Soltek K8TPro-939: Moving A64 to 939

Tech Support and RMA: Soltek K8TPro-939

Our support evaluation procedure tries to determine the responsiveness of manufacturers to Technical Support problems. Our procedure is as follows:

The way our Tech Support evaluation works is first, we anonymously email the manufacturer's tech support address(es), obviously not using our AnandTech mail server to avoid any sort of preferential treatment. Our emails (we can and will send more than one just to make sure we're not getting the staff on an "off" day) all contain fixable problems that we've had with our motherboard. We allow the manufacturer up to 3 business days to respond, and then we will report whether or not they responded within the time allotted, and if they were successful in fixing our problems. In case we don't receive a response before the review is published, any future responses will be added to the review, including the total time it took for the manufacturer to respond to our requests.

The idea here is to encourage manufacturers to improve their technical support as well as provide new criteria upon which to base your motherboard purchasing decisions. As motherboards become more similar everyday, we have to help separate the boys from the men in as many ways as possible. As usual, we're interested in your feedback on this and other parts of our reviews, so please do email us with your comments.

No matter whether you are accessing the Soltek USA site or the Global Site in Taiwan, the Soltek access is excruciatingly slow. This makes simple things like finding a BIOS update or Technical Support information tedious. Soltek really needs to improve response times to their website, as their current, slow site says nothing positive about the company.

We still cannot find Soltek's RMA policy on the Soltek webite. Soltek lists sales/support operations in Taiwan, Europe, and South America, but there are no listings for offices in the USA. Soltek tells us that RMA requests should be directed toward the dealer who sold you the board. In the event of problems there, requests can be addressed to support@soltek.com.tw. The lack of an identifiable US office for Soltek is of concern, but we should also point out that our requests to their Taiwan headquarters were all answered promptly, and the Soltek staff was very helpful. FAQ's, downloads, and product information are available at the main site - you will be linked to this main site if you visit www.soltekusa.com. Since NewEgg is a major vendor for Soltek in the USA, you might also take a closer look at the NewEgg RMA and refund policy for Soltek motherboards.

Technical Support is also available by email, which is listed under "Contacts" at the main site. Soltek's tech support response time met our response requirements, with an answer from Soltek Taiwan just 28 hours after our original email. The reply from the technical support representative was helpful and the advice given was useful and appropriate to the problem. In 4 Soltek reviews, the last 3 replies showed good technical grasp of our question, so it looks like Soltek Technical Support is improving in quality. The fast response times by Soltek in all 4 requests left a very positive impression of Soltek's commitment to customer satisfaction.

We reiterate our past advice regarding Soltek. With no US office, those who cannot find a local Soltek resource should send their Tech Support inquiries to the main site in Taiwan. If our experience is any indication, you will be pleased at the responsiveness that you will find in your contacts with Soltek.