Asus M2A-VM Motherboard-opinions?

[bigshotceo]

Right now I'm planning on building an HTPC and I'm looking at the M2A-VM motherboard. It's cheap (less than $80) and has onboard HDCP compliant dvi-d out, powered by integrated Radeon x1250. My plan was not to add a video card. My question is: will it be powerful enough to support what I want to do with the HTPC? Right now I want to:

1) Play back 720p x264 and H264 based movies/tv shows/clips.
2) Occasionally play back 1080p based movies/tv shows/clips.
3) Later on, play back blu-ray movies.

I'm planning on using an Athlon 4600 or 4800 processor.

[Slugo]

Hi,

iv'e had the m2a-vm mobo for a few weeks, I was getting it solely for hidef playback, have tested it with all kind of media, 720/1080 and reg DVD resolution, it works very good for any, althogh it wont output 1080p rather 1080i at best with component(a adapter is provided with the mobo). I have a AM 4800+ cpu and have had no problem at all using software decoding only(with Core AVC as codec) havent mesured cpu load but 4800 seems to be "enough" cpu power for 1080p. Audio is output via a spdif adn works equally fine as the component signal. Easy install of mobo after OS install, just press a buttom and it'll install all things needed and rebooting itself as it goes through the diff installs to get the board working proper with teh OS/hardware. Anyhow, I strongly recommend the board, cheap and has lots of "extras"

*edit, to clarify, it will playback 1080p but the output signal will be at best 1080i with component(dont' know if the dvi/hdmi is outputting 1080p, you'll have to check the specs on that), also there is no way to adjust the under/overscan whilst using component out at 1080i(I'm running the box at 720p, as this is good enough for my displays), might be fixed with FW uppgrades, perhaps.


Cheers,

k.

[redwudz]

I know neither of you are in the US, but for general reference:

For a HTPC, you might also look into a Gigabyte motherboard at about the same price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128056

Or if you have room for a full ATX MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128052

I have both. I use the S2H because it fits my HTPC case. It has a 5600+ CPU. The S3H is used with a 9500 Phenom CPU.

I would also look into this memory. It works very well with those MBs, 2GB for $34US after rebates: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

And I have used that Asus MB, but I prefer the Gigabyte ones.

[[_chef_]]

Right now I'm planning on building an HTPC and I'm looking at the M2A-VM motherboard. It's cheap (less than $80) and has onboard HDCP compliant dvi-d out, powered by integrated Radeon x1250. My plan was not to add a video card. My question is: will it be powerful enough to support what I want to do with the HTPC? Right now I want to:

1) Play back 720p x264 and H264 based movies/tv shows/clips.
2) Occasionally play back 1080p based movies/tv shows/clips.
3) Later on, play back blu-ray movies.

I'm planning on using an Athlon 4600 or 4800 processor.

NOPE!

[Slugo]

]

Right now I'm planning on building an HTPC and I'm looking at the M2A-VM motherboard. It's cheap (less than $80) and has onboard HDCP compliant dvi-d out, powered by integrated Radeon x1250. My plan was not to add a video card. My question is: will it be powerful enough to support what I want to do with the HTPC? Right now I want to:

1) Play back 720p x264 and H264 based movies/tv shows/clips.
2) Occasionally play back 1080p based movies/tv shows/clips.
3) Later on, play back blu-ray movies.

I'm planning on using an Athlon 4600 or 4800 processor.

NOPE!

no? why not? I have this setup(with AM 4800) and it obviously works for me

[greymalkin]

The first link redwudz provided is what you want to go with. The new 780G boards and quite a step up from the 690 boards in the second link.

Even with a relatively modest processor you can playback full 1080p content. You also have the HDMI out/HDCP Enabled video connections, an optical out, and low power consumption.

I plan on building a machine with this board and a 5200+ AM2 processor, 4gb DDR2 800 ram, etc. I can build it all for about $400 from newegg.

I originally wanted to go the core2duo route but this motherboard has everything I want so I figured I'd double up the ram and hope it would bridge the gap (somewhat) between this setup and my original setup with an e6550 and 2gb ram.

Another benefit of this setup is that it is relatively low power/low heat. You could even get the newer 45w AMD processors for even less power/heat. It really depends on what you are wanting to do with the computer.

