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Best HTPC motherboard

T

Team Spicoli

Member
Hello everyone,

I'm getting closer to gathering the pieces of the puzzle together to craft a very good HTPC, and I'm now researching into the best/or very good HD HTPC motherboard to fit into an Antec Nine Hundred case (specs found in link below). I was a AMD fanboy for years, and now. . . . I'm not so sure anymore. . . .

Antec Nine Hundred

(Chose this case for it's cooling capabilities)

Thanks in advance
 
I hear good things about G45 and chipsets with nvidia 9300/9400 + a tuner card for HTPC's

the 900 is kind of overkill for a HTPC though, they don't generally require much computing power or a hot GPU, so they don't output too much heat. a single 120mm fan blowing down on the motherboard should keep everything pretty cool while staying quiet, whereas I imagine the 900 gets pretty loud unless you remove some fans or replace with the low RPM scythe models
 
Can't beat a GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2HP AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G for $70 AR and an AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz 45W for $57

Total power consumption (not including your panel): 45w at idle - 75w doing BluRay

The Antec Nine Hundred is a great gaming case - not so good for a HTPC. Consider something like the Silerstone Lascalia LC13 - probably $120 shipped from The Egg but you might be able to find it shipped for $100 or so if you snoop around.

If you decide to keep the Nine Hundred you could most likely fit something like a big ace ZeroTherm or Cooler Master and passively cool the X2 4850e - point the rear 120mm fan at it ...
 
I might recommend the Asus P5E-VM HDMI, but the G35 would require an add-in video card for HD stuff - it's a little under-capable. But the motherboard itself is great, and a flexible SFF option. I'd pair it with one of the silverstone sugo cases.
 
I just built one and I actually did not care what mobo I had since I was going to use an ATI 4550 (or 4350 or 4560) with the HDMI, which takes care of both audio and video all in one and had great reviews on Anandtech for HTPC use. I ended up getting the cheapest Asus P5Q mobo I could find (the SE), and placed in a Thermaltake Bach case (which can take a full size mobo and I was even able to put my big Typhoon HS/FAN on there). I also have the Antec 900 and it's a great gaming case as others have said but it's NO HTPC.. too many lights... too many fans... too much noise. The Bach i got paired with a Corsair 650 PS and that Big Typhoon at low, is DEAD quiet.

Actually with that case, if I had to do it all over again i would have gotten an AMD based board and CPU since the combos are sooo cheap. As others have said an AMD X24850e was board and bred to be an HTPC CPU.
 
Thanks BoboKatt.

I'm concerned about AMD not being able to handle HD content. What would be the Intel version of an AMD x24850e?

Also, I plan on doing alot more with the CPU than just streaming media. I intend on downloading torrents, multi-tasking through numerous browser windows, and streaming media content simultaneously. I realize this may be a bit taxing for a single CPU.

Thanks.
 
I think originally and a while back the undeniable champ in low cost Intel CPU's that was also great performance was the e7200. Not even sure if that is still around but I know you can now get the e7300. Both are dual core and can be (if you want) oc'ed to high speeds, run cool and are quite good. If you want quad then the 8200 I believe is the cheapest quad that is still one heck of a performer but will still set you back $200 or so. I am not so current on prices.

On a side note... with my ATI 4550 video card, it takes care of all the hardware acceleration when playing movies or BR etc. I got it for that reason and my CPU is rarely stressed doing anything within my HTPC and in my case the version I got is passively cooled and runs dead silent. Not bad for under $65. Not going to play games with it but that was never the intention.


 
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli
Thanks BoboKatt.

I'm concerned about AMD not being able to handle HD content. What would be the Intel version of an AMD x24850e?

Also, I plan on doing alot more with the CPU than just streaming media. I intend on downloading torrents, multi-tasking through numerous browser windows, and streaming media content simultaneously. I realize this may be a bit taxing for a single CPU.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

AMD will handle HD content just fine, honestly dual-core will usually handle HD steams fine most of the time, unless you have an ungodly bitrate video. And if for blu-ray/hd-dvd it'll offload it to the IGP (HD 3200) unless your software doesn't support it. I still find that 780/790G platforms are the best for the price ATM.
 
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli
Thanks BoboKatt.

