1329 replies to this topic

[cipher]

I think the recommendations are extremely biased towards ASRock. Why not more Asus recommendations? After all, ASUS created ASRock as OEM brand for value-line/lower-end motherboards. Only in recent years has ASRock started making higher-end boards.

Also, Biostar recommendation? No thank you, Vulpes. Biostar is probably the WORST brand out there for motherboards. Not only does their customer support s*ck royal b*lls, their Quality Assurance is pathetic.

Get some real recommendations in here. More ASUS, EVGA, & Gigabyte, and less ASRock & Biostar. Heck, I'd even buy an Intel, Foxconn, or ECS board over Biostar!!

Edited by cipher, 26 June 2012 - 07:06 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

cipher, on 26 June 2012 - 07:05 AM, said:

I think the recommendations are extremely biased towards ASRock. Why not more Asus recommendations? After all, ASUS created ASRock as OEM brand for value-line/lower-end motherboards. Only in recent years has ASRock started making higher-end boards.

Also, Biostar recommendation? No thank you, Vulpes. Biostar is probably the WORST brand out there for motherboards. Not only does their customer support s*ck royal b*lls, their Quality Assurance is pathetic.

Get some real recommendations in here. More ASUS, EVGA, & Gigabyte, and less ASRock & Biostar. Heck, I'd even buy an Intel, Foxconn, or ECS board over Biostar!!

This is by value of what you get for the boards. AsRock boards tend to come with more features at a price point versus other companies, hence why they are picked so often in this. The Biostar board was picked for the chipset at that price point. Asus boards for the most part at the lower end lack any defining characteristics, and don't really have anything extra feature wise, save digi VRM which AsRock also implements. Gigabyte does have at least some things behind their Ultra Durable 3/4 with additional VRM and board design features. EVGA also tends to lack price/performance advantages here either.

If I'm wrong, let me know, and if you want to perhaps you could find what is in your opinion the best deal is for an LGA 1155 motherboard for $75-100 without sales then?

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 26 June 2012 - 07:13 AM.

[cipher]

Vulpesveritas, on 26 June 2012 - 07:11 AM, said:

Asus boards for the most part at the lower end lack any defining characteristics, and don't really have anything extra feature wise, save digi VRM which AsRock also implements.

(...)

If I'm wrong, let me know, and if you want to perhaps you could find what is in your opinion the best deal is for an LGA 1155 motherboard for $75-100 without sales then?

You have listed ASRock for almost all price points. At about $145 is where I'd start recommending Asus over ASRock. Nothing wrong with the $75-100 pricepoint except the Biostar recommendation.

Also you don't have anything "enthusiast" in here, which is a price point of $300 to $450. That pricepoint is for extreme overclocking, dual CPUs, etc.

Edited by cipher, 26 June 2012 - 07:24 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

cipher, on 26 June 2012 - 07:23 AM, said:

You have listed ASRock for almost all price points. At about $145 is where I'd start recommending Asus over ASRock. Nothing wrong with the $75-100 pricepoint except the Biostar recommendation.

AsRock still has the Xfast technologies (which by what benchmarks I've seen actually do work and improve speeds by around 10-20% or so) and quite good boards all around anymore, and have comparible quality on most of their boards. Since splitting from Asus they are trying to establish themselves as a quality brand as well it would seem. For example, on AM3+ with the Fatal1ty board vs the Asus sabertooth, both boards support digi+ VRM, and while the Asus board has 8+2 phase VRM and the sabertooth 'quality' design, the AsRock board implements 12+2, as well as the Xfast features, a front USB 3.0 panel, and ethernet teaming.

And what would your recommendation for that price point on LGA 1155 be other than that biostar? lol.

[cipher]

Vulpesveritas, on 26 June 2012 - 07:29 AM, said:

And what would your recommendation for that price point on LGA 1155 be other than that biostar? lol.

For the $100 pricepoint you have a Z75 Biostar. You can get a Z77 for $99, so why the Z75? There are ASRock, MSI, and Biostar offerings for the Z77 board at the $100 pricepoint: http://www.newegg.co...ICE&PageSize=20

In all honesty, even though I personally don't like MSI as much as other picks, I'd recommend it over the Biostar. But the ASRock for the $100 mark would be better.

Also, your other comment on 8+2 vs. 12+2 is outdated. ASUS has 12+2 even back to the old P67 boards.

Edited by cipher, 26 June 2012 - 07:51 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

cipher, on 26 June 2012 - 07:51 AM, said:

For the $100 pricepoint you have a Z75 Biostar. You can get a Z77 for $99, so why the Z75? There are ASRock, MSI, and Biostar offerings for the Z77 board at the $100 pricepoint: http://www.newegg.co...ICE&PageSize=20

In all honesty, even though I personally don't like MSI as much as other picks, I'd recommend it over the Biostar. But the ASRock for the $100 mark would be better.

Also, your other comment on 8+2 vs. 12+2 is outdated. ASUS has 12+2 even back to the old P67 boards.

