HOT: 1.3ghz CPU & MOBO $5 after MIR!

[Ness]

Originally posted by: Swanny
The rebate is offered by the manufacturer, not Tiger Direct.

and seeing how this manuf. is pretty much a nobody, I don't know that I would trust it any more than Tiger Direct.

The point is, for $5, this is hot as hell... but the high risk of being stuck with what is almost a POS at 60 bucks is not even close to hot.

Hey, if you aren't afraid to lose your money, good deal.

 

[wetcat007]

shipping kills the deal

 

[Tegeril]

Calling back to cancel order, as it is backordered.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
To those touting this as a possible HTPC motherboard, how do you propose we output the video to the TV when these boards do not have any TV-out? If it had TV-out, I'd buy one.

WinTV PVR 350. It not only has an S-Video/composite output, but it also does MPEG 1 and 2 encoding in hardware, so having a slowish processor like the Via C3 isn't going to impact your PVR experience. Right now it is a bit much at $179 street, but I am hoping to see it come down with some good rebate deals towards the middle/end of the year, like the PVR 250 had last year (I remember OfficeMax having the 250 for around $100 AR for a while).

I'm mulling this combo over, because I'm looking for a cheap and quiet motherboard/CPU combo to build a homebrew TiVo replacement. The only dealbreaker for me is the SDR-SDRAM. Not only is it slower than DDR, but it is horrbily expensive to get a pair of 256MB sticks of it nowadays. The only deals I see anymore are for $20AR 128MB sticks, which are a bit on the small side for what I want to do. Once you factor in the additional costs of SDR-SDRAM (plus shipping, taxes, and the possibility of getting screwed on your rebate) it does tend to make one of those cheap Duron/ECS combos Fry's is offering all the time look a bit better in comparison.

Also, I'm really tired of Intel fanboys screaming about how hot the AMD processors are. The Bartons, Tbreds and other 13-nanometer process chips are not really that hot compared to the old Paliminos (and compared to a Prescott they are tepid at best). My processor barely breaks 40C under load and it is an AXP2500+ overclocked to 2.2GHz. It's being cooled by an Aero 7 Lite which is only cranked up halfway to around 2600 RMP, so it is actually pretty quiet. I'm sure if I sprung for some low decibel case fans, I could have a pretty silent PC if I put my mind to it. To hear the way some people around here talk about it, you'd think that buying AMD automatically means you're stuck with a computer that sounds like a jet engine, which is just not true.

 

[mindless1]

These are underpowered for Divx decoding.
These are barely adequate for full-res video playback due to the integrated video, but should be able to decode MPEG/DVD, "IIRC".

You could probably pry the fansink off and put your own large passive 'sink on it, depending on how you route the power supply intake, use a shroud to direct the air.


IMHO, the best use for either of these is a car MP3 player or a home fileserver or basic/simple webserver, though i have no idea if the hardware has linux support. If you have any question about whether it has enough performance for (whatever), it probably doesn't, you'd be better off getting a similar board that accepts a Tualatin Celry, except for the integrated video speed, which is the only thing benefiting from the C3, with it's 133MHz FSB/Mem support.

It's just a shame that it's @ TD, and this unknown "syntax"... could easily be a TD rebate masked by the word "syntax", i wouldn't put anything past TD after they saw all the ill will towards them from their previous fiascos.

 

[mindless1]

WinTV PVR 350 is a full-height card. If you're going to need a full-height case anyway, the benefits of the all-integrated motherboard and limited performance of these "things" is lost. Any old circa '98 video card (which would fit in a full-height case you'd need anyway) would be better, and with a full height case there's no benefit to a cool-running CPU, since there's room to strap on a monster-sized 'sink that can use similar monster-sized, quiet, fan.

Maybe a deal for anyone who already owns, has a HW encoder card lying around unused, but not a good performance, value, or case size for a HTPC, if you had to buy the HW encoder too.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: mindless1
WinTV PVR 350 is a full-height card. If you're going to need a full-height case anyway, the benefits of the all-integrated motherboard and limited performance of these "things" is lost. Any old circa '98 video card (which would fit in a full-height case you'd need anyway) would be better, and with a full height case there's no benefit to a cool-running CPU, since there's room to strap on a monster-sized 'sink that can use similar monster-sized, quiet, fan.

Maybe a deal for anyone who already owns, has a HW encoder card lying around unused, but not a good performance, value, or case size for a HTPC, if you had to buy the HW encoder too.

You might be able to get it into a slim case if you used a riser card, but mostly you're right. I've already got a spare mATX 815EGEW board laying around that I could get a 1.3GHz Celeron-T for that would run rings around these two C3 boards. If these were only mini-ITX form factor, then they might be worth getting just for fun, but they seem pretty useless even for $10.

 

[attention]

Originally posted by: Snowlock
Most rebates at TD are offered by the manuf... it is just that TD tends to promote very shady companies which never send the rebate, and then they act innocent as if they didn't know the comapany they dealt with was crap. collusion.

EXACTLY !
This to those who dismiss TD rebates as being unreliable.
That's EXACTLY why I purchase at Staples and not ConUSA, even if both rebates go to Parago.

And as you mentioned: only crap companies do business with other carp companies. They are as shady as themselves!

Read this about TD:
http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/nis/newsearch2.asp?ID=1&strBCode=06330000&ComID=0633000027000500

Even the FTC issued a Decision & Order against Tiger Direct!

