I've been using this site as a great tool since I started messing with computers. So I feel I need to let everyone know what happened to me, so others may learn without all the pain in the wallet. BTW the motherboard in question is a P4P800S-X.

I turned on my machine then walked down the hall to use the bathroom. When I got back to my desk I noticed my monitor was off as if powered down from lack of use. This was odd since my monitors set to turn off after five minutes not one. I moved the mouse and hit some keys on my keyboard and got nothing. So I hit the power to turn it off. While reaching around my machine I noticed the smell. It was the unmistakable smell of something burning.
So I started tearing into my cpu to see what the deal was, that’s when I noticed one of the chips on the MB had a burn mark.

Ok I understand that these things get hot and all, that’s why we put heatsinks and fans on them. Problem was that this chip has no heatsink or any way of getting a fan on it. This thing happens when you overclock and all that, but this machine was running at spec. It also had about 4 extra fans placed throughout the case. So all I can think is WTF!

This machine was my personal computer. The motherboard was only six months old, and it was only on for about 4-6 hours per day. I've had cheap FIC motherboards that were overclocked that lasted for years.

Needless to say I'll never buy anything from Asus again, and I'd advise anyone with this board to keep it off as much as possible, or find a way to mount a fan on all of the chips on the board.
That’s my two cents.

Also, before anyone gets any ideas about being dumb. When I say overclocked, I mean the processor plugged into the motherboard is overclocked.

Poppycock, you say it is not and it is overclocked in the same diatribe. 4 fans do not make it cool it can actually make hot air spots.

Bad experience, yes, it happens, thats life.

Hi,

I built a computer with the same board last winter. It worked for one day when I heard a pop and the computer froze. I got a whiff of burnt wire casing and I immediately disconnected the computer.

Upon inspecting the board, I noticed the southbridge was burned. RMA'd the board and the replacement has had no problems since.

Tony

AMD Athlonxp 3200+ OC
Asus A7N8x-deluxe-E
ATI AIW 9600pro
2x WD SATA raptors/raid0
Corsair XMS3200
16x Lite-on DVD
12x DVD-R
48x Lite-on CDRW
Aspire Super Alien Case

These things happen. I got to repair pc's with a burned/broken P4B533, P4P800 SE and P4P800-E Deluxe. Motherboards are just very delicate and can be damaged during transport or installation. It doesn't mean all Asus' products are bad.

Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz
Asus P4P800-E Deluxe
Kingston 2GB PC3200
Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP
WD Raptor 37 GB
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB
Asus E616P1
Plextor PX-740A
Reserator 1

As the others have said...these things happen. Asus tech support is excellent. Just RMA the board.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

I have nothing against Asus, however, I will say that the premium price placed on Asus products is definitely NOT worth it. Based upon my benchmarks and observations, comprable motherboards with the same chipset (i.e. ECS, Gigabyte, Shuttle, Soyo, etc.) that are often 1/3 less in cost, perform as well and often in some areas better than the Asus.

I - Sandor J

Knowledge is the treasure, but judgment is the treasurer of the wise man.
- William Penn (1614 - 1718)

Report Offensive Follow Up For Removal

Every board manufacturer, let me repeat that, EVERY BOARD MANUFACTURER has a percentage of faulty products. If you happen to get one of the faulty boards it does not mean all of that company's products are bad. Now, if the company starts having a high failure rate, then it would be cause for concern. In fact, that is the precise reason you should stick with a reputable company, because if you do get a faulty board they will be very responsive. I had a GigaByte board with a defective floppy controller - I didn't go around bad mouthing GigaByte. I sent the board back to them and they fixed it. So kudos to them.

Personally I'll wait until the tech media starts saying to avoid a certain brand rather than listening to the whining of one individual. First you say you didn't overclock and then in the follow-up post you say you did. Were you trying to say you overclocked the CPU and not the motherboard?

Michael J

I'm a hobbyist.

I've built computers using ASUS, TYAN, FIC, GIGABYTE, ECS, and MSI MOBOs.

I've had trouble with ASUS and SOYO boards and am reluctant to use them.

Blanket statements such as this arent fair. You are condeming a company for ONE failed board? Get a grip, your board died within a warranty period and they will replace it. And btw, if you are using the correct case and your PC is setup right, you don't need 4 fans. You are creating more heat and stress on the system.

The only boards that I try to stay away from are PCChips & the clones...

http://www.stud.fernuni-hagen.de/q3998142/pcchips/aka.html

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Sorry for the mix up, but I never had the Asus board overclocked. The board that I was talking about being overclocked was an old FIC board.

I use ASUS exclusively never had a problem, RMA the board, or sell it on e-bay!

Why can't we put questions here?

Sell a burnt up board? Bad karma for you!

You can avoid many of these Windows problems with Linux. Linspire eases the transition for new users

I have this board with a 3.2 ghz hyperthreaded processor. When I received it, the components were overclocked and I didn't like it's thermal behavior so I set it down to spec. It really running at at 4.Ghz with one small fan in the cabinet.

But I've Been an ASUS customer over and over and over again as I believe they are among the most stable well done boards in the industry. I think their site is really poor and I can't get MyLogo2 to work or get support for it. But the boards are out of this world.