Are the dude at Microcenter bsing?

[dave_the_nerd]

There's some truth to that in motherboards, sure, but the socket is always foxconn and always the same. The PCBs are generally all but identical in their base form save the color of the molding. Certain manufacturers develop their own boards, but still use the foxconn parts. It just always gives me a chuckle.

Each motherboard maker tells Foxconn which grade of solder to use, what types of VRMs and caps to use, etc. They also develop their own BIOS versions, determine component placement, and pick cooling options (all of which can effect stability and overclocking).

Sure, the plastic bits are all the same, but that's the part that matters least.

I've never had a Foxconn board, and I don't have a dog in this fight. But if other people are to be believed, at least some Foxconn boards are built from the dregs of the component bins. But I doubt that's exclusive to Foxconn, frankly. Most brands have low-end, premium consumer, and (sometimes) server grade product lines, it's really simple (although it makes my wallet cry) for me to just not buy a shitty $39 motherboard from any manufacturer.