Which MB maker has the stablest BIOS and good USB thumb drive support

mrblint · 31 Mar 2019

I am having a heck of a time trying to install Windows 10 on a Gigabyte MB. Their BIOS seems really flaky. For example, the bootable thumb drive is recognized only if it is placed in a rear USB port and only if there is also another USB thumb drive in one of the front USB ports. It took me quite a while to discover that twist. And changes as simple as whether to allow the manufacturer's full logo to display can change the order of the items in the Boot Menu; or at least it seems that way -- the order of the items changes and that was the only setup change I made. And now, even though the thumb drive is being recognized and appears in the boot menu, nothing constructive happens when I choose it. I've tried ISO with Rufus, retail Microsoft distribution thumb drive, and thumb drive created by Media Creation Tool. So far, no success installing Windows 10. But I know that the USB ports are working because I've flashed the BIOS and can see the files on the drive.

So I need to find another MB :

mATX
7th generation i7 compatible or backwards-compatible
at least three fan headers
Wifi onboard
SATA 6GB
USB 3.x
HDMI
DDR4

I need reliability first and speed second, but not overclocking speed.

Ideally I'd like to find the "Avis" of MB makers, a company who is "number 2 and tries harder". But a number three or four would also work.

I've read reviews condemning ASUS for abandoning BIOS development and stranding users. I don't know enough about the industry to know whether such allegations are true or false. But I'd like an "old school" attitude towards customers if there is still such a thing nowadays.

Polo6RGTI · 31 Mar 2019

Hi,

What specific motherboard do you currently have?

essenbe · 31 Mar 2019

Hello mrblint and welcome to the forums. Everyone has their favorites, so what you are asking is sort of like which is the better car, Chevy or Ford. I am an overclocker. I know you said you were not interested in overclocking, but one thing you will learn from overclockers is what is in the BIOS and what options do you have. What I say here are simply my opinions, nothing more. I am sure you will get many.

It seems that all motherboard manufacturers have decided that it is more cost efficient to replace defective boards than do quality control. Also, with 1 exception, customer support does not exist in the industry. That 1 exception is EVGA which has the best CS in the industry, IMO.

Asus is the company with the most mature and most options in BIOS, which can also make it a learning curve but gives you better control of everything. Pretty much all companies will offer timely updates as long as you are on the latest chipset. After that, it gets iffy. No matter what you have heard, I think Asus is as good as any of them in that department.

If you can't tell, I am an Asus fan and after a lot of experience don't look at any other manufacturer's motherboards.

Again, all of this is just my personal opinion. If you want Customer Service your only choice is EVGA. If you want pretty good reliability but excellent granular control of BIOS, go Asus. That does not mean that all other brands are bad. Only that Asus has more options and gives you more control. There are actually a lot of good motherboard manufacturers out there.

sygnus21 · 31 Mar 2019

I've used 5 different Gigabyte motherboards and haven't found their BIOS's to be all that difficult for basic setup. With that some of the issues you describe such as this.....

mrblint said:

For example, the bootable thumb drive is recognized only if it is placed in a rear USB port and only if there is also another USB thumb drive in one of the front USB ports..

is not typical of Gigabyte (or any other vendor's) boards. Nor have I seen issues like this posted at any of the Gigabyte forums I frequent - overclockers.net gigabyte forum (Gigabyte Z390), or Gigabyte's official forum.

With that if you feel a different vendor is in order, certainly move to them... but... if there's an issue at your end switching boards isn't going to solve your problem. You also might try reviewing the owner's manual. As I said, I've got 5 gigabyte boards, and for everyone of them I've gone over the manual to insure I'm not missing anything or taking anything for granted.

Good luck.

kipper · 31 Mar 2019

Hi mrblint

As a retired reviewer for virtually all MB makers along with a good number of other components... I was able to review several MB for the latest chipsets that were being released prior to their "Hit the Market" dates... That provided me with direct contact with the project teams so I could report problems and in almost every case I would get BIOS/UEFI updates to correct problems I found during the reviews...

As essenbe (Steve) says above most if not all the manufacturers are decent at providing updates for the most current chipset boards but after that, it is pretty much a hit and miss thing...

I must say that my experience working with most producers of MBs that I had the best relationship with ASUS and always found their BIOS to be the most mature and easiest to work with...

I have build a good number of systems over the years and I dealt with virtually all of the support folks for all the boards and find that they are all pretty bad at dealing with RMA services... and I agree that it appears that it is easier to replace the board and then test and repair if necessary the board that is returned and then sell through outlets as "Open Box" or "Certified Rebuilt"....

The last review I published was for ASUS; the Crosshair V Formula when I was working for ASUS as a MOD and Reviewer on the ROG forums...

sygnus21 · 31 Mar 2019

Beginning to sounds like an Asus fan club here.

All boards and manufactures can have issues, nothing is perfect. And regardless whichever board the OP goes with, if the issue is elsewhere, no matter the board, the issue will travel.

Good luck.

Dude · 31 Mar 2019

I have had good experiences with MSI and ASUS boards

Brawndo · 31 Mar 2019

Well count me in for the Asus fan club. I've had different kinds of motherboards but always go back to Asus. Their bios is simple and easy to use. It's also very forgiving when you make mistakes.

Mark Phelps · 31 Mar 2019

I've an older Gigabyte MB and apart from failing BIOS updates, not run into any problems like what you described.

But before that, I was an ASUS fan -- going back a LOT of years. Just got a better deal on my current Gigabyte board, together with really good review on HARDOCP board -- which unforunately, is now defunct.

mrblint · 31 Mar 2019

sygnus21 said:

I've used 5 different Gigabyte motherboards and haven't found their BIOS's to be all that difficult for basic setup. With that some of the issues you describe such as this.....

is not typical of Gigabyte (or any other vendor's) boards. Nor have I seen issues like this posted at any of the Gigabyte forums I frequent - overclockers.net gigabyte forum (Gigabyte Z390), or Gigabyte's official forum.

With that if you feel a different vendor is in order, certainly move to them... but... if there's an issue at your end switching boards isn't going to solve your problem. You also might try reviewing the owner's manual. As I said, I've got 5 gigabyte boards, and for everyone of them I've gone over the manual to insure I'm not missing anything or taking anything for granted.

Good luck.

The reason I bought a Gigabyte MB was because I'd seen many reviews that spoke favorably of them, as you do here. I've spent about an hour on the phone with Gigabyte tech support all told, on two separate occasions this past week. They were generous with their time and seemed eager to help, and I was happy to find they had the "we can call you back" feature. But the AMI BIOS for this board is truly flaky in respect to its detection of bootable devices attached to USB. The MB in question GA-Z270M-D3H. I've tried BIOS version F7, and the version before that, and their latest, which as I recall has an 8 in its number but isn't called F8. The BIOS also doesn't jibe with the DRAM slots as labeled on the MB. It treats the slot labeled DDR4_4 on the MB as slot #1 and the slot labeled DDR4_1 as slot #4.