So I just sent an email to GN (stephen_burke@gamersnexus.net &
patrick_lathan@gamersnexus.net).
Being that I am a single user, it is very unlikely they will be able to notice it (remember, they have millions of subscribers). However, if they receive dozens (or, even better, hundreds) of e-mails on the matter, that might catch their attention. So every one that can spare a moment and also send in your complaints will be helpful! And remember, there are many other main tech channels out there, and we don't have to necessarily start out from the big ones. We can look for some of the smaller channels, and if those smaller channels decide to address this, then this might make it's way to the bigger channels. Either way, it is important we get the word out, if we want any to keep alive any hope of getting this update or, in the very least, make Asus look really bad and make them be an example of how to NOT treat their customers. We don't want this behavior spreading out to other board manufacturers.
Here is a copy of the message I sent:
Hello GN staff,
As you are very well aware, Nvidia's ReBAR updates have been rolling for the last couple of weeks, and there has been an interesting development (or lack of) from a very specific motherboard manufacturer, Asus. As it turns out, Asus has decided to leave all of its Intel 8th and 9th gen chipsets series out of this update pipeline, a move that steers away from what basically every other main motherboard manufacturer has done. This decision has obviously sparkled anger from Asus customers, especially due to the fact that Asus is the only main board manufacturer that has decided not to update.
As one of the many affected Asus customers, I wonder what might have caused Asus to decide to simply abandon their Intel 8th/9th gen users. Despite being 2-3 years old, the platform is still very capable (I run a 8700K with a 3080, and I have no CPU bottleneck issues whatsoever) and I feel that it could easily run for another 2-3 years if the manufacturer was willing to give it proper support. Asus is one of the biggest premium motherboard manufacturers out there, if not the biggest. You would expect them to give top tier user support and be pushing updates before other vendors, but they are doing the exact opposite. Maybe they have gotten so big they feel that they can just ignore support to their older users and this won't severely affect them.
Asus has been mostly silent on the topic. Their first answer in their forums was that "ReBAR support is on the pipeline", that was way back in January. Now, that same post has been updated, pointing that "any platforms or boards which are not listed below are not part of the announcement or TBA at a later date" (300 series are out). To make matters worse, they have moved the topic from the main "Maximus X/XI & Strix Motherboards (Z370/Z390)" sub-forum to the less accessed "other series motherboards" sub-forum, without giving any clarification or justification as to why they did (usually, when posts are moved away like this, the moderator gives some clarification, but not this time). The topic is already 30+ pages long, and growing daily as more and more users join the forum to be able to post and voice their complaints.
This is the topic: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?121866-RESIZE-BAR-for-Z370-Z390-chipset/page32
Whatever their reason is, this is just bad. If Asus can get away with this, they will be giving a very bad example to other board manufacturers. What will happen if, the next time a "major update" comes along, other vendors start following Asus as an example and simply ignore their older users? As a computer enthusiast, this feels like a nightmare scenario, as I always try to extract the maximum out of my investment in hardware components. I hate the idea of having to upgrade a perfectly capable set of components just because the manufacturer decided to completely abandon it in a attempt to force you to upgrade out of their corporate greed (and for my next upgrade, I will certainly be avoiding Asus). We all know how bad this behavior is, not only for consumers, but also for the environment.
It is clear that contacting Asus is useless at this point. Despite hundreds of users complaining on their forums, they are completely silent on the matter (and, what's worse, doing shady moves like moving the topic to less accessed areas of their forums). I realize the likelihood of getting this email through is very low, but I must still try. Perhaps, if enough people manage to get the word out, we might be able to get your attention on the subject. As a consumer, I feel information is our best weapon against anti-consumer practices like this and, as one of the main media sources for information, I feel it is in your interest to protect users that reach for you exactly because they look for unbiased and reliable information.