 

[Richardito]

Originally posted by: attention

Originally posted by: Snowlock
Most rebates at TD are offered by the manuf... it is just that TD tends to promote very shady companies which never send the rebate, and then they act innocent as if they didn't know the comapany they dealt with was crap. collusion.

EXACTLY !
This to those who dismiss TD rebates as being unreliable.
That's EXACTLY why I purchase at Staples and not ConUSA, even if both rebates go to Parago.

And as you mentioned: only crap companies do business with other carp companies. They are as shady as themselves!

Read this about TD:
http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/nis/newsearch2.asp?ID=1&strBCode=06330000&ComID=0633000027000500

Even the FTC issued a Decision & Order against Tiger Direct!

TigerDirect is Sytemax also! You won't get your rebate...

 

[Technogeek]

Originally posted by: Retardito



TigerDirect is Sytemax also! You won't get your rebate...

Uhh, Maybe you did not check out the motherboards? they are made my Syntax not Systemax.. and what the hell is Sytemax?
Besides if they don't pay the rebate, then I reverse charges, plain and simple.:frown:

 

[mindless1]

It would be good, if the thread title more accurately reflected the deal.

For example, it's not a 1.3GHz CPU.

I suggest:

"Via C3 800/850MHz & S370 all-int. mobo, $5 AR @ Tiger Direct is evil."

 

[Richardito]

Originally posted by: Technogeek

Originally posted by: Retardito



TigerDirect is Sytemax also! You won't get your rebate...

Uhh, Maybe you did not check out the motherboards? they are made my Syntax not Systemax.. and what the hell is Sytemax?
Besides if they don't pay the rebate, then I reverse charges, plain and simple.:frown:

Very funny... Retard. You should read a bit more before posting and flaming someone that is trying to keep others from trouble. Do as you will and buy the damn thing. Just don't get upset later when you get screwed. :beer:

 

[Technogeek]

Originally posted by: Richardito

Originally posted by: Technogeek

Originally posted by: Retardito



TigerDirect is Sytemax also! You won't get your rebate...

Uhh, Maybe you did not check out the motherboards? they are made my Syntax not Systemax.. and what the hell is Sytemax?
Besides if they don't pay the rebate, then I reverse charges, plain and simple.:frown:

Very funny... Retard. You should read a bit more before posting and flaming someone that is trying to keep others from trouble. Do as you will and buy the damn thing. Just don't get upset later when you get screwed. :beer:

Looks like they received my rebate..

Status: We have processed your mailed submission.
Please allow three to four weeks for final processing. :wine:

Check yours here....

 

[Delbert]

Originally posted by: Snowlock
Most rebates at TD are offered by the manuf... it is just that TD tends to promote very shady companies which never send the rebate, and then they act innocent as if they didn't know the comapany they dealt with was crap. collusion.

 

[Squalish2357]

Originally posted by: Ginta
These sound like the boards used in the $200 "Internet Ready Multimedia PC" that Fry's advertizes every week. Bundled with a 30gb drive, 128mb ram, generic kb/mouse/case/cdrom/56k modem, and a linux OS, this is about as low end as you can get with NEW components regardless how much discontinued, older and slower cpus out run it in the benchmarks.

The point being here is it's the cheapest new x86 solution by far. However this doesn't serve the DIY market that well since better solutions are generally available if you know what used components to buy.

If this was fan less, had USB 2.0, was ITX form factor, and was made by a more known company I'd get one for a HTPC.

Generally, when you get this low on the scale, MPEG decoding becomes a difficult. And if you don't have mpeg decoding(or, even harder, AVI), you don't have an HTPC. It also lacks a TV-out.

 

[mindless1]

The Via S370 PL133 & after was more-or-less adequate for MPEG/AVI decoding providing a strong CPU (like Tually Celry), but the SIS... forgetaboutit.

 

[Technogeek]

I never expected this board to be able to do any MPEG/AVI decoding. So I was not disapointed with it on that part. The only problem is the choppy video, setting it to 1280 by 768 32bit (true color) @ 75 Hertz helped.
It's great for the kids..

 

[Rupster]

poor poor tiger direct - happens in every post.....

 

[Technogeek]

Now the rebate status shows as:

Rebate Inquiry
Submission not found!
A submission with the last name, address, and ZIP code you entered could not be found. Please return to the previous page using your ?Back? button, re-enter the information, and then press ?Submit? again.

4 days ago it was showing as received and processing, Any one else get this?

Syntax

 

[Tegeril]

My rebate is still processing...

 

[mikeford]

Wrong thread for moaning about rebates 3 months after the hot deal is gone.

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: daclayman
<blockquote>Quote
This motherboard features an integrated Socket 370 design. Integration binds the processor to the board. You will not be able to upgrade the processor.

Does integration = glue?

This is hot IMO except for the fact that it takes DDR - an SDRAM solution would rock. :beer:[/quote]Why's that? Unless you have some SDRAM sitting around already, the price difference is negligible these days.

 

[Technogeek]

Just an update, I received this rebate today (Friday). After calling them. It looks like anyone still waiting will need to call them.

 

[cmed]

In six orders, I have never had a problem with Tiger Direct. Tiger direct will ship to an APO address, Amazon will not ship most of their sutff to APO.

I just cashed three rebate checks from stuff purchased from Tiger.

I NEVER count on getting the rebate from any company. If the price is to high without the rebate, i don't buy it.

 

[IEC]

Caveat emptor - Latin for "let the buyer beware"

Someone used it earlier, so just translating for those who might not know it...