Your Next High-End Motherboard Might be an ASRock
Your Next High-End Motherboard Might be an ASRock
Posted 12/14/2009 at 9:10am
| by Paul Lilly
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Most of you know ASRock as the brand name behind budget-oriented boards, some of which pack a lot of value for the money. And that's been the intention all along. The Taiwan-based company was spun off from Asus in 2002 in order to compete with major OEM players like ECS and Foxconn, but every once in awhile the mobo maker designs a board that attracts the attention of the enthusiasts. Some of you might still remember (and maybe even still own) the ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 board, one of the first boards to implement both an AGP and PCI-E slot with nary a performance hit on either side.
Packing features that belie a budget price tag has been the company's staple, but does it have what it takes to compete at the high end? We may soon find out. According to sources at motherboard makers, Pegatron Technology is expected to use the ASRock brand name to compete against firt-tier mobo makers and vendors, and that includes Asus after the company is spun off in July 2010.
ASRock will end up shipping 7 million of its own-brand motherboards in 2009, putting the company in position to wrestle with MSI and ECS for the No. 3 spot in global branded motherboards. In addition, Asus plans to reduce its mobo outsourcing to Pegatron from 50 percent to just 30 percent of Asus' total shipments, freeing Pegatron up to churn out even more ASRock branded boards next year and beyond.
It's not all about motherboards, either. Pegatron will use the ASRock brand to promote desktops and notebooks, and could even use it on smartbooks, e-book readers, handheld devices, and LCD TVs, the sources say.
Image Credit: Parkov Hardware via sodesk.com
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deject
December 14, 2009 at 8:12pm
I even found one of the seeming rare AM2CPU add-on boards they made to add support for AM2 Athlon 64 X2s. I want to build a Core i5 rig, but there is always something else I need to spend money on instead. :(
pnkane
December 14, 2009 at 1:19pm
Actually the AsRock 775Dual-880Pro was released first over the 939Dual-SATA2, and also had AGP/PCI-E video slots. Just thought I'd point that out. I have the 775Dual-880Pro, and am using it as we speak! I don't plan on upgrading; not just because of the economy; but becasue this board and my CPU run just fine for me. Best Motherboard I have ever bought. Well worth 3x the price I paid!!
DriZzLe
December 14, 2009 at 12:49pm
939 Dual-Sata...a great board. I used one for 2 years, & sold it on ebay for $20 more than I paid for it. Great times.
Belboz99
December 14, 2009 at 11:30am
My server is still using an AsRock 775-Dual_VISTA... unfortunately.
At least 2 years ago I went to remove the CMOS battery, and the whole clip came with it. Since then, I've had to set the BIOS config every time it looses power (maintenance or storm) else it will fail to boot due to having the wrong default config for the SATA controller.
It's rather frustrating having a server that won't come back online after an outtage without direct human intervention.
Also, I had to duct tape over a PCI slot to prevent myself from attempting to use it. Seems somewhere along the line a few of the pins became bent, way too bent to repair. So, now I have one less PCI, I ended up having to remove a device when it happened, that thing is full-loaded.
OTOH, the board saved me at least $400 when I upgraded my Desktop (it's original home) in 2006-ish.
Dan O.
athlon11
December 14, 2009 at 10:34am
I remember that motherboard, theres still one kicking in the computer I built for my brother back in 2006.
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