Gaming mATX board FINALLY!

blaster5k said:
I'm not sure why you need more than a 430W power supply based on the parts you're gonna have. I'd guess that 380W would be fine unless you're going to stick two of them in there. You're not going to be loading a bigger supply enough, so it'll just waste energy and generate excess heat -- and it costs more to begin with.

A good read on power supply sizing:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page4.html



A little off-topic, but I'm getting tired of people buying into the super large power supply nonsense.
Click to expand...

thanks for the read... so maybe ill stick with the 520

there was another topic on here where people were saying the 520 might cut it close for the R600 or something

this summer it will be upgraded to quad core an r600 and probly 2 750gb HD's (i dunno is size affects powerusage?)

i even though about watercooling... these are all possibilities down the line thats why i picked the 520 or 620

price isnt really an issue
 
blaster5k said:
A little off-topic, but I'm getting tired of people buying into the super large power supply nonsense.
Click to expand...

No freaking kidding, I'm so glad to see somebody else say this. Excessive PSU's are not necessary.

I had a 480 watt antec on my 939 system with two raptors and a 7800gt and it ran like a freakin champ. Now I've got a 520, but only cause it was 50 bucks.
 
Blaineikans said:
He also has 2 extra PCI devices, 4 hard drives AND a watercooling setup on it. :)
Click to expand...

thats ok... cause down the line i might do the same...

wireless nic

physics (if it ever really becomes usefull)

3 HD's

and im still depating WC or AIR

thats why i picked the 620 over the 520... leaving my options open
 
right now, my abit motheboard is corrupted. i was wondering if i just buy a new video card and put inside it, will it still works or not?
 
after following this thread for a couple weeks, and my computer inexplicably dying last week, i decided to get buy this mobo from my local frys and build a sff system. so far so good, however i did have some trouble with ram but i figured out after going through 4gb (2 packs of 2x1gb) of patriot ram that it wasnt compatible with this mobo. shoulda seen the customer service people :cool: . oh well, lookin forward to go through the trials and tribulations of owning this board and best wishes to steeeeeve and all those affected by todays happenings.
 
i'm tempted to go back to fry's and buy another board... someone please knock some sense into me. lol.
 
I just got the new replacement review board, its working great even overclocked. Priming and testing now...
 
Hey Dillusion, when you review this board, can you also test it with the on-board video disabled, ...and with the on-board audio disabled?

Looking forward to your veredict!!
 
An updated BIOS (m612a12) has just been released on abits global homepage.

http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/mot...Fatal1ty+F-I90HD&fMTYPE=LGA775&pPRODINFO=BIOS

Will try it out tomorrow. Bothers me a little that they didn't really address the changes in the release notes. The last beta release had a bunch of bug fixes that weren't mentioned here but anyway I am assuming they are included anyway. Nice to see all the drivers and utilities you normally would need can be downloaded directly from the site now as well.
 
abit UK say that they've only had 3 or 4 faulty I90HDs returned so far so despite threads like this one they don't see it as being any more failure prone than any other mobo.
 
BUFF said:
abit UK say that they've only had 3 or 4 faulty I90HDs returned so far so despite threads like this one they don't see it as being any more failure prone than any other mobo.
Click to expand...

wow... i wonder how the abit guys in the US are doing. i returned 3 so far, and i saw the dude at fry's slap on a return to vendor sticker on each one. maybe the fry's people tested it, and since fans turned on they sold it? eh. if they were really dead then they'd end up at abit anyhow. workin to get an hd dvd pc right now. bwahaha.
 
I'm no BIOS afficiendo but doesnt look like there is much in that update. Unless there alot of things in it not mentioned in the readme?

2. Fixed the S3 resume function.


Anyone got an idea what that fix does or entails?
 
