why are so many good OSx86 mobos discontinued?

[boltdozer]

I've been trying to find a highly compatible OSx86 mobo (out-of-the-box, minimal hacking). There are a lot of great guides and recommendations for motherboards like this in this forum, but I've been having trouble finding a recommended mobo that's available for purchase. There seems to be a common trend:

 

Many recommended OSx86 compatible motherboards have been discontinued and some are replaced by inferior boards, or not replaced at all.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P - discontinued

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R - discontinued

Forum thread recommendation: http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=90795

Most closely matched board available: Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R

- no firewire, missing 3 fw ports

- no silent pipe cooling

 

Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 - discontinued

Forum thread recommendation: http://www.insanelymac.com/lofiversion/index.php/t61219.html

Most closely matched board available: ???

 

ECS 945GCT-M - discontinued

Forum thread recommendation: http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?sho...=76020&st=0

Most closely matched board available: ???

 

Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R - discontinued

Forum thread recommendation: http://www.insanelymac.com/lofiversion/index.php/t86458.html

Most closely matched board available: GA-G33M-S2L

- no firewire, missing 3 fw ports

- missing 4 USB ports

- missing 2 SATA

- missing 2 codec channels (6 vs. 8)

 

I think there are several other boards that I've looked into where I wasn't able to buy it because it was no longer available. Is this all a coincidence? Anyone have some wisdom as to why these motherboards are taken off the market and aren't replaced with an improved or more fully featured board?