The Unofficial List of Good mATX Motherboards (Overclocking and Not)

I could be wrong but I don't think there are any Intel boards with PCI-e 2.0 yet in mATX form factor.
 
mrmylanman said:
I could be wrong but I don't think there are any Intel boards with PCI-e 2.0 yet in mATX form factor.
Click to expand...

check the link in my last post, its a mATX intel board ready to buy today with PCIe 2.

all 4 series have PCIe 2. G45, P43, P45 and obvoiusly X48.

only the X48 will do full 16x per card in crossfire.

P45 is the only other that will do crossfire at all (each card with an 8x slot)
 
xkon said:
coming soon....
http://www.motherboardpro.com/DFI-LP-Jr-P45-T3RS-DDR3-CrossFire-Micro-ATX-Motherboard-p-660.html
Click to expand...

not that we will notice with any current gpu but as i stated above the P45 will only be an 8x and an 8x for crossfire setups.

since it is going to be DDR3 and an OClockers board shouldnt they have used X48? I have no clue about the space requirements for X48 vs P45 when designing a board.

i think perhaps DFI chose one over the other due to cost.

the DFI being DDR3 would indicate its proper use would be with a top notch processor, and for that the X48 apparently has 12.8GBs bandwidth available versus _all_ other recent Intel chipsets having 10.8GBs.

personally i could settle for something not cutting edge, especially if the stats dont add up like the DFI LP Jr P45 T3RS's dont seem to.
 
they should do something crazy, and have 2 northbridges! haha! like the P5N32-E SLI PLUS. ;p not sure how feasible that is, but yah... considering how much of a flop the plus was i guess that's why asus doesn't do it anymore.
 
Ok, so as for skt 939... I'm stuck between several motherboards. they are:
-Asus A8N-VM CSM http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=766&l1=3&l2=15&l3=210&l4=0
-Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9-RH http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=2293
-Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=1938
-Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=1939
-Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9-RH http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=2294

I can't figure out which one to buy. I need a mobod that has 4 sata 3gb, 4 pc 3200 slots, ide 100/133, parallel port, usb 2.0 and firewire 400/800, 10/100/1000 eath, dual core support, support for opteron cpu's and dual core opteron cpu's.
Problem is that the asus board is the only one that supports dual core opteron's, but is plagued with problems,,, overclocking restrictions, improper cooling, not full digital audio, not full dvi port. What i want to know is if anyone who has one of these gigabyte mobods has got any dual core opterons to work in the board. i mean the asus has practically the same components as the gigabyte's, but the gigabyte mobods can't run a the same opteron cpu's that the asus board can.

Also, is the asus motherboard any good? i've read several reviews, and it seems ok, but has problems. I think these were fixed in later revisions and bios fixes. can someone fill me in?

yes I know skt 939 is old, but I'm upgrading my kitchen pc from skt A.and I don't like the Am2 platform.
 
GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-DS2H
LGA 775
Intel G45
HDMI
Micro ATX
eSAT
Firewire
D-Sub and Digital on board video connectors

I read in one of the images that it has PCIe x4 yet G45 allows for a single PCIe x16, this might be best for HTPC and not mATX gaming but its a start. the rest of the features are very good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128353&Tpk=GA-EG45M-DS2H



commissioneranthony said:
Ok, so as for skt 939... I'm stuck between several motherboards. they are:
......

yes I know skt 939 is old, but I'm upgrading my kitchen pc from skt A.and I don't like the Am2 platform.
Click to expand...

Im still using a Foxconn 6150K8MA that has been really good. Check the first post to see what OC features it has, there are many.
 
commissioneranthony said:
yes I know skt 939 is old, but I'm upgrading my kitchen pc from skt A.and I don't like the Am2 platform.
Click to expand...

What's there not to like about AM2? The mATX AM2 boards are better overclockers than socket 939, on averate. RAM is cheaper and more available. CPUs are cheaper and more available, and with greater variety. Boards are more readily available. Can get boards with better IGP, plus the onboard sound is better (HD Audio versus AC'97).

Do you already have a socket 939 CPU and some DDR RAM laying around?

BTW, I've been playing around with a Gigabyte GA-G31-S2 (or something like that) which is a G31 chipset mATX board with overclocking. Not too shabby. I'm working on getting a Q9400 stable at 3.2GHz. I actually think I'm being held back by the stock cooler because it is stable for a while until temps start climbing. Not bad for a pretty cheap motherboard. Also, it can handle dual slot video cards with only losing one SATA port, unlike some other mATX LGA-775 boards.
 
crayzihorse said:
GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-DS2H
LGA 775
Intel G45
HDMI
Micro ATX
eSAT
Firewire
D-Sub and Digital on board video connectors

I read in one of the images that it has PCIe x4 yet G45 allows for a single PCIe x16, this might be best for HTPC and not mATX gaming but its a start. the rest of the features are very good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128353&Tpk=GA-EG45M-DS2H





Im still using a Foxconn 6150K8MA that has been really good. Check the first post to see what OC features it has, there are many.
Click to expand...
im running on that g45 board right now, im going to see if i can OC my q6600 on it.
 
Running an intel G33TL. I have been very happy with the optical audio output from my HTPC.
The only drawback is that it only has 2 fan headers. Another one or two would have been nice....
 
Hi,
Does anyone know which mAtx boards on the market currently support AMD Phenom CPUs?? I only know of the Sapphire one so far....
 
Apparently so. I only found one for sale in Germany/USA though, maybe they don't supply the UK market?
 
I need a recommendation for a motherboard..I am not going to overclock...Photoshop..light gaming. 8 mgs ram, quad core ? The more i read the more confused i get!...and I am kinda new at this so .....
 
