good matx socket A for HTPC

THRILLHOv

Senior member
Jan 14, 2003
397
0
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I have a sempron 2400+
Zalman CNPS6000-Cu
2 kingston valueram 256 2700 chips
and a geforce fx 5200
to build a HTPC

the ECS mobo i have is rebooting on me, it doesnt seem to be the ram or power supply... i dont think its the vid card, so im planning on buying a matx mobo to replace it on the cheap.

any suggestions
id like good stability, and linux compbatability for mythtv (when i figure out how to do it)

im looking at

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-024&depa=1
CHAINTECH 7NIL1-SUMMIT

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-186-009&depa=1
Foxconn 400M01-G-6L

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-489&depa=1
Asus A7V8X-MX SE

suggestions?
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
1
0
Doesn't "seem" to be the RAM? www.memtest.org

Next thing to look at, still BEFORE swapping the mainboard out, is capacitors on the mainboard. Any leakage or bulging?
 

THRILLHOv

Senior member
Jan 14, 2003
397
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0
the only time i had a capacitor leak the system did not work at all. is it possible for it to work part time? i thought it was the ram, even noticed that taking out one seemed to fix it.... but then a few days later the problem came back, and is happening more and more frequently.

i havent gotten around to memtesting the ram... but its the only atx mobo i have that uses DDR so i cant test in another system
 

crapito

Golden Member
Oct 20, 1999
1,225
0
81
i've only ever used 1 mATX motherboard: an Abit VA-20. it's stable, simple, overclocks a little, and even has SATA connections. i recommend it, along with a PCI soundcard for digital output (something the onboard sound lacks).
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
You would test the RAM just as it is, using Memtest.

Yes, boards can appear to work fine with bulging/leaking caps.

I've used the Chaintech board, in fact I have a mobile Barton in it overclocked to 2.4GHz. It doesn't have much overclocking in BIOS, I had to "wire trick" it. Works great. Don't have experience with the other ones listed.
 

Binky

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,046
4
81
Check out the Asrock K7S41. Combine it with a multiplier unlocked CPU and CrystalCPUID and you have an HTPC setup that can throttle down when idle.

I would not suggest this board for an Althlon XP Mobile cpu.