I just flashed to the new BIOS and everything seems to work great BUT ... there has to be a but .... I am getting incorrect tempurature readings from my CPU (E4300). The BIOS claims -1 Celsius and the temperature seems to increase at a normal rate under load. It worked fine before to the best of my knowledge. Can anyone verify this so I can report it somewhere as a bug??
 
does anyone know if a thermalright xp-120 will work on it? I am having a hard time finding a good cooler for a e4300 and fit in a nsk-2400 case. If that won't fit does anyone have any other good suggestions that offer good cooling and are quiet? I have been searching for a week now and can't figure it out.
 
htpcaddict said:
does anyone know if a thermalright xp-120 will work on it? I am having a hard time finding a good cooler for a e4300 and fit in a nsk-2400 case. If that won't fit does anyone have any other good suggestions that offer good cooling and are quiet? I have been searching for a week now and can't figure it out.
Click to expand...

I believe it does. I've heard of people using a Tuniq Tower 120 on it and if that monster fits anything else should I would think. Your PC case will be deciding factor though.
 
adixon said:
I just flashed to the new BIOS and everything seems to work great BUT ... there has to be a but .... I am getting incorrect tempurature readings from my CPU (E4300). The BIOS claims -1 Celsius and the temperature seems to increase at a normal rate under load. It worked fine before to the best of my knowledge. Can anyone verify this so I can report it somewhere as a bug??
Click to expand...

32 degrees Fahrenheit isn't normal at idle.
 
htpcaddict said:
does anyone know if a thermalright xp-120 will work on it? I am having a hard time finding a good cooler for a e4300 and fit in a nsk-2400 case. If that won't fit does anyone have any other good suggestions that offer good cooling and are quiet? I have been searching for a week now and can't figure it out.
Click to expand...

I've been doing the same research for the same mobo/case and come up with a list that needs shortening:-

  • Thermalright XP-120
  • Thermalright SI-128
  • Thermalright XP-90
  • CNPS9500 - fins are parted on top and touch case
  • SilverStone Nitrogon NT01 V2.0 - Looks great but not sure about performance.
  • Zalman CNPS8700 - availability?
  • Scythe Mini Ninja - not even in production yet?
  • Aerocool Xfire
 
I am using a XP-120 on a E6300 mounted on a Biostar I945G-M7C rev 2.0 in an NSK2400. It works great and there is plenty of room to mount the fan. But the edge of the heatsink is mere millimeters away from the case fans due to the location of the socket. You'd have to see if you could find a measurement comparison for the Abit board. My core temps have never crested 50C even after gaming with none of my fans running any greater than 900 rpm, but I'm also running at stock speed. Another option might be the Scythe Andy. You would have to run that without the fan though due to the greater height. But you would have the benefit of the fans blowing directly on it if used in a positive pressure configuration. I'm not sure how long we'll have to wait for the mini Ninja. It looks promising though.
 
I took this pic weeks ago when I built my system on the yet to be powered up mobo of the thermal tape. I'm guessing it's messier to deal with after it's been heated up after use, but it peeled right off the NB and SB.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennhx/420402585/in/set-72157594570397803/

And a shot of the max stable boot FSB, this was on the first modded BIOS -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennhx/431609550/in/set-72157594570397803/

Wife just got to posting these on her flickr account, but there you are.
 
OK all my parts are now on the way... and should be here tuesday

(i had ram and processor left)

Most likley ill be installing Vista x64 or XP Pro (havent decided which yet)

what updates/programs should i get to test/bench/stress the system

also for the board any driver updates out? i know there is a new bios which ill get
ATI CCC 7.4 can i get that for this board? or do i have to use a specific one since its onboard, ive never used onboard (and wont when the 2900XT HD comes out)
 
obvious said:
I've been doing the same research for the same mobo/case and come up with a list that needs shortening:-

  • Thermalright XP-120
  • Thermalright SI-128
  • Thermalright XP-90
  • CNPS9500 - fins are parted on top and touch case
  • SilverStone Nitrogon NT01 V2.0 - Looks great but not sure about performance.
  • Zalman CNPS8700 - availability?
  • Scythe Mini Ninja - not even in production yet?
  • Aerocool Xfire
Click to expand...

go either with si-128 or "Scythe Andy" http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9868/dsc07061gg6.jpg
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/3493/dsc07059aw3.jpg
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3734/dsc07276nh9.jpg
 
Okay, lets assume for a moment the F-I90HD proves not to be the mobo we'd all like to have. So whats the second best choice mobo?
P5B-VM?
P5LD2-VM?
Something new just out?

