AS Rock z77 extreme4 quality decline?

[srs53]

I'm in the process of building an economical gaming rig and am heavily considering purchasing an AS Rock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard to go in it. Yet, as I do more and more research, I have noticed a decline in the recent ratings of late and heard rumors of them going to cheaper components in the board recently, causing a decrease in quality of the board. Can anyone validate these observations? or have recently (past month or so) purchased one and their impression of its quality so far? Thanks!

 

[pcunite]

I would consider that very unlikely.

 

[Vectronic]

It's possible, but I agree, unlikely.

I haven't really been reading reviews on it since I already own 2, but I would suspect that what you are really "seeing" now is:

1. It's kind of a shitty board to begin with, however it's price and features make a good board (relative, price, etc)... so it kind of got "hyped" when it was released, but really, if you dig deep and investigate all of the components, they're pretty crappy.

2. People slowly began/begin realizing this.

3. Newer boards are out, there's all the Haswell stuff going on... so now the Z77 Ext4 is falling out of favor... so people shit on it more than it deserves now, just like they hyped it more than it deserved earlier.

 

[HexiumVII]

Its possible the PCB is even thinner now. I will try and feel my original Z77ex4 with a newer one. I've noticed that the new Z87 Ex6 has a really thin PCB, so thin in fact the Corsair H60 back bracket needed spacers or it would just slide around.

 

[tkivisto]

I own this micro-ATX version of this board...generally ASRock are known to have a thinner PCB...but I've never had an issue with it. I guess just be careful as you install components?? I'm usually pretty careful no matter how thick the PCB is.

It's not a bad board and mine was purchased fairly recently (a few months ago). If you want more premium components, then you will have to buy a premium board. I was happy to get a great performing board with the features I wanted for around $100.

 

[Badgene85]

i would of recommend 1 but with the new full featured z87 ex4, i will do anything.