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    MSI K9AGM2-FIH Overclocking

    I just bought the MSI K9AGM2-FIH 690g motherboard with a Brisbane X2 3600+ to run an HD-DVD HTPC. The 3600+ isn't enough to run HD-DVDs at stock so I was planning on a modest overclock from 1.9GHz to about 2.2GHz. I know the 690g mobo's aren't considered very good for overclocking, but I...
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    low profile, fanless AGP recommendation

    I think you're right, newegg's price on that particular card is not outrageous. I just mean that a regular 9550 isn't anywhere near $100. I'm willing to pay a little premium for low profile, but not that much!
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    low profile, fanless AGP recommendation

    Thanks for the advice, I wasn't aware of the DVI specs issue. I'll definitely head over to avsforums and see what I can dig up. I just looked up the 6200 series on wikipedia and it seems that different versions support "HD playback". I'm guessing a 6200 card that supports "HD playback"...
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    low profile, fanless AGP recommendation

    Yeah, I need half height cards for my teeny tiny HTPC case. Doesn't look like anybody makes a half-height 7600GS card. The most powerful thing I've been able to find is the Asus 6200 I listed above (good deal with the open box). I plan to use a DVI to HDMI adapter to connect the card to my...
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    low profile, fanless AGP recommendation

    I'm looking for a low profile, fanless AGP card for my HTPC. It needs to be able output at least 1080i (I'd prefer 1080p for future-proofing) and have a DVI port. It will NEVER play games, so gaming performance is a non-factor. It would be nice if it came with a low-profile bracket, but I can...
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    ViewSonic VG2230wm Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD

    Absolutely agree. Objectively, a 22" screen is 21% larger than a 20" screen (assume 16:10 ratio). That's a pretty significant difference. Subjectively, text is MUCH easier to read on a 22" than a 20" with similar resolution.
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    ATI TV Wonder 650 $99 at Best Buy

    A dual HD, PCI-e tuner from Vbox is supposed to be coming out VERY soon. This reviewer claims he'll be receiving one in the mail tomorrow: http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/vboxcatseye164e.html Also, DViCO recently announced the "Express" version of their FusionHDTV5 line...
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    3 30" WideScreen CRT TV's Phillips outlet store

    Wow, I never noticed that before! I just went to Toshiba and Samsung and they also only support 480p and 1080i. What's the reason CRT HDTVs don't support 720p? What do they do with a 720p source? Upped to 1080i? Squished to 480p? Shown in a box at 1080i?
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    3 30" WideScreen CRT TV's Phillips outlet store

    The $387 one only lists 480p and 1080i support. Does it really not support 720p? Seems kinda weird to support 1080i and not 720p.
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    DEAD: ATI HDTV wonder $59.99 Free shipping from buy.com

    Just thought everyone would like to know that I received my HDTV Wonder yesterday and it was very obviously an open box item. Everything had been put back together and there was "official" ATI tape on the outer and inner box, but things weren't quite packaged right and when I got to the actual...
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    DEAD: ATI HDTV wonder $59.99 Free shipping from buy.com

    True, but it costs about $120. http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getp...erid=25288901&search=ATI+TV+Wonder+650 I've been interested in this card for a while but was turned off by all the whining on the message boards. For $50, though, I think it might be worth the hassle to try to get...
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    Outpost - 99.99 + FREE SHIPPING! Seagate 400GB ST3400633AS-RK Serial ATA (SATA/300) Retail Hard Drive

    With regards to Seagate Warranty Support, this sucks! Sounds like all we can do is save things as they tell us and hope that everything work out.
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    Outpost - 99.99 + FREE SHIPPING! Seagate 400GB ST3400633AS-RK Serial ATA (SATA/300) Retail Hard Drive

    I ordered mine Saturday and received it Monday (7200.10). Just an hour ago (Tuesday) I received my tracking number. Shipping speed is basically as good as newegg, but what's the deal with the tracking number?!
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    Epox Nforce 2 SFF Mini barebone system $109.99 shipped!!!!!

    newegg now says: Out Of Stock (ETA: 10/6/2006 9:54:00 AM)
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    Epox Nforce 2 SFF Mini barebone system $109.99 shipped!!!!!

    Damn! Finally decided to take the plunge and they're OOS now. Hopefully they get some more in soon. Unless you're planning on playing games through this box, a separate AGP card is not necessary. I have an nForce2 IGP setup connected to my TV that I record TV (PVR-150) and watch movies...
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    New NF3 system shuts down randomly.

