I have experienced high failure rates with Asrock. Nonexistent consumer warranty?

[Ja.KooLit]

I have used a lot of asrock and never had failure since Day 1. My latest asrock which is now Asrock B85M-HDS has been working for long time and never fail yet. Hopefully they wont of course. Maybe you just received a really bad board.

 

[jboydgolfer]

Asrock has Stood by My Z68 for almost 3 years now, Never had a REAL issue with it, but they HAVE been there for Help in the past when I had questions(and I run a 24/7 OC of anywhere from 4.3Ghz to 5Ghz). Also, they EVEN RMA'd an E-BAY purchased board I was installing in a PC that I was building for a friend.Quite honestly I would be surprised if ANY motherboard manufacturer would do that, So You might be doing something wrong.Have you provided them with proof of purchase? You don't really go into what if any steps You took to initiate the warranty process, You just state that it is Non-Exsistant, which clearly isn't true. Honestly I'm curious NOW how You toasted 3 boards in so many months?? It seems your PSU is NOT so TOP-Notch.They might ALSO be thinking that your situation is kind of "sketchy" seeing as there have been SO many issues in such a small time frame, they might be leaning to the fact that You are un-knowingly destroying your board's, and NO company will wanna give You free shit if THAT is the case, However they SHOULD still offer to fix it for $50. which IS they're repair policy.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I ran with Asrock on my Phenom II build and used it for almost 5 years. The first board came in and had an issue - any video driver installed and the system would BSOD and most of the time I couldn't get the video driver to install. After wonderful and quick customer service responses from Asrock through email, they said to return the board. I sent it back to newegg and within a week the replacement came in and worked flawlessly since....I pumped a lot of voltage through this board ramping up the OC on the Phenom II - 1.5125V and even 1.5250V for a few years when I had the CPU running from 3.0 to 3.71.

I've got the Phenom II running in my daughter's computer now, so 5+ years on the Asrock board and still going strong.

I've got a Z87 from Asrock as well right now in my i5 build and it has been working fine the past 6 months without a problem.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

No warranty? Riiight. Warranty period expired... that seems believable.

No need to act so disrespectful. That will get you nowhere in life. Show me a link on Asrock's site that says otherwise. Or did you even read the post showing it says it offers none from their site? Here I will make it easier for you: http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA

i wouldnt call a 1200W LEPA that costs the same as a 800W corsair GS series to be top notch..... just saying.

i also have an asrock mobo and have had better luck with them than asus

Price doesn't equal quality. That is what reviews and testing reveals.

Read before you speak: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/49..._80_plus_gold_power_supply_review/index5.html

Mine is the 1200watt variant and yes it is a high quality unit.

Read before making claims. Before I started this thread I was researching things and going over various bits of information to help explain why I was running into a high failure rate.

Stuff like this:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1235881/digital-or-analogue-vrm

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1enn0h/psa_dont_get_an_asrock_z77_extreme4/

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1317126-VRMs-and-CPU-Coolers-(questions)

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1700282

 

[eidairaman1]

I've heard this same stuff with one user not liking a certain company...me included. I'm not a Asus fan and every board in my house is from MSI.

Im giving Asus 1 shot-last board i had from them was 11 years ago and it was a headache.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Did you email them? That is how everyone on here who has gotten motherboards RMA'd by them has done it successfully. Please e-mail them and then tell us what they say?

As to the high failure rates, you have a lot of evidence here to counter your links, which says that all motherboard manufacturers have pretty hit and miss failure rates. Among all motherboard manufacturers, lower end boards tend to fail more. You have an extreme 4, which is one of their lower end boards. Performance-oriented, yes. Lower-end, also yes. It has fairly high failure rates.

I've had failures among every board manufacturer I have owned. I CAN tell you though, ASRock's response was bar none, the best, for me. That's why I bought a couple more of their boards.

 

[Jetster]

I still haven't heard back from Newegg about there listing for a three year warranty. I emailed them a few hours ago

 

[DaedalusHelios]

,You just state that it is Non-Exsistant, which clearly isn't true. Honestly I'm curious NOW how You toasted 3 boards in so many months?? It seems your PSU is NOT so TOP-Notch.They might ALSO be thinking that your situation is kind of "sketchy" seeing as there have been SO many issues in such a small time frame, they might be leaning to the fact that You are un-knowingly destroying your board's, and NO company will wanna give You free shit if THAT is the case, However they SHOULD still offer to fix it for $50. which IS they're repair policy.

