Gaming mATX board FINALLY!

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?
Click to expand...
Asrock 4Core1333-DVI/H:

4Core1333-DVIH.jpg


I don't know if this one is out.
 
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...
Sean has updated but as of his last post they had still had under 10 mobos back.
 
Some info on the aforementioned board... sounds nice! The "unique Asymmetric Physics slot" sounds interesting, albeit probably useless. So, no, those aren't dual x8 or x16 PCI-E slots. Just one X16.

4Core1333-DVI/H, based on ATI™ Radeon® Xpress 1250 and ATI™ SB600 chipsets, is compatible with all FSB1333/1066/800/533MHz CPUs, supports Core™ 2 Extreme / Core™ 2 Duo / Pentium® XE / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D, Quad Core Kentsfield processors, Windows® Vista™ Premium 2007 Logo Ready, featuring integrated ATI™ X700 graphics, DirectX 9.0, Max. shared memory 512MB and 7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec). 4Core1333-DVI/H is designed with dual channel DDRII800 x 4 DIMM slots, one PCI Express x 16 slot, and 4 x Serial ATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors. This motherboard comes with a unique Asymmetric Physics slot too! In addition to above mentioned features, this motherboard also supports PCIE Gigabit LAN and 4 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors.
Click to expand...

Check out this page for more info: http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/asrock/cebit/g1.htm
 
ok just got my cnps 9500, and overclocked to 2.26 ghz, i put the fsb at 350, and thats wat i got with all stock volts, stays very cool! yet i want atleast 2.86 ghz(1 ghz overclock) wat should i put the volts at?
 
Zok said:
Some info on the aforementioned board... sounds nice! The "unique Asymmetric Physics slot" sounds interesting, albeit probably useless. So, no, those aren't dual x8 or x16 PCI-E slots. Just one X16.

Check out this page for more info: http://www.ocworkbench.com/2007/asrock/cebit/g1.htm
Click to expand...

I've actually been doing random web scans for any more info on this board sine Cebit. No news about when its going to be released as of yet, but as it supports 1333 FSB, I imagine it may just simply be later in the year (end of summer maybe?). Its not like 1333 is even all that common at the moment. Its definitely not mainstream.

May be nice if someone ever develops a GPU based PPU.
 
My unofficial mobo death count is like 9 or 10. Thats covering HF, AT, and XS forums. Thats assuming that everyone that posted and said their mobo died did in fact die. I dont see any reason why'd they lie neither. I'll take their posts as truth. Now why exactly did these mobos die is a harder thing to determine. Some died with OCing and some died without any OCing. Some died right away and some died after a week or two. Most seemed to have died within the first week.

9 or 10 mobos may not sound like alot compared to whatever amount ABIT has actually sold but considering the people in the three forums I mentioned were some of the first to get them does make me nervous.

If the mobo deaths were just attributed to OCing I wouldnt be worried about it too much. Just get the mobo and dont OC it and everything would be fine. Slap in a E6600 and get a decent gaming rig in stock form. But the fact that a good portion have died without OCing involved is enough of a concern for me to avoid this mobo.

Thats why I'm looking at other options right now. Trying to find a Conroe mATX mobo that allows me to at least run a Conroe in stock now and a quadcore later on end of this year or next year.

I dont know if ABIT can fix the problems with a BIOS update. I'm hoping they can though. I havent heard much what the new BIOS actually fixes if anything.
 
I fired this mobo up 3 days ago.

I've had nearly no problems at all with the board, worked right from the first setup.

The only problems I've had so far is:

* Newest BIOS shows 35*C less on CPU temp.

* I can't get the CPU-fan to spindown to anything other than full speed using FANeq, even before the new BIOS. This might be due to FANeq only activation at 40*C wich is the lowest setting if I understand the BIOS correctly, and my CPU is cooler than that. Solved it by using a fanmate, but dynamic control would be cool...

* Had to reset CMOS 1 time after I shut the power of during boot.

Basically nothing compared to the problems others have had...