    My first instinct is to blame the mobo. I bought a similar combo with this motherboard from Fry's and the first one was defective. I couldn't get that board to stay on for more than a minute before it would spontaneously shutdown. I took it back the same day to get a replacement and it's been...
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    GPU Motherboard Socket

    Crazy idea of the day: Why has no one ever thought of making a GPU socket for motherboards? Unify the video and system memory or provide separate memory slots for video and system memory. Let the user decide which GPU and how much/which kind of memory they want.
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    alive again!!Amd athlon64 3000+ 754 retail cpu plus ecs nforce3 motherboard for $99.99 at outpost.com!!Hot!!

    I'm running this combo with a Corsair 1GB DDR400, WD 160GB PATA and 9600PRO on a Vantec 350W PSU.
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    alive again!!Amd athlon64 3000+ 754 retail cpu plus ecs nforce3 motherboard for $99.99 at outpost.com!!Hot!!

    I bought this combo from Fry's 2 weeks ago for $119.99. Mine was a boxed Venice core. I'd expect the Outpost deal to be the same. You absolutely cannot go wrong with this deal. $99.99 is incredible!
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    AMD Sempron Processor 3100+ & ECS NFORCE3-A Motherboard for $80 at Outpost.com

    Damn, I bought this combo 2 weeks ago for $119.99. It was a deal back then, at $99.99 this is an absolute steal!
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    AMD Sempron Processor 3100+ & ECS NFORCE3-A Motherboard for $80 at Outpost.com

    The great thing about the Fry's combos is that the motherboard is basically free. Unless you're looking for uber-top-of-the-line graphics, take the money you would have spent on a motherboard and spend a little extra for the AGP version of the video card you want. I practically guarantee...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    Thanks again to Zap and furballi for their advice. I've got a sweet upgrade to my system now. Zap, my brother's nForce2 mobo does run dual channel in the 256-256-512 configuration. Thanks for the tip. The 1GB stick in my system runs perfectly. As for my processor, I'm not one for...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    Thanks for the advice! Now for an overclocking report. Turns out that the RAM divider wasn't the limiting factor. By turning HT down to x3 (from default x4) I was able to hit the BIOS maximum of 250MHz FSB, amazingly while keeping the RAM 1:1 with the FSB. After I hit that, I went to...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    Thanks again for the answers! This really helps a lot. One more clarification question: 1. My brother's computer is running a Barton XP 2600+ with no overclocking, so the FSB is only 166MHz. Will that increase the odds that mismatched memory will work together? Or does mismatched memory...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    Thanks for the advice! I've got some more questions about a RAM upgrade. My brother and I both have 512MB of memory right now and we're thinking about buying 1GB and splitting it, to save a couple bucks. As I said, my memory is 1 x 512MB Corsair VS DDR400, which I think is 2.5-3-3-8. His is...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    (Before I write, I should say that I haven't done any overclocking since I my Celeron 533A back in 1999, so I'm a little rusty and not up with all the latest settings.) I let the CPU burn in for a couple days to make sure everything was stable before doing any overclocking. Over the weekend...
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    Which CPU for an HTPC?

    Thanks for the heat-related replies. I'm assuming the 2 CPUs aren't going to perform TOO much different, so if the Duron is going to cooler, I'll probably go with that. Heat aside, does anybody know which of these two CPUs would be best for HTPC TV recording? I'm guessing the horsepower of...
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    Is that true?! The only thing I can think is that this will allow them to produce ultra-low cost computers on the 754 socket and just move the high end/939 to AM2. I can honestly say that I don't need anything more than this 754 setup is providing me. I certainly will.
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    ECS NFORCE3-A motherboard mini review

    I just bought the Fry's ECS nForce3-A plus Athlon 64 3000+ kit for $119.99 + tax yesterday. Code on the CPU indicates it's a Venice 3000+. I'm a little disappointed that I'm buying into the soon-to-be-obsolete socket 754 but this deal was not to be passed up. By the time I'm ready for my...
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    Which CPU for an HTPC?

    I'm thinking about making an HTPC from some parts I've got sitting around here: MSI nForce2 IGP motherboard (forget model #) 2x256MB PC2700 RAM 80GB Western Digital HD I'm going to add a TV tuner, most likely the Hauppauge PVR-150. The usage will be watching/recording analog cable...