ASROCK versus ASUS

Piotr Makley wrote:
Asrock and Asus motherboards are both made by Asustek. So what is
the main difference between them?

I am told that Asrock is a cheaper range so is one range positoned
to be cheap and the other to be more expensive but with more
features? Or do both ranges aim at broadly the same market but one
is built better than the other?

Any info welcome.

Asrock *is* the budget range, they usually have less choice of options and
slightly less expensive components (From what I gather). It is Asustek's
attempt at getting a slice of the budget/OEM market without compromising the
name of their Asus range.

Seiko did something similar years back, with a difference. They bought out
the 'Pulsar' brand of watches which are internally identical to the Seiko
range but sell for about 40% less. (A great buy BTW, I have a 10-year old
Pulsar that I wear in the shower, swimming-pool etc. and it's running
perfectly). Seiko found themselves in a situation where they could produce
their product for a lot less than they were charging for it but didn't want
their name associated with lower-priced product, they have a good reputation
and people will pay a premium for a watch with "Seiko" on it. So they
invented the Pulsar brand. (This was circa 1980) Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved approximately 40% and
got the exact same ultra-reliable watch. They're made in the same factory,
they just go to a different 'finishing line' where they are fitted into
either a Seiko or a Pulsar case.

It's not quite the same with Asus /Asrock, they use different
components/features on their Asrock range but the example holds true. Not
wanting to diminish the name of their premium range in the eye of the
consumer.
--
~misfit~

Piotr Makley wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote:

Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved
approximately 40% and got the exact same ultra-reliable watch.
They're made in the same factory, they just go to a different
'finishing line' where they are fitted into either a Seiko or
a Pulsar case.

But what about quality control? Is that different?

No, not at all. I happened to be in a jewellers shop when a Seiko/Pulsar rep
was there, just as they bought out the Pulsar brand. He was explaining it to
the shop owner. The internals come off the same production-line, go through
the same QT, and are then diverted to either the Seiko or Pulsar 'finishing'
line (for fitting into cases), depending on demand.

As I said, my Pulsar hasn't given me a moments trouble in the 10 years I've
had it. I told a guy who owned a Seiko (that he paid heaps more for) about
it and he didn't believe me until I showed him that they have the same
'double
wave' logo on the back (both watches are 100m water resist).
--
~misfit~

Wow, haven't talked about pulsar watches in some time. I have a
Pulsar time computer. The last of the LED era. Red and emerald green
readout, huge and pretty darn ugly ;^) but works like a
charm. I have another that I haven't thought about for some time, it
was a graduation present from my folks (circa 1976), you got me
hunting for it now.


"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Piotr Makley wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote:

Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved
approximately 40% and got the exact same ultra-reliable watch.
They're made in the same factory, they just go to a different
'finishing line' where they are fitted into either a Seiko or
a Pulsar case.

But what about quality control? Is that different?

No, not at all. I happened to be in a jewellers shop when a
Seiko/Pulsar rep
was there, just as they bought out the Pulsar brand. He was
explaining it to
the shop owner. The internals come off the same production-line, go
through
the same QT, and are then diverted to either the Seiko or Pulsar
'finishing'
line (for fitting into cases), depending on demand.

As I said, my Pulsar hasn't given me a moments trouble in the 10
years I've
had it. I told a guy who owned a Seiko (that he paid heaps more for)
about
it and he didn't believe me until I showed him that they have the
same
'double
wave' logo on the back (both watches are 100m water resist).
--
~misfit~

JAD wrote:
Wow, haven't talked about pulsar watches in some time. I have a
Pulsar time computer. The last of the LED era. Red and emerald green
readout, huge and pretty darn ugly ;^) but works like a
charm. I have another that I haven't thought about for some time, it
was a graduation present from my folks (circa 1976), you got me
hunting for it now.

Good watches. Although I'm not sure if Seiko owned them all along or bought
them as an outlet for their 'off-brand' watches.

I once had an LED watch, you had to push a button for the time display to
light up. It was like a monolithic lump of stainless steel on a stainless
steel band with a couple of buttons on the side and a small blank window in
it that lit up with the display when you pushed a button. It must have
weighed 200g. I liked it, wish I still had it (although reading the time was
a two-handed job). Then LCDs got cheaper and LED watches disappeared AFAIK.
I bought mine in about '76 too, man it was high-tech. g.
--
~misfit~

"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Piotr Makley wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote:

Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved
approximately 40% and got the exact same ultra-reliable watch.
They're made in the same factory, they just go to a different
'finishing line' where they are fitted into either a Seiko or
a Pulsar case.

But what about quality control? Is that different?

