• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Help; Memory Slot Blocks TV Tuner from Fitting

J

JMoore

Senior member
Hey guys,

I need some advice. Last night, I built my first htpc. However, the memory slot on my mb (GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L) blocks my TV tuner (AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe). Essentially, the TV tuner is too long. If I put the tuner in, it blocks one of my RAM slots. So, I was hoping for some advice.

1.) First off, is there any shorter TV Tuner card that is any good? With a shorter card, I could plug in both slots of RAM and have my TV Tuner installed.

2.) Taking out one piece of RAM isn't a big deal to me. However, if I do that I won't be able to run dual channel. For a Core 2 Duo processor, is this a big deal? I'm not planning to game on this PC, but do you think losing dual channel will really hurt my performance and cause my system to bottleneck?

3.) Do you guys have any other suggestions on how I could solve my problem. I really don't want to buy a new motherboard, but am willing I have to.

My HTPC:
Antec Fusion Case
GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe
c2d Processor
ATI 4550 GPU

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
losing dual channel should not have a huge effect. how many sticks of ram are you using? if two, you could try slots 2 and 4 instead of 1 and 3 may still get dual channel, but it's no big deal if you don't.

it beats the alternative of buying new hardware. or 'modding' your current tuner.
 
Thanks for the feedback. As for my RAM, I only have 1 slot on the mobo (it is matx). However, I'm still considering a new mb just because i have to replace the powersupply and heatsink anyway. So, it wouldn't require too much more work to replace the mb then too.
 
Try playing HD files and see if single channel will cause stuttering due to insufficient bandwidth. If no stuttering occurs, there shouldn't be a problem.
If you need the extra bandwidth, you can try some low profile ram. 2gb stick at 5oclock.com for ~$30 (dunno about shipping) or i see a 1gb with no bids on ebay for $0.99 + $12.99 shipping (from Hong Kong).
Something drastic would be to file down the end of the stick of ram to fit since there's no circuitry on the end of the ram.
Riser card + case modding would be another possibility.
Easiest solution I see is take out the GPU and put the TV card in the x16 slot and use CPU to do all the decoding as it should be powerful enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top