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The new motherboard is from them and is really well thought out: Normally, the "long PCIe" slot is nearer the processor than the "short ones" so a modern graphics card block access - not so with this. Same thing with the SATA connectors: they are stacked so the cables don't have to go through the expansion cards and you don't need angled connectors. And I was impressed to find 6 USB on the back (4 USB2, 2 USB3) - and even more impressed to find two more USB3 on a header for the front panel.
All the cable connectors were clear and easy to work out and install (unlike some) so the hardware installation went really quickly
The manual is pretty good too - everything is there and pretty easy to find.
Then you get to the BIOS - and it continues to be good. The best I've seen in terms of making it clear what is where and what it does. Nice.
Never heard of them before, but I'll definitely bear them in mind in future.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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What processor are you using?
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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Core i7-9700 - released 2 1/2 years ago, as "new stock" that's been sitting in the warehouse for a while so was going cheap (less than the price of the processor alone for it already in the MB)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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Does this board support the requirements for Win 11?
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It does - but that may be because I added a £10 TPM2 module from FleaBay to it (there was a header on the MB for it, so for the money I'd have been silly not to).
Did I need to? Probably not since the processor is on the compatible list, but I know what MS is like sometimes ... 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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Without the TPM module the board wouldn't make it onto the Windows 11 supported list. Windows 11 uses the TPM module to secure the hardware boot to OS startup sequence, reducing the chance of a rootkit installing on the system before Windows security can take over.
In fact, all the hardware requirements for Windows 11 and Server 2022 are based on improving system security.
TPM2: Required to secure the system startup process. Turns out TPM v1.x has some serious security holes in it.
Intel Gen 9 or later chips or the AMD equivalent: This is so the OS can virtualize itself to protect both itself and applications from cross-app boundary attacks. These processors support this natively. The easy way to check a Windows 10 machine for these instructions is to see if you can turn on Core Isolation.
The next two requirements aren't for security - they're for a combination of system features and bloatware.
RAM: "640K ought to be enough for anyone" - allegedly Bill Gates but he claims otherwise.
Disk Space: Needed to support all the idiotic games that preinstall.
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Not quite, it seems - Intel Gen9 and up processors have Intel Trusted eXecution Technology (TXT) which is TPM2 on die - it may need to be enabled via your BIOS though.
Trusted Execution Technology - Wikipedia[^]
So the MB TMP2.0 module is probably not needed (but I got it because it's cheap and means I can be sure it's there if Wiki and all the other net sources turned out to be untrue).
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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TPM2 is a requirement for the Intel Trusted eXecution Technology, but it's not on the processor itself. I couldn't remember if it was Gen 8 or Gen 9 and later chips that have this or not.
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Have you done any research on reliability? I'm just about ready to build a new one, since current PC won't run Win11.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I did what I could, and saw one review which was negative (as well as inarticulate) - all the others said they had no problems at all, and many of them were on their fifth or sixth Asrock motherboard as they upgraded. Which kinda says it all really - if they were rubbish but cheap, you'd try something else the third or fourth time, I suspect! 
All I can say on reliability from my person perspective is "too early to say" - it's been less than a week and it hasn't broken yet, but the use of more expensive parts like stacked connectors indicates quality to me.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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That's good to hear! I did some research myself today and found few complaints. One issue I saw was that overclocking isn't well supported, but I've never done that, and see no reason to do so. I've always used Gigabyte boards, after SuperMicro got too pricey, and that's what most sites recommend. Asrock is significantly cheaper than Gigabyte, and I could use the savings to upgrade the video card. My new monitor (the old one died as a result of my performing some gunsmithing while sitting in front of it - reinstalling the recoil spring on a 1911 can be tricky) supports far higher resolution than my current card can handle. One article pointed out the superior arrangement of the PCI slots, and much better design for the SATA ports. I'm not done doing research but this is looking attractive. Thanks for the info!!!
Will Rogers never met me.
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I have to agree with the slot placement: the previous board was Gigabyte and the "long PCIe slot" was closest to the processor. Given that modern video cards are double thickness to get the cooling fans and heat pipes and whatnot in there, that means the second PCIe slot is covered by the graphics card, and the third is directly in front of the fans and either blocks airflow or is getting gently roasted ... The Asrock board I got has the long slot on the board edge, where it can't foul the other slots, and it's better supported by the PCB standoffs.
Just shows attention to detail and "user focus" instead of "easy for the hardware designer" 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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Upgrade PC so I can install Win 11: 8 cores, compatible i7 processor, TMP2 module (just in case), new SSD to stick it on, Directx12 video card, eveything it should need.
Make a media creation USB on WIn 11 Surface Go.
Make sure I know what software to install, and licence key numbers.
Boot from USB.
"This PC can't run Windows 11".
Check the boot settings: TPM2.0 enabled, UEFI, Secure Boot. All enabled and functioning.
No dice. Repeat. Get frustrated.
Boot from previous HDD Win 10: run PC Health Check App.
"Great news! This PC can run Win 11!"
MAKE UP YOUR SODDING MIND!
Looks like I'm not on the upgrade schedule, so I can't do a clean install ... so why not tell me that?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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I rarely upgrade my "main machine" since I use it for proving an app on that OS. I still have a Win 8 machine. ("It works on my VM" doesn't help with customer relations)
I will probably get a new machine if / when I go to Win 11.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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Hands up anyone who skipped vista and went straight from NT/2000 to 7.
Hands up anyone who skipped 8 and waited for 10
Hands up anyone who doesn't see a pattern
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Got a notice yesterday that I'm on the list to get 11, but when they don't say.
I almost hate to do it because I know some stuff I use often is gonna break...and then the cussin begins.
The less you need, the more you have.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally.
JaxCoder.com
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Weird! I have upgraded 3 family machines to 11 with no issues to report. One was a 2 year old desktop, one was a year old laptop and my main machine was a Christmas present barely a month old. All were Dells.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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What a Dell-ight 
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If it had failed, that would have been a dell-emma.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Could be worse - a Dell-enema 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Like IBM!
(Immediate Bowel Movement)
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Inferior But Marketable
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Just Sometimes?
ed
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When MS is on form, they do sterling work: some of it is genuinely the best in it's class.
Unfortunately, they don't know what it is they are good at, and they can't admit they were wrong c=and "undo" a mistake, not matter how huge.
But the Win 11 rollout is just stupid: when you try to install don't blame the PC for the problem, tell people why it's a problem so they know not to waste time trying to work out what in the compatibility list they have missed. Repeatedly ... 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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OriginalGriff wrote: when you try to install don't blame the PC for the problem, tell people why it's a problem so they know not to waste time
Their upgrade advisor sees my machine is part of a domain, and therefore dutifully tells me it's "managed by your system administrator", so it refuses to just run and tell me whether the hardware supports what's needed.
I can't be arsed to have it leave the domain, even if just temporarily, to re-run the test.
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