DFI Prepares LANParty JR 790GX-M3H5 AM3 mATX Motherboard

[btarunr]

Famed for its LANParty JR "junior" series high-end mATX motherboard lineup, DFI is preparing an addition: the JR 790GX-M3H5. This one features the AM3 socket, made for the latest AMD processors supporting DDR3 memory. Respecting the constraints this form-factor has, the board goes on to cover every feature one would expect from a larger ATX motherboard, which is the ideology behind the LANParty JR.

The CPU is powered by a 4+1 phase VRM circuit. Expansion includes two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (electrically x8 when both are populated), a PCI-E x1, and a PCI slot. The 790GX IGP is assisted by 128 MB of DDR3 sideport memory. Display outputs include DVI-D and HDMI. The SB750 southbridge provides six SATA II ports with RAID support. This board will hit the shelves by the end of April.



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[Mussels]

... i need new pants now.

[/nerdgasm]

 

[X-TeNDeR]

I don't get the idea with these minimized boards which support even mounting a microwave on them.. i'm a microATX board user myself, and its hard to decide which expansion card will be scrapped just because you have an heatsink on your graphics card, and almost any other part won't fit with it.

Don't buy microATX unless its for media center rigs or something.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Why not?
I've been considering some of the new boards as I don't have a dual slot cooler on my graphics card and I only have a couple of add-on cards that I use. I just need to find a nice case that I can stick all my hard drives in, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of mATX cases that take five drives

 

[Mussels]

LAN rigs, and general mATX is taking off.

Lots of people are short on space, so a small footprint PC (With quad core crossfire POWAH!), cordless mouse and keyboard + 22" screen... a uni student in a tiny apartment can fit that.

 

[Icewind31]

Why not?
I've been considering some of the new boards as I don't have a dual slot cooler on my graphics card and I only have a couple of add-on cards that I use. I just need to find a nice case that I can stick all my hard drives in, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of mATX cases that take five drives

I used the DDR2 version in the mini-P180, that can take 5 hard drives and more

LAN rigs, and general mATX is taking off.

Lots of people are short on space, so a small footprint PC (With quad core crossfire POWAH!), cordless mouse and keyboard + 22" screen... a uni student in a tiny apartment can fit that.

Yea, I have the DDR2 version of the board and it's rock solid and a great overclocker, so aside from the limited add-on cards, it's just as good as a full-sized w/o the need of full size space.

 

[3870x2]

mATX have been around a very long time and don't plan on going anywhere. They are actually very nice, even if you dont care much for saving space.
Remember that these arent ITX, the mATX board is only slightly smaller than the reg, but do make a big difference on space.

 

[Mussels]

I suppose the key is here, how many expansion slots you use.

Audio: Worth it, to a lot of people. Others dont care, or use USB headsets.
Lan: yeah, who upgrades that. next to no one.
Wireless: USB.

What else is there?
You arent going to stick RAID cards or anything in a mATX case anyway.

 

[ShadowFold]

Where's the UT boards They haven't made a UT board for AMD in forever.. I wanna get a DFI 790FX UT with DDR3..

 

[Disparia]

mATX have been around a very long time and don't plan on going anywhere. They are actually very nice, even if you dont care much for saving space.
Remember that these arent ITX, the mATX board is only slightly smaller than the reg, but do make a big difference on space.

Exactly... I remember a time when most manufacturers had at least one mATX board for each chipset out. Now some manufacturers have 4-5 ATX versions and no mATX. Kudos to DFI!

 

[1Kurgan1]

I don't get the idea with these minimized boards which support even mounting a microwave on them.. i'm a microATX board user myself, and its hard to decide which expansion card will be scrapped just because you have an heatsink on your graphics card, and almost any other part won't fit with it.

Don't buy microATX unless its for media center rigs or something.

?You get a board that has a bagillion options and cuts out the 3rd or 4th gfx card slot, that will probably never get used.

I personally don't have anything filling PCI 1x or PCI slots, but I got a 790FX board atm, GX will prob be my next buy to save some cash.

 

[Imsochobo]

Im a microatx atx user, overclocker.

But i decided to make a lan pc. running hd4870 CF, and a 9850 BE atm, will be replaced with a tricore.


I did almost 4 ghz on phenom 1 with the AM2+ version of this motherboard, and 4500 mhz with Phenom II.


Great board, works flawlessy!.

Love it, true about expansion slots, but really, sound is the only thing you wont get premium, it got enough features otherwise, gigabit, 6 sata with raid support( software though) but when its small, youd dont have more than 6 drives eh ?.

Only bad thing is that pci-e is 8/8X hardwired.

 

[Mussels]

yeah but 8x/8x in PCI-E 2.0 aint gunna hold any modern cards back, even the big ones.

 

[X-TeNDeR]

I only have 1 expansion card, my good old PCI Soundblaster Live!, and shame you couldnt see how my radeon X1950 cooked it over time, to the point where it is now dead. the cards were so close to eachother, that the whole sound card got steaming hot over long gameplay sessions. this was never the case with my former ATX board, where the sound card was sitting cool and comfy in the lowest PCI slot, away from any heat source.