[Webster]

The first link redwudz provided is what you want to go with. The new 780G boards and quite a step up from the 690 boards in the second link.

I definitely agree with this, I've got the GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H right now, and is eyeing the ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI. For about 10 bucks more, you could get the 780G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131273
which is a much more powerful board.
It got D-Sub, DVI, HDMI, and ATI Radeon HD 3200 built in. And it is a Micro ATX Motherboard, which takes up less space than a full board.

[redwudz]

I just ordered a new Gigabyte Micro-ATX MB for my HTPC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090 NewEgg is out of stock, so I got it from a different source. It uses the newer 780G chipset which my earlier MB link didn't. It's also a AM2+ MB, which should make better use of my AMD Phenom capabilities. I also ordered 2GB of DDR2 1066 RAM.

The 9500 Phenom is now down to $190. I paid $240 for it a few months ago, but that's the price for buying early.

[Webster]

I just ordered a new Gigabyte Micro-ATX MB for my HTPC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090 NewEgg is out of stock, so I got it from a different source. It uses the newer 780G chipset which my earlier MB link didn't. It's also a AM2+ MB, which should make better use of my AMD Phenom capabilities. I also ordered 2GB of DDR2 1066 RAM.

The 9500 Phenom is now down to $190. I paid $240 for it a few months ago, but that's the price for buying early.

Please do me a favor, when you have your system assembled and run. Do check to see if the northbridge chip run hot on on the that board. I haven't pull the trigger and buy the Gigabyte board dues to the fact I heard that the NB chip run hot on the Gigabyte board.
TIA
Webster.

[redwudz]

At least from the advertising, the newer AM2+ MBs are supposed to better control the temps of the chipsets, including the Northbridge. I would be interested in any improvement also. At present the Nbridge and the Sbridge chips seem to be the biggest heat producers on my existing motherboards. I'll let your know. If I'm lucky, I should get it all delivered before the end of the week and add a day or two to get it all together and working properly.

[greymalkin]

ahhh this stinks..I wish intel had something close to this type of motherboard..I was originally going to buy a e6550 and looking at benchmarks it totally destroys the 5200+ I was going to pair with the AMD system .

I did want lower temps/wattage though...sigh.

[redwudz]

Webster, Nbridge temp= 51C. Sbridge 43C, CPU 27C. CPU goes to about 38C with all four cores loaded and OC'd. NB and SB stay the same. Performance here: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic347859.html#1825901 It still needs some fine tuning and I should to be able to get the RAM to perform a bit better and maybe bring the CPU frequency up a bit more.

I doubt you can lower the Nbridge temps without some active cooling . Since I try to put together quiet PCs, not an option for me.

The on-board video performs really well. In Vista it gives me 4.1 for Desktop performance and 3.8 for gaming graphics. No problems with HD in H.264 format. One problem I noticed is if you set the power savings too low in the Control Panel, the system will just run one core at full speed and the other three at 1/2 speed. This was causing problems with HD playback. The reason seems to be the CPU won't use all four cores at full speed unless the CPU load is high enough. And HD doesn't do that. Setting the power savings to minimal cured it easily.

[Webster]

Webster, Nbridge temp= 51C. Sbridge 43C, CPU 27C. CPU goes to about 38C with all four cores loaded and OC'd. NB and SB stay the same. Performance here: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic347859.html#1825901 It still needs some fine tuning and I should to be able to get the RAM to perform a bit better and maybe bring the CPU frequency up a bit more.

I doubt you can lower the Nbridge temps without some active cooling . Since I try to put together quiet PCs, not an option for me.

The on-board video performs really well. In Vista it gives me 4.1 for Desktop performance and 3.8 for gaming graphics. No problems with HD in H.264 format. One problem I noticed is if you set the power savings too low in the Control Panel, the system will just run one core at full speed and the other three at 1/2 speed. This was causing problems with HD playback. The reason seems to be the CPU won't use all four cores at full speed unless the CPU load is high enough. And HD doesn't do that. Setting the power savings to minimal cured it easily.