Read the link I posted earlier before making claims that it isn't true: http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA

If they have an RMA for end users it should state that in the RMA section of their website.

^^Wouldn't that be interpreted as no warranty outside of what the Authorized Distributor has as their return policy. That is 30 days in most cases.

Now when you say sketchy you don't understand the context of how many computers I build annually. These were for personal computers I was building, although I custom build for my engineering department and embedded systems on our production floor. I simply don't make "sketchy" mistakes. A one billion dollar production plant's production counts on me at work. Before you insult an individual you should understand who they are and their background first at least. Since when has this place gotten so rude. You like Asrock, that doesn't mean other people can't have bad experiences with their products without being inept or malicious. I started this thread asking if my experiences were common or just bad luck and you start pointing fingers at the OP in an insulting manner.

I CAN tell you though, ASRock's response was bar none, the best, for me. That's why I bought a couple more of their boards.

That is good news, I hope they will in fact offer to remedy this situation even if it costs $50 as I am alright with that. I figured I was simply without a solution on these boards given their website says no warranty for end users.

I do know for a fact I have had one of these Asrock motherboards arrive DOA and Newegg discovered "damage" on a pci-express slot lock tab and declared it unable to RMA because of it. But that is Newegg making the claim and not Asrock so I Paypal disputed and won that case with Newegg. Paypal does have your back when sellers don't honor DOA policies.

 

[JunkBear]

Friend of mine exchanged me one for a reformating of his computers and I do not have any problems with it. But it's older model and nobody want these anymore. Probably bad lucks with newer models.

 

[Naito]

I started this thread asking if my experiences were common or just bad luck and you start pointing fingers at the OP in an insulting manner.

Well the title seems more as a general statement about AsRock reliability with the statistics to back it up, but alas it was just your personal opinion/experience. It's fair enough that you are fed up and it may or may not be AsRocks fault, but you've been saying things like, "I have seen " and "I read", making me think you have not actively tried to seek assistance from either the store who sold you the product or AsRock themselves and have been voicing your own anger with hearsay. Just remember the people with the loudest voice on the Internet tend to be the ones who feel they have been done wrong by, not the ones who haven't.

On the US support site, rather than the global site you linked to, AsRock states:

ASRock America provide 1, 2, 3 years warranty service depend on the model to Authorized Distributor, users should refer to the retailer or original vender RMA & Refund policy. If experiencing difficulties in warranty service through your dealer or place of purchase, ASRock will attempt to resolve this issue. If you like to find out the warranty information on your motherboard you could always contact user@asrockamerica.com for more detail information.
For the motherboard that out of warranty, there is a service charge depend on the model + shipping for each item. ASRock America will only provide warranty service to ASRock products purchased within North America.

So first step would be to contact the store you purchased the board from and see what they'll do. If the store refuses to handle the warranty request, contact AsRock directly. Be firm, but polite and you'll may be surprised how they may handle it. If the board is older than say an acceptable 12 months, they may refuse to process the claim.

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just calling it like I see. I honestly hope you find a swift solution, as it is never fun to go through what you are experiencing.

 

[eidairaman1]

Less logistics involved if you can get it swapped by retailer/etailer than manufacturer, quicker turnaround aswell

Well the title seems more as a general statement about AsRock reliability with the statistics to back it up, but alas it was just your personal opinion/experience. It's fair enough that you are fed up and it may or may not be AsRocks fault, but you've been saying things like, "I have seen " and "I read", making me think you have not actively tried to seek assistance from either the store who sold you the product or AsRock themselves and have been voicing your own anger with hearsay. Just remember the people with the loudest voice on the Internet tend to be the ones who feel they have been done wrong by, not the ones who haven't.

On the US support site, rather than the global site you linked to, AsRock states:



So first step would be to contact the store you purchased the board from and see what they'll do. If the store refuses to handle the warranty request, contact AsRock directly. Be firm, but polite and you'll may be surprised how they may handle it. If the board is older than say an acceptable 12 months, they may refuse to process the claim.