By the way, after switching over from SB Live to integrated ALC888 a few times, i can truly say, INTEGRATED AUDIO IS CRAP. i miss my SB

 

[TheMailMan78]

I just realized thats a mATX board. Not only am I a moron but that board is F'ing AWESOME!

 

[erocker]

If this board is like any other of the LP Jr.'s the PCI-E slots will only work at x8 whether it's a single card or dual cards.

 

[TheMailMan78]

If this board is like any other of the LP Jr.'s the PCI-E slots will only work at x8 whether it's a single card or dual cards.

Not according to the specs. It only goes to 8x if both slots are occupied. Otherwise its 16x.

 

[erocker]

Not according to the specs. It only goes to 8x if both slots are occupied. Otherwise its 16x.

I don't see that happening. If it does, I'm writing a bitchy letter to DFi on why every other LP Jr. be it an Intel/Nvidia/AMD chipset has both lanes locked at x8. I doubt putting DDR3 memory slots on the board will make a single PCI-E slot run at x16.

*Really it makes little difference between x8 and x16 with PCI-E 2.0.

 

[Shad0WeN]

I don't see that happening. If it does, I'm writing a bitchy letter to DFi on why every other LP Jr. be it an Intel/Nvidia/AMD chipset has both lanes locked at x8. I doubt putting DDR3 memory slots on the board will make a single PCI-E slot run at x16.

*Really it makes little difference between x8 and x16 with PCI-E 2.0.

According to the specs the PCI-E x16 slots on the Lanparty Jr X58-T3H6 both have full simultaneous x16 lanes:

2 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots - 2-way SLI or Quad CrossFireX configuration at x16/x16 transfer rate lanes

http://www.motherboardpro.com/DFI-L...10R-Chipset-Micro-ATX-Motherboard-p-1272.html

That's an Intel core i7 board though so it's a little more high end at this point

 

[TheMailMan78]

I don't see that happening. If it does, I'm writing a bitchy letter to DFi on why every other LP Jr. be it an Intel/Nvidia/AMD chipset has both lanes locked at x8. I doubt putting DDR3 memory slots on the board will make a single PCI-E slot run at x16.

*Really it makes little difference between x8 and x16 with PCI-E 2.0.

I know what you're saying. Its the principle of the matter.

 

[Hayder_Master]

the most thing i like in AMD's platforms is DDR3 sideport memory

 

[DanST]

mATX system and need for more HD's solution

Why not?
I've been considering some of the new boards as I don't have a dual slot cooler on my graphics card and I only have a couple of add-on cards that I use. I just need to find a nice case that I can stick all my hard drives in, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of mATX cases that take five drives

Here's the solution that I have brought to this very problem.
I have several external eSATA Hard Drive Units. Icy Dock makes a very nice external HD chassis unit that holds up to 4 SATA HDs in a very small case. There are no additional hard drive carriers to buy, you simply use the carrier/mounting unit that comes with the Icy Dock. You can get external HD chassis which hold more HDs, or you can get 2 of these 4HD chassies. It's simple to buy additional eSATA connecting connectors to add to your computer case.

I use an Ultra MicroFly MX6 mATX case which comes with a 600watt power supply (modular plug in power supply cables) and a 120mm rear mounted, and 80mm front mounted fan. It's all very quiet. It's kind of cube shaped and next best thing to Shuttle size, but bigger with the advantage of not needing proprietary motherboards or overpriced power supplies. The MX6 case has dedicated space for at least 2 3.5" HDs, DVD, plus a huge space under the DVD where you can put a 5.25" device with external access. Of course you could put another HD here.

I have built more than 10 computers for my customers using the MicroFly -and they have held up very well. They're relatively small, good looking, quiet, and have been very reliable. I wish I could say the same for motherboards. I've had every brand of motherboards fail at one time or another early on. RMA repairs take too long regardless of brand.


It works very well. I've been doing this for many years ever since the first SATA HD's were available. Your HDs access time is just as fast with eSATA as if the drive is in the computer case.

If high speed access is less important then a good NAS is an excellent solution. Lot's of companies make these lately. I've been reasonably happy with Buffalo Terastation Live (4 HD's in RAID5). You need to have automated shutdown with an intelligent UPS, with these units because on occassion they are very unhappy if the power fails.

In summary, there are various ways to solve the HD space problem with mATX systems in cases that do not have all that much HD expansion space.

My newest complaint is the stupid ASUS eliminating the PS/2 connector for kbd and mouse for no good reason. They now provide 1 PS/2 and USB underneath. It's not a problem for a single machine, but if you have a KVM using PS/2, you are screwed. So I am not buying ASUS anymore. For my office Graphics system I have 4 machines hooked to KVM with Samsung 244T and I need those 2 PS/2 connectors on all of the computers. Good thing other companies have not followed this stupid ASUS idea.

Also I have nothing good to say about VISTA, but I'm a big fan of Windows XP 64bit. Most reliable Windows OS I have ever used.

Hope this helps,

Dan