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The general rule of thumb
for inexperienced end users is to let a
computer professional choose your
motherboard. There are many reasons why
this is so. Let's look at just a few.
First of all, inexperienced users and
even most resellers do not know which
motherboards fail to support CPUs at
higher clockspeeds or work only with
certain CPUs. A case in point: the Cyrix
200+. Secondly, it's hard to know which
motherboards are older unacceptable
prototypes for boards which finally work.
Even if one finds an acceptable brand
name, most end users don't recognize
which model and configuration is right
for them (especially if they are
upgrading and keeping some existing
components). Mail order and super
stores play a numbers game. They don't
need your repeat business to survive.
They aren't really relying repeat
business, or even your first time
business. If you don't buy it, they know
someone else will. They can afford to be
more careless than the local professional
who needs to build a clientele with
plenty of repeat business over the years.
A local professional is going to exercise
a lot more care making sure his customer
is satisfied. It's required just to stay
in business!
Most buyers can't predict which
companies are the most likely to be
around one year from now. No one can be
certain, of course. However, local
professionals will know their own
supplier's track record. This is key.
Buyers can't gauge the quality of
support until they've purchased products.
Sure, a visit to a manufacturer's web
site may give you some assurance of easy
access to the latest flash bios upgrade,
or helpful hints and Frequently Asked
Questions, but frankly it will tell you
very little about how well the phone
support is for problems as yet
undocumented. In most cases, the
manufacturer will refer you to the place
you bought the product. If you bought it
from the Computer Shopper you may be out
of luck a year from now when the need to
upgrade the board and want to ask some
questions about the procedure.
Aside from direct knowledge regarding
failure rates, knowledge regarding
customer service (willingness and ability
to communicate - Can they speak English
well enough for you to understand what
they are saying?) are things your local
professional may already know about a
manufacturer.
Unless you are experienced solving the
problems above, you are better off
letting a computer professional select
your components when you look to upgrade
your current PC. You may ask him for
motherboard company names he uses in his
computers. But if he comes recommended,
and you sense you can trust him, your
only decisions should be the whether it
makes sense to think about multiple
processors, what type of CPU, number of
slots, form factor (ATX), number of
slots, memory and expansion requirements.
Picking the actual make and model from Computer
Shopper on your own is
going to be risky business.
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