[mythtv-users] Motherboards: help me understand my choices

[Mark Goldberg]

You said:

>I'm considering replacing a very aged Myth box with a new,
>from-scratch build, and I need some help sifting through the piles of
>advice.

>It seems like the integrated graphics are really, really good these
>days, but I'm not sure how the Linux driver support is. It'd be nice
>not to need another card, but not if I'm stuck in driver hell.

>I've read some very, very positive things about the new 780G
>motherboards for AMD (like the GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H).

I have an M3A-H/HDMI and was never able to make the ATI drivers work,
basically driver hell, but that was months ago and they may be better now.

>There are a number of motherboards with NVIDIA graphics (6100, 7050,
>8200) for both AMD and Intel, and also Intel options with their own
>integrated graphics (for which the driver support seems to be getting
>better). Would any of those provide a significant advantage in speed,
>quality, or driver support over the 780G options?

I had a 6150 based motherboard that worked fine (M2NPV-VM, No longer made), but
all of these chips are somewhat dated and don't support Nvidia's
latest Hi Def features.
Their drivers for linux don't support those features yet either, but
the drivers are changing
pretty rapidly, so there's hope.

I got an ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/256M card that works great with the
latest Nvidia drivers
after making sure the TV uses analog audio (Nvidia "fixed" HDMI audio
output, but my card is
DVI, so HDMI audio does not work, driver being generic did not seem to
recognize that)

So, i guess I would recommend that maybe you look at a separate
motherboard and video
card unless someone has a good integrated board to suggest. Note that
most 780G motherboards
don't work with the most powerful quad core processors. My M3A-H/HDMI
works with a 9850 but won't
overclock at all. Probably you'll need to go to a regular ATX
motherboard to work with them well.

Good luck.

Mark