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AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
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AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Does anyone know of if Its possible to get a Matx MB with 2 PCIe x 1 slots and 1 PCIe x 16 slots. I have got a HDAV 1.3 and Dual tuner I need to put into a mainboard that I cannot find anywhere. I also have a PCIe x 16 Graphics card to put in a slot also.
I have one, and since the latest BIOS update it has been going very well.
Good onboard GFX, decent cooling (but my case is tiny, so it does get hot) and has 2xPCIe 16x and 1xPCIe 1x. A PCIe 16x can function as a 16x, 8x, 4x or 1x.
Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by frehnejc
Does anyone know of if Its possible to get a Matx MB with 2 PCIe x 1 slots and 1 PCIe x 16 slots. I have got a HDAV 1.3 and Dual tuner I need to put into a mainboard that I cannot find anywhere. I also have a PCIe x 16 Graphics card to put in a slot also.
Have a look at the ASUS M4A78-HTPC. It's a bit pricey, but it looks like a nice board.
Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRob
Have a look at the ASUS M4A78-HTPC. It's a bit pricey, but it looks like a nice board.
I have it's little brother the M4A78-VM and it's been faultless - I was just so tempted by the HTPC board though. I think you'll do well with this board. You might want to look at this thread with Jollster101 as I believe he's just in the process of buying one also and may be able to share some insights (or at least will be able to very soon).
Minor notes with the M4A78 series is you need to set some jumpers if you want to be able to wake the board via input devices such as KB/Mouse/Remote - took me a little while to cotton on to this - I always wondered what manuals were for .
If it's purely for HTPC use, you won't really even need your graphics card - the onboard graphics does 1080p without breaking a sweat (as long as you allocate 256MB memory to the video in the BIOS) and is also HDCP compliant.
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Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jebidiah
I have it's little brother the M4A78-VM and it's been faultless - I was just so tempted by the HTPC board though. I think you'll do well with this board. You might want to look at this thread with Jollster101 as I believe he's just in the process of buying one also and may be able to share some insights (or at least will be able to very soon).
Minor notes with the M4A78 series is you need to set some jumpers if you want to be able to wake the board via input devices such as KB/Mouse/Remote - took me a little while to cotton on to this - I always wondered what manuals were for .
If it's purely for HTPC use, you won't really even need your graphics card - the onboard graphics does 1080p without breaking a sweat (as long as you allocate 256MB memory to the video in the BIOS) and is also HDCP compliant.
Sorry dude it only has 1 PCIe x 1. One other requirement I have is the two PCIe x 1 cards I have are full length so there can't be any heatsinks in the way.
I have one, and since the latest BIOS update it has been going very well.
Good onboard GFX, decent cooling (but my case is tiny, so it does get hot) and has 2xPCIe 16x and 1xPCIe 1x. A PCIe 16x can function as a 16x, 8x, 4x or 1x.
Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by frehnejc
Sorry dude it only has 1 PCIe x 1. One other requirement I have is the two PCIe x 1 cards I have are full length so there can't be any heatsinks in the way.
nah, I wasn't recommending the VM version of the board in your case - I was more saying that my experience with the VM version which is identical to the HTPC version in many respects has been very satisfying. For that reason, I think you'd be more than happy with the HTPC - or even the HTPC/RC version if you also need a remote control.
But having said that, the DFI board looks a better offering in many respects and is only about $10 dearer. I can't tell from the photos whether the soundwave heatsink would get in the way of a PCI express card.
Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jebidiah
But having said that, the DFI board looks a better offering in many respects and is only about $10 dearer. I can't tell from the photos whether the soundwave heatsink would get in the way of a PCI express card.
The DFI board is, by all accounts, a great HTPC mobo. One reason for considering the M4A78-HTPC over it, though, is that the reviews I've read suggest that the DFI GPU gets quite hot is use, where the ASUS board runs a lot cooler. Granted the GPU on the DFI is gruntier, but my priority is noise, so I'd rather go the cooler option. The two PCIe slots on the DFI would be great for a gaming machine, but for pure HTPC use it's a bit of a waste IMO.
Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRob
The DFI board is, by all accounts, a great HTPC mobo. One reason for considering the M4A78-HTPC over it, though, is that the reviews I've read suggest that the DFI GPU gets quite hot is use, where the ASUS board runs a lot cooler. Granted the GPU on the DFI is gruntier, but my priority is noise, so I'd rather go the cooler option. The two PCIe slots on the DFI would be great for a gaming machine, but for pure HTPC use it's a bit of a waste IMO.
That's certainly not my experience with this board, and I've built 5 machines around it. I don't believe logifuse has had any problems either.
I tested it with blu-ray playback and was getting reported GPU temperatures of 41 degrees. Never really pushed it to it's full limits with games or the like, but for HTPC use it is more than adequate.
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Re: AMD AM2 Micro ATX MB with 2 PCIe x 1 and 1 PCIe x 16 Slots
Quote:
Originally Posted by dgaust
I tested it with blu-ray playback and was getting reported GPU temperatures of 41 degrees. Never really pushed it to it's full limits with games or the like, but for HTPC use it is more than adequate.
That's good to hear. I'm tossing up between the DFI and the ASUS. I'm pairing it with one of the 45W CPUs and a passive heatsink (Silverstone NT01E) inside a Silverstone GD02 case, which is very small. I want to run the case fans as slow as possible, so I'm paranoid about heat buildup. A couple of reveiws I've read of the ASUS have said that it's quite a low power drain board and that the GPU stays pretty cool under load. If the DFI stays at 41C during blu-ray playback, then that would be fine for my use also.
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