I'm concerned about AMD not being able to handle HD content. What would be the Intel version of an AMD x24850e?

Also, I plan on doing alot more with the CPU than just streaming media. I intend on downloading torrents, multi-tasking through numerous browser windows, and streaming media content simultaneously. I realize this may be a bit taxing for a single CPU.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Modern IGP's, such as AMD's 780g and Nvidia's 8200 chipsets, handle most of the HD decoding. With those chipsets, even a single-core CPU is sufficient. Modern discrete video cards are even better.

If you plan on using HDMI, note that AMD's IGP's are currently limited to transmitting stereo LPCM over HDMI. Surround won't work.

A good place to look for info is http://avsforum.com/
 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli
Thanks BoboKatt.

I'm concerned about AMD not being able to handle HD content. What would be the Intel version of an AMD x24850e?

Also, I plan on doing alot more with the CPU than just streaming media. I intend on downloading torrents, multi-tasking through numerous browser windows, and streaming media content simultaneously. I realize this may be a bit taxing for a single CPU.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Modern IGP's, such as AMD's 780g and Nvidia's 8200 chipsets, handle most of the HD decoding. With those chipsets, even a single-core CPU is sufficient. Modern discrete video cards are even better.

If you plan on using HDMI, note that AMD's IGP's are currently limited to transmitting stereo LPCM over HDMI. Surround won't work.

A good place to look for info is http://avsforum.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Now you in particular honed in on a key determining factor that will come into play when I make the final decision, and that has to do with AMD's "IGP's" (don't know what IGP stands for) not transmitting surround. Which do, if at all?
 
IGP = Integrated Graphics Processor. Basically, the video that's built into the motherboard.

Currently, AMD does not make a chipset that supports multi-channel LPCM over HDMI. Nvidia does, with their Geforce 8200/8300 chipsets for AM2+ and Geforce 9300 chipset for socket 775.

AMD's video cards - 3xx0 series and higher - can transmit multi-channel LPCM over HDMI.
 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli
Thanks BoboKatt.

I'm concerned about AMD not being able to handle HD content. What would be the Intel version of an AMD x24850e?

Also, I plan on doing alot more with the CPU than just streaming media. I intend on downloading torrents, multi-tasking through numerous browser windows, and streaming media content simultaneously. I realize this may be a bit taxing for a single CPU.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Modern IGP's, such as AMD's 780g and Nvidia's 8200 chipsets, handle most of the HD decoding. With those chipsets, even a single-core CPU is sufficient. Modern discrete video cards are even better.

If you plan on using HDMI, note that AMD's IGP's are currently limited to transmitting stereo LPCM over HDMI. Surround won't work.

A good place to look for info is http://avsforum.com/
Click to expand...

So something like this? plus a 9300 or G45 board should handle HD playback fine?
 
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Now you in particular honed in on a key determining factor that will come into play when I make the final decision, and that has to do with AMD's "IGP's" (don't know what IGP stands for) not transmitting surround. Which do, if at all?
Click to expand...


All AMD 780g chipsets will transmit AC3 (i.e., Dolby Digital) 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound via coaxial or optical spdif and off-load h.264 encoding from the microprocessor (as will the AMD 790gx chipset) thereby reducing cpu utilization.

The AMD 780g will not transmit uncompressed multi-channel digital ""Linear Pulse Code Modulation"" audio over your HDMI cable unless you install a discreet low-end video solution. The AMD 780g motherboards (at least the ones I am aware of) will transfer multi-channel LPCM to your receiver (or speakers) using the analog sound connections and onboard sound chip (which is actually really good in most cases).

Or you may purchase a discreet sound card to push multi-channel LPCM to your speakers or receiver.


Originally posted by: yh125d
So something like this? plus a 9300 or G45 board should handle HD playback fine?
Click to expand...

You would be right at the edge 😀

I think Tom's got a Sempy to do h.264 Blu-ray on a 780g at 1.8GHz - haven't seen anyone try it with a Celly.


edit: I'm Lysdexic.
 
While I'm in this thread I'll ask a question.

I have some leftover parts that I plan on using for my HTPC in the next few months (ram,psu, etc) which include an old 7600GT. Now, while the 7600 doesn't have an HDMI port (dangit!) I should be able to use a DVI-HDMI adapter for video to my TV, while using the digital out from my motherboard to my receiver, right?
 
