mATX s939 roundup/mobo list

rei · Post by **rei** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:30 am

looking for a new microatx board? look here! realistically only 2-3 boards are in semi-wide circulation now: the MSI RS480M2-IL and Foxconn/Winfast boards.

dunno why the Asus A8R-VM would use ULi M1572 when the other boards use M1573...could that be a typo? here's the list with some of the boards i'm pining for. please make corrections as necessary.

uh, sorry, i was bored tonight.

Asus A8NE-FM

http://www.bytewizecomputers.com/products/7/7/717/9012

chipset: NVIDIA nForce 4 Ultra
ram slots: 4
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: active
PCIE x1: no
PCI: 3
available: yes

Asus A8R-VM

http://pcweb.mycom.co.jp/articles/2005/ ... s/028l.jpg

chipset: ATI RS482 + ULi M1572
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: TBD
firewire: TBD
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/tra ... ac51-2.jpg

chipset: NVIDIA nForce C51G
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: yes
firewire: TBD
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

Gigabyte GA-K8NMF-9

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Pr ... 8NMF-9.htm

chipset: NVIDIA nForce4 4x
ram slots: 4
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIe x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

Gigabyte GA-K8A480M-9

http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Pro ... 480M-9.htm

chipset: ATI RS480 + ULi M1573
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: yes
firewire: no
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

MSI RS480M2-IL

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/ ... hp?UID=639

chipset: ATI RS480 + SB400
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: no
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIe x1: no
PCI: 3
available: yes

MSI RX480M2-IL

chipset: ATI RS480 + SB400
ram slots: 4
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIe x1: no
PCI: 3
available: TBD

Foxconn NF4K8MC-ERS

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_ ... F4K8MC-ERS

chipset: NVIDIA nForce 4
ram slots: 2
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: active
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: yes

Foxconn NF4K8MC-RS

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_ ... NF4K8MC-RS

chipset: NVIDIA nForce 4
ram slots: 2
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: no
northbridge cooling: active
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: yes

Foxconn C51GK8MA

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/tra ... aC51-1.jpg

chipset: NVIDIA nForce C51G
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: TBD
firewire: TBD
northbridge cooling: TBD
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

ECS RS480-M

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6813135191

chipset: ATI RS480 + SB400
ram slots: 2
video: yes
gigabit: yes
firewire: yes
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: no
PCI: 3
available: no

Sapphire A56

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=90157

chipset: AT RS480 + SB400
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: no
firewire: TBD
northbridge cooling: TBD
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

JetWay A210GDMS-Pro

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813153027

chipset: ATI RS480 + ULi 1573
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: no
firewire: no
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: yes

ASrock 939A8X-M

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2005/asrock/ ... x-m/g1.htm

chipset: ULi M1689
ram slots: 4
video: no
gigabit: no
firewire: no
northbridge cooling: passive
PCIE x1: no
PCI: 3
available: TBD

Biostar CRU51-M9

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/tra ... ac51-3.jpg

chipset: NVIDIA nForce C51G
ram slots: 4
video: yes
gigabit: TBD
firewire: TBD
northbridge cooling: TBD
PCIE x1: yes
PCI: 2
available: TBD

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 1:48 am

those shortened links.. aren't working

rei · Post by **rei** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:06 am

Sorry! Fixed now.

nmuntz · Post by **nmuntz** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:07 am

Excellent. I've been keeping a record of all the matx 939 boards also. I should have started this thread before. I didn't have the Jetway or the Gigabyte with the new nforce GPU.

My Antec Minuet continues to sit empty.

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:19 am

Thanks for your time; I too am interested in buying an mATX s939 mobo for a small, quiet summer build. It's not imperative that I buy one at this very moment, but come the end of July I will have to make a decision. I'm not completely satisfied with the choices available as of now.

Minor quibble:
Gigabyte GA-K8A480M-9 is blank after the PCIE x1: category. Also, you may want to consider organzing the boards by chipset alphabetically, and then alphabetically again within each chipset category- or just alphabetically overall. *shrug*

cjpark · Post by **cjpark** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:24 am

Nice list, I've been looking for a good matx 939 board but didn't know about some of those...I'll have to start looking into what these boards have for bios options.

rei · Post by **rei** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:07 am

i think asus a8r-vm is the only one with oc-ing features planned.

the GA-K8A480M-9 does indeed have a x1 slot.

does 'local framebuffer' mean it has own dedicated video ram?

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:15 am

Speaking of the Asus A8R-VM and potential typos, what is this RS482 chipset it is said to have? How is it different from the RS480?

For my needs, I've recently decided that a seperate gfx card is no longer justifiable from a price/usage standpoint. That means all mATX nforce4 boards are out!

That means the Gigabyte GA-K8A480M-9 is my new frontrunner. If paper matches practice I will be thoroughly satisfied by this board. Close behind is the Asus A8R-VM, which could become my ideal board once we clear the details up.

