Big shout out for GIGABYTE

embalse · 26 Apr 2012 at 14:53

I know that for everyone of the likes of me there will be others who have had great experiences with other companies, but I just wanted to say that in the past I have in the main used ASUS boards. Recently I board a Gigabyte X79-UD5 which had a problem which was totally my fault.
The Gigabyte tech support were fantastic, better than I have experienced else where.

Will definitely be buying Gigabyte boards in the future.

Garyj881 · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:02

Any chance you could elaborate on what the fault was and what Gigabyte actually did?

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:13

gigabyte are #1 in customer service and repairs,fixed bent/broken cpu socket pins and offered to fix a faulty ram slot even when the boards out of warranty for me(FREE OF CHARGE),just simply fantastic,asus have a lot to learn in their customer service department

shawsy109 · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:30

Ive only ever used Gigabyte mobos in all my pcs, and by luck my new pre built system was a gigabyte mobo, also all my gpu's in the past have been gigabyte until i got this HIS 6950. Never had a single problem with any of there tech.

Tea_Bag · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:33

I don't understatement brand loyalty. why not just buy the best value for money?

kirkster · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:35

I only ever use Gigabyte boards. Not a fan boy at all but had bad experiences with some other brands when i tried them so went back to GB. Never an issue with GB. Maybe just my case an others are fine with other brands.

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2012 at 15:37

its not about brand loyalty though,i use a few asus motherboards and they perform fantastic but getting damaged cpu socket pins fixed with asus,you might aswell throw the board in the bin

you dont have that worry with gigabyte which is reassuring when considering a new motherboard

Tea_Bag · 26 Apr 2012 at 16:03

but quality changes with every generation. look at asrock. their last gen stuff was rubbish, but now on z68/77, they're putting top end features on their boards which are usually reserved for the higher tier market.

I built a rig around an Asus z68 pro-v and then saw the shortcuts they took on the plx bridges afterwards. yet last gen they'd have some of the best boards.

Nelly · 26 Apr 2012 at 16:20

I think I might do a motherboard warranty list just like graphics cards, show who really are the villains when it comes to warranty service.

You won't see me waiting 6 weeks + and having to ring up trading standards if anything goes wrong with a motherboard lol.

alex_123_fra · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:18

wazza300 said:
its not about brand loyalty though,i use a few asus motherboards and they perform fantastic but getting damaged cpu socket pins fixed with asus,you might aswell throw the board in the bin

you dont have that worry with gigabyte which is reassuring when considering a new motherboard

Always found ASUS customer support very helpful actually. My Maximus formula board 4 years ago shorted due to my cockup and they replaced it without fuss even knowing it was my fault.

I am sure there are Gigabyte cases of poor customer support so I wouldn't generalise unless you have hard facts.

Twirlywoos · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:21

Tea_Bag said:
I don't understatement brand loyalty. why not just buy the best value for money?

It's not brand loyalty, it is the experience you have with a brand. Which applies to anything in life. Customer service goes a long way to gaining a loyal customer. That's why I love Logitech.

embalse · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:46

Garyj881 said:
Any chance you could elaborate on what the fault was and what Gigabyte actually did?

I bought a Corsair H80 which in their diagrams and online video use a backplate. To fit the backplate on this board I (mistakenly) had to push through and break the sealed holes...

The board would boot up and then quite quickly shut down. The reason was that this board does not use a backplate and the CPU I guess got too hot, because the cooler was not seated correctly. Anyway for whatever reason I had problems.

With explanations and pictures they explained how the H80 should be attached without breaking the sealed holes. So it was not a case of what they resolved , but more about how they explained and resolved the problem.

With the cooler correctly attached all is running well.

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:51

alex_123_fra said:
Always found ASUS customer support very helpful actually. My Maximus formula board 4 years ago shorted due to my cockup and they replaced it without fuss even knowing it was my fault.

I am sure there are Gigabyte cases of poor customer support so I wouldn't generalise unless you have hard facts.

i do have hard facts and experience dealing with both gigabyte and asus,and can tell you gigabyte have the better after sales service out of the two,ive also rma'd with asrock and they have been great also,i can asure you asus is well noted for poor service,their boards are good just the service is poor

modez · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:53

Tea_Bag said:
I don't understatement brand loyalty. why not just buy the best value for money?

The Gigabyte customer service is excellent. I'll give you an example. I needed an I/O shield for my motherboard and I sent an email to Gigabyte regarding the problem. The very next day it was on my doorstep. This was just a simple request that is why I stay with the Gigabyte brand.

Regarding Asus brand and Asrock, they just look pretty and they don't last long. Asus used to make a good board but not anymore and their RMA is a nightmare.

With reference to the damaged pin, I have been upgrading over a period of 15years and I have never damaged motherboard pin or CPU pin, so I don't understand how you guys have managed to do that. I'm not a professional just a home builder.

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2012 at 17:56

the pins are bent if you buy them that way

valkynaz · 26 Apr 2012 at 18:10

Tea_Bag said:
I don't understatement brand loyalty. why not just buy the best value for money?

Because when your buying expensive computer components it isn't always about which is best value for money.

Would you rather spend say, £150 on a motherboard, that if it breaks will be a nightmare to RMA and take a while, or spend a bit more, say £170 on a motherboard, that if it breaks you will get back within a week?

llamadal · 26 Apr 2012 at 21:37

why do people use the term 'cold hard facts' Unless you get 10000000 mystery shoppers to try every company out over a period of time, then you will never have anything even close to a fact.

All this guy is saying, from his experience (and many many others on this forum, including my own with 2 products) that giga has been good on customer service and looks after their customers.

I am sure some people have got some good service from asus, and like before, many of us (including me) feel that asus are a pile of ****e and dont give a rats arse about their customers.

People often jump on a forum to slate a company, but it should be done when a company exceeds expectations and goes a little extra to help.

Tea_Bag · 26 Apr 2012 at 22:29

modez said:
...
Regarding Asus brand and Asrock, they just look pretty and they don't last long...

source? That's a big statement to make when you don't have proof, but I'm sure you do?

Just to be clear, I'm not attacking anyone (except Asus), and I don't have much experience with Gigabyte, so definitely don't have anything against them.

but I'll defend asrock for a min. I've been running 2 z68 extreme4 boards at 4.8/5.0Ghz for 10 months now, and haven't had any problems yet. I'm getting in a z77 extreme6 in a few days, mostly cause itll look good under an all black water loop, but also cause they appear to be very reliable.

vonex · 26 Apr 2012 at 22:36

gigabyte, logitech and corsair all have fantastic customer service i try to use them as much as possible.

alex_123_fra · 27 Apr 2012 at 00:03

wazza300 said:
i do have hard facts and experience dealing with both gigabyte and asus,and can tell you gigabyte have the better after sales service out of the two,ive also rma'd with asrock and they have been great also,i can asure you asus is well noted for poor service,their boards are good just the service is poor

In your experience maybe but that doesn't give you or anyone else the right to generalise and to come up with comments like "i use a few asus motherboards and they perform fantastic but getting damaged cpu socket pins fixed with asus,you might aswell throw the board in the bin". Your comments give the impression that if one owns an asus motherboard and needs their support they aren't going to get it. You cannot extrapolate this from your experience. The global market share in terms of motherboards is around 60-70% in Asus's favour (in terms of mainstream chipsets). The RMA "issues" you refer to may simply be a function of the fact that they sell many more motherboards than anyone else and proportionately, I would not be surprised if their support and RMA record is among the best there is.

Others will have also "noted" that other board manufacturers have questionable RMA processes in their own experience (Gigabyte included). Leave it at that and only comment on your own experience rather than generalising.