Originally posted by: yh125d
While I'm in this thread I'll ask a question.

I have some leftover parts that I plan on using for my HTPC in the next few months (ram,psu, etc) which include an old 7600GT. Now, while the 7600 doesn't have an HDMI port (dangit!) I should be able to use a DVI-HDMI adapter for video to my TV, while using the digital out from my motherboard to my receiver, right?
Click to expand...

Yep & Yep. Except content-protected video will only work at reduced resolution, I think.

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Originally posted by: yh125d
So something like this? plus a 9300 or G45 board should handle HD playback fine?
Click to expand...

You would be right at the edge 😀

I think Tom's got a Sempy to do h.264 Blu-ray on a 780g at 1.8GHz - haven't seen anyone try it with a Celly.
Click to expand...

I don't think that G45 is quite as efficient decoding as 780g, so I don't think that combo (Celly 430 w/G45) would work out really well. For $10 more you could get a dual core, anyway. Remember, not only does the movie need to be decoded, but if you are using Blu-Ray or protected video, the encryption needs to be decrypted by the CPU, also.

 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: yh125d
While I'm in this thread I'll ask a question.

I have some leftover parts that I plan on using for my HTPC in the next few months (ram,psu, etc) which include an old 7600GT. Now, while the 7600 doesn't have an HDMI port (dangit!) I should be able to use a DVI-HDMI adapter for video to my TV, while using the digital out from my motherboard to my receiver, right?
Click to expand...

Yep & Yep. Except content-protected video will only work at reduced resolution, I think.

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Originally posted by: yh125d
So something like this? plus a 9300 or G45 board should handle HD playback fine?
Click to expand...

You would be right at the edge 😀

I think Tom's got a Sempy to do h.264 Blu-ray on a 780g at 1.8GHz - haven't seen anyone try it with a Celly.
Click to expand...

I don't think that G45 is quite as efficient decoding as 780g, so I don't think that combo (Celly 430 w/G45) would work out really well. For $10 more you could get a dual core, anyway. Remember, not only does the movie need to be decoded, but if you are using Blu-Ray or protected video, the encryption needs to be decrypted by the CPU, also.
Click to expand...

Well thar be some good information, thanks!

I guess all I need to start up my HTPC now is a cheap mobo with decent onboard sound, a e1200 or something, and a case. I'll probably upgrade the 7600 to something else later. Sweet!
 
Hello,

I think I've decided on the ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe HDMI - AM2/AM2+/AM3, however it's been since January since I was actively researching, and I'm sure newer mobos have hit the streets. Anything out there which far surpasses this ASUS model?

Thank you!
 
I think you threw everyone off because the case and motherboard you selected are both ATX compatible and not really considered HTPC.

However I think that motherboard is an excellent choice since it will run Phenom ][ I believe just without the DDR3 AM3 versions.

The nForce 780A is a much better choice than the newer 980A which doesn't have video output and still does not support DDR3! There is no reason to buy the 980A whatsoever!

The M3N-HT Deluxe has better onboard audio as well IMO.
 
Originally posted by: Team Spicoli
Hello,

I think I've decided on the ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe HDMI - AM2/AM2+/AM3, however it's been since January since I was actively researching, and I'm sure newer mobos have hit the streets. Anything out there which far surpasses this ASUS model?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Wow.

You've really gone from the low-budget rowboat to the MotherShip - 😀

Lookee here at the 790FX AM3 or maybe here for the little SisterShip.

 
I think you might be a little conflicted on what exactly this machine is for 🙂

I think you are thinking of it more as a "computer attached to my TV" rather than a dedicated HTPC. That will make a huge difference in the motherboard/CPU/Video/case you choose.
 
Originally posted by: elconejito
I think you might be a little conflicted on what exactly this machine is for 🙂

I think you are thinking of it more as a "computer attached to my TV" rather than a dedicated HTPC. That will make a huge difference in the motherboard/CPU/Video/case you choose.
Click to expand...

You're right. I will have a separate low-budget server housing several TBs of data, sending the media out to a more powerful computer/general workstation, and then out to various TV's etc.
 
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