Hardware:
C2D E4300 Currently @ 289x9 ~2,6Ghz @ Stock voltage
Corsair 6400C4 2x1GB
Samsung P166 500GB
Asus 8800GTS 640MB
SilverStone SG-01E
Antec NeoHE 430W
Zalman CNPS7700Cu

So far so good. Gonna try some more OC today.


I do have a few questions though if anyone know?

1. Is onboard video fully disabled by just changing from Onboard to PCIE in that single Init display setting?

2. Any preformance difference between the different SATA modes in BIOS? I'm currently using Legacy IDE since I'm not sure I could install WinXP from my SATA DVD otherwise...
 
Edvuld said:
I fired this mobo up 3 days ago.

* Newest BIOS shows 35*C less on CPU temp.

* I can't get the CPU-fan to spindown to anything other than full speed using FANeq, even before the new BIOS. This might be due to FANeq only activation at 40*C wich is the lowest setting if I understand the BIOS correctly, and my CPU is cooler than that. Solved it by using a fanmate, but dynamic control would be cool...
Click to expand...

I have a very similar setup to yours and have also had a good experience with the board so far. The above BIOS problem with CPU temperature / cooling I actually solved using speedfan (v. 4.32) (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php) freeware. It supports VISTA 32/ 64 and resuming which was key for me. The temperature sensor chip (Winbond W83627EHG) on the board is fully compable and the software allows you to offset tempatures if they are wrong (I set CPU temp up 32 degrees but your 35 is probably more accurate). It will automatically adjust fan speeds (the setup is a little tricky) and is FAR more flexable than abitEQ. It also supports temp readings directly from the C2D cores! Just remember to disable Abits auto fan adjustment in the BIOS.
 
I'm still waiting to buy another one of these. I went through a few with a ton of different hardware and could only get a bios screen on the first one for a few seconds before it plunked out.
 
Edvuld said:
I do have a few questions though if anyone know?

1. Is onboard video fully disabled by just changing from Onboard to PCIE in that single Init display setting?

2. Any preformance difference between the different SATA modes in BIOS? I'm currently using Legacy IDE since I'm not sure I could install WinXP from my SATA DVD otherwise...
Click to expand...


I can answer #1 for you. The answer is yes. Set it to PCIe and isntall your video card.
 
Biodune said:
I'm still waiting to buy another one of these. I went through a few with a ton of different hardware and could only get a bios screen on the first one for a few seconds before it plunked out.
Click to expand...


Hello biodune,
Have you read this thread yet?
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1182377
Perhaps you can give them a little info to help them track down the problems this mobo has been having. Anyway, I just thought I'd point it out to you in case you hadnt read it yet. :)
 
Im at work but when i get home i should have my ram and hdmi cable to fire this computer up for the first time!!!

question for doing it.... installing to a sata drive do i have to do anything special?
 
You mean voodoo magic stuff to make it work? Lol ;) .

Nah, you don't need to do anything special, just plug it in and the Mobo should detect it.. It works like IDE, except the cables are thinner. Unless you are doing RAID, then you would have to set it up when you install windows.
 
Hi Skott,

I just posted in the other thread. I will probably grab this again when they do 1.1
 
HELP! .... first off... my HDMI to HDMI doesnt work... (bios had it set to DVI... i changed it to normal... that might have fixed it havent tried yet)

and second i think one of my rams is dead... not the slot case ive tested all 4 and they all do the same thing

1 ram stick in any of the 4 slots gives me a picture like this
img4184qj6.jpg


and then the other gives me normal... both in the computer doesnt start and i dont get any beep codes

img4185dm0.jpg


thats normal... but also what does that ^^^^ mean?



EDIT: ,,,i guess it makes scence to be all scrambled like that if the ram is bad.... cause the video card uses the ram... duhh
 
Nice monitor, I'm using the EXACT same one; Westy 32"?

I have the EXACT same problem too; When using HDMI or the HDMI to DVI thingy, I get a horrible noise in windows. After booting into windows when it makes that noise, try taking the plug out, and put it back in, that should fix it.

I think its the ATI drivers,or something with our monitors where its expecting an audio signal (HDMI is audio/video at once), but its confusing it with the video signal stream.

