Is ASRock owned by ASUS?

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If yes, why does ASUS have two different brands of motherboard?
 
The way I understand it, Asus wanted to offer a more entry level line of motherboards but didn't want to have a "cheap" Asus line. So they come out with ASRock and keep the prestige of the Asus name. That's not official, just based on shit I've read over the years.
 
price discrimination yo. asus didn't want to dilute their brand with value-priced stuff so they made ASRock. however they spun asrock out and they're separate companies now
 
from wikipedia.

ASRock was originally spun off from Asus in 2002 in order to compete with companies like ECS and Foxconn for the commodity OEM market. Since then, however, ASRock has also gained momentum in the DIY sector and plans for moving the company upstream began in 2007 following a successful IPO on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.[1]

ASRock has garnered a reputation for good value (cost/performance) from tech websites,[2] including awards and recommendations for an array of products.[3][4]

ASRock is currently owned by Pegatron Corporation.
 
Even though they're "cheap" I have had a bunch of asrock boards. I use them in my wife and kids computers and they're pretty solid.
 
The thing that really put ASrock ont he map was the experimental boards they released. They did ones that offered backwards compatibility. both types of ram, or video slots on the same board.
 
Ah, I didn't know ASRock wasn't owned by Asus anymore. That explains their poor showing in reviews lately.
 
I've read they are decent, if not great, features and price are good, however quality control can be lacking as can the RMA process.

All in all I would not avoid them and if I am short on budget for a friend or family member who wants a homemade system I might go that path depending on what the friend or relative needs.
 
MacLeod said:
Ah, I didn't know ASRock wasn't owned by Asus anymore. That explains their poor showing in reviews lately.
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Actually, in a way Asus still owns Pegatron (and thus ASRock). It's just that a different unit of the Asus group owns Pegatron. Thus, Asus still indirectly owns Pegatron (and thus ASRock).

And being in the same unit as Pegatron, it's not surprising that recent ASRock motherboards began to miss the mark as enthusiast motherboards, much like Intel-branded motherboards. Pegatron, like whomever OEMs for Intel, manufactures motherboards for big-name OEMs with little to no tweakability in their settings. That could explain why their recent boards haven't done very well in reviews.
 
Why do Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. have two brands of cars outside of Japan? Same reason why. In Japan, you'll find Acura (Honda), Lexus (Toyota), Infiniti (Nissan) etc. just sold under the normal brands instead of the prestige brands.
 
Well, they have slowly started changing. Where I was, "Datsun" is still more popular than "Nissan," however, even the Japanese automakers are slowly using just one name (instead of a World/Japan name scheme).


EDIT: oh, lol. I just said what you said :(
 
Bought 2 Asrock p67 extreme4 gen3, both of them were defective so I just purchased an asus board. Did not know they were the same company. This sucks :(
 
After lot of research and comparison when P67 boards came out, I've bought Asrock P67 Extreme6. Very glad I did and will definitely consider another Asrock product in the future.
 
Spare-Flair said:
Why do Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. have two brands of cars outside of Japan? Same reason why. In Japan, you'll find Acura (Honda), Lexus (Toyota), Infiniti (Nissan) etc. just sold under the normal brands instead of the prestige brands.
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I can't speak to the Japanese market, but in the US (and Europe?) Honda and its brethren have a strong brand as "practical" cars for the masses. A company is defined by its brand. That's both positive and negative, because a company usually can't "go outside" its brand successfully.

Is that what ASUS originally did with ASRock? Dunno.
 
Spare-Flair said:
Why do Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. have two brands of cars outside of Japan? Same reason why. In Japan, you'll find Acura (Honda), Lexus (Toyota), Infiniti (Nissan) etc. just sold under the normal brands instead of the prestige brands.
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Maybe it's a USA thing, but domestic manufacturers do the same thing...

