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DizietSma
Has a life
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:36 am
Posts: 98
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I'm looking to build a new machine to put with my AV Receiver, DVD player and so on by the tv.
Found a really nice Antec case, but it takes microATX or miniITX.
Can anyone point me towards a good mobo with this form factor (microATX preferred) ?
Thanks,
Diz
_________________
When I see religious people arguing about religion all I see is deluded people arguing about whose imaginary friend is better.
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| Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:43 am |
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bobbdobbs
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:10 pm
Posts: 5490
Location: just behind you!
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You could look here scan clicky_________________Finally joined Flickr
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| Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:54 am |
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Geiseric
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:35 pm
Posts: 1657
Location: Ipswich
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What CPU are you thinking of using? CPC recommneded an intel i7 mATX MB a few months ago, I'll have a look for the reference when I get home.
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| Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:49 pm |
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DizietSma
Has a life
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:36 am
Posts: 98
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I'm going to be using an E6850 P4. (Core 2 Duo, 3 Ghz) 775 Socket.
I have this one lying around so I thought I'd use it for this. It will show media on one screen, nothing else.
It's just for watching 720p H264 media on my plasma, so it can have onboard graphics but if it does I won't use it, I'll be upgrading the GFX to something meatier, don't know what yet.
No games play, so it doesn't have to be amazing.
Just looking for board recommendations really.
Thanks,
Diz
_________________
When I see religious people arguing about religion all I see is deluded people arguing about whose imaginary friend is better.
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| Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:37 pm |
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vdbswong
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm
Posts: 603
Location: Durham, UK
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I don't see the point of this statement? Most mATX boards which are media centre orientated will perform just as well decoding h264 when compared to a low-end dedicated grpahics card. So if you aren't going to be playing games, i don't see the point of swapping out the integrated?
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| Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:39 pm |
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DizietSma
Has a life
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:36 am
Posts: 98
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 Yeah but it's more of a gut thing.
I didn't know that most microATX boards are media centre orientated. If they are, then as you say, the onboard might do for the average tv setup.
Onboard GPUs usually take system ram, so they're sharing the onboard bottleneck for data transfer ram/cpu
However, I don't want to skimp on my main TV pc. My 50" plasma shows superb quality images, so I had to spend a bit on a graphics card for peace of mind then I would.
I've had problems with horizontal pan stuttering on this tvthrough the upscaling image processing even when the image comes from hugely powerful gpus, so I don't think I'd enjoy seeing what onboard would do.
I prefer dedicated hardware and dedicated ram on my gfxs. It's a gut thing, I think.
I'll probably spend perhaps 60 or 80 quid on a GFX since it's the sine qua non of this machine. To do otherwise would feel like skimping.
Let the mboard run the os, manage the network connections with its onboard nic, and run the os gui, and let the dedicated graphics card do its job.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a mobo?
Thanks,
Diz
_________________
When I see religious people arguing about religion all I see is deluded people arguing about whose imaginary friend is better.
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| Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:10 pm |
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Geiseric
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:35 pm
Posts: 1657
Location: Ipswich
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I personally would have a good look at this - ASUS P5Q-EM iG45 Socket 775 onboard VGA 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard it's about £85 so maybe more than you wanted to spend but looks a nice board for your needs Review - CNET
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| Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:11 am |
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boothy_1993
Occasionally has a life
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:54 am
Posts: 232
Location: Alfreton, Derbyshire
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| Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:15 pm |
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