ASUS Barebone PC stuff

[SFX Group]

ASUS make a number of smaller footprint PCs, i have listed them below, the main problem is they all have video cards already onboard (with sound) so has anyone managed to get them FULLY working with GBPVR including channel viewing.

The idea is to put a PVR150 or 500 in so it has the "input" but the sound and video are onboard, they all have VIDEO out as well so this is what the question is aimed at really....

ASUS P1-PH1
Intel P4 up to 3.8 GHz (Socket 775 800/533 MHz)
Chipset: ATI™ Radeon® Xpress 200
Integrated Radeon® X300 based graphics

AUS Pundit-R350
Intel P4 up to 3.4 GHz (Socket 478 800/533/400 MHz)
North Bridge: ATI RS350L
South Bridge: IXP200
ATI Radeon 9100 Integrated Graphics

There are others like the S-presso but this has no onboard video so i can supply this which i might prefer, but the above look really nice, anyone who has either please own up and tell me what you think.

[wannabepvr]

I use an all in one ASUS MB with onboard video. I forget the number right now but it is a socket 478. (P4800MX? or something)

But because the onboard video dosen't have a TV out I have an FX5200 going to my CRT.

Were you just planning to output a monitor or something else?

I suppose you have nothing to loose in trying it. It it works great. If not you were up for a graphics card anyway.

[SFX Group]

See here in lays the problem, both the above have only 2 PCI ports (NO AGP port) so you HAVE to use the onboard graphics, also this is a decision i have to make BEFORE i buy so i know what i am getting into, which is why i wanted to see what others have found with them...

Presently when i do this sort of thing i buy a Matrox G400 DUAL card and load a special TV BIOS on that so it outputs EVERYTHING to TV with no drivers (needs a special lead i build to do this), its RGB so not Composite (nice quality). When the system boots i make sure its 640x480 (nice res to see the desktop on).

But this is a Matrox AGP card, i cant fit that to the above units, there "micro" cases so are tiny. There is another case with NO graphics onboard but this has 1 PCI and 1 AGP slot so i can load a Matrox card and a PVR card as well...

[ejeffers]

There is such things as a PCI Graphics card. BFG even makes a nvidia GeForce 6200 for PCI.
I personally have an FX5200 PCI in my PVR.

[SFX Group]

Ok, still misses the point, i have sort of taken it that no one knows as no one has done it. Not going to spend money on it to find it doesnt work. Going down the "safe" route with the case that will take the Matrox AGP card. Many thanks for the input....

[River_Styx]

You could look into these two:
Enlight EN-7473
MSI K8NGM2-FID

The motherboard has video onboard (DVI, VGA, TV-out) but also al PCI-e slot for a other videocard......

If you use a DVI TFT screen and your TV-out you can do a dual screen setup.
If you use the VGA and the TV-out just can only switch between the two outputs...

The Enlight case just looks nice for a reasonable price!

[MaBo]

Another option is (the one I use) take an ASUS pundit and put in a PVR350. For al the PVR-related in- and output you use the excellent PVR350 video output. This has worked very satisfactory for over two and a half years now.

GReetz,
MaBo

[Weezy]

I have been using the Asus P1-PH1 for about 3 weeks now. I made the decision to only use the on board video before I purchased the case. There have been some complaints about the video noise with the VGA connection, which I can confirm. The digital connection on the other hand looks very good, but I believe it is a DVI-D connection which can not be used with a DVI-VGA adapter.

As far as the TV-out ports the Composite looks good most of the time, I am still trying to track down some issues with slight interferance. This may be caused by poor channel reception or a cheap cable. I have not had a chance to use the S-video out.

I have only had minor problems with the video playback such as minor tearing on 1 or 2 recordings. I have not had a chance to record any fast paced sports or movies.

The onboard sound seems fine, I only use the standard 2.1 out. I have had no problems with the motherboard waking up/sleeping from standby or hibernate. The Q-Fan control makes for a very quite HTPC. The case seems ok on heat issues and I believe my Celeron runs between 50-60C, but I have not tested that much under full loads.


Now for the downside of the case. This is very compact case and it looks great, it is about the size of a VCR. The size does cause some problems. A full size Hauppauge PVR 150 card will only fit in the second PCI slot. Although the PVR 150 card will fit I would not reccommend it because it is incredibly tight and it made me nervous. All the other components (HD, DVD) fit in the case but they are a tight fit and of course you can only have one HD and one DVD.

Overall I am satisifed with the case because of the size and look which was my top priority. This could have been very different had I not been able to squeeze the PVR 150 card in.


Celeron 2.8ghz
512 GB Kingston Value Ram
Onboard Video ATI Radeon Xpress 300
Hauppauge PVR 150
Western Digital 120 GB ATA100
Windows XP Pro SP1a

[SFX Group]

Many thanks for all, i have decided to use what i know works. WIll be a PVR150 card and a Matrox G400 DUAL HEAD (which has VERY GOOD) TV out adapter (from BIOS) in an AOPEN CUBE case.

This board also has an onboard Gigabit ethernet connection as well an an Intel Chipset (which is the only make i will use).