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View Full Version : Opinions and suggestions on mATX build please!

Sic
08-18-2008, 01:53 AM
So I am looking to re-work my current system into a more portable and compact mATX setup. I have never done a mATX build before but I have done quite a bit of research and I am now looking for some opinions and suggestions from fellow builders. This system will be used primarily for gaming.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
ATI 4870 X2 - (eventually, 9800 GX2 will have to do for now)
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer sound card
Motherboard - DFI LANPARTY JR P45-T2RS (http://us.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=6155&CATEGORY_TYPE=LP%20JR&SITE=US)
Case - NZXT Rogue (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146044)
PSU - Corsair 620HX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002&Tpk=corsair%2b620)

I am not too interested in crossfire as I would like to keep my sound card but I would like a motherboard with PCI-E 2.0 and a good chipset. The only board I have really seen that I like is the new DFI Lanparty Jr. Is there another board I should be looking at before deciding on this one? Also, I am looking for the best CPU cooling possible in this setup as I would like to overclock the Q9450. Would it be possible to fit a Swiftech H20-120 Compact (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108100) water-cooling setup? Do I give up portability with a water-cooled setup? I don't want to have to drain the coolant or something every time I want to take it to a friend's house or LAN event. I also want to make sure that the 4870 X2 will fit without modification to the case (or as little as possible at least). Other than that, any other opinions or suggestions for this build are appreciated. Thanks!
IsLNdbOi
08-18-2008, 02:01 AM
If you're not interested in crossfire, why not take a look at the Asus P5E-VM HDMI or their new G45 mATX board?
Sic
08-18-2008, 02:07 AM
Funny, I was just looking at that board on newegg. I guess I can ditch PCI-E 2.0 if it means saving some bucks since it has little effect on current GPU performance. Can I expect good overclocking performance from this board? When is the G45 version supposed to show up?
IsLNdbOi
08-18-2008, 02:17 AM
There's a huge thread on here just for the P5E-VM HDMI. It's a good overclocker.

G45 boards are just starting to show up. The Asus mATX G45 board hopefully will be out within a month.
Sic
08-18-2008, 02:22 AM
The g35 looks like an excellent board. Any reason to wait for the G45?
IsLNdbOi
08-18-2008, 02:33 AM
The G45 board might be a better overclocker and I think it natively supports faster DDR2 RAM. The P5E-VM HDMI has the Realtek ALC 883 which is a pretty good onboard audio chipset. The G45 Asus mATX board has the new Realtek ALC1200 audio chipset.

Also, if you want to use the onboard video the G45's onboard GPU is more powerful than the G35's.
Skott
08-18-2008, 09:48 AM
The P5E-VM HDMI is the best overclocker there is in mATX format so far although its not the only one that overclocks good. The P5K-VM is a worthy runner up. No one yet knows how well the new DFI is going to fit into the mix. Better, same, or worse? We dont yet. Still waiting for someone to get one and run benchmarks and so forth.
strife1012
08-18-2008, 06:12 PM
I want this, does anyone have it?

I want to know how it runs. I need to update my MB
Danny Bui
08-18-2008, 07:55 PM
I want this, does anyone have it?


Have what?
AVT
08-18-2008, 10:49 PM
I'd recommend a either a smaller case, or fitting a full-atx board into the one you chose (can be done with some modding)

Also, if you are using Vista, forget about the sound card. Vista does not support sound hareware acceleration, making soundcards effectively useless.
Sic
08-19-2008, 12:12 AM
I'm using vista and my sound card works just fine. What kind of modding needs to be done in order to fit a standard ATX board? From what I have seen from a rogue project work log it looks as though that would be out of my league.
kencheeto
08-19-2008, 01:35 AM
I'd recommend a either a smaller case, or fitting a full-atx board into the one you chose (can be done with some modding)

Also, if you are using Vista, forget about the sound card. Vista does not support sound hareware acceleration, making soundcards effectively useless.

Could you clarify on that last bit? Does this mean anything running vista will only have use for sound cards for their various input/outputs?

I was hoping I'd be able to get better quality from my rig with a discrete sound solution.. control the EQ and such. :(