Motherboard reviews on Newegg

[jabjab90301]

How many here find it difficult to shop for motherboards on newegg because when you look reviews you see a lot of 1 eggs due to DOA. I find hard to gauge on how good something is when a majority of the reviews are 1 egg for DOA.

 

[LTC8K6]

You have to weed out unreliable reviews.

After looking at lots and lots of reviews, you can get a feel for whether the reviewer has a clue or not. Or if they are just a cheerleader or are just bashing to bash.

After ordering online for many years, I tend to stick with the companies that have been good for me in the past, and I rely a lot less on reviews.

I rely a lot more on reputations and experience and the ease of return/exchange.

Both Newegg and Amazon have always been great, so I feel a lot less need to worry about reviews.

 

[JeffMD]

I only take 2 things from reviews on the store sites.

#1 a lot of reviews shows a model number being popular, usually cause people have read on other sites that the pick was a good choice. There are odd ball models of devices out there and this has helped me avoid some that I didn't realise had something I didn't want, or didn't have something specific I would need.

#2 specific trouble shooting things like a device being picky with ram, or audio quality being bad, or socket position not being good for certain coolers or power cables.

Generally when I shop for a basic motherboard, I'll filter out asus, msi, and gigabyte (I almost always take asus for my own) and sort by price, then look at the $75-$85 range. Thats where you are likely to find the cheap to midrange chipset based boards but with feature rich connectivity, although usually based around running 1 GPU. Under that I'm usually finding old chipsets or missing basics like gigabit ethernet, hdmi out, a decent bios (and all the features that go with it like fan controls, bios protections).

 

[UsandThem]

Yeah, a lot of Newegg reviews are really bad. Many are written by people who don't know what they are doing, and I find the "Thiz bord iz tha shiz" reviews annoying.

I generally look at the manufacturer's support forums to see if there is a particular board that many people seem have a problem with, and I will usually take Amazon reviews much more serious than Newegg.

 

[Elixer]

Yeah, I also frequent the maker of the motherboard's forums, and also hit some o/c forum sites to see what they say.
Newegg (& Amazon &...) reviews are.. well, they just got too many trolls, and the IQ of a light bulb.

 

[sze5003]

I was just on newegg shopping for a new board. Looking at the Asus z170 pro gaming and that got good reviews. The z170 1150 pro-A is also looking good but that one had more 1 star reviews for DOA.

I see a lot of DOA reviews on newegg for the boards and that does worry me.

I think I'll just order it here in a couple of days and see what happens.

There are also a ton of picky people on newegg when it comes to this stuff.

 

[StrangerGuy]

There are also a ton of picky people on newegg when it comes to this stuff.

By picky you do mean:
"I wanted X feature and this board I bought didn't have X feature. 1/5"
"I used a $10 garbage PSU and the mobo blew up. 1/5"
"I bent the LGA pins because I was a complete retard. 1/5"
"I didn't install the HSF correctly and the mobo reported inaccurate temps. 1/5"

Yeah, I wonder why so many mobo makers left the retail business.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I profoundly believe the Egg reviews are useful, but in qualified ways and with certain concepts in mind.

The first thing I do is to check the 1-star reviews -- more often or thoroughly if they exceed 10%. But even if less, I scan them.

Certain kinds of error descriptions may point to DOA or short life. Of course, if these are below 10%, you should remember that from a quality control perspective this could be a lower number for behavioral reasons: people who have a gripe are more likely to vocalize it in a review, while people who were equitably satisfied with a product may not bother to write a review.

For comparisons, I add up the 4 and 5-star frequency count, and if it exceeds 80% I mark the item as "promising" and write it down or add a new row to a spreadsheet.

For motherboards, I expect to see lower "very-good to excellent" 4 and 5 ratings. You might easily find such ratings -- 50 to 60% -- for top-end motherboards with many features. You can sort these out between "dufus-noobies who didn' know what dey doing," "specialized or ancillary feature not working," "conflicts between other devices," "Doesn't work under [some other] OS," and so on. If you're not planning to use Linux, and other respondents said it worked just fine in Windows, you'd discard the review showing "Doesn't work with Linux."

Now -- these are the mere ratings, sorted by score.