Yes, but so does AsRock. I'm talking about a board at price point / mobo socket vs another board on the same socket and price point, brand vs brand.
And none of those have a list price under $100. Please note that this guide is not based on sales.

[Vulpesveritas]

The three other boards I had considered at that price point are;
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157301
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128550
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130621
Of which the AsRock and gigabyte boards I was thinking of a lot, but chose that Biostar board based on chipset.

[cipher]

Vulpesveritas, on 26 June 2012 - 07:57 AM, said:

Yes, but so does AsRock. I'm talking about a board at price point / mobo socket vs another board on the same socket and price point, brand vs brand.
And none of those have a list price under $100. Please note that this guide is not based on sales.

Again, note: I was talking about the $150+ pricepoint for ASUS, not the $100 which should be an ASRock or MSI Z77 board.

Also the $75 pricepoint is fine.

[Vulpesveritas]

cipher, on 26 June 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

Again, note: I was talking about the $150+ pricepoint for ASUS, not the $100 which should be an ASRock or MSI Z77 board.

Also the $75 pricepoint is fine.

I was talking about both, on the AM3+ AsRock Fatal1ty Professional vs Asus Sabertooth at the $175-$200 price point, and in the second bit on the $75-$100 price point.

[DarthMolen]

thank you sooo much for this awesome post. Definitely deserves a sticky IMHO

[Romulus Stahl]

Firelizard, on 26 June 2012 - 05:18 AM, said:

I cant say anything for certain, however it has been tossed around that the devs use Logitech G940's. Even though it takes up one port the G940 presents itself as three USB devices, due to the fact that the throttle and joystick portions max out the number of HID axis and buttons. So if THAT thing is what the devs are working with, I would assume that any multi-device setup works.

Of course, this is based on secondhand information, so take it for what it's worth.

Thanks, maybe Track IR will be included (no answers to date other than the devs have a SDK).

[John411]

As an owner of a TM HOTAS A10-C and Saitek combat pedals, I will probably not use them for what essentially ammounts to a FPS in super-scale. I may however macro a few options to the Cougar MFD(s). Having an extra 20 buttons, 4 toggles and a wireless controller might provide adequate control axis and funcntions. This is just based on prior ports into the Mechwarrior universe. If the game leans to more of a simulation experience, then any available command will be tied to VAC (voice activation), or to the myriad of controls on the Throttle quadrant of the HOTAS Warthog. I really hope there is some compatibility with TrackIR, another often "over-looked" method of control.
The mention of the control sticks' accuracy with HALL effects are understated. The resistance is stated correctly. This Beast will wear you out. Going to try every peripheral to see what works out the best.

[SirDenOfYork]

Alot of work and thought.. Thanks for your effort...

[Valhakar]

I don't think I have seen anyone mention Logitech's recent changes to customer support/appreciation. By becoming a member of their site you get some decent discounts on their hardware. More important, they are the actual vendor you are buying it from. Even if its drop shipped from TigerDirect, they still consider themselves the "seller". Since becoming a member, I have gotten much better service than any other device out there. I have an MX5500 Keyboard/mouse combo. The mouse's battery is built in and was getting a little short on the charge it would keep. Most people would not have even bothered. 2 emails and a phone call I had a new mouse and a return label for my old one.

[Pht]

Heinrich ApokalypseTest Gruber, on 22 June 2012 - 04:57 AM, said:

Is it worth getting the old optical microsoft Joysticks? I have an old Sidewinder Precision Pro but I am not sure it would work (has the Gameport Connector and I don't have an adapter). I also see Sidewinder Precision Pro 2 Flightsticks on ebay every now and then but they are not exactly cheap and I hear of driver Issues with windows 7. Anyone with experience on that? I used the precision pro extensively and loved it.

Yes, the old optical p-pro stick is a good stick, if you can get one new in the box. I am still using mine.

You do need to know that the first run of them DO NOT work with usb, even if you have the adapter. There is a hardware difference. You need to make sure to get one of the later usb ones; they are compatible and come with the adapter in the box.

[FuriousAbyss]

I was extremely close to buying an x52 today so I am glad I read this thread. If I do go down that route I will definatley get the x52 Pro but I have alot more to consider now.

I really do want that simulation feeling from MWO forgoing my keyboard+mouse combination as much as possible so thank you very much for an informative and well compiled thread

[Ander Skye]

Thanks much for your informative post. I have just purchased a T16000, which I believe is the best buy in the <50 EUR range. Thanks again!

[Catamount]

Oh good god; are we bringing up diabotek PSUs?

Didn't one of those cause the Tunguska Event?

[cipher]

lol... gotta love picking on brands like Diablotek.

I did the same to "Sparkle" just for the name, even though Sparkle is pretty good.

[Skrapheap]

cipher, on 27 June 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

lol... gotta love picking on brands like Diablotek.

I did the same to "Sparkle" just for the name, even though Sparkle is pretty good.

But in Diablotek's case the reputation is earned.

And BTW there are certain things that should never, ever, sparkle. 2 of those things are vampires and graphics cards.