I don't see any reason to wait for any of the NVIDIA nForce C51G boards unless they miraculously bring back SoundStorm or are somehow cooler than the ATI boards. I wonder, though, if they'll beat the rest of those ATI boards to market, as slow as things are going.

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:48 pm

The RS482 is basically just the RS480 using a 110nm process instead of a 130nm.

Aside from the minor tweaks here and there, RS482 and RS410 only differ from their predecessors by the production method. Existing Xpress 200 core logics are produced on 130nm processes, but the new chips will use 110nm.

They'll have an even newer southbridge with the RS482 it seems. This could explain why the Asus A8R-VM has a different southbridge chipset then the older RS480 boards (although the new number should be higher instead of lower, that I still don't get).

Several months ago, when the original RS300 and RS350 motherboards were reviewed, the south bridge on both chipsets performed abysmally. Poor USB performance and general instability ended up hurting ATI in the long run, as the SB400 south bridge was eventually designed by ULi. ULi's version of SB400 ships with all Xpress 200 motherboards available right now, but optimistic claims that within a month or so ATI's new south bridge, SB450, will start bundling with their existing and next generation core logics.

Full article here

Also from the article:

Unfortunately, like most things ATI, OEM partners have told us that none of these 110nm chips will make their expected June ship date, which is probably why there aren't many details floating around yet. The A11 silicon is still waiting approval from some committees as well (A12 will be final). ATI makes an interesting note in their roadmap that integrated Gigabit Ethernet offers no cost or performance advantage over using a third party chip, and thus Gigabit Ethernet will continue to remain a third party add on for motherboard manufacturers.

stromgald · Post by **stromgald** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:05 pm

Thanks for the list! I'm looking to build a small system in a Chenming 118 mATX sometime early July, and this will help alot. I just hope those Gigabyte boards come out soon. I'm hoping to get one of those GA-K8NMF-9s since I'll be adding a video card to the system. If not, I might have to settle for the MSI without PCIe x1.

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:54 am

The microATX world is new to me, and I'm not thoroughly convinced I'll jump in yet. But I've been looking into it, and I've noticed the serious lack of options, as far as new technologies are concerned. Do microATX boards lag behind ATX designs? So, there WILL be more options at time goes?

Gah, patience....I hate that stuff.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:09 am

As has been mentioned before the ATI southbridge is crap, as also mentioned before, almost anything ALI/ULI have made is also crap.

However this has NOT stopped me from shipping a few systems with MSI RS480-M2-IL Motherboards to people, and with no problems whatsoever.

The problems have been highlighted already here, and confirmed by myself, using real world tests. http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=22036

The reason being is that the machine is £40 less than an equivelent problem free (except the NB Fan) NF4 system that does not require potent graphics.

Andy

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:42 pm

this nvidia onboard GPU... how does it compare with ATI's? or are we too far away to know?.. how long are estimates before the nvidia boards make it to market?

anaqer · Post by **anaqer** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 12:17 am

mb2 wrote:this nvidia onboard GPU... how does it compare with ATI's? or are we too far away to know?.. how long are estimates before the nvidia boards make it to market?

There's still hardly any info on the GPU in C51 yet - it's fair to assume it's going to be SKO NV44 derivative. Not sure whether they'd go with a 2-pipe design or not - since the C51 is a regular chipset (ie. both NB and SB) the cut may not be absolutely necessary... coupled with a decent amount of onboard TC memory, that could give us one killer integrated graphics solution.

It wouldn't be cheap though, so I doubt it's going to happen. All the same, even half an NV44 should beat the RS400, hands down.

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:50 am

rei wrote:does 'local framebuffer' mean it has own dedicated video ram?

yes, like the turbo-cache and hyper-memory cards; there is a little onboard, eg 32MB and it can use the system memory too.

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:17 am

Well, it's now July. Here's hoping Gigabyte can release their GA-K8A480M-9 this month.

sdo · Post by **sdo** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:17 am

I've been contacting alot of places in .AU over the last couple of weeks about the gigabyte GA-K8A480M-9... Finally today I got an answer from Gigabyte Sales.

(please note, this is regarding australia - i have no idea bout the .us or any other market)
The reply I got:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your kindly mail and inquiry. About the issue you mentioned, the board won't be sold in retail market. There is no way to buy the MB unless you buy GIGABYTE PC system. Sorry if there is any inconvenience.

At last, if you still have any further question or suggestion about our products/service, please do not hesitate to contact with us directly. We will try our best to help you resolve the problem ASAP.

So unless anyone else has info on where to get one (i'de really love one too

looks like i'll have to settle for the Foxconn NF4K8MC-ERS.

sdo

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:49 pm

It would be thoroughly disappointing if that were true. I've emailed them on behalf of US customers to find out; I'll post their reply here.

sdo · Post by **sdo** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:25 pm

I totally agree Caudipteryx zoui...