Something that should be most evidently important is the total frequency count, or the number of all customers who write reviews. If the number is large -- 3 or 4 digits -- it's likely to show either a 4-star or 5-star rating. You'd still analyze the 1-stars, 2-stars etc. but the frequency count total is a measure of popularity generated by reviews and test results in conjunct with a price point.

Just guessing for now, I'd think that a 5-star average with a 1,000-customer review-response will help you save money and feel blessed by bargains.

 

[sze5003]

By picky you do mean:
"I wanted X feature and this board I bought didn't have X feature. 1/5"
"I used a $10 garbage PSU and the mobo blew up. 1/5"
"I bent the LGA pins because I was a complete retard. 1/5"
"I didn't install the HSF correctly and the mobo reported inaccurate temps. 1/5"

Yeah, I wonder why so many mobo makers left the retail business.

Pretty much sometimes. Or they just mention their ram couldn't OC correctly and give it a bad rating. I've also noticed a lot of them are was working great, then stopped. Those are the scariest because they don't even go into any detail. I mean sometimes you get a bad one and that's that.

 

[RLGL]

I was just on newegg shopping for a new board. Looking at the Asus z170 pro gaming and that got good reviews. The z170 1150 pro-A is also looking good but that one had more 1 star reviews for DOA.

I see a lot of DOA reviews on newegg for the boards and that does worry me.

I think I'll just order it here in a couple of days and see what happens.

There are also a ton of picky people on newegg when it comes to this stuff.

If the board is not handled properly when taken out of the box, static electricity can kill it.
This is from a friend who ran a laptop re-furb business, he stated his biggest problem was static

 

[sze5003]

One thing I noticed looking at the Asus website memory specs sheet.

For example if I want to buy ddr4 3200 modules..the spec sheet shows the compatible vendors such as g skill and corsair but it shows 16gb for 3200 speed as 4gb*4 modules.

Does this mean the same brand of memory won't be compatible in 8gb*2 modules?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

One thing I noticed looking at the Asus website memory specs sheet.

For example if I want to buy ddr4 3200 modules..the spec sheet shows the compatible vendors such as g skill and corsair but it shows 16gb for 3200 speed as 4gb*4 modules.

Does this mean the same brand of memory won't be compatible in 8gb*2 modules?

I don't think so. It means that the QVL list only tested certain makes, models and speeds, or that the test was performed on a 4x4 instead of 2x8 -- which may not have been available.

Since the mobo specs often show a string of compatible memory speeds with the annotation "(OC)," I've found that you need to extrapolate a selection from what you'd find in the QVL list.

Just for a very dated example (I'm still running these SB-K machines) -- if I found a set of RipJaws G.SKILL 1333 modules on the QVL list with the model code ending in "GBRL," it would not be hard to assume or "extrapolate" that a set of GBRL Ripjaws 1866 modules would work.

But you have two ways to go on this: The QVL list from the mobo maker; and the "configurator" you might find as a link-selection at the RAM-maker's web-site. What the RAM-maker guarantees as compatible with a certain model motherboard and chipset might not show up on the QVL list.

 

[sze5003]

I don't think so. It means that the QVL list only tested certain makes, models and speeds, or that the test was performed on a 4x4 instead of 2x8 -- which may not have been available.

Since the mobo specs often show a string of compatible memory speeds with the annotation "(OC)," I've found that you need to extrapolate a selection from what you'd find in the QVL list.

Just for a very dated example (I'm still running these SB-K machines) -- if I found a set of RipJaws G.SKILL 1333 modules on the QVL list with the model code ending in "GBRL," it would not be hard to assume or "extrapolate" that a set of GBRL Ripjaws 1866 modules would work.

But you have two ways to go on this: The QVL list from the mobo maker; and the "configurator" you might find as a link-selection at the RAM-maker's web-site. What the RAM-maker guarantees as compatible with a certain model motherboard and chipset might not show up on the QVL list.

Makes sense. Looks like I'm going to get the Asus z170 pro gaming board. I need the extra 4 usb ports on the back. The z170 pro A model which is the same price and looks a bit newer only has 2 ports on the back.

 

[Maiyr]

"I wanted X feature and this board I bought didn't have X feature. 1/5"
"I used a $10 garbage PSU and the mobo blew up. 1/5"
"I bent the LGA pins because I was a complete retard. 1/5"
"I didn't install the HSF correctly and the mobo reported inaccurate temps. 1/5"

My first literal LOL of the day. Thank you! What makes it so funny is that you literally see stuff like this.