Many thanks....
@ 51C, it is kinda hot for a passive heat sink on a supposed more efficient chip. It is about the same as the Gigabyte 690G I currently running so there is no point for me to upgrade to the 780 board.. Since I'm also running the board for an HTPC, I couldn't add another fan to the box either so I guess I'll stay with the 690G. It's a darn shame though. I would like to get rid of the firewire card and the eSATA bracket that I currently have on my old board.
Again, thanks for the info.

[redwudz]

Yes, I'm not happy with the 51C, but it's consistant whether the CPU is loaded or not. It's a common problem with Nbridge chips. I assume they make the heatsinks small to have clearance for the CPU cooler and graphics cards. My case does have a side fan that I haven't installed. It points in the general direction of the Nbridge, so I may give it a try if it's quiet enough.

Even if you were to replace the heatsink with a larger one, the temps would still likely be on the high side. I don't think you can lower it much without a fan.

[Constant Gardener]

I have a M2A-VM HDMI board with a Zalman radial CPU cooler (CPNS7500-CU). It flings enough air at 1200 RPM to cool the support chips. I'm using a BE2350 CPU, less than forty watts, but the cooler could easily handle more.

[greymalkin]

yep just get you a small fan and some 3M mounting tape and blast the heat out of there .

I just ordered the gigabyte 780g board from newegg today and paired it with a brisbane 5200+, 4gb DDR2 800 ram and a 160gb sataII hard drive...can't wait!

it's replacing a p4 3.0ghz w/1gb DDR400 ram. I'm hoping I'll notice a signifigant difference in speed.

[redwudz]

I was able to get my 5200+ and a 5600+ both up to 3Ghz on my previous 690s MB, so it has that capability. Make sure your RAM is up to it, though. This is a link to Graysky's earlier benchmark with the info: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic336716-60.html#1757195 That's for the 5600+. The 5200+ is there also, but not OC'd.

I used a Windsor, but the Brisbane is mainly different in the cache sizes and the lower power consumption. I didn't really have any problems with CPU cooling, even with the overclock. I use quiet fans all around and the PC was barely audible. With a little more air movement, CPU and case fans, you could probably drop the temperatures a bit. But 5600+ ran OC'd about 42C full load and 34C idle. The Brisbane should run cooler.

I still use the 5600+ in my HTPC, but no overclock as it just feeds a home theatre projector. It uses a Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H MB with component video output. The 5200+ Brisbane with a AM2+ MB should work well for home theatre. The 5600+ handles HD MKVs with no problems using just a AM2 MB, so the AM+ improved graphics power should be even better. I need component out and Micro-ATX so the GA-MA78GM-S2H won't work in that application without a add-on graphics card.

Just a note, though. To take the most advantage of the AM2+ MBs, you need a AM2+ CPU. The only ones out there at present are the Phenoms. There is a lower speed Phenom coming out soon, and they also plan to release the Phenoms that test with one or two bad processors as 3 or 2 processor CPUs with a decent discount. The Phenom CPUs control the processors independently, so that's easy to do.

[greymalkin]

good info..that's one reason I went ahead and bought the AM2+ board so I would have some room to grow later on. It should be coming in tomorrow! can't wait!

[TimA-C]

Yes, I'm not happy with the 51C, but it's consistant whether the CPU is loaded or not. It's a common problem with Nbridge chips. I assume they make the heatsinks small to have clearance for the CPU cooler and graphics cards. My case does have a side fan that I haven't installed. It points in the general direction of the Nbridge, so I may give it a try if it's quiet enough.

Even if you were to replace the heatsink with a larger one, the temps would still likely be on the high side. I don't think you can lower it much without a fan.

I assume that the case has thin wire fan grills (either as standard or after modding)? They really do make a big difference to airflow. On a slightly different tack, any chance of getting some convection air currents going inside the case by cutting some extra vents at strategic locations? Or maybe using flexible ducting to direct airflow to where you want it? I had some success with one system by adding an extra ventilation slot in the bottom of the case and using thin card to make a slightly cone-shaped guide to direct the airflow.

[redwudz]

The case has a side air/fan opening, but there's not enough clearance to get a fan in there because of the height of the CPU cooler. But I do have a PCI slot type of fan. I might try that in there. It can use a regular 8CM fan and I have one of those that is reasonably quiet.

I can easily increase the air flow through the case by changing the case fans, but that would also increase the noise levels. Low noise is a higher priority than cooler operation.