Htpc modification

[brian417]

here is the system I currently have

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128384

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

Ceton InfiniTV 4 Quad-tuner Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001&Tpk=ceton

APEVIA Black SECC Steel / Aluminum X-MASTER-BK/500 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144231

I also have a radeon hd 3400 graphics card crossfired with the 3300 on board gpu but I can't find a link to it. this system has been working pretty well for me using media center 7 to watch tv and movies and to do a little gaming. however where I screwed up was getting an atx mobo and case. it just doesn't fit in with the rest of my components and overhangs the shelf by about 6 inches. I want a smaller form factor Mobo and case that will use the cpu and memory I already have.

the closest mobo I have been able to find is this

ASUS M4A785-M AM3 AMD 785G
http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MB64ASUM4A785NO

the downside to this board that I can see is that this board has ATI Radeon HD 4200 onboard GPU which I probably can't crossfire with the 3400 card. but the 4200 is a better gpu right? I should have just as good of a picture and do the same gaming that I am doing now? it also seems to be another deactivated item. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

so are there any better boards out there that will fit the bill? if not would this one do what I need.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to find an HTPC case that is significantly smaller than the one you already have (even Micro-ATX cases) and will still house your components.

When you say it "overhands the shelf by about 6 inches", do you mean in width or depth? Your Apevia case has a width of 14.3" and a depth of 17.8"?

-Wolf sends

 

[brian417]

yeah it overhangs in depth. I was looking at this case which only has a depth of 12.79"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163166

the Height is only slightly more and about 3 " wider which is fine.

I only have one HDD and one dvd drive. the power supply might be an issue but I'll buy a new one if i must.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Dang, that looks cramped!

Well, this MSI board looks to be compatible with your hardware, though I'd verify the CPU Compatibility. I'm at work and won't download the zip file on MSI's CPU compatibility chart. You won't be able to HYbrid Crossfire your HD3450 with it, however.

Not finding too many 780G motherboards on the market these days. My only real concern would be to make sure the top expansion slot is the PCI-Ex1 slot for your Ceton Card. Anywhere lower and it may not have room due to the hard drive bay.

-Wolf sends

 

[rwpritchett]

FWIW, your discreet HD34xx (HD3450 or HD3470) can do hybrid crossfirex with the newer chipsets (785G/790GX and 880G/890GX) and not just the 780G.

That being said, do you really want to continue using hybrid crossfirex? I used to run my 785G HD4200 and a spare HD3450 I had laying around in hybrid crossfire and didn't really see any benefit other than a boost to WEI score.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Thanks for that info, RWPritchett!

-Wolf sends

 

[brian417]

wolfshadw, I actually already have the msi k9n6pgm2-v in another build. but it's not the -v2 that is in your link. the cpu specs of my board says it will support the phenom xII but only at 95 w mine is 125w.
it'll support other cpu's that run at 125 w so I wonder if there might be some bios tweaks that'll make it work?

rwpritchett, I agree I didn't see any difference in HD quality but I wonder how my games would run using only the 3450? which I would have to use if I went with this msi board. with crossfire there are some glitches but nothing I can't live with.


edit: actually it just occurred to me that the cpu in my other build which is an amd athlon 64 x2 5050e would be fine for HD viewing the only question would be my games.