I dont know how to fix it, except to unplug and replug the adapter :/

PS: I'm using a X1900GT now to play games and i dont get the sound, and i'm using a DVI>HDMI cable with the westy.
 
ok the sound went away? ALL sound went away! i uninstalled both audio devices

when i went to reinstall them i had normal sound for a second... then all the sound went away again after reinstalling the drivers

ive finally got sound back but....
audioissuerj1.jpg


as soon as i install the driver for that i loose sound

ive even downloaded the latest ones from realtek... and that didnt change anything?? anyone know what to do?
 
Did you tell Windows to use the HDMI port to sent audio to? It's in the manuel on how to set it up.
 
CrimandEvil said:
Did you tell Windows to use the HDMI port to sent audio to? It's in the manuel on how to set it up.
Click to expand...

i actuall got a copy of vista so im installing that in a few minutes... then ill check it all out

thanks though i didnt even think of that
 
Anyone know if it's possible to get surround on this board in games using toslink output? I've had no luck so far, all speaker silent except front L+R, works fine with analog cables though, and I don't have analog inputs on my decoder :(
 
ok with vista im still having a sound issue... ive got sounds... the new drivers are installed... but i here some popping noise the the back ground also (very light) but the sound isnt all that great through HDMI :(

i tried to use a regular red/white and disable the HDMI sound but it doesnt work
 
Edvuld said:
Anyone know if it's possible to get surround on this board in games using toslink output? I've had no luck so far, all speaker silent except front L+R, works fine with analog cables though, and I don't have analog inputs on my decoder :(
Click to expand...

It's actually been the easiest I've ever gotten S/PDIF working; installed the Realtek HD audio drivers, launched the Sound Manager app they installed, flipped over to the Audio I/O tab, opened up the Digital settings, chose digital output, and everything is sent out over the optical out.

If you're getting just stereo over S/PDIF, maybe it's a matter of whatever you're decoding the surround sound downmixing it to stereo? Most players and/or codecs need to be explicitly told to use S/PDIF in order to send the bitstream instead of decoding and downmixig it themselves...
 
i gave up on this board, it wouldnt post for me anymore so i just got an evga 680i lt board.
 
bob511 said:
It's actually been the easiest I've ever gotten S/PDIF working; installed the Realtek HD audio drivers, launched the Sound Manager app they installed, flipped over to the Audio I/O tab, opened up the Digital settings, chose digital output, and everything is sent out over the optical out.

If you're getting just stereo over S/PDIF, maybe it's a matter of whatever you're decoding the surround sound downmixing it to stereo? Most players and/or codecs need to be explicitly told to use S/PDIF in order to send the bitstream instead of decoding and downmixig it themselves...
Click to expand...

Works fine using optical with DVDs, and everything works fine with analog. I'm using a Creative DDTS-100 and z-640 speakers. This works perfectly with soundstorm to get surround in all games, so I'm thinking it's a Realtek/driver limitation. Using the newest drivers from realteks page as well, 1.65 I believe. It would be great if I could get all sound going through ffdshow audio filter, as it works using that for DVDs, but I guess that can be kind of hard...

Using WinXP btw, thanks for the help so far.
 
My board has been running great for about 4 weeks now, but I liked to try an OC. Is the new BIOS available in the US?? I can't seem to find it on abit-usa.com.

Thanks for the help!
 
Edvuld said:
Works fine using optical with DVDs, and everything works fine with analog. I'm using a Creative DDTS-100 and z-640 speakers. This works perfectly with soundstorm to get surround in all games, so I'm thinking it's a Realtek/driver limitation. Using the newest drivers from realteks page as well, 1.65 I believe. It would be great if I could get all sound going through ffdshow audio filter, as it works using that for DVDs, but I guess that can be kind of hard...

Using WinXP btw, thanks for the help so far.
Click to expand...
Ah--yeah, Soundstorm encodes to AC3 in hardware--that's why it can send multichannel audio out over S/PDIF no matter the source. I think this Realtek chip simply lacks that hardware; it's not intended to be so beefy as that.