I'm looking for options here at this point. Something that runs Intel CoreDuo now (As of April 22nd) and the new Quadcore later this year. I realize there's nothing much as far as overclocking goes but I want an upgrade path to Quadcore chips in the coming year without having to buy a new mobo. Any suggestions?
 
Skott said:
Okay, lets assume for a moment the F-I90HD proves not to be the mobo we'd all like to have. So whats the second best choice mobo?
P5B-VM?
P5LD2-VM?
Something new just out?

I'm looking for options here at this point. Something that runs Intel CoreDuo now (As of April 22nd) and the new Quadcore later this year. I realize there's nothing much as far as overclocking goes but I want an upgrade path to Quadcore chips in the coming year without having to buy a new mobo. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...


There is no other choice. Thats why there was so much excitement surrounding this board. I mean, yah you can go with another mATX skt 775, but it wont have the same overclocking options, etc.

I think this board had a rough start. There was also some problems with ati drivers (BSOD) which have been resolved for the most part with catalyst 7.3 patch or 7.4 full release.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the board, I am using it as a media center and it works great. Seems hit and miss though, i bought a 1 yr warranty at microcenter to be safe. Now, I dont have to worry about it :)

I really wish that I could lower the voltage to 1.1vcore to help my htpc save power and run a little cooler.
 
atherton213 said:
ATI CCC 7.4 can i get that for this board? or do i have to use a specific one since its onboard
Click to expand...

What I do (and what I've done) is installed the LAN card driver so I was able to surg and go download ATi driver that is more up to date than what's on the CD, same for HD audio.

BTW I have not installed .NET and I always install only the Display Driver, not the CCC. You go to http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/integratedip-xp.html and only install 2 of 4 and 4 of 4.
 
BUFF said:
abit UK say that they've only had 3 or 4 faulty I90HDs returned so far so despite threads like this one they don't see it as being any more failure prone than any other mobo.
Click to expand...

that is a steaming pile of bull, they have had two from me alone. the one thing ive learnt about all this is that ABIT are born lairs.
 
Rhialto said:
What I do (and what I've done) is installed the LAN card driver so I was able to surg and go download ATi driver that is more up to date than what's on the CD, same for HD audio.

BTW I have not installed .NET and I always install only the Display Driver, not the CCC. You go to http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/integratedip-xp.html and only install 2 of 4 and 4 of 4.
Click to expand...

yeah thats usually what i do i never use the CD (only the nic driver)

ive just never worked with onboard and didnt know if there was specific drivers that would work or if the ATI stardard drivers works

what are the standard benching programs (i dont need 3d mark cause im using onboard till 2900XT HD comes out)

CPU-Z
Everest?
what else should i get to stress test my overclock

i think im going to be the first one here to have this board with the GEIL memory... so we will see how well that does vs the other stuff
 
j1979 said:
that is a steaming pile of bull, they have had two from me alone. the one thing ive learnt about all this is that ABIT are born lairs.
Click to expand...

bwahaha. you make up 50% of the failed boards uk. i bet they sold 4 boards in the UK... and you got 2 bad ones. yah i guess there's no more faulty boards than any other ones, maybe that's why steve stopped selling them for a while. you know... cause they work so well no one asked for refunds... riiight... i really want this board to be as great as it should be. maybe i just have all the wrong parts. thinkin bout buyin the last one from frys and if it fails i'll ask the techie who tests them how many he's gotten back so far. makes me wonder how they sell so well. maybe fry's sells them all and abit gets a bunch back. ;p anyone know how the folks at anandtech are doin with this thing?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top