I'm going to order the rest of the parts for my HTPC next week, so I look forward to your reply.

Atleast I can easily get one via my friend in the .us if they will sell them there.

gaidin · Post by **gaidin** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 3:30 pm

Hi all,

I joined just to post my addition about the availability of the Gigabyte board. I too emailed gigabyte and inquired about retail availability in the US and MSRP for the GA-K8A480M-9. Here's what they sent me:

"Dear Customer,

This model has been available to our OEM partners. However, late July will be the release into the channel and retail market. MSRP $120

Thank you for choosing Gigabyte products"

This was sent on June 30th. I doubt the thing would actually list at $120 but still, I hope it makes it into retail.

Gaidin

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 7:45 pm

Sweet! That does sound hopeful; thanks for sharing. I haven't heard from them yet.

sdo · Post by **sdo** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 11:08 pm

Nice work gaidin !!

Looks like I'll be cancelling my order for the foxconn board and waiting a few more weeks, then get my boss's brother to buy it for me and send it over to me in .au.

This is great news !

swivelguy2 · Post by **swivelguy2** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:13 am

gaidin wrote:I joined just to post my addition about the availability of the Gigabyte board. I too emailed gigabyte and inquired about retail availability in the US and MSRP for the GA-K8A480M-9. Here's what they sent me:

Doesn't this board have the crappy ULi southbridge, with all of its troubles?

So am I right to summarise that the only options in the near future are nForce4 boards, with chipset fans, or ATI/ULi/ALi boards, with terrible southbridge performance?

Also, a little correction: the listing in the first post for the Foxconn C51GK8MA says PCIE x1: yes, PCI x2, but in the picture it looks like all 3 are PCI.

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:35 am

All of the benchmarks I have seen showing the shameful USB 2.0 performance have been on boards using ATI's [in-house] SB400 Southbridge.

http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2004q ... ex.x?pg=17
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content ... e%5Ftest=1

I'd love to see some benchmarks of ATI Xpress200 boards with ULi SBs if you have them. That wouldn't bode well for my plans, but if they suffer similar deficiencies, I need to know.

anaqer · Post by **anaqer** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:37 am

Caudipteryx zoui wrote:I'd love to see some benchmarks of ATI Xpress200 boards with ULi SBs if you have them. That wouldn't bode well for my plans, but if they suffer similar deficiencies, I need to know.

Not exactly benchmarks, but something to look out for - it may be Shuttle's fault though for all we know.

Plus, I think this might be an indication of ATi's increased effort re:chipsets, so maybe the fall XPRESSx00 lineup will actually get the long-promised SB450...?

Caudipteryx zoui · Post by **Caudipteryx zoui** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:51 pm

Perhaps I am lacking in computer knowledge, but I don't understand how the problems Kyle listed in his conclusion translate into a flakely southbridge. Anyone?

I received a reply from Gigabyte, here it is:

Dear Customer,

This model has been available to our OEM partners. However, late August will be the release into the channel and retail market.

Thank you for choosing Gigabyte products

So the date has moved from late July to late August, thus eclipsing the time table for my current project. That's a shame, but at least this circus is over for me. I'll ask for input on the current available crop here soon.

sdo · Post by **sdo** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:48 pm

Damn late august now :-/

All my other parts have arrived, I dont really want to wait another month for it to be rlsd, then probably another month before i can get one sent over here

Might have to bight the bullet and get the foxconn board after all :-/

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:56 am

Is there some website that is a pretty good source for micro atx motherboards coming out? An all-encompassing kind of thing? I have not found the micro atx board that meets all my needs yet, but I figure it's just a matter of time. But I don't want to have to keep sifting through giga-byte, MSI, etc websites to see what they got. Is there some good "master" website in relation to micro atx boards? (other than this forum, of course.

).

inti · Post by **inti** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:13 am

Thanks for a great thread.

I like the look of the Gigabyte GA-K8NMF-9 for a quiet HTPC - has every feature I need, and a very neat-looking board layout with the chipset positioned well away from the graphics card and CPU so it should be quite easy to keep it all cool.

The only problem with that mobo is that it looks like you are supposed to use one of the expansion slots for SPDIF out as there is only an 'internal' SPDIF connection - I am not sure how easy it would be to make up your own cable direct to the 'internal' connection, sometimes additional electronics is required to turn a 'chip' level SPDIF signal into something which can drive a signal cable. There is always a compromise with uATX!

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:51 am

inti wrote:I like the look of the Gigabyte GA-K8NMF-9 for a quiet HTPC -

Gah, I was totally excited there for a sec. I read the GA-K8NMF-9 Description on the Giga-byte site for this board.....and I thought "Wow, where has this board been hiding?". But then I checked the actual specs. Seems the description is lying about having gigabit ethernet....specs say 10/100. What are the chances the specs are wrong, and the description is right?

Grumble