nForce or VIA

[skateni]

Done messing around with BTV on my desktop and wanted to built a unit to put it together with my HT set up. I bought this puppy to house it.

Decided to go the AMD route ( always rooting for the underdog ) and now have to decide whether to go for a motherboard with the nVidia nForce Ultra chipset or the VIA ? Are there any known issues with both ( I'm more skewed towards the nForce but could be swayed towards the VIA ) with the PVR-250 and BTV ?

Any inputs welcome

[opilion]

Depends if you're comparing KT400 or KT600 chipsets. As I understand it, the Nforce2 chipset blows away the KT400, but advances in VIA's KT600 chipset make it more competitive. Check out www.amdmb.com for some good articles to help you decide.

op

[SuperG]

Nforce 2 w/MCP-T hands down. I can vouch for the Abit NF7-S being 100% solid.

[robert@my.tv]

I've seen enough compatibility issues crop up with VIA boards in the past that I stopped buying them. I tried the nForce boards when they first came out and haven't had a reason to consider switching back.

There are a lot of good nForce 2 boards out. Picking the best one is really a matter of finding one that has the right configuration for your needs. I generally look at the Asus offerings first, though.

[skateni]

Originally posted by SuperG
Nforce 2 w/MCP-T hands down. I can vouch for the Abit NF7-S being 100% solid.

Thanks .. had a look at the NF7-S ( and the AN7 ) and unable to use that cause the AGP and the PCI1 slot is too far apart ( great for those "double" 2 slots VGAs but bad for my chassis ). The chassis uses a riser for both AGP and PCI1 and with the NF7 configuration, I'd lose either the AGP or the PCI ( and I need them both for the VGA and the PVR-250 )

[skateni]

Originally posted by robert@my.tv
I've seen enough compatibility issues crop up with VIA boards in the past that I stopped buying them. I tried the nForce boards when they first came out and haven't had a reason to consider switching back.

There are a lot of good nForce 2 boards out. Picking the best one is really a matter of finding one that has the right configuration for your needs. I generally look at the Asus offerings first, though.

Thanks .. will keep that in mind .. I've read also about compatibility issues with their earlier chipsets .. maybe they have improved

[SuperG]

Wow you're going for the ultra slim Silverstone. I didn't notice. Yeah, I 2nd the Asus route as well.

What slim DVD drive are you getting?

[grillcheese]

NForce all the way. 5.1 audio realtime is so nice.

[Leaf]

I use a Abit nf7-s ver2. Rock solid! On board sound is very good.

[enormus]

There are several factors to consider when selecting a motherboard for an HTPC rig. One of the more important considerations for me was the sound solution. I've been a fan of the nForce APU since my first nForce1 board. I was particularly interested in the MCP's ability to pass an ac3 audio stream over the s/pdif -- something other sound cards I have previously used were unable to do. I have my HTPC connected to my Sony digital A/V receiver via an optical toslink cable. The amp in a $500 receiver is obviously better than that of even a $200 sound card. When I bought my AK47D, the KT600 was not yet available, so I was unable to consider it, but I would still have gone with an nForce2 as I have never been satisfied with VIA's IDE performance or it's USB implementation. The nForce2's dual channel RAM implementation also gives it an advantage over both the KT400 and KT600 chipsets. The KT880 now offers dual channel ram support, however this chipset is still new and I can't seem to find any KT880 based motherboards actually for sale.

Here is a good link comparing the KT880 and KT600 to the nForce2: Comparison.

Whichever motherboard you decide to buy, I would recommend a non-AIW ATI card for your primary display adapter (best VIVO support), a Hauppauge PVR-250 for TV tuning and recording and a good sound solution (either the nForce2 MCP-T or the Mad Dog Entertainer (review). Get a big hard drive, too. Those shows add up quickly.

[artbatista]

I can recommend the MSI K7N2GM-L motherboard. It's an nVidia Nforce2 based MB with network and 440MX video built in. It also has an integrated TV out port.

I have been using that in my BTV setup for a month or so and it runs great. No issues that I am aware of. Using it with a Athlon XP 2600+ CPU and some Crucial ram.

This is a mATX board, so it will fit in the micro cases and has 3 PCI slots and a AGP slot, which so far has sat iddle as I am very happy with the 440MX chipset output. The specific reason I got this board is that the integrated chipset has a full MPEG2 decoder on board, not just hardware accel as most other boards. My machine sits there recording and playing back a recorded program at 15% cpu load while using the NVDVD decoders.

I put it in one of these cases that is just a bit smaller than my Tivo/DVD combo:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...145-003&depa=0


Cheers

Art

Originally posted by skateni
Done messing around with BTV on my desktop and wanted to built a unit to put it together with my HT set up. I bought this puppy to house it.

Decided to go the AMD route ( always rooting for the underdog ) and now have to decide whether to go for a motherboard with the nVidia nForce Ultra chipset or the VIA ? Are there any known issues with both ( I'm more skewed towards the nForce but could be swayed towards the VIA ) with the PVR-250 and BTV ?

Any inputs welcome

[skateni]

Thanks everyone for you valuable inputs

Update : This sucks, this case is made more for microATX rather than standard ATX. No doubt standard ATX fits but .... having problems with the placement of the PCI1 slot so that makes the choice of motherboards limited for this case

I'll post another update if anyone interested ( with pics ) ... My recommendation is NOT to get this case if ya picky ( like me ) on what motherboard you want on it. The power supply is a little measly at 220 Watts too. I want the whole ball of wax, SATA, SPDIF/Out, 1 x IEE1394 internal header, 1 x USB 2.0 internal header, 1 PCI ( on a riser ) for the PVR-250, 1 x AGP 8X ( on a riser ) for my FX5600.

I got the thing together ( but have to make "modifications" to the PVR-250 to have it installed ) and it runs like a charm. Waiting for the MyBlaster ( just arrived today ). My final configuration is :

- Windows XP Home
- AMD 2800+
- Dual Channel 256 Mb RAM ( total 512 Mb )
- MyBlaster USB
- ABIT AN7 motherboard ( SPDIF/In and out, IEE1394, USB2.0, 100 Mb LAN, 6 channel audio )
- 1 x Seagate 120 Gb SATA
- Slim COMPAQ DVD Rom drive.

Things to do :
1. The internal 2 x USB cables provided with the case is too long. Will cut it and put it new headers to the motherboard to cut down the cable mess inside.
2. The internal Firewire cable provided have the 6 pin head that supposed to come out of the back and plugged in the back of the IO plate ( yuck ). Will change it to plug in direct to the internal mother board provided.
3. Install MyBlaster.

The black remote that comes with the PVR-250 sucked like a hoover , will need a better remote. Any suggestions ? The StreamZap looks nice ( enough buttons ). Anyone can recommend a good remote for my set up ??

[Jiffylush]

I love my remote-wonder, but if I were looking for one now, it would probably be the Firefly.

I wonder when they will be available?