HTPC Boards - Spec me

Butters

Butters

Butters

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22 Apr 2007
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For around £100 tops, whats a good board for using as HTPC?

I might well add a GFX card with HDMI but I'm looking for a decent board.

Ta
 
Actually, they take the 1333 MHz chips with the latest BIOS upgrade, so that's OK.

Its definately on my list not least for the onboard HDMI but I wonder how that will fair up with the usage.

I may play the occasional game on the TV, but we're only talking medal of honor: spearhead
 
What about Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H?

Supports Intel Core 2 multi-core processors with FSB1333

Solid capacitors design in CPU VRM

DDR2 800 for outstanding system performance

Integrated NVIDIA CineFX 3.0 graphics

Ultimate graphics performance with dual PCI-E x16 interface

Integrated SATA 3Gb/s with RAID function

Features high speed Gigabit Ethernet and IEEE1394

High Quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio

Integrated DVI/ HDMI interface with HDCP​
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-102-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=326

I bought this one for an HTPC very recently, and also another one for a budget system build. The board is really superb for either job. It's mATX which is perfect for something like the Antec Fusion v2 case. Supports 45nm/Penryn also and up to DDR-6400 which is good enough or most things. It's overclocking features are also really good for a budget board.

£52.86 inc VAT for it, which really is a complete bargain :)
 
CaDLoN said:
i've just got a Asus P5E-VM HDMI, monster mATX board
Passive north & south bridge heatsinks plus the new Intel G35 with HDMI out from the Mobo
Plus a shed load of OCing options if you should need them ;)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-257-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=326

a tad pricey for a mATX board but worth every penny... so far :D
Click to expand...

Mine arrives tomorrow, dropping my old e6600 in it with 4gb OCZ pc5400 and 2 Samsung 500gb Spinpoint's, should be a vast improvement over the IP95 I've been running.

Might bung on Vista 64bit too.
 
james.miller said:
does it do DD TrueHD, DTS Master Audio or 7.1 LPCM over hdmi?
Click to expand...

erm... <flicks trough manual, web site, device manager>... ah ha!!!

it's not explicity clear, and ya gotta bear in mind that it's only an ALC883 onboard :mad::eek:
but under device manager in the "Sound, Video & Games Controllers" section theres a driver entitled "Intel(R) High Definition Audio HDMI":rolleyes:

One assumes that it'll spit some form of half decent audio out the HDMI with something like... but further investigation required
 
I spent ages writing a review on the Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD, but they haven't added it to the product page despite it specifically stating what is good RAM for this board and what isn't - and it generally being quite useful to a potential buyer. :(

In short, it's hard to recommend it. OCZ RAM doesn't work with it at all (go for Crucial), updating the BIOS is risky (loads of reports of fried chips), the build quality isn't great (the heatsink on mine was loose, and the VGA port wasn't very secure), and I've had loads of trouble getting a TV card to work in it (unstable PCI port).
 
Yep, I cant recommend the F-I90HD either, I sold one on here as faulty becuase half of the dimm slots didnt work and the new one I bought as replacement is pretty dire aswell.
They are just not very well made imo, the onboard HDMI was dodgy (I now use a HD3850) with the sound only working now and again, the bios is gash, I had allsorts of problems with checksum errors after flashing it, thr NB heatsink is useless and yes, loose.
It simply will NOT run my geil LL ram at the 4-4-4-12 timings it should run at (not even with the recommended 2.1 volts or even 2.3 volts).

My mate also had one which just failed during a simple restart, he had to RMA it to ocuk.......he ordered a different board instead (matx gigabyte board).
I will be replacing mine at some point, its not too bad now I use a grfx card but I want something that will actually run my ram at its rated speed.
 
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I've just bought a GA73PVM-s2h for a friend and the only downside it doesn't overclock very well or i'm doing something wrong. It wouldnt load a e2180 @ 3.0ghz with extra volts. but seems ok at 2.8.

F-I90HD - used a few and had various faults. one no vga (common prob)
 
Well I have my htpc running a dream with the Asus P5E-VM HDMI, no memory issues, lots of overclocking options and the G35 chipset seems to be doing a great job with the 1080p films I've been throwing it at.

Asus P5E-VM HDMI
Intel C2D e6600 @ 3ghz (333x9)
4gb OCZ DDR2 pc5400
2x 500gb Samsung Spinpoint sataII (raid0)
Win Vista x64
Antec NSK2480 Case

Its a premium price but its an awesome motherboard, the bios options are extensive.
 
The asus board looks great, I want one, shame all my dough is currently tied up in paypal, cant find it on any retailers that do take paypal :/
 
To the people with the Asus board, does the graphic driver for the onboard allow some scaling?
The Fatality board uses ATI drivers so it has a nice scaling slider so I can get perfect 1:1 mapping (it underscans at default).

My board is borked, the sound through HDMI has gone skew and its not a software issue, crackles and sound drops.
I'm concerned that the Asus board wont allow some scaling, stupidly I sold my 3850 yesterday, wish I kept it now :/
 
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