How do I get DVD to work with my new MSI MS-6390-L??

[hychka]

Maybe I jumped on this board too soon, but I hope not.

My daughter wants to play DVDs on this system. But, I think I need another video card or some software and I'm worried about video card compatibility.

What do I need here??

Here is the system to date: the MSI motherboard with on board video, audio and LAN, AMD Athlon 1600+ XP, heavyduty fan and HS, two sticks of 256k PC2100 Crucial DDR, a Maxtor 80 gig hard drive, a 40x12x48 Cendyne burner (the good one!!), a 16x Artec DVD-ROM, a Sony floppy, a midi ATX P4 case and PS, 17" Envision monitor, V 92 modem, Logitech Z-340 speakers, mouse and keyboard and a boat load of software we'll never open. (Sound familiar? They are all Anandtech "Hot Buys" from the last three months. The total cost AR and MIRs, sales tax and shipping was $323!! Bless everyone of you guys!!)

The spec for the motherboard are as follows:

MS-6390-L

? onboard Realtek 8101L (For MS-6390-L only)
- RJ45 connector


CPU
- Supports Socket A for AMD® Athlon?/Athlon? XP/Duron?
processor
- Supports 1GHz to 2200+ and higher processor
Chipset
VIA® ProSavageDDR? KM266 Chipset
- FSB @200/266MHz
- Integrated ProSavage8? 2D/3D Graphic Controller
- AGP 4x and high bandwidth V-link host controller
- Advanced memory controller supports PC200/266 DDR

VIA® VT8233A/8235 Chipset
- High bandwidth V-link client controller
- Direct sound ready AC97 digital audio controller
- Ultra DMA 33/66/100 master mode EIDE controller
- Supports both ACPI and legacy APM power management
- USB 2.0 Integrated for VT8235 option
FSB
100/133MHz (200/266MHz) clocks are supported.
Main Memory
- Supports four memory banks using two 184-pin DDR DIMMs
- Supports a maximum memory size up to 2GB
- Supports 2.5V DDR SDRAM DIMM
Slots
* One AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot
- AGP specification compliant
- Supports AGP 2.0 1x/2x/4x
* Three 32-bit Master PCI bus slots (support 3.3v/5v PCI bus interface)
* One CNR (Communication Network Riser) slot
On-Board IDE
* An IDE controller on the VT8235/8233A chipset provides IDE
HDD/CDROM with PIO, Bus Master and Ultra MA33/66/100
operation modes
* Can connect up to four IDE devices
Audio
* Front Audio supported
* South Chipset integrated
- Direct Sound AC97 Audio
Video
Integrated ProSavage8? 2D/3D Graphic Controller
Network
* onboard Realtek 8101L (Optional, For MS-6390-L only)
- RJ45 connector
On-Board Peripherals
On-Board Peripherals include:
- 1 floppy port supports 2 FDDs with 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M
and 2.88Mbytes
- 1 serial port (COM A)
- 1 VGA port
- 1 parallel port supports SPP/EPP/ECP mode
- 4 USB ports (2 Rear Connectors/ 1 USB Front Pin Header -- 2 ports)
- 1 IrDA connector for SIR/CIR/ASKIR/HPSIR
- 1 audio/game port
BIOS
* The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which
detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the
board automatically.
* The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface
(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.
Dimension
24.5 cm(L) x 21.6 cm(W) MicroATX Form Factor
Mounting
6 mounting holes.

 

[tcsenter]

My daughter wants to play DVDs on this system. But, I think I need another video card or some software and I'm worried about video card compatibility. What do I need here??

You're all set except for a software DVD player/decoder like PowerDVD, WinDVD, Cinemaster DVD, or equivalent software.

I don't know how well the ProSavage is at hardware decoding but it should give acceptable results without springing for a separate decoder board. Latest ProSavageDDR drivers:

S3/VIA Drivers

If you're prompted for a login/password, use "viaarena" for both (no quotes).

On Edit: I'm using the non-DDR version of your board, KM133A Pro 5.0 (MS-6340M Ver5.0), except I bought an ATI Rage128 Pro 32MB AGP card for use with it. I don't have a DVD-ROM at this time.

 

[hychka]

Well, thanks for the info and the link to the drivers!

Thanks to your suggestion on the software, I checked the contents of the DVD-ROM box and it turns out that my DVD-ROM came with the PowerDVD software. So, I guess I'm ok.

But if the video is weak, I'll keep the Rage video card in mind.

Looking forward to the motherboard's arrival and putting this system together this weekend.

Thanks, again!

 

[tcsenter]

(Sound familiar? They are all Anandtech "Hot Buys" from the last three months. The total cost AR and MIRs, sales tax and shipping was $323!! Bless everyone of you guys!!)

You've gotta be kidding? That is a hell of a deal for a nice DDR/XP2200+ ready system.

Thanks to your suggestion on the software, I checked the contents of the DVD-ROM box and it turns out that my DVD-ROM came with the PowerDVD software. So, I guess I'm ok.

Yep, you should be good to go. Visual quality should be fine but CPU utilization will be higher than a good video card, probably in the range of 50 - 60 percent during DVD playback.

But if the video is weak, I'll keep the Rage video card in mind.

The Rage128 Pro 32MB AGP I have is a bit faster than the integrated ProSavage video, I would say 15% higher fps. 2D is better, 3D quality is about the same, but if you ratchet up the detail and resolution levels beyond 800x600@16bit, the integrated video starts to struggle by comparison. Obviously there is a lot less CPU utilization with the AGP card which gives you a noticable 'boost' in all-around responsiveness (a lot less 'lag').

Not that the Rage128 Pro has stellar performance, but for $35 shipped, you don't get stellar. The Rage128 Pro chip has hardware iDCT and motion compensation for DVD playback with lower CPU utilization, whereas the integrated ProSavage only has hardware motion compensation.

If you go for a Rage128 card, make sure you're getting a card based on the Rage128 'Pro' chip (powered partners may call it 'Ultra') and not the standard Rage128 chip.

Again, great buy, and good luck!