ASUS Striker II Extreme Motherboard Review

[Capper]

When you talk about enthusiast level motherboard manufacturers, ASUS is perpetually in the discussion. Let's face it, the reputation they've earned for making kick ass mobos rings loud throughout the computer hardware enthusiast market. Their product lineup is a tasty one, giving consumers like us a full course of hardware dishes overflowing with all the extras. Recently the ASUS Eee PC subnotebook's success along with its Xonar soundcard release has demonstrated this company's aggressive business approach and refusal to settle for only one piece of the pie. Although they have ventured into other areas of computer hardware, this Taiwan based company does not ignore its grass roots by consistently manufacturing gorgeous mainboards with killer performance.

ASUS Striker II Extreme Motherboard Review

[oldman_gamer]

Great review....my Gov.pitty check is being used for heating oil for this coming winter.That would be an outstanding board for a new high end build though.Maybe some day when the price comes down to $80 I will buy it . By then,the board will be obsolete.

[screwballl]

great review and a monster board!!

[gvblake22]

More manufacturers need to start using those 90º SATA connector setups like on this Striker II Extreme. It sucks having your video card take up half of your SATA ports!

[screwballl]

My EP35 board came with 2 of them and it is nice... but I also like how they used a separate sound card through the PCIe x1 slot

[Quakindude]

Love the board and the review. My only gripe is the score for warranty and support. IMHO, a 4 is the max I would give Asus. And the price, as noted, is ridiculous.

[Capper]

ASUS' warranty and support has been a big deal with us.......the company griped long and hard about the score when it was a "6" a couple months back. It has gotten better, with BIOS versions updated regularly and them hiring on people to man their support forums.

There are still some big problems....their RMA process is awful, and takes way too long (We talked with them about their RMS policy, and maybe it will change). Their download servers are atrocious.....when they work they take forever to download drivers, BIOS', and other software.....and their support forums, still need a quality (and dedicated) staff.

Based on the criteria we use to score that category, a "7" is deserved.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by Capper

Based on the criteria we use to score that category, a "7" is deserved.

Yup, which is the equivalent of a 'C'. There's room for improvement, but they also maintain updated drivers and BIOSes arguably better than anyone else. When I think of a '4' or less, I think of Aluratek (keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming review).

[screwballl]

I have noticed Gigabyte's downloads are just as bad... doesn't matter what region you choose, they run dirt slow as well. Other companies are bad about this too: Asus, Sapphire, Biostar, Dell....

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by Capper

ASUS' warranty and support has been a big deal with us.......the company griped long and hard about the score when it was a "6" a couple months back. It has gotten better, with BIOS versions updated regularly and them hiring on people to man their support forums.

There are still some big problems....their RMA process is awful, and takes way too long (We talked with them about their RMS policy, and maybe it will change). Their download servers are atrocious.....when they work they take forever to download drivers, BIOS', and other software.....and their support forums, still need a quality (and dedicated) staff.

Based on the criteria we use to score that category, a "7" is deserved.

Oh man, back about 10 years ago or so, I bought a KT133 Asus board, and there dang site was real slowwwww then!!! But they do keep up on the newest Bios's better than most manufactures.

Originally Posted by screwballl

I have noticed Gigabyte's downloads are just as bad... doesn't matter what region you choose, they run dirt slow as well. Other companies are bad about this too: Asus, Sapphire, Biostar, Dell....

Yea, hell even back when the GA-7VAXP was the hottest enthusiasts board out there, they were real slow also!!
About 4 months after buying one of the above boards, I sold it on fle-bay and purchased a MSI KT333 Ultra. They always had great download speeds and site loading speeds! That MSI board was a kick butt mobo in its day