Is it safe to buy a generic motherboard?

[eflat]

I was thinking of buying a generic VIA KX-133 chipset motherboard. Do you think it's safe to do so? Since everything is based on the chipset, is there really anything to worry about? I would be concerned about crappy drivers, can I download standard ones from VIA's website like you can do with a generic Geforce video card?

 

[andrey]

I'll put answer this way. All the cars have four wheels, but would you rather drive Geo Metro or Lexus ?

 

[Modus]

Driver support is not the worry, it's BIOS support that generic motherboards cop out on. They typically won't support a product they're not currently selling, which is a bit cruel.

Now, I've used probably hundreds of PC Chips boards in my system builds for customers who want a cheap machine. Those are considered the bottom of the barrel. But you know what? They're not so bad. I don't benchmark them for performance, so I'm sure they'll sometimes average 5% slower than the better brands due to lazy BIOS writers, and I'm sure they're not as stable as a Microstar or ASUS or Gigabyte, but I can't say I've had a ton of problems with them. The RMA rate is not terrible, and you get decent warranty service.

For my own personal system, I wouldn't hesitate to get a generic board as long as it was up to par performance-wise. I'm cheap, and I know I can deal with any issue that pops up. I don't really care about BIOS updates as long as there are no blatant bugs, because I know that if I can't get support for a newer CPU, I can just sell the whole system and get a new one.

For my customers, I usually recommend a Gigabyte or Microstar board as they aren't overpriced like ASUS and Abit and it gives me a bit more peace of mind and hopefully reduces my service load. But if some one can't afford $50 CDN for the privilige of name brand, that's fine and I build them a decent system with a generic board.

Modus

 

[subhuman]

I always stick to a brand name board, it is easier to sell when/if someone wants to upgrade, plus a lot more stable as a general, (and probably somewhat inaccurate) wide, sweeping comment.

 

[slpaulson]

The motherboard is defidently not something to go generic on IMHO...

 

[nippyjun]

Since the motherboard is the heart of your system I wouldn't skimp!

 

[Lore]

Yeah, don't skimp on the motherboard - the support won't be there if you have problems!

 

[Mem]

Just to make sure you have got the message buy a quality board like MSI,Asus etc & you will be a very happy owner.

 

[DaddyG]

I've used some generics in the past. Made in China, no names but with good components and good state of the art surface mount technology. Didn't have too many issues. As Modus said, they probably benchmarked a little slower but some customers won't pay the extra $$s. With the MSI PRO2A at about $110, if you look around, your savings are not much when your building 1, but if you have a bid for 20 systems the $$$s add up.

 

[Redwingsguy]

as long as it doesnt say Compaq on it! But you should still get a name brand if you want better resell later on