Chevrolet has Buick, Pontiac and Cadillac
Ford has Mercury and Lincoln
Chrysler has Jeep and Dodge
(all 3 actually own more car brands, but those are the most known)

It makes sense to not want to have someone associate your brand with lesser-quality or sub-par (feature-wise) merchandise. That's where Asrock was born. Asus moved into the enthusiast market, and spun a company that could continue to churn out the every-day OEM boards. Obviously, Asrock had their own ideas, though.

I think they are fairly solid boards, nothing to do cartwheels over, but they do what they aim to do. They tend to be about 20% cheaper compared to Gigabyte or Asus as for similar specs, and they seem to have a better understanding of their customer's needs than ECS or Biostar.... Good middle-ground if you need a feature-rich board on a budget.
 
Nside said:
Maybe it's a USA thing, but domestic manufacturers do the same thing...

Chevrolet has Buick, Pontiac and Cadillac

Ford has Mercury and Lincoln
Chrysler has Jeep and Dodge
(all 3 actually own more car brands, but those are the most known)
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Not to forget Consumer Package Goods companies like Procter and Gamble, which must have hundreds of brands.
 
qbanb8582 said:
from wikipedia.

ASRock was originally spun off from Asus in 2002 in order to compete with companies like ECS and Foxconn for the commodity OEM market. Since then, however, ASRock has also gained momentum in the DIY sector and plans for moving the company upstream began in 2007 following a successful IPO on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.[1]

ASRock has garnered a reputation for good value (cost/performance) from tech websites,[2] including awards and recommendations for an array of products.[3][4]

ASRock is currently owned by Pegatron Corporation.
Click to expand...

And Pegatron itself was spun off from Asus. So ASRock is more of a sister company to Asus.
 
rudy said:
The thing that really put ASrock ont he map was the experimental boards they released. They did ones that offered backwards compatibility. both types of ram, or video slots on the same board.
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^this is what put ASRock on the board. Back in the 939 days, they offered some unique and VERY versatile boards.

Wasnt there one 939 board that you could get a daughter board for and run DDR2?
 
This thread should answer all the questions:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2380133#post2380133

Up until P67, AsRock was under the subsidiary of Asus. The AsRock P45 boards for example were stripped off P5Q's. Starting with the P67 Fatal1ty, they spun off and the quality of their boards upped significantly. The Extreme7 is one of the very best Sandy boards out there, and they're pumping it on the lower end with the Extreme3. I have pretty high expectations from them on Ivy boards.
 
And I could have sworn I saw something about a P67 motherboard that used an LGA1156 CPU. So they do some crazy, experimental stuff...
 
I read a ton of reviews, and I have yet to see anyone complain about an RMA costing them $35. Shipping charge, sure, that's industry standard (unless you are half-decent at vocalizing a complaint without pissing off whoever you are talking to)... I'm pretty sure they don't follow that return policy unless you are a real PIA. Just look at Newegg, and the people who write reviews about RMAs, sure, they aren't happy, but they would be quick to point out a $35 charge if there was one...

rUmX said:
Asrock is decent but if you care about warranty I'd be wary: http://www.asrock.com/Support/index.asp?cat=RMA

Seems like you'd have to go through a lot of trouble just to RMA if you ever needed that.
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Nside said:
I read a ton of reviews, and I have yet to see anyone complain about an RMA costing them $35. Shipping charge, sure, that's industry standard (unless you are half-decent at vocalizing a complaint without pissing off whoever you are talking to)... I'm pretty sure they don't follow that return policy unless you are a real PIA. Just look at Newegg, and the people who write reviews about RMAs, sure, they aren't happy, but they would be quick to point out a $35 charge if there was one...
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The $35 is for motherboards that are out-of-warranty. Abit used to do the same thing or if there was physical damage, except it was $25.
 
Nside said:
I read a ton of reviews, and I have yet to see anyone complain about an RMA costing them $35. Shipping charge, sure, that's industry standard (unless you are half-decent at vocalizing a complaint without pissing off whoever you are talking to)... I'm pretty sure they don't follow that return policy unless you are a real PIA. Just look at Newegg, and the people who write reviews about RMAs, sure, they aren't happy, but they would be quick to point out a $35 charge if there was one...
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I never mentioned the $35 charge as the reason to be wary.

