“It comes in a pint sized package and reading the specifications you would think that the Intel DG45ID motherboard would seem to have the makings of a winner. When it comes to integrated graphics for an HTPC pushing Blu-ray content; do you want Intel inside?”Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
- ASRock P45R2000-WiFi Motherboard @ BCCHardware
- MSI DKA790GX Platinum @ motherboards.org
- Asus Rampage Extreme Motherboard Review @ HardwareLogic
- ASRock A780GXE/128M AMD 780G AM2+ Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
- Gigabyte EP45-EXTREME @ Techgage
- MSI P45-8D Memory Lover Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps
- EVGA 790i Ultra @ Bjorn3D
- FOXCONN BlackOps X48 @ OC3D
- NVIDIA GeForce 9300 Launch Roundup @ motherboards.org
- GIGABYTE EP45-UD3P @ TweakTown
- ECS GF9300T-A Black Series Motherboard Review @ Hardware Secrets
Integrated capablities continue to grow
The newest Intel mATX board is the DG45ID, built for s775 processors and sporting a single x16 PCI-E slot; the big feature is the x4500HD graphics featuring HDMI and DVI-I output ports.
As far as CPU usage goes, you are far better off with NVIDIA’s PureVideo HD or AMD’s ATI Avivo HD. If you aren’t too concerned about CPU usage, for instance if you are building a dedicated Blu-ray player that will never do anything else, then the G45 is a good choice, especially when you discover it is capable of sending a 1920×1080 analog signal to CRTs and LCDs that are not technically HD displays. [H]ard|OCP can prove it.