mATX motherboard with dolby live

[rexian96]

Hello,

The search didn't return any useful info so asking. Does anyone know of a mATX motherboard for LGA775 that has Dolby Live or DTS Connect along with RAID 5 (current or near future model) ? Couldn't find one on newegg either.

I am planning to build an HTPC for occasional gaming. I was not looking at Intel and wanted to go with AMD but possibility of E4300 price-cut in near future made me interested in Intel again.

Thanks.

 

[grooge]

I would reconsider the AMD side of thing with the Abit NF-M2. The best featured HTPC motherboard right now, IMHO. throw in a x2 3600+Brisbane core, and you'll have a nice, cool HTPC.

 

[Skott]

If you want AMD mATX then the ABIT NF-M2 is the best. Its being phased out though and being replaced from what I've heard. The new model is AN-M2 I believe. Not sure its even out yet. Dont confuse it with the NF-M2S though. The M2S is a cheaper version of the NF-M2 and not so good.

If you contact Steeeeve over at SFFClub.com he can probably fill you in all the details of what the new mobo has over the older one.

 

[rexian96]

Thanks folks. Does NF-M2 support RAID 5 and/or dolby live? Newegg specs didn't show it. I was initially planning for brisbane 3600+. But then I decided to wait for 8600GT (to be released in April) and realized if I wait till April, it's better to go for E4300. I am planning to overclock it in the region of 3GHz, which should be easy, and get a system which even AMD processors with twice the price can not match.

The gaming is not high priority, but I'll have Vista Business installed and use the system for H264 video encoding and J2EE development. For HTPC front end, I'll use Meedio unless I can convince MS to downgrade my Vista Business to Home Premium.

 

[Heidfirst]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127013

http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherb...DEL_NAME=NF-M2+nView&fMTYPE=Socket+AM2

 

[grooge]

Dolby is something that should be licensed to be used. U can use software like AC3 filter to output 5.1 digital sound to any home theater receiver.Raid5 is supported, as seen on Abit web site. As for h264, well, I decode/encode with a 3800+ and I don't see why the 3600+ wouldn't do it.

If you can wait, then AMD chipset 690 will be the best to be used in HTPC, because it support HDMI output, as well as DVI and vga. It will be available for AMD and Intel processor.

 

[rexian96]

Thanks, Newegg didn't list RAID 5, looks like I can't rely on newegg specs always. Dolby live is nice to have because ac3filter will not work in games, but probably something I can live without. But I don't think 3600+ can really compete with E4300 on any turf. My current projector is 720p and 3600+ would probably be enough, but seeing how hard it is to decode 1080p for my core duo 1.86GHz Dell laptop, I'd prefer core 2 duo especially since the rumored price-cut will make it a better value system. Probably 3600 will go down in price too but ~$120 is a good budget price for a CPU. At 3GHz, it can beat even top of the line AMD & Intel CPUs and would be a good future proof system, don't you think so? Only advantage in AMD I see that I can reuse the motherboard when K8L comes out, but if K8L can compete with core 2 duo, it won't be cheap and I normally upgrade desktops every 3 yrs or so.

Back to the main topic, it seems there are no perfect mATX motherboards for E4300 right now even if I drop dolby live from requirements list. I thought they'd release 650i Ultra in mATX but no luck yet. Is this the best motherboard currently? I hope they'll release some 650i Ultra boards by April.

 

[chucky2]

The best Intel mATX board out right now is based (ironically) on AMD's Intel version of the 690G chipset, the X1250. It's the Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD.

It's available as Skott said through SFFClub.com.

As far as AMD boards go, just hold out for the AMD 690G boards that should be hitting very soon, or, if you can wait longer, wait to see how nVidia's MCP68 is going to stack up against AMD 690G solutions, then decide between the two.

Chuck

 

[rexian96]

Thanks Chuck, I'll look into it. It took me a while to realize that "AMD's Intel version of 690G chipset" wasn't a typo Probably AMD should release Intel chipsets under ATI's name, many people would be worried to buy XBOX 360 controller from Sony

Edit : Fixed typo

 

[chucky2]

Yeah, I supposed I could have worded that better, but I'm at work right now so I was just on a little break before getting back into it, so I was time strapped.

I think right now the best thing to do is wait...especially for AnandTech's March 19 (or around this date) mATX roundup...if we're really lucky, there'll be a production or near production MCP68 based board in that roundup. If there is, then we ought to be able to see the state of the onboard video market for the next few months. Then it'll be Intel's G35, AMD's 790G, and nVidia MCP72. AMD better do a whole lot better than what they just meagered out on 690G, because I doubt nVidia is going to slack on MCP72...it'll be their first major chipset release since MCP61, so they'll have had plenty of time to deliver some impressive goods.

If you can wait until you see how MCP68 performs I'd do that. Else G965 < nForce 61x0 < 690G (which isn't quite available yet). Only problem though is G965 gets you Core 2 Duo, nForce 61x0 gets you Brisbane.

Chuck

 

[rexian96]

Thanks again Chuck. I'll be waiting till April but the only thing that I'd be missing in I90HD is dolby live. HDMI is a nice touch but I wouldn't probably need it as I'd go for 8600GT when available. Other than that this board pretty much nailed everything (including best mATX overclocking till date, SATA 2 RAID 5, 1Gbps LAN, Azalia etc). MCP68 seems to have a better video, what else do you see as improvement? With video acceleration only up to 720p, I'd still need an 8600GT. I wonder why they don't see a market in DTS Connect or Dolby Live based mATX

 

[renethx]

Intel DG965OT

supports Dolby Home Theater (including Dolby Digital Live).

 

[rexian96]

Interesting. For some reason, major retailers don't have it in stock. May be it's being discontinued ? No RAID 5 either Fatal1ty it is for now (unless something better comes up before Intel's price-cut in April)

 

[renethx]

Actually Intel DG965OT supports RAID 0/1/0+1/5 as its southbridge is ICH8DH. You have to look for it with the model number BOXDG965OTMKR instead of DG965OT, and lots of retailers have it in stock:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Intel_DG965OT_Motherboard,__24365657

The only possible drawback is the total lack of overclocking options in BIOS. But this can be circumvented with the well-known E4300 pin mod (I mean you can run E4300 at 2.40GHz with no problem).

On the other hand, Fatal1ty F-I90HD does not support RAID 5 (the southbridge SB600 supports only RAID 0/1/0+1) or Dolby Digital Live (the audio codec is the vanilla ALC888, not ALC888DD/ALC888H).

 

[rexian96]

Thanks. You are right, F-I90HD doesn't have RAID 5 :-( I initially checked the AMD Fatal1ty version (Abit AN9) and assumed the Intel version would have it too Dolby live is something I probably can live without, but RAID 5 and moderate overclocking are a must. It's a pity that DG965OT doesn't go above 2.4GHz, a cool processor like E4300 running lower than 2.8GHz is not justified unless the extra horsepower is not needed or the user is not into overclocking. I saw the pricegrabber link, but couldn't find the board on zipzoomfly or newegg and so was wondering if the board is getting discontinued. New boards are on the way, another reason to wait for 5 more weeks