Just from reading their policy it just seems like they don't want the hassles of dealing with end-user RMAs and instead just point you to the retailer/e-tailer where the product was purchased. That turns me off -- when it comes to computer components, I'd rather deal directly with the manufacturer than the shop where the product was purchased. Much faster turnaround, more reliable service, and less chance of encountering communication issues.

This is just my experience anyways.
 
It's easier on them to just get a bulk shipment of RMA's from a retailer and then just give them credit than to individually handle and ship replacements to customers who have issues.

In my experience, dealing with the manufacturer, they give you the run-around having you test every single chunk of hardware OTHER than their product, even if you told them you already did it. They seem to act like it's unfathomable that their product took a crap. Even after they agree to an RMA, there's always the chance that they won't be able to recreate the issue (supposedly) and claim your hardware is working fine. Now obviously some companies are better than others with this, but it seems like dealing with the retailer is so much easier.

Examples:
Bad video card (EVGA 9600 IIRC): out of the box, it was throwing up artifacts and occasionally blue-screened. RMA'd to newegg, told them the problem, told them my drivers were updated and my old video card had no issues. RMA granted. I re-purchased the item as soon as I got the RMA number (same as cross-shipping basically)... Money was returned to my account 2 or so days after they received it. Entire process took 5 days, 3 of those days I was without a card

Bad video card (XFX HD 5770): Card gradually failed over a year and a half. Started freezing the screen after showing multi-colored specs. Problems became more and more frequent, then would occasionally blue-screen. It would only do this when idling or internet browsing. After updating everything, and testing all hardware, I started a ticket with XFX telling them what tests I had done. They had me test my RAM, even though I explained that I already did. Then they had me test my PSU, even though I explained that I already did. Then update my BIOS, already explained it was up to date. Reset my BIOS, even though I had already... anyway, you get the idea.

After a week and a half of almost daily back and forth, they finally agreed to an RMA, They advised against cross-shipping because they said I would have to keep both cards (and pay) should the one I sent not be found defective. When they got the card, a week later they said that they couldn't recreate the issue, but after some escalation, they sent me a new card (Brand New, good on them, I guess) ... $1,000 says they tried stressing the card to recreate the issue, even though I specifically and repeatedly told them that it only happened under light use, never when gaming. New card works perfectly. Entire process took almost a month, I was out of a card for almost 2 1/2 weeks.

Now, I realize that RMA could be worse, but that week and a half wasted re-re-testing the card was BS, and then having to fight them to send me a replacement... ugh... I doubt I would have had that problem with the retailer had this happened within their return period.

Luckily, with motherboards, they have always lasted me many years, or have been broken right out of the box on the few I have had issues with. Just test them thoroughly when you get them.

rUmX said:
Just from reading their policy it just seems like they don't want the hassles of dealing with end-user RMAs and instead just point you to the retailer/e-tailer where the product was purchased.
Click to expand...
 
asuka10456 said:
Bought 2 Asrock p67 extreme4 gen3, both of them were defective so I just purchased an asus board. Did not know they were the same company. This sucks :(
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For starters the Design teams for the two were always different. But starting in 2010 Pegatron became there own company, so boards designed from that point on where not designed under the Asus umbrella and not necessarily people they originally hired for it by Asus.

Pegatron was incorporated on June 27, 2007 as a subsidiary of its then parent company, Asustek (or more commonly known as its brand name "Asus").[8] Asustek wanted to increase its competitiveness by dividing its business into specialized work forces and establishing separate companies for each business unit. Pegatron was formed as a design and manufacturing service provider of computer-related products that had previously been operated by Asustek.
In January 2010, Pegatron's then parent company Asustek announced a plan to spin off and to transfer its long term equity investment in Pegatron to its wholly owned subsidiary, Pegatron International Investment Co., Ltd. On June 10, 2010, Pegatron merged with Pegatron International, and Pegatron has since been the surviving spin off independent company.[9]
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While Asus could still have a controlling interest in shares of the company, and a presence on their BoD, Pegatron/ASRock is a different company.
 