Check out what ASUS has to offer. The P5K-VM and the P5E-VM HDMI are great for those wanting to overclock and there are some models that'll do fine for those not wanting to overclock at all. Like the P5Q-EM and there is also a 'DO' model that ASUS makes thats not too bad. I forget its full model number. There are other manufacturers as well. Intel has a model thats popular with those wanting RAID and no overclocking. The Gigabyte DS2R was popular but I dont know if its still availble in stores. I heard it was discontinued from the factory.

Unfortunately the list in this thread is old and out of date so its not helpful to those that look at it and want whats availble now. Most people here at HF are into the OCing it seems so they are using the latest mobos that do that. P5E-VM HDMI and the new DFI JR P45 T2RS.

Okay, you are still confused I'm sure. Here is one suggestion. The P5K-VM is still available. Its also the cheapest of the overclocking mATX mobos currently. You can snag it for about $100. Maybe a tad more. Its stable, good, and was very popular before the P5E-VM HDMI pushed it off the top spot. Check it out.

Edit: Someone over at the AT forums was saying this a a decent mATX mobo but has not OCing features.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121355
 
harsaphes said:
I need a recommendation for a motherboard..I am not going to overclock...Photoshop..light gaming. 8 mgs ram, quad core ?
Click to expand...

Are you going to use a PCIe video card, or onboard video?

For not overclocking and using a PCIe video card, you can get just about any G33/G35/Q33/Q35 chipset board (these support 8GB RAM unlike G31). If using onboard video, consider waiting for the GeForce 9300 chipset boards to become available as that will have the best onboard video of any Intel platform chipset.
 
DFI Lanparty JR GF9300-T2RS is also on its way to be released (like its big brother GF9400-T2RS):
cepIoZl0BWnnQ.jpg

ce2g3rN7Hmn66.jpg

ceY8MEfJD3nlQ.jpg

20081020131932721989899485.jpg

:)
 
one guy over at HFR posted a screen of a gigabyte G31: GA-G31M-S2L with fsb over 500!
So I wanted to verify by myself and it appears he was right!
boot fsb@500 pcie@auto and here the results:
DSC00163.jpg

500-2.jpg


All G31/P31 need to raise the pcie freq to pass fsb@350...

the pcie is very high: 150mhz. I had to mount an old HDD quantum fireball CR IDE 4.3Go 'cause xp locked with a seagate 40go 7200rpm IDE...
 
think i might have to try that g31 board if this is true :)

wonder how it does with quads, probably not good ...
 
it will not be easy to hit fsb@500 because not all SATA HDD will sustain high pcie frequency!
most will failed over 120mhz...
that's the reason why i used an IDE drive but even in this case, my seagate barracuda 40Gb 7200 IDE failed to boot. Had to use another HDD (quantum CR IDE)
The guy over at HFR managed to bench with a sata HD samsung spinpoint F1 up to pcie@156mhz...Many of us were sceptical so i wanted to check by myself....

fsb@470:
470-1.jpg


fsb@480:
480g31s2l.jpg


One member over at XS managed to hit fsb@425-430 with a q9450!
ScreenShot012.jpg

http://www.allquests.com/question/2274965/Yes-Another-Car-Radiator-Thread-Major-56K-Warning.html
 
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How does the older S2L compare to the newer ES2L? I had the old S2L (sold it to my brother), and it was a champ for OCing my old 65nm Q6600.

FWIW, I have the same issues with high FSB on my P5Q Pro and my Q9300. SATA drives (Samsung F1) will cut out around 450mhz FSB. Maybe my PCIe isn't locking properly.
 
the old s2l can handle high fsb thxs to pcie frequency bump

fsb@440 with my q9400:
440q9400.jpg

fsb@450:
fsb450.jpg

3d06:
13655.jpg

Everest memory bandwith:
8427.jpg


the new es2l will probably perform in the same range but my other G31mx-s2 only hit fsb@450 with c2d (higher will freeze or corrupt my HDD)
 
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What is the point? Who wants to fubar their HDD because the PCI-E is at some stupid frequency. Do none of the G31 (or G41) chipset mobos have proper PCI-E locks?
 
pcie freq may be locked on all G31! but need to be raised to hit high fsb....
I did not say it was meaned to be used for h24...:eek:
But right now for benches my samsung sata drive handles this without issue...

And yes stupid frequency man! :D

But I have enough rig to play with, this one is only for benches...
 
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Ah, I am interested in stable long term overclocked use, not benchmark stability for 2 hours.

I had a Gigabyte P31 mobo which was supposed to have a PCI-E lock but when overclocked to FSB400 it stopped working (the lock) and so HDD barfed. It seems the lock only works up to FSB 333 with that mobo. I'd like to know if there is a G41 mobo with a lock that works at 400+ (mATX or otherwise) but it seems very few reviews for G41 mobos.

My best candidates are

Full ATX G41
micro ATX G41
 
Anyone with experience with the EG45M-UD2H?

motherboard_productimage_ga-eg45m-ud2h_big.jpg


Feature wise it seems very good (notice the placement of the SATA ports), but OC-wise what is it worth? Drives me nuts that Gigabyte is unwilling to provide fully-featured OCing BIOS like on the ATX boards. But maybe that's good enough. Anyone?
 
I'm using DFI LP JR P45-T2RS. I'm running a Q9550 440FSB @1.28v 3.74Ghz. I could not achieve this with the Asus P5E-VM. So far i'm liking the DFI alot better.

What are you guys talking about overclocking the PCI-E? Increasing that helps to increase FSB? I have 2 raptors 150gb RAID0. What's should be the PCI-E Freq?
 
Has anyone updated this thread? I see top pick for 2007, but Abit is all but defunct now. What is the top pick for mATX Socket 775 in 2009?
 
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