I used to avoid MSI and Gigabyte.. but I was told that MSI is actually pretty good now. And same with Giga.
It hurts to say, but I might give them a try next time. I dunno..
On the web are people who mostly buy 1 product every 2-4 years and share their thoughts, generalizing the whole brand. I saw weird quality issues from all brands. Here are some examples and some things that have been repeated for many years.
I would say that MSI was much better 3-4 years ago than now. After amazing Z590 motherboards, they gave us a highly overpriced 600/700 series with various design flaws and nothing special for overclockers. They removed special RAM profiles, there is no optimization for RAM OC (hardware or BIOS), users complain about WiFi signal in multiple models, CPU sockets are weirdly fragile (this is the only brand that clearly says not to overtighten AIO coolers and RMAs for damaged sockets are more often than in other brands). Additionally, more than once, I heard about problems with M.2 socket mounting/soldering. I don't want to point out anything right now, but having a damaged M.2 mounting bolt in a Z790 Godlike motherboard says a lot about quality control.
MSI graphics cards are still pretty good, but there are no special series for overclockers. Most are just standard series with a better-looking cooler.
I feel like MSI switched from a gaming/enthusiast brand into above-average components for the masses. The widely announced comeback of MPower motherboards ... is limited to China or something, and MSI didn't even want to send review samples.
Gigabyte repeats the same things each generation. If their motherboards have any design flaws, they release a new PCB revision and then fix the issue in another way. Look at how many revisions there are for current popular models (typically 2-4 already).
Even though their motherboards now have much better RAM support than a couple of years ago, then Gigabyte still lies in their specifications. They test motherboards in their lab with beta BIOS releases optimized for OC and later release them with a basic BIOS that can't support higher frequency RAM or causes other issues. A perfect example is when multiple models don't support more than 1.43V VDD/VDDQ and are supposed to support DDR5-8000+ that require 1.45V+.
Their enthusiast/OC series products are usually limited to specific countries and released with a huge delay and limited support. I was counting on the Tachyon series to be exceptional, but I got pretty average products with below-average BIOS (officially, there was no optimized BIOS for OC and no betas published anywhere). The same about Z690 and Z790. I returned both. B650E wasn't available out of Japan/Taiwan.
ASRock also discontinued enthusiast-series products. Now, they make products for the masses and focus more on saving money than competing with top-of-the-line products from other brands. There is no OCF, no Aqua, nothing ... but we get Lite versions of higher motherboards. ASRock still maintains a good level of quality, and their Lite series mobos are pretty good. The only problem is that they don't have much above the standard and often save on components like they use older audio in new motherboards.
EVGA is dead and had problems with support/BIOS anyway.
I will skip all other brands.
Again, people may hate ASUS, but what do they pick that will be so much better? I can't see any better brand if we talk about motherboards and graphics cards. You can replace graphics cards more easily if you want Nvidia. If you want AMD, then good luck finding something with better-quality fans and other things. Some brands don't even release AMD cards or have literally one model. Check what RX7700XT, RX7800XT, and RX7900 GRE offer Gigabyte and MSI.
It feels like people just love to complain on the web. Whatever happens then is a lot of noise, and others join the hate train, whether they have a related issue or not. People barely ever say that this or that brand is great and share some good experiences. However, in case of any issue, there is a flood of posts everywhere.
