Asus DDR mobo fiasco, first A7M, now A7A...

[skybolt_1]

Ok, getting all spooled up to build my dream machine... Ordered my parts, on waiting list for A7M. Then poof! A7M yanked from shelves. No explanation. Call Asus. Talk to friendly but rather useless sales rep. Rep informs me that the A7M was yanked cause it wasn't deemed to be "cost effective." (?!?!? I was on waiting list of 250+!!! what do u mean cost effective!) Probe for more info, get rep to spill that Asus was disapointed with AMD DDR chipset, now going with the ALi chipset, allegedly for the purpose of being able to put either DDR or SDRAM in the board. This stinks to me of rampent bullsh**. I thought that the DDR slots were designed to reject regular DIMMS so that they could NOT be cross-installed... Rep tells me that release date on new ALi based board "sometime in second half of March," yet as with anything else in this industry, can't give a release date. Hang up phone and punch walls.

I have since called parts supplier (www.tccomputers.com) several times, most recently on 3/9/01. Supplier even more in the dark than Asus rep, cant even give me a month of release.

Does anyone have light that they could shed on this? I do NOT want to be waiting around for endless weeks while Asus gets back on track. If anyone has input about alternate motherboards, what REALLY is going on with Asus, or whatever, please post!!!!

skybolt_1

[AuraEdge]

The A7M266 has been somewhat officially cut off. Theyre not showing it off anymore, kinda like covering all knowledge of its existance.

I've heard that many places arent getting thier shipments, and its missing from the Asus CeBit online showroom.

If you want my guess, I think they have some problem that they cant resolve, and Asus is blanketing it in fears of ruining thier rep.

Im not impressed at all with the Ali MaJiK chipset, which is on the A7A. If you want DDR now, then look for another motherboard that supports the AMD 760. The Asus A7M266 was the only AMD 760 board I would have recommended, but if you cant get one, what good is it?

[skybolt_1]

AuraEdge, yeah thats basically what I'm thinking, they hit some sort of snag with the A7M and now just want it to kind of evaporate... Question for you. Out of all the DDR mobos on the market right now, what would you put your money on. I'm right now looking on www.tccomputers.com, (http://www.tccomputers.com,) and I see a couple of boards, notably the Gigabyte GA-7DX and the FIC AD-11, which are based on the AMD 761 chipset. I've read mixed reports about Gigabyte boards, plus it costs an arm and a let ($207.99!!!!) What do you think about the FIC board, or are there any others you'd recommend? Thankx

skybolt_1

[AuraEdge]

I feel hesitant recommending any DDR boards, since I havent been researching them at all.

Maybe someone else can help out?