For any sound decoded with a DirectShow player you can use ffdshow to encode a multichannel AC3 signal on-the-fly in the Output options, which should transcode any codec you have it set to handle (and not pass-through like native AC3 or DTS). That won't help you with EAX or anything else handled outside the DirectShow framework, though, and you'll need to use the analog outputs to get multichannel sound from those; like I said, I think the onboard audio's S/PDIF output is intended more as a means to get the sound to some external sound processing unit (like a home theater receiver) and not so much to act as that sound processor itself.
 
hi! after I tried 3 intel´s motherboards (all dead by integrated vga) I have this abit now.

I have a problem... this motherboard make noise buy A LOT, I dont know why o where,I tried to put less rpm with speedfan and is better but is there yet... the others motherboard where very silent.

...and I have 2 Gb kingstom ddr667 in the 2 red slots ¿how can I know if there are in DUAL CHANNEL? it does not say in any place ¿no?

If I assign some memory -example 256 Mb- to the inboard vga ¿the dual channel is yet there?

I think the processor are to hot (55º) o ¿is the sensor wrong?

I didnt change the bios ¿is good to change by the newest bios?

this motherboard are GREAT. I can play to fear,battlefield 2,stalker,dark messiah,trackmania,just caused and more...... perpect. (test drive unlimited was not funy:mad: ) 720p vids are ok and the sound is EAX2 or dolby digital :D

silverstone sg01evo
410w tacens radix smart
1Gb x2 kingstom ddr2 667
intel core2 6400
seagate 7200 200 Gb sata
pioneer DVDR dvr-111
 
bob511 said:
Ah--yeah, Soundstorm encodes to AC3 in hardware--that's why it can send multichannel audio out over S/PDIF no matter the source. I think this Realtek chip simply lacks that hardware; it's not intended to be so beefy as that.

For any sound decoded with a DirectShow player you can use ffdshow to encode a multichannel AC3 signal on-the-fly in the Output options, which should transcode any codec you have it set to handle (and not pass-through like native AC3 or DTS). That won't help you with EAX or anything else handled outside the DirectShow framework, though, and you'll need to use the analog outputs to get multichannel sound from those; like I said, I think the onboard audio's S/PDIF output is intended more as a means to get the sound to some external sound processing unit (like a home theater receiver) and not so much to act as that sound processor itself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've been thinking along these lines as well, but I kind of took for granted that the digital output would have the same functionality as the analog, as in beeing able to provide surround sound from games where there is surround sound, which works flawless using analog cables.

Guess I'll put the comp close to my decoder and just switch the cables at the back for when I play games, ans put them back in the DDTS-1100 when I'm not playing...

WHats the other choice? Any standalone cards with toslink output that can actually handle surround in games?
 
Well, again, the problem's not the TOSLINK output per se, just the need to encode the sound mixer's output into a compressed multichannel before sending it there, like the Soundstorm stuff does. That said, there are, I think, some cards out there that will do so; Auzentech, for instance has a number in their line that advertise the ability to encode all sound from the mixer into AC3/DTS in real-time. Of course, with this motherboard's layout, there goes your lone PCI slot....

EDIT: Hmm, though the Realtek chip on-board here-the ALC888--supposedly supports Dolby Digital Live, which as I understand it is intended to address just this sort of thing. Maybe Realtek just hasn't worked that into its drivers yet?

EDIT 2: Or maybe it's just the ALC888DD that supports DDL/DTS Connect....
 
I see now. I forgot that it's actually compressed using the digital connection, now it makes more sense. Thanks for reminding me!

I don't really need the PCI for other stuff, so I'm gonna look into it.
 
HELP! is this my board or a driver issue or what???

the sound through HDMI is all messed up, it will work fine for a little while then make this crazy helicopter sound then go back to normal... and when listening to music it kinda sounds like a faint popping noise in the background

can someone show me exactly what drivers i should download for the sound

im using Vista 32bit

and if its not a driver issue then what is it???

i havent tried normal output + vga yet but maybe later i will

i also tried a wire that goes from the sound card to the red/white of my tv in the HDMI port but i dont get sound at all when doing that (i did switch the output also)

next im going to try my DVI to HDMI cable with the HDMI-adapter on the end of it (basicly making it HDMI-DVI-HDMI)... + regular sound

please help... if this is a board issue i dont want to wait too long for it :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top