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Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2693		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  DizietSma [ Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:43 am ]
Post subject:  Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
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
Author:  bobbdobbs [ Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
You could look here
scan clicky
Author:  Geiseric [ Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
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.
Author:  DizietSma [ Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
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
Author:  vdbswong [ Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
DizietSma wrote:
I'm going to be using an E6850 P4. (Core 2 Duo, 3 Ghz)

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.


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?
Author:  DizietSma [ Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
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
Author:  Geiseric [ Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
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
Author:  boothy_1993 [ Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Can anyone recommend me a great microATX mobo?
http://www.xfxshop.co.uk/product_detail ... t=preowned
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