Do you think ASUS TUF Sabertooth motherboard are overpriced?

I was wondering what's your experience and comments bout Asus TUF Sabertooth mobo. It looks awesome, durable and sophisticated. But the price is so high compared to other mobos.

 

It's a niche product, so the price is expected.

 

Understand there are several significantly different motherboard models in the ASUS TUF Sabertooth series so you need to be specific for specific replies.

That said, ASUS is noted for quality motherboards. These are no exception.

However, some time ago, I took a near entry level Gigabyte board and near entry level ASUS board, and high end boards from each maker. The 4 boards all supported the same processors and RAM.

Except for the motherboards, everything else - drives, RAM, CPU, PSU, graphics card, monitor, OS, network (except integrated NIC) - was the same.

We ran every test and task we could think of and the only place we could "see" any performance difference between the entry and high-end boards was in the benchmark reports. That is, we could not tell the difference between the high-end boards and the entry level boards when using these computers.

So awesome and durable are one thing. "Sophisticated" is the same thing as more complex therefore more chances of problems.

Unless you are just seeking bragging rights (and nothing wrong with that if the rent is paid and beer is in the fridge) get a motherboard that has the features you need, and not necessarily a board you drool over.

Unless you have an unlimited budget, put your money in a good case (I like Antecs), good CPU, upgraded graphics, gobs of RAM, SSDs, and of course, a quality 80-PLUS certified power supply. I am not saying get a budget board, but you probably don't need a high-end board either.

Now if you are into extreme overclocking, or you can afford the fastest RAM on the market, and if the budget allows, go for a high-end board - but only after a high-end CPU, graphics, gobs of RAM, and SSDs, two widescreen monitors, surround sounds, Blu-ray... .

 

imo. yes. except in the case you are overclocking. i personally have moved mostly away from asus high end boards EXCEPT when overclocking. when i am extreme overclocking (dry ice, liquid nit.) i look to asus most of the time (other boards work as well many times but asus high end stuff usually is just really very stable voltage wise at the higher end). for a great daily machine you dont have to spend that much money, in fact i like the asrock boards for a lower priced board. i have used literally hundreds in builds and have hardly ever had a issue VERY low failure rate. when i did have a bad board they took care of it without issue. im not a fan of msi of late we have seen to many board failures lately. and i also dont really care for gigabyte unless you are looking at the higher end ones. so unless you need the higher end board and all the overclocking features imo its not worth the extra money

 

Why don't you like Gigabyte? They've been my preferred board maker for years - though I like ASUS too. For rock solid stability, I really like Intel boards but they stopped making motherboards. I have also had good luck with MSI, Chaintech, DFI, and Biostar.

Back to Gigabyte - I have used their boards in many builds from entry level to high end. I won't say I have never had problems, but I will say on the few times problems occurred, Gigabyte did not hesitate to issue an RMA.

In fact, during the leaky capacitor problems of a few years ago, Gigabyte replaced one of my 3 1/2 years old boards that developed leaky cap problems for free - no questions asked and 6 months past the warranty period.

That after sales support really sold me Gigabyte.

 

Personally, for motherboards, I stick to ASRock and Asus (even over something like Intel's own offerings). For something cheaper, generally speaking ASRock and Biostar are good options. All of the builds I made using ASRock and Biostar boards have been rock stable despite not having fancy 4oz copper PCBs or heat pipe cooling systems.

As for MSI, well they are decent for budget boards but I feel they cut too many corners and take risks quality wise. There are times I wasn't happy with the temperature levels or stability of some of these boards, not to mention their MOSFET choices, capacitor choices etc.

Gigabyte is a brand I generally have not paid much attention to. I have heard mixed stories about them, but I have also heard their service is really, really good.