Maiyr

 

[sze5003]

My first literal LOL of the day. Thank you! What makes it so funny is that you literally see stuff like this.

Maiyr

A few days ago I was going through reviews on the z170 pro A or the other pro model, I forget which one but one review literally stated their computer started smoking and caught fire after 3 days.

To blame the mobo for that, I don't think these people should be touching computer parts at all.

Or the people that give it low rating because not enough usb ports. You knew that before you purchased if you looked at the specs tab.

Now some I can understand if it's an expensive model and lacks extra ports that cheaper ones have but then again why would you buy it if it didn't fit your needs?

 

[UsandThem]

There was a member here who was bashing Noctua in a post, and linked to a review they left at Amazon because they bought a Nh-D14 cooler that comes with a 3-pin fan, yet they wanted Noctua to give them a 4-pin PWM fan instead.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...iewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002VKVZ1A#R1IPJJ6T6HB4S3

Inferior performance at a high price & Noctua customer service are D-Bags, March 23, 2016


This review is from: Noctua NH-D14 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler (Personal Computers)

Had high hopes for this thing but the fans' 3 pin configuration is a mess. Now, I hope I'm wrong here and someone will correct me, but I understand the fans will not change speeds based on CPU temperature because of the Y connector needed to power both fans. So, basically, the fans are always running at the same speed regardless of temperature.

Not sure why any manufacturer would want to pass on using four pins instead of three but you would expect something this high end to have all the bells and whistles. This thing is a waste of money as I'll now have to replace the two fans with something else.

*Update: I emailed Noctua customer service asking if they could swap the fans. Here's the response:
************************
The NH-D14 is an old cooler - back then, there were no PWM fans available in the computer fan market. This is the reason behind this, and as our website clearly indicates, that the fans are not PWM but DC controlled, I'm afraid I have to decline your request.

Thank you for your understanding.
*************************
OK, let's see: Noctua was founded in 2005, while PWM technology had been in use for decades before; all modern motherboards come with a 4-pin CPU fan header so including 3-pin fans at this price point just results in inferior performance at a high price; and Amazon doesn't make the specs of both fans clear let alone that a splitter will prevent voltage regulation.

I'm never buying from this company again and, by the looks of it, the Cooler Master EVO series can offer the same performance at half the cost.

Buyer beware.

 

[nerp]

A ton of the DOA and 1-egg reviews are for people who did something wrong on their end. You just know it's someone who missed a step, damaged the board putting it in, didn't socket everything perfectly, put the wrong power pin in, shoved the CPU in wrong, etc. People are often amazeballs when it comes to screwing things up and thinking it's the board. Motherboards are the top thing like this due to their relative complexity as compared to other components that are really just plug and play.

 

[StrangerGuy]

A ton of the DOA and 1-egg reviews are for people who did something wrong on their end. You just know it's someone who missed a step, damaged the board putting it in, didn't socket everything perfectly, put the wrong power pin in, shoved the CPU in wrong, etc. People are often amazeballs when it comes to screwing things up and thinking it's the board. Motherboards are the top thing like this due to their relative complexity as compared to other components that are really just plug and play.

These idiots are also the same people on Reddit/pcmasterrace saying how trivially easy it is to build a PC with their smug faces just because somebody else said so or they watched an edited Youtube video, when even seasoned builders like me know there are a lot of pitfalls to check and avoid. So far I have never broke and got a broken mobo over the past 15 years, despite the fact I only buy bargain basement models.

 

[StrangerGuy]

One thing I noticed looking at the Asus website memory specs sheet.

For example if I want to buy ddr4 3200 modules..the spec sheet shows the compatible vendors such as g skill and corsair but it shows 16gb for 3200 speed as 4gb*4 modules.

Does this mean the same brand of memory won't be compatible in 8gb*2 modules?

The memory specs of the mobo shouldn't be taken too seriously since they don't and can't test every RAM under the sun. DDR4 CPUs should be flexible to make any combination work unlike DDR3 that gets very restrictive about size and banks once we get down to the Core 2 era.

