HTPC Mother board Asus M3N-H/HDMI vs M3N78-EM

gap g j

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Hi

I'm looking a good motherboard for HTPC

I have zeroed in to M3N-H/HDMI and M3N78-EM

The 1st one is nVidia 750 graphics controller and the later one is nvidia geforce 8300 graphics controller.

the 1st one seems to be a older version of graphic controller but in the specification they have mentioned video and audio with HDMI but there is no certification for v1.3(a)
I googled a lot to find a good review for these, but I could not find any detailed review.
the 1st one cost Rs. 1000/- more than the later.

The later one is very popular in this forum

I would ask the members views as which one be superior.

Thanks
Gap G J
 
Do you want to go with an Intel or an AMD processor? That should determine the board.

The Gigabyte 790G board for AMD makes a lot of sense any which way you look at it.
 
I have been seeing HTPC builds here , as always i do ,wanted to point some links for NVIDIA ION boards ..

Amalgamation with NVIDIA Ion chipset gives some features that you always wanted...
>better video playback for all HTPC needs..like 1080p HD
>superior gaming ..
>The price advantage ...boxes with attractive HTPC cases
sell at 200$!!.. soon i will post links for this
no need of xtra graphics cards already dedicated ION chips from NVIDIA handle HD videos well

>Coolest feature is , you will make a very silent pc with just 1 tiny <20db fan running..
and also good looking too with a slim cabinet design


Do collect some info personally ...wheather it suits your needs or not ....:D
some reviews here: NVIDIA Ion Platform Benchmark Preview - The NVIDIA Ion Reference PC - Legit Reviews
 
I want to go with AMD

Thanks
Gap G J

Then I would recommend the 790G chipset board from Gigabyte. You can choose MSI as well, if you like. I have good experiences with both.

As Kaushik has suggested the Ion platform bears some looking. But it is very new at this time and from the review I saw looked a bit limited in scope. Please do some research on this and let us know if you have questions.
 
Gigabyte 790g mobo cost aroud 8k msi around 7k also look at biostar TA790GXB costs 4.5k (atx) TA785GE 4.2k based on new 785g chipset imo very good for htpc (m atx)
 
Only issues with the AMD chipsets - they can't do LPCM over HDMI, so there's no way to get full True HD or DTS MA from them. The nVidia 8200/8300 can do it, as can the 9300/9400 for Intel. Would recommend them over the 780/785G.
 
Then I would recommend the 790G chipset board from Gigabyte. You can choose MSI as well, if you like. I have good experiences with both.

.

I had few issues with MSI cheap MB,I used 2 so far & both had Display issue within a yr,as it was in warrenty ,it got solved & then no issue further.

Nvidia based earlier MB had issues with Xonar cards,now I think with good Bios,it got solved.
 
what would be the recommendation for a music only comp? Primary function to rip and play music, and internet radio - and if needed some streaming from home network.
 
what would be the recommendation for a music only comp? Primary function to rip and play music, and internet radio - and if needed some streaming from home network.

Get a basic Sempron LE + a cheapo IGP motherboard.
 
Thanks TH. What will be the size of the board, and heat produced? Can you suggest me a cheapo IGP board?
I do not need great graphics for sure, but do want to use a touchscreen with it. And want to keep the cost of CPU+ MB low. As for cheapo, I want something reliable, but it can be cheapo because of it being end of line product, lack of advanced features.


Get a basic Sempron LE + a cheapo IGP motherboard.
 
bump bump!
Thanks TH. What will be the size of the board, and heat produced? Can you suggest me a cheapo IGP board?
I do not need great graphics for sure, but do want to use a touchscreen with it. And want to keep the cost of CPU+ MB low. As for cheapo, I want something reliable, but it can be cheapo because of it being end of line product, lack of advanced features.
 
How about getting a MB that has minimum on board components, like video card doing HD video and audio stuff - just get it out of the board. When using HTPC in MUSIC mode, the devices that are not required can be switched off, and can be turned on when using for movie/ game mode

Any suggestions on these lines?
 
I always prefered intel,so can suggest few better MB,
Gigabyte has G33 & G45 based MB which have HDMI out,realtek chip for lossless HD sound, can be better option.
Some nvidia based MB have similar features & better graphics...
 
I meant, a MB that doesn't have power consuming heat producing stuff on board. If they are there and there is no way to find a MB that works with modern CPUs and still has "less" features, there should be a way to turn off these on board devices.

regards

I always prefered intel,so can suggest few better MB,
Gigabyte has G33 & G45 based MB which have HDMI out,realtek chip for lossless HD sound, can be better option.
Some nvidia based MB have similar features & better graphics...
 
I meant, a MB that doesn't have power consuming heat producing stuff on board. If they are there and there is no way to find a MB that works with modern CPUs and still has "less" features, there should be a way to turn off these on board devices.

regards

Well ,I built PC for someone last wk with C2D E7500 which looks very cool as Heatsink is very smaller tha my current C2D E4500.
when you use onbrd comp, less power is consumed.
 
Thanks TH. What will be the size of the board, and heat produced? Can you suggest me a cheapo IGP board?
I do not need great graphics for sure, but do want to use a touchscreen with it. And want to keep the cost of CPU+ MB low. As for cheapo, I want something reliable, but it can be cheapo because of it being end of line product, lack of advanced features.

Hi ANM. Sorry, was on holiday for a week.
I'd recommend the M3N-78VM. 8200 chipset.
 
Thanks you all!

As per the recommendation from the forum
I have bought M3N-78EM mother board along with AMD 7850 processor.

Now I wanted to move my SATA HDD to the new setup as I have accounts software which a paid one and it is activated online. unfortunately the software people has stopped support for the older version and asking to upgrade the software for a hefty price tag.

So I wanted this software and data to move to the new CPU unaffected.

The Windows does not boot up in the new CPU. What can I do.

Thanks
Gap G J
 
you will have to boot from Windows CD/DVD and Repair your os so that new drivers will get installed for new hardware.
If it still does not work, boot in safe mode and then install drivers provided with the new motherboard
 
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