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[jonny162]

Hello,

What are the best new Micro ATX motherboard's as the starting point for a HTPC?  I've read a lot of different recommendations on this forum including Gigabyte 780G and 785G motherboards like the following:

• GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H http://www.gigabyte.eu/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=3150&ProductName=GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H

If the 785G boards are very new, would using one be fraught with driver and compatability issues?

Jonny

[Daydream]

According to this article, the 785G chipset in spite of having an ATI 4200 graphic chip integrated, it doesn't output 7.1 LPCM (over HDMI). So regardless if you decode in software either Dolby TrueHD, DTS-MA or FLAC, the device won't send it to your receiver. Bummer!

[newsposter]

and on the other paw, the Intel G45 chipset does a very good job with 1080p and hdmi including audio.

[jonny162]

So do you have any examples of good motherboards using the G45 chipset?

[newsposter]

Intel makes about a half dozen.  You can find loads of them on newegg.com, their internal search engine is pretty good.

[jonny162]

Ok thanks newsposter.  Are there any pitfalls I should watch out for, or would any board with that chipset do the business?

[newsposter]

well,  don't spend too much $$  Decide how much cpu you need, that will save $$  read the user opinions for each board keeping in mind that most people with positive opinions don't bother to post.  When buying memory, be sure to get the fastest ram that the board and your target cpu will take; remember that an integrated graphics card uses system ram as the video ram.  Intel warranties are for a minimum of three years with a very liberal factory return policy.  read up in places like the avs forums about how well driver software operates.

About three years ago, being fed up with doa boards, bad drivers, etc, I swore off everything but intel motherboards and I haven't regretted it.

[jonny162]

Great tips thanks very for much!  So just to clarify, you recommend Intel boards?

[newsposter]

I personally do, but lots of people have good results with other brands.  I like intel because of the reliability I personally get and their customer-centric 3-5 year warranty.

[JimH]

I also like Intel boards, though Matt has recommended ASUS to me in the past.  Intel tends to be more expensive.

[jonny162]

Right now I'm still thinking about a motherboard with the AMD 785G + SB710 chipset, coupled with an Athlon II X2 3GHz 65W processor.

If this builds on the AMD 780 which many websites/blogs etc. regard as pretty solid then why not?  I'm not such a sound fiend that the lack of 7.1 LPCM (over HDMI) would bother me much (unless there's something fundamental which this prevents me from getting?).

I live in Australia and can't find any motherboard's with this setup for sale yet however.  Does anyone know when they might become available?

What would an Intel motherboard comparable to this be?

[newsposter]

Here is Intels primary support site for their 4 series desktop chipsets:

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-028823.htm

near the bottom of the web page is a list of the 10 or so Intel mobos that use this chipset series including the 5 that use the G45 variant.

I have used the DG45ID board in my last 5 system builds.  Fits very nicely into that case I mentioned earlier in this thread.  It also runs just about every socket 775 CPU available from a slow $20- single core Celeron to a fast quad core to frighteningly expensive Xeon dual/quad cores.

[Daydream]

Do you plan for just an HTPC (as in no gaming, etc)? I would then go for an ION platform with a dual-core Atom, just so that I can make the whole rig as small as possible, something in the range of 9"x9"x2.5". Just a thought.

[skeeterfood]

More HTPC info than you can shake a VERY LARGE stick at available over at this AVS Forum thread.

-John

[jonny162]

Daydream, I don't plan to use this for gaming.  Are Mini ITX boards really good enough?  I don't want to tie myself down to a sub-optimal solution that has limited expansion capabilities just to save a little space.  Would most Mini ITX solutions rely on external media such as on a NAS or similar?

I'm pretty comfortable with Micro ATX form factor.

As I live in Aus, I can't buy from NewEgg and can't find the case you mentioned for sale here newsposter.  Instead I've been eying up the Antec Minuet 350 as a case as this seems to have good reviews and I can get it here for about US$140 (everything costs more over here).

I don't currently have a HD TV and might be moving continent in the next 6 months.  For this reason I'm looking to primarily build a media center for music and DVD's only.  i.e. a good case, mobo, CPU, a simple DVD player, remote (this poses problems price wise as I really don't want my TV on when browsing music), and big drives so I an burn and sell all my bulky CD's and DVD's.  I'd hook this up to my Marantz amp and current TV through optical connections.  After moving I think I'd get a nice LED TV and then buy a bluray drive for my media center and maybe a dedicated graphics card if required to get good performance HD.

I hope this makes sense?

I think now I'm going to spec out an Intel based solution and see how that prices out!  Skeeterfood that's a great resource, thanks!

Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions!

[Daydream]

This if falling back a bit to (my) general opinion area.

A MiniITX Ion platform should play everything. My main problem with the idea is that in spite of being MiniITX most of the systems recommended don't look much smaller than the MicroATX ones. Space is not a premium for me either but I'd like to play 1080p off of something minuscule, like the size of my wrist watch With the arrival of MiniITX boards shouldn't this idea be more obvious? I don't quite see it. It should be a small box somewhere (small enough that you can hook it to the VESA mount on the back of your monitor - foreshadowing). 1080p/24, LPCM 7.1 out, done. It shouldn't be a premium. Connectivity to hook it to a NAS, either wired or wireless, IR receiver, wrap it. Premium models come with an SSD, the regular ones come with no SSD/HDD since you boot them off a flash stick - XP embedded, or Linux or in that general area. You travel? Should be small enough to fit in your backpack!

The only case that kind of looks like it is this.

Sorry indeed, don't know a vendor in AUS. I hope you get something you like.

[newsposter]

sorry, different thread.

here is the mfgrs link for the case I'm using for system builds.

http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=144

[jonny162]

I can't buy the ApexTech cases as I live in Australia.  I'm considering the following Antec cases right now, but am struggling to pick between them:

* NSK1280
* NSK2280
* Minuet 350

Anyone have any idea?

[newsposter]

bent steel is bent steel.

criteria:

provisions for decent airflow
noise control (contains noise *and* can use silent fans)
holds the mobos you want
holds the power supply you want

All else is cosmetics and economics.

Are you sure you can't get those Apex cases in Oz?  The web site I quoted is USA specific but I'm sure the cases theselves are made by a parent company somewhere much closer to you.  If you want one I'll get it for free as long as you pay the personal shipping and handling fees (heh).