No, not at all. I happened to be in a jewellers shop when a
Seiko/Pulsar rep was there, just as they bought out the Pulsar
brand. He was explaining it to the shop owner. The internals come
off the same production-line, go through the same QT, and are then
diverted to either the Seiko or Pulsar 'finishing' line (for fitting
into cases), depending on demand.

As I said, my Pulsar hasn't given me a moments trouble in the 10
years I've had it. I told a guy who owned a Seiko (that he paid
heaps more for) about it and he didn't believe me until I showed him
that they have the same 'double
wave' logo on the back (both watches are 100m water resist).
--
~misfit~

JAD wrote:

Wow, haven't talked about pulsar watches in some time. I have a
Pulsar time computer. The last of the LED era. Red and emerald
green readout, huge and pretty darn ugly ;^) but works like a
charm. I have another that I haven't thought about for some time,
it was a graduation present from my folks (circa 1976), you got
me hunting for it now.

I have an Intel offering from the same period. It was a prize for
my first version of floating point for the 8080, submitted to the
user group. Nowadays I spend no more than $10 US for an LCD
display calendar/stop watch combo, which lasts about 5 years.

--
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

CBFalconer wrote:
JAD wrote:

Wow, haven't talked about pulsar watches in some time. I have a
Pulsar time computer. The last of the LED era. Red and emerald
green readout, huge and pretty darn ugly ;^) but works like a
charm. I have another that I haven't thought about for some time,
it was a graduation present from my folks (circa 1976), you got
me hunting for it now.

I have an Intel offering from the same period. It was a prize for
my first version of floating point for the 8080, submitted to the
user group.

That sounds cool.

Nowadays I spend no more than $10 US for an LCD
display calendar/stop watch combo, which lasts about 5 years.

Yep, I used to do the same thing, invariably Casio, and they'd last and run
perfectly until the plastic strap broke (oxidised). Then it was about the
same price to get a new watch as it was to get a new strap.

However, I then went into business for myself, a consultancy business, and a
nice watch just seemed to make the difference youknow? When you're charging
someone $1,000 (NZ) a day they pay up better if you look good. My Pulsar is
a nice, chunky stainless steel watch with gold trim. Analogue but also with
a digital display at the bottom so I have calendar and alarm functions etc.
The business is long gone (due to injury) but the watch endures.
--
~misfit~

Piotr Makley wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote:

Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved
approximately 40% and got the exact same ultra-reliable
watch. They're made in the same factory, they just go to a
different 'finishing line' where they are fitted into either
a Seiko or a Pulsar case.


But what about quality control? Is that different?


No, not at all. I happened to be in a jewellers shop when a
Seiko/Pulsar rep was there, just as they bought out the Pulsar
brand. He was explaining it to the shop owner. The internals
come off the same production-line, go through the same QT, and
are then diverted to either the Seiko or Pulsar 'finishing'
line (for fitting into cases), depending on demand.

Maybe the diverting is done based on the better versus worse
performing units? In other words they are all to spec but the very
best go one way and the poorer one go another way?

I don't think so (Mine is going strong, accurate to within 15 seconds a
year, after 13 years and three battery changes). I think it's more like the
diverting is done according to demand.
--
~misfit~

On Tue, 6 Apr 2004 09:30:41 +1200, "~misfit~"
wrote:


Yep, I used to do the same thing, invariably Casio, and they'd last and run
perfectly until the plastic strap broke (oxidised). Then it was about the
same price to get a new watch as it was to get a new strap.

I have the same Casio watch I've had for 10 years or so. On it's third
battery, second strap (don't wear it unless I have to though).

"~misfit~" wrote in message
...
Piotr Makley wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote:

Wise people in the know who
weren't overly image-conscious bought Pulsar and saved
approximately 40% and got the exact same ultra-reliable watch.
They're made in the same factory, they just go to a different
'finishing line' where they are fitted into either a Seiko or
a Pulsar case.

But what about quality control? Is that different?

No, not at all. I happened to be in a jewellers shop when a Seiko/Pulsar
rep
was there, just as they bought out the Pulsar brand. He was explaining it
to
the shop owner. The internals come off the same production-line, go
through
the same QT, and are then diverted to either the Seiko or Pulsar
'finishing'
line (for fitting into cases), depending on demand.

As I said, my Pulsar hasn't given me a moments trouble in the 10 years
I've
had it. I told a guy who owned a Seiko (that he paid heaps more for) about
it and he didn't believe me until I showed him that they have the same
'double
wave' logo on the back (both watches are 100m water resist).
--
~misfit~


Thanks for the heads-up, ~misfit~.

Just bought a nice Pulsar watch for £19.99 + Vat (Vat = 17.5% sales tax, in
UK). I might have passed on it for being too cheap.
--
Doug Ramage