Pentium M in µATX form factor

[CougTek]

Intel launched a µATX motherboard for its acclaimed Pentium M CPU. Great news IMO, as this is currently one of the most interesting processor on the market. The memory isn't fast though, but still. For a nice low noise/low power office box, this one should be quite competitve.

See the specifications here.

 

[Buck]

Very nice. Thanks for the tip Coug.

 

[Jan Kivar]

I'd like to point out that is not a Intel product, it just uses Intel's 855 chipset. Still, I think that this is the way to go with future product design.

Jan

 

[CityK]

I like the fact that the board's integrated video has both VGA and DVI outputs.

Nforce2 boards could do that too, but no manufacturer I am aware of produced such a variant....booooooooo. It actually surprises me that none of the Shuttle or other SFF units come with an integrated DVI output.

 

[blakerwry]

i wouldn't doubt it in their next set of X-PCs... the probelm is they can't use both.. simply not enough room... on their last couple X-PCs they even had to remove one of the serial ports and I don't think any have had a parallel port on the rear of the board, they are all using connectors somewhere on the middle of the baord much like internal USB connectors.

one thing about DVI connectors is you can easily use a converter to make it VGA.. I've never seen the opposite...

with flat panels becoming a standard with vomit boxes I think that shuttle and even the rest of mobo makers will have to follow suit.

 

[Mercutio]

If I had to guess, probably 90% of all the LCDs I've seen have used the analog VGA connector anyway. I don't think flat panels are common enough to warrant that their connector be included on, well, anything, really.

I'll even go so far as to say I'm annoyed that there's a DVI connector on my AIW9700.

 

[blakerwry]

well, im using this monitor (Samsung 172T) through my 4 way KVM, with a 2way newer KVM, and with it directly hooked up.. used with several graphics card, but the main one was a Leadtek geforce3 Ti200.. all the time analog.

my gf has her monitor about 10 feet from me hooked to her saphire radeon 9000 through DVI


From what I can see the quality of analog connector does make a difference... using the 4 way KVM colors were not as vibrant and lines did not have as much contrast... even with a poor graphics card like the onboard intel 845 graphics this monitor looks pretty good at native resolution... much sharper than a CRT.

The DVI however, is perfect... a good analog signal is very comparable though... a poor/weak analog signal may or may not be noticable depending on the viewer... for me(and i suspect most of you), it is noticable.

From my point of view, analog just doesn't make much sense in most situations if you're using flat panel... DVI adds just a few dollars more cost and provides a perfect screen image no matter what the quality of the card. I don't think Ill be buying a vid card without DVI again.

 

[blakerwry]

<strike>well, im using</strike> this monitor (Samsung 172T) through my 4 way KVM, with a 2way newer KVM, and with it directly hooked up.. used with several graphics card, but the main one was a Leadtek geforce3 Ti200.. all the time analog.

should be " I have used this monitor"

 

[Mercutio]

"perfect screen image" - the ability to display full 24-bit color (lots of blues and purples look black on an LCD), minus the screen refresh, minus decent brightness...

 

[blakerwry]

I don't have a problem with the screen refresh... and I think this monitor looks brighter than a good CRT under normal use.

I also haven't had a problem with the darker colors turning into blacks... i've used a few test programs(including a test screen of my own) and none have shown me that the blues turn into blacks differently from any other color...

 

[B4RSK]

I'd love to have a DVI port on a motherboard...

We have a bunch of Samsung 172Ts at work now, and the quality difference between an analogue connection and a DVI connection is very noticeable. Also, when connected with DVI, the panel never needs to be recalibrated.

They are connected to Dell Optiplex boxes with i845 VGA and DVI ports via an adapter in the the AGP slot. I suppose a truely good analogue adapter would produce a better image... But if a $15 AGP/DVI adapter can produce as good or better quality than a $200 Matrox analogue card... For office use, it's a no-brainer. IMHO anyway.

Just my 2 yen's worth!

Ian

 

[Tea]

Hi, Ian! Good to see you.

I've been following this thread with interest, as I've seen DVI connectors on video cards and also on monitors often enough