mATX Roundup

[Uppsala9496]

Originally posted by: FireTech
The thread had slipped back to page 4 - Everyone given up on this review now?

Actually I have. I was curious to see how my choice stacked up against the competition, but at this point I really don't care anymore.

 

[FireTech]

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496 ...at this point I really don't care anymore.

Probably wise.
It seems that heatsinks/GPU's are taking priority with Anantech at the moment and that when the MB reviews do appear it's likely it will be 'Bearlake' versions that will be discusssed first.
That should put the reviews back to somewhere after the Intel NDA ends on May 21st.

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

thing is that now we already have huge threads on most of the matx boards, so can we really expect new input from the review?
maybe on the asrock board..

 

[Wirrunna]

Gary, I bought an MSI K9AGM2-FIH and an AMD 4800X2 65W CPU and put it together over the weekend, WinXP SP2 etc, Catalyst 7.4.
One thing you should add to the review is to test the HDMI to HDMI onto a 1980x1020 HDTV.
I cannot get the display to be full screen !
From what I can read on other forums the ATI Catalyst drivers recognize that it is connected to an HDTV and compensates for expected overscan on the TV. With Sony Bravia X and Sharp LCD lc-32d6u HDTVs set to pixel for pixel display there is a black border around the picture. On my Sony it is a good picture, but just doesn't fill the screen.

I would be interested if this behaviour is common to all AMD690G boards or just the MSI.

My old Nvidia 6150 board was perfect on the 1920x1080p display.

 

[maglito]

Wirrunna,
I had no problem with over or underscan with the 690G/1250 displaying 1920x1080video on either of my 1080p native displays. I would try adjusting the refresh rate and check forums for those displays and any trouble with 1:1 1080p. Nevermind, I just looked up that sharp and its native panel resolution is 1366 x 768, you should be feeding it that and not 1920x1080....

I RMA's one of my 690G boards and the other is pointless since they aren't capable of displaying HDDVDs or BluRay in their native 1080p without dropping frames like crazy. Any word on that AMD optimized video driver? I am going to hold higher hopes for Intel's G33 solution, and I'm curious to see if the nvidia 7050 fares any better.

I would have bought an nvidia 8500 already but the lack of h264 accel/offload in WinXP (until June) really ticks me off too. Plus, I really need a 1U(onboard) solution, a pci-e x16 riser doesn't work on most boards with the larger capacitors they put around that slot....

 

[Wirrunna]

maglito, Thank you for the quick reply. My display is the Sony Bravia X , the Sharp was reported on the AV Forum.
I can get around the problem by telling the Sony to expand the picture, just disappointing that the MSI K9AGM2 will not fill the screen at 1920x1080 like my old ASUS A8N-VM CSM did.
Also, on boot the MSI board waits until I hit the F1 key om my USB connected Globlink GKM-888T wireless keyboard/mouse before posting.

 

[maglito]

For what its worth the MSI filled the complete panel on my JVC RS1 when set to 1920x1080. One of two things is happening is either a) the MSI board is not really outputting 1920x1080 pixels (unlikely) or the Sony display isn't really doing 1:1 in whatever mode is giving you a border. I would bet money on the latter. Like I said, try playing with the refresh rates and checking forums for the exact setting to get 1:1 display on your Sony. It is possible your old Asus 6150 board output a different refresh rate that triggered your display to output 1:1. I know with my old Sony HS20 I had to work at refresh rates quite a bit to get 1:1pixel output (56Hz was the key with that one). I was planning on trying some 24Hz, 48Hz, 72Hz refresh rate setting on the 690G but it all became moot with the dropped frame plagued 1080p output. I will do some more experiments tonight and later this week just for fun trying to get no lost frames at 1080p with my remaining Asus 690G board and some others I have around. I'll try to report back to this thread with my results.

 

[Double Trouble]

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496

Originally posted by: FireTech
The thread had slipped back to page 4 - Everyone given up on this review now?

Actually I have. I was curious to see how my choice stacked up against the competition, but at this point I really don't care anymore.

Yup, same here. I'll still read the review just as background info, but my buying decisions have been made, so the review is pretty much irrelevant now.

 

[adnoto]

Are they still testing or is it now a case of waiting for an NDA to run out on the 7050 chipset boards? Just speculation but in that primer article Gary Key said something to the effect of "more info will be available on the 15th" regarding those boards. Makes me wonder if they haven't already completed the testing and are just waiting till the 15th to release the article.

Edit to add:

Looks like maybe I spoke too soon. Either the NDA is up or Biostar is jumping the gun.

Biostar TF7050-M2 at MWave and at ClubIT.

Now if Abit would only get their act together and release the AN-M2HD....


.

 

[Skott]

Well, if I understand the last post Gary made about the total review it should be posted this week unless they fail to produce it again. Its already more than 3 weeks late.

 

[FireTech]

Might be later than the 15th. Didn't that recent article also mention the 21st as launch/NDA end date for P35 etc?