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just calling it like I see. I honestly hope you find a swift solution, as it is never fun to go through what you are experiencing.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

I'm a bit tired of this, so I'm going to answer you with what you need.

1) I am in the greater Charlotte area, just outside the Piedmont Delta Triangle. If I can get service, you should be the same.
2) Contact AsRock by e-mail, and start an RMA. Coming on here and whining that AsRock has no return policy is not a solution for anything.
3) Avoid the regular RMA channels. I'm going to do you a huge solid, and give you the contact e-mail for AsRock that I was given. This person was friendly, quick, and if you manage to be angry with them it's because you are being intolerable to work with.
4) Stop getting angry on this forum. Seriously, you came here to vent and moan, rather than find a solution. We've all had that, but the solution to venting is called grain alcohol (assuming you're old enough).


stephanie@asrockamerica.com

This should go without saying, but given your reaction I feel I need to say it. Get your information (motherboard identification, receipt, purchase date, and purchase store) together before contacting her. Explain yourself without anger, and treat her like a human being (rather than a faceless corporation that somehow wronged you). Expect a response back within 48 hours, and expect her to do everything she can for you. She was friendly to me, through multiple different RMAs, and I see no reason that would not be true now.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

I'm a bit tired of this, so I'm going to answer you with what you need. Coming on here and whining that AsRock has no return policy is not a solution for anything. ... if you manage to be angry with them it's because you are being intolerable to work with. Stop getting angry on this forum. Seriously, you came here to vent and moan, rather than find a solution. We've all had that, but the solution to venting is called grain alcohol (assuming you're old enough). This should go without saying, but given your reaction I feel I need to say it. Get your information (motherboard identification, receipt, purchase date, and purchase store) together before contacting her. Explain yourself without anger, and treat her like a human being (rather than a faceless corporation that somehow wronged you). Expect a response back within 48 hours, and expect her to do everything she can for you. She was friendly to me, through multiple different RMAs, and I see no reason that would not be true now.

Seriously, I am just trying to keep things civil and you make comments like the ones above. I shared my experiences and in a open-minded fashion and asked for information on other peoples experiences regarding a company. Then I get insulted by people like you. This used to be a friendly forum where people shared ideas but honestly that behavior ruins it.

 

[Naito]

...the cheapest analogue VRMs for processor power phases and lie about it being a digital VRM in some boards.

It isn't as black and white as that. When I was researching the Z77 Extreme4 a couple of years ago, I came across this review. As I wasn't planning on OC'ing that much (as my CPU is a non-k), the feature levels and price of this board were acceptable for me. Having said that, it can still handle a 3770 OC'd to it's highest clocks just fine. It's still running smooth as silk.

Quick summary of what he said regarding the VRM; The reviewer stated that although, "The gold capacitors and the inductors and the heatsinks look really nice, and they are at the same quality as a good ASUS board", AsRock did use D-PAK MOSFETS (as you already have read). These aren't bad quality per se, just aren't as suitable for use with the modern fast-switching power supplies, thus produce more heat. Furthermore, the 8 phase VRM is simply two drivers bridged with 4 phases each, effectively creating one large 4 phase VRM. The VRM itself is controlled by "a very high tech analog PWM" (ISL6367).

AsRock technically is/isn't being misleading, depending on how you look at it. The ISL6367 PWM Controller is labeled as a 'Hybrid Digital' controller by Intersil themselves. You can view datasheet here.

Your issues may arise due to the heat the D-PAK MOSFETS tend to put out. Combine this heat with your tendency to overclock (judging by your specs) and the lack of active cooling/insufficient airflow over the VRM heatsinks, and you have a dead board. If you end up keeping the board in running service (if you succeed with an RMA), maybe consider aftermarket heat sinks or more active cooling for the VRMs.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

It isn't as black and white as that. When I was researching the Z77 Extreme4 a couple of years ago, I came across this review. As I wasn't planning on OC'ing that much (as my CPU is a non-k), the feature levels and price of this board were acceptable for me. Having said that, it can still handle a 3770 OC'd to it's highest clocks just fine. It's still running smooth as silk.