Topweasel said:
For starters the Design teams for the two were always different.
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Yes, however a lot of AsRock boards harvested the lower QC'ed PCB's of Asus boards. If you look at AsRock's X48 boards, you can notice that they're based on watered down Asus P5E's. That's why the brand initially came out, to sell low-end parts of Asus. They then improved that brand later on.
 
OmegaSupreme said:
^this is what put ASRock on the board. Back in the 939 days, they offered some unique and VERY versatile boards.

Wasnt there one 939 board that you could get a daughter board for and run DDR2?
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Yep. I have that board still in service today.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939Dual-SATA2

There was a CPU card for around $40 that gave you a AM2 Socket and DDR2 Slots. But the biggest feature of that board was the ULi 1695 Chipset. That chipset was higher performing than the nVidia nForce 3 & 4, and it offered native AGP8x and PCIe 16x slots. This allowed me to upgrade my PC and keep my AGP8x X800 XT graphics card and later upgrade to a 8800GTS.

It was a cool motherboard and had very favorable reviews. http://www.anandtech.com/show/1782
 
All of my personal machine from the first one I built 15 or so years ago have been Asus.
I've never really considered any other brand for my personal builds.
 
Met-AL said:
But the biggest feature of that board was the ULi 1695 Chipset. That chipset was higher performing than the nVidia nForce 3 & 4
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Actually, the some of best performing S939 boards were made by DFI. The SLi Venus (which was a limited board with full solid caps), then the SLi-DR and the Infinity. They had the best BIOS and some of the best built. Those ULi chipsets were good, but they were more suited for budget than high-end. Most high-end S939 boards were NF4.
 
Met-AL said:
But the biggest feature of that board was the ULi 1695 Chipset. That chipset was higher performing than the nVidia nForce 3 & 4, and it offered native AGP8x and PCIe 16x slots. This allowed me to upgrade my PC and keep my AGP8x X800 XT graphics card and later upgrade to a 8800GTS.
Click to expand...

How ironic it was when Nvidia bought out ULi a year or two after the release of that card.
 
E4g1e said:
How ironic it was when Nvidia bought out ULi a year or two after the release of that card.
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The reason was that ATI was using ULi southbridges with their northbridges. It gave ATi chipset boards a slight advantage over the shit that nVidia was cranking out in regards to SATA and USB performance.

So, nVidia bought ULi and put an end to that, and it also screwed us customers that had ULi boards. We never got Vista drivers. For me, that was the 2nd screwing by nVidia that way, as I was a proud owner of a 3dfx Voodoo 3 and they did the same thing to us back then too.
 
johnnydoe said:
Actually, the some of best performing S939 boards were made by DFI. The SLi Venus (which was a limited board with full solid caps), then the SLi-DR and the Infinity. They had the best BIOS and some of the best built. Those ULi chipsets were good, but they were more suited for budget than high-end. Most high-end S939 boards were NF4.
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+1 on that. DFI's boards were the absolute best for 939 extreme ocing/benching. They offered the option to pump up 4.0v though one's DDR modules (giving BH-5 sticks the ability to really shine) which was unprecedented at the time. And, of course, other voltages can be set higher on their boards too & overall the Genie BIOS was very comprehensive, better than the competition. To the boards you mentioned above id like to also add the Ultra-D, i seemed to have the best luck w/ that one. But some people also swear by the Expert. I guess it just depends who you talk to. But either way, cant go wrong w/ a DFI NF4 mobo for 939 :D
 
The Jetway 939 was also built very well with solid caps instead of +%90 of S939 boards of that time, all of which had a full liquid cap affair. And with 3 PCI-E. It disappointingly couldn't deliver it's potential (hence the Jetway) though.

939GT4-STD-G-OC.jpg
 
God that Jetway does remind me of the color choices of the day...I'm glad some manufactures have started taking it more seriously.
 
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