 

[Wirrunna]

PCStats have the new Nvidia based Biostar TF7050-M2 reviewed - http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2111

 

[Skott]

Well, if they are going to wait til the 15th then why not come right out and say the 15? Gary hasnt said that though. Last post he made would place it this week and not next.

 

[FireTech]

Seems the 'Bearlake NDA' is over too...
Tweaktown Review

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: FireTech
Seems the 'Bearlake NDA' is over too..

considering that they've been on sale for a week here ...

 

[FireTech]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: FireTech
Seems the 'Bearlake NDA' is over too..

considering that they've been on sale for a week here ...

Don't start that again!
I'll be over within the month.....

 

[MrNeutrino]

Originally posted by: tagej

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496

Originally posted by: FireTech
The thread had slipped back to page 4 - Everyone given up on this review now?

Actually I have. I was curious to see how my choice stacked up against the competition, but at this point I really don't care anymore.

Yup, same here. I'll still read the review just as background info, but my buying decisions have been made, so the review is pretty much irrelevant now.

Very sadly and with MUCH frustration, ditto! Yet another week comes and goes by.

I've waited on this review since December of last year when there were hints of such a review coming up in the 'near future'.

I wholeheartedly admit and genuinely appreciate the following about Gary:

* Starting this thread to proactively ask us readers for MBs / tests / topics of interest for coverage in this review. A big thanks for that and keep up the good work!

* Going out of the way / initial review plans to do a mATX vs. ATX (and therefore, G965 vs. P965) performance comparison to clear urban legends regarding performance degregation with IGP chipsets. At least for a few people on this forum, that's helped finalize on a mATX over ATX build.

* Despite the personally tough times Gary has recently been through, he's been diligently pushing this massive review testing along. I all the more appreciate the effort in working around the poor quality BIOS / hardware etc. causing test issues galore. It's no simple task for sure!

* Constantly re-adjusting schedule to find the best compromise between the ever-growing review sample size, BIOS quality (or lack thereof) and time to publishing. Thanks in large part - I deduce from posts so far - to the SLOOOW to market mATX MB manufacturers with staggered releases based on last year's chipsets, and in some cases, the even more sorry state of BIOS revs. 1 to 1000 (and associated regression testing delays).


However, at this rate, even a highly anticipated mega mATX review like this is meaningless for the large majority of enthusiasts like me and the folks above. Case in point, I had no clue the Foxconn mATX board existed with almost identical feature-set as the Asus P5B-VM, until I read a review elsewhere a while back.

Value of a review is at least party in educating the majority of the audience on time, of current crop of products, as of that point in time, BEFORE the next generation of products start flowing out. Even if that means a multi-part review.

I provided the same feedback as of over 2 months back, as have many others in this LONG thread: PLEASE split reviews into many smaller ones and get them out at a meaningful time, before the products turn into dinosaurs!

Sadly, no changes in the timing of this review based on this early feedback.

So much for the desire to wait out on this review to purchase my build parts for the past 5-6 months!

Patience is a virtue... but only to a certain extent.

I really hope future reviews are better timed!

 

[FireTech]

Seems the thread has moved here with an update from Gary.

 

[imported_Lamont]

Count me as another user who has given up on waiting for this review. I really was planning on using this review as a guide but I can't wait any longer. Ordered the Asus P5B-VM DO this morning.

 

[FireTech]

Originally posted by: Lamont
Count me as another user who has given up on waiting for this review. I really was planning on using this review as a guide but I can't wait any longer. Ordered the Asus P5B-VM DO this morning.

Totally understandable. It's now been exactly 2 months since these immortal words were published:

We are in the final phases of the mATX roundup....

It should be a cracker when it does appear....

 

[FireTech]

Keeping the dream alive....

 

[Uppsala9496]

Originally posted by: FireTech
Keeping the dream alive....

More like a never ending nightmare.

 

[Snakexor]

After all, the ergonomics, features, and performance were close enough that an additional $20 at the time just did not seem to be a wise investment. As we were in the middle of preparing for our upcoming micro-ATX extravaganza (Yes, you'll finally see it in the very near future!) something interesting happened: we needed a mouse for our gaming system buildup and the "new" G5 Laser Mouse looked like it would fit the bill perfectly this time.

 

[JKing76]

Fantastic, he's regressed from specific dates ("this Friday", "first week of July") to nebulous ones ("near future"). Maybe he's waiting for the femto-ATX boards that are right around the corner.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Originally posted by: Snakexor
After all, the ergonomics, features, and performance were close enough that an additional $20 at the time just did not seem to be a wise investment. As we were in the middle of preparing for our upcoming micro-ATX extravaganza (Yes, you'll finally see it in the very near future!) something interesting happened: we needed a mouse for our gaming system buildup and the "new" G5 Laser Mouse looked like it would fit the bill perfectly this time.

HA HA! A mouse review. How pathetic!!