Quick summary of what he said regarding the VRM; The reviewer stated that although, "The gold capacitors and the inductors and the heatsinks look really nice, and they are at the same quality as a good ASUS board", AsRock did use D-PAK MOSFETS (as you already have read). These aren't bad quality per se, just aren't as suitable for use with the modern fast-switching power supplies, thus produce more heat. Furthermore, the 8 phase VRM is simply two drivers bridged with 4 phases each, effectively creating one large 4 phase VRM. The VRM itself is controlled by "a very high tech analog PWM" (ISL6367).

AsRock technically is/isn't being misleading, depending on how you look at it. The ISL6367 PWM Controller is labeled as a 'Hybrid Digital' controller by Intersil themselves. You can view datasheet here.

Your issues may arise due to the heat the D-PAK MOSFETS tend to put out. Combine this heat with your tendency to overclock (judging by your specs) and the lack of active cooling/insufficient airflow over the VRM heatsinks, and you have a dead board. If you end up keeping the board in running service (if you succeed with an RMA), maybe consider aftermarket heat sinks or more active cooling for the VRMs.

Sadly, two of the three that went out were not OC'ed at all and running stock. Airflow was low RPM 120mm fans with low CFM, so perhaps I should consider better case airflow as a preventative measure in the future. Thank you.

 

[eidairaman1]

A directed fan at them.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

It doesn't help that Asrock does not stand by its products thanks to its nonexistent warranty.


I would obviously advise against Asrock if you are going to take the 2011v3 plunge like I will soon.

I have had terrible luck with Asrock motherboards and was wondering if any of the community has seen the same thing recently.

Two Z77 Extreme3 and one Z77 Extreme4. I honestly figured they would have at least a 3 year warranty but apparently they have no warranty whatsoever. I guess I have just been cursed by Asrock.

I never had a gigabyte or MSI board fail despite using just as many of them.

I read online they have the cheapest analogue VRMs for processor power phases and lie about it being a digital VRM in some boards. I wouldn't know if those claims are true but it doesn't sound like something individuals would lie about being incorrect. I figured that is what caused my last Z77 Extreme4 to suddenly power off and throw the error that there was no RAM inserted.

I judge you based upon your output. Read what you wrote again, and objectively assess it. What you find is:
1) Wild assumption, based upon hearsay on some other forum somewhere.
2) Blatantly incorrect information about warranty.
3) Zero effort to resolve an issue demonstrated.

I'll gladly take my assumptions back when you do some fact checking. If it helps, crack open that motherboard manual. They list the warranty terms in it, and considering I'm looking at three books right now you're going to have to convince me your arguments can hold water. Right now, the facts are against you. If more than half of the comments here indicate you are wrong, mistaken, or doing something incorrectly then you probably are.

 

[Naito]

Sadly, two of the three that went out were not OC'ed at all and running stock. Airflow was low RPM 120mm fans with low CFM, so perhaps I should consider better case airflow as a preventative measure in the future. Thank you.

Just seems like very, very bad luck. My board has so far survived 2 hot Melbourne summers and is not far off it's third. Earlier last year, we had almost 2 weeks of temperatures of close to 40c (the peak was 43c). Again, in March of last year, (early Autumn/Fall for us Aussies), we saw another heatwave of 9 consecutive days over 32c (and my house doesn't have an air conditioner :/). Mind you, these are usually dry-heat days (low humidity). I only have one 120mm exhaust, one 120mm intake, and two 120mm push-pull config on my Hyper 212, so I dunno what to say about your luck. I do have two 120mm fans as exhaust on top of the case which I have not used (apart from initial test when first installed), but can do if temperatures soar in summer again.

 

[eidairaman1]

Idk if after 2 boards aint right, Id move to the next model up or switch makers.

 

[Naito]

Idk if after 2 boards aint right. Id move to the next model up or switch makers.

DaedalusHelios may also have gotten unlucky with the PSU used. While it may review very well and otherwise be of decent quality, his PSU may have slight voltage ripple or noise on one of the rails which could make the already 'unhappy' D-PAKs worse off. Having said that, it would most likely be cheaper to replace the board with either a higher rated AsRock (if exchange + cash is possible?) or go another brand that he knows for sure has a digital PWM/VRM features he wants.

 

[AsRock]

No need to act so disrespectful. That will get you nowhere in life. Show me a link on Asrock's site that says otherwise. Or did you even read the post showing it says it offers none from their site? Here I will make it easier for you: http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA



Price doesn't equal quality. That is what reviews and testing reveals.

