generally any attempts at production of high-end boards results in fiascos due to their generally inept (or crack-smoking) designers and bad corporate philosophies (low wages, high employee suicide rates, refusal to pay for quality components, greed, arrogance):Foxconn - Possibly the worst tech company ever but possibly the largest because of their massive production capacity and huge contracts with desktop and laptop OEMs.Intel - Made by Foxconn and priced like Tier 1 but have very good corporate customer support. If you have any expertise at all, Intel boards are just not worth it. If you're a tech-moron and don't know anyone with expertise, an Intel board would be an attractive idea for a first-built because you could be on the phone with them as they walk you through the installation. Personally, I'd just watch a YouTube video and use a Tier 1 or 2 depending on the build's purpose.JetWay - Young, small and relatively poor. I expect that they will one day become Tier 2 if they can ever stop tripping over their own feet.[/citation]
quite - quite informative, didn't know the thingy about makers of tier 2 boards...Thanks pal!
with this rubbish report even intel can fool its CEO into buying their crap 
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