A few weeks ago and after much research I finally settled on the
ASUS M2N VH DM motherboard for the upgrade to my home entertainment system. It always had to be a mATX board. The ASUS, with all the features on board, really seemed a bargain at $185.00 from my regular supplier.
The board is AMD's AM2 spec, so I teamed it up with a AM2 X2 3800+ CPU and 2G DDRII RAM. Other than that, it doesn't seem to need much more as everything is on board, including wireless networking and SPDIF sound out on the rear panel:
INSTALLATION
I have installed a few MOBOs in my time and have to say that this was probably the first one that worked "straight out" of the box- plug in the CPU, install and connect the CPU cooler, install the dual channel RAM in the colour coded sockets, and connect up in the case ( I pre-tested on the workbench, of course).
I imaged the boot HDD from the previous hardware onto one of the new 320G SATA drives and then booted up. I ran a WINDOW XP MCE repair, which took about 20 minutes and I had my previous system back on the new hardware. I also had to re-activate WInXP MCE with M$ online, but that proved remarkly fast and easy. The tales of terror I had heard about re-activation woes are unfounded, in my experience.
THE SYSTEM IN USE
Booting the system up is slower than I hoped. Still about 12 to 20 seconds from cold. On the upside, restart from standby is instant and reliable. From hibernation it's less than 10 seconds. Unfortunately a few seconds after the system is back up from hibernation or standby everything stops for about 10 seconds before the mouse cursur becomes available. Something in running in the background maybe
I had a few
hassles getting MCE to recognise the ULTRAVIEW cards, but I eventually stumbled on a solution
described here.
The next problem was SPDIF - the panel on the back only provides COAX (RCA) out. My amplifier only sports optical in. ASUS have a module that can provide optical SPDIF out, but it's about $35.00 + postage. I settled on a converter box from the local JAYCAR shop (about $40.00).
The wireless network seemed impressive, reporting a steady 54Mbps, i.e. excellent connectivity from the Netcomm NB9W modem/ router in my office about 8 meters away. However, while connectivity might be reported as good, it proved abysmal in practice. While the wireless network hardware/ driver on the ASUS mobo seems to maintain its connection OK it will not reliably transfer data. I suspect there are huge packet losses. I have taken the matter up with ASUS but have not had a response as yet. In the meantime I have pressed the USB wireless network connector from the previous MCE box back into use- it is an 'el-cheapo' MSI bought a couple of years ago, but it is a magnificent little beast.
I had been hoping that the Geforce 6100 onboard graphics would be adequate for television. Initially that seemed so. But when the cricket started it quickly became clear that there were major, major de-interlacing issues. Some fast motion is almost unwatchable, despite tweaking Purevision however I could. Again, I have asked ASUS for comment, but no response so far. I feel a new graphics card coming on
Finally, there is a remote that comes with the MOBO. I had to install it. Unfortunately it seemed to interfere with the ULTRAVIEW remote and, in any case, I don't think the ASUS remote adds anything substantial to the system.
SUMMARY
A great board on paper and in practice, despite the disappointing wireless networking and the de-interlace issues. It is also one of the easiests and simplest to set up, in my experience.
Recommended.
FOOTNOTE
Regarding the wireless networking, I have now confirmed that it is seriously flaky- it actually loses the connection every 60 seconds or so. Reconnection can be from almost instant to a couple of minutes. It was this that was giving me the impression of packet loss. So, I would suggest that the wireless capability should be ignored when considering this MOBO.
UPDATE: What a disappointment (25th Jan 2007)
I am severely downgrading my assessment of the board on the basis that the two most significant onboard "features" have turned out a bitter disappointment.
First off, as stated above, the wireless networking is unreliable and therefore useless.
Second, the 6100/ 430 graphics chipset is severely limited. I found this on nvidia's site:
Quote:
NVIDIA® PureVideo™ Technology*
The combination of the GeForce 6150 GPU’s high-definition video processor and software delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for all video content to turn your PC into a high-end home theater.
Feature only available for GeForce 6150/nForce 430 and GeForce 6150 LE/ nForce 430.
Advanced Motion Adaptive De-Interlacing*
Smoothes video and DVD playback on progressive displays to deliver a crisp, clear picture that rivals high-end home theater systems.
Feature only available for GeForce 6150/nForce 430 and GeForce 6150 LE/ nForce 430.
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So, Asus's promises that this MOBO & its 6100/430 gfx chipset was a some kind of significant advance for home entertainment PCs is at best nonsense, at worst misleading.
I regret my purchase.