Read before you speak: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/49..._80_plus_gold_power_supply_review/index5.html

Mine is the 1200watt variant and yes it is a high quality unit.

Read before making claims. Before I started this thread I was researching things and going over various bits of information to help explain why I was running into a high failure rate.

Stuff like this:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1235881/digital-or-analogue-vrm

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1enn0h/psa_dont_get_an_asrock_z77_extreme4/

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1317126-VRMs-and-CPU-Coolers-(questions)

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1700282

WTF is that, that's no real review sheesh.

Here's a real review
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=308

And you never know it could be a faulty unit to although by that review link above i know i would not buy it.

 

[Naito]

WTF is that, that's no real review sheesh.

Yeah, JonnyGuru, Hardware Secrets, and even some of the more recent TPU power supply reviews by crmaris are the only ones worth reading.

 

[Jetster]

lilhasselhoffer is correct in his assessment, Just look at the title of the thread you made. It sets the tone. Just settle down and say thank you

 

[DaedalusHelios]

I judge you based upon your output. Read what you wrote again, and objectively assess it. What you find is:
1) Wild assumption, based upon hearsay on some other forum somewhere.
2) Blatantly incorrect information about warranty.
3) Zero effort to resolve an issue demonstrated.

I'll gladly take my assumptions back when you do some fact checking. If it helps, crack open that motherboard manual. They list the warranty terms in it, and considering I'm looking at three books right now you're going to have to convince me your arguments can hold water. Right now, the facts are against you. If more than half of the comments here indicate you are wrong, mistaken, or doing something incorrectly then you probably are.

1. I made no wild assumption, I simply stated the things that I read over forums. That is not an assumption. An assumption is: "a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof." In this case the proof is through multiple places I read and no further judgement was made other than what I read. Restating what others have said is not an assumption. Read the links again maybe? (If you say the sources are not credible then that is different. That is a valid possibility that I was just mislead into thinking something that was incorrect through my own experiences and data I have read.)

2. It wasn't blatantly incorrect if I pulled it directly from Asrock's website as the link I provided indicated. Read the link again maybe?
If you read another section that says otherwise then that is information contradicting what was stated on another page on their official website.

3. Do you call zero effort to resolve the troubleshooting with the multimeter that I stated in the thread, or the error codes I referenced, or maybe even the RMA I referenced in the thread with Newegg? I guess you didn't read that either.

Before you make wild assumptions yourself about others you should treat them with respect first and actually read all their posts. Some people are actually helping me without insulting me and I do appreciate them a lot. Thats is why I thank their posts to do my best to show them respect.

WTF is that, that's no real review sheesh.

Here's a real review
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=308

And you never know it could be a faulty unit to although by that review link above i know i would not buy it.

I can't argue with Jonnyguru. He does write some great reviews. I hope my XFX 850 isn't a risk either, that PSU was rated highly at Hardforum but I didn't check them out at Jonnyguru yet. The 1200watt shouldn't have had that much ripple with a 400 watt load to kill a motherboard I would hope. If it is then that is terrible.

*EDIT* The XFX 850 pro is alright apparently: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=217

 

[Espionage724]

My warranty experience with ASRock was nothing but terrible. My hardware didn't fail per-say, but basically, I bought a motherboard because ASRock said it supported a particular CPU; then they later remove support after numerous people claim it didn't work right.

I asked for a motherboard upgrade to support the CPU I bought it for, they said yes, and then gave me the runaround for two months. Then they eventually ask me to pay for an upgrade, and then they say they can't accept a paid upgrade. Total waste of time, and $12 for me shipping the board to them initially.

Here's a detailed explanation of the endeavor: http://redd.it/2d9ap9

In the end, I accomplished nothing trying to get support from ASRock except hassle. Newegg eventually got involved, and they were willing to do a refund on the board, but I had already given it to someone else. So if anything, I learned Newegg has pretty ok support

So based on that, it's clear ASRock doesn't actually test what CPUs work on their boards, and their support is terrible. And on an unrelated note, I had a H97 Killer that flexed really easily in the middle, and had a relatively loose PS/2 port; so I question their build quality heavily. I can't say I'd recommend ASRock for any kind of hardware purchase really.