 

[sze5003]

These idiots are also the same people on Reddit/pcmasterrace saying how trivially easy it is to build a PC with their smug faces just because somebody else said so or they watched an edited Youtube video, when even seasoned builders like me know there are a lot of pitfalls to check and avoid. So far I have never broke and got a broken mobo over the past 15 years, despite the fact I only buy bargain basement models.

The rig I have now I built five years ago. All without watching any videos or tutorials. I read up on what and how to do and did it carefully. You won't believe how many times I've seen videos of someone put something together on bare carpet. The most important part is being delicate with the board, placing it correct and tightening it just right.

I can see how many would say DOA after they threw it all together quickly and might have had some static somewhere. I doubt these people test the board by hooking up primary parts to it first and then connect it to a monitor and before placing it in the PC case to say it really was DOA.

 

[UsandThem]

The memory specs of the mobo shouldn't be taken too seriously since they don't and can't test every RAM under the sun. DDR4 CPUs should be flexible to make any combination work unlike DDR3 that gets very restrictive about size and banks once we get down to the Core 2 era.

Unfortunately, there is still quite a few memory issues with ram. The Gigabyte GA-z170-UD3 was getting slammed with a lot of negative reviews late last fall about RAM not working at all, only 1 stick working, XMP not working, etc. It took several BIOS updates until they got it fixed, and people started reviewing the board positively. The big brother of it, the UD5, oddly didn't have the same issues as the UD3.

Even today, my board (UD5) still regularly has beta BIOS releases to fix ram compatibility and XMP compatibility issues. I even helped another user the other day in general hardware whose RAM wouldn't work properly until he updated his BIOS to the newest version.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The rig I have now I built five years ago. All without watching any videos or tutorials. I read up on what and how to do and did it carefully. You won't believe how many times I've seen videos of someone put something together on bare carpet. The most important part is being delicate with the board, placing it correct and tightening it just right.

I can see how many would say DOA after they threw it all together quickly and might have had some static somewhere. I doubt these people test the board by hooking up primary parts to it first and then connect it to a monitor and before placing it in the PC case to say it really was DOA.

I put a lot of computers together on a carpeted floor! But I use a ground strap, or otherwise keep a hand on the case-metal when touching the electronics.

But like I said earlier, some folks don't study the board manual before slapping the system together and firing it up. Others are a bit clueless about BIOS configuration. There are several categories of people with their shortcomings and issues. So you expect the 4- and 5-star ratings to total up to a percentage that might deter you from buying the board if you don't know what's going on in those reviews.

The devil is in the details, or what those low reviews reveal besides customer/user incompetence. But before "dissing" the value of customer-reviews, sort out the grain from the chaff. Because there is lots of chaff coming from Noobs and the galactically clueless wannabe enthusiasts.

But the reviews still contain useful information, and a sense of statistics, sampling, a logic about bias and other factors serve the interpretation.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If I were reading a review and a good number of people received a DOA what do you think that says about quality control for that manufacturer? I would run away thanking them for sharing their experience. I've received DOA boards before, my last one was a Foxconn bloodrage x58 which was promptly rma'd back to newegg and I never bought another mb from them again.

 

[sze5003]

Unfortunately, there is still quite a few memory issues with ram. The Gigabyte GA-z170-UD3 was getting slammed with a lot of negative reviews late last fall about RAM not working at all, only 1 stick working, XMP not working, etc. It took several BIOS updates until they got it fixed, and people started reviewing the board positively. The big brother of it, the UD5, oddly didn't have the same issues as the UD3.

Even today, my board (UD5) still regularly has beta BIOS releases to fix ram compatibility and XMP compatibility issues. I even helped another user the other day in general hardware whose RAM wouldn't work properly until he updated his BIOS to the newest version.

I've been looking at the gigabyte gaming 5 board and the Asus z170 pro gaming. Besides not having a dvi port the gaming 5 got decent reviews.

The Asus will cost me $109 at microcenter if I buy it with the i7 6700k. The gigabyte board is $159 on newegg and $139 at microcenter with the CPU bundle.

Seeing you have a gigabyte board do you recommend it over the Asus? Port wise they both have the same amount of ports and to me they would function the same. Just can't connect with whether the extra $30 for the gigabyte is a better option.

 

[lenjack]

There is a website, http://fakespot.com/, fairly new, I think, that analyzes reviews, and attempts to call out the phony ones. That might be helpful in some cases, where you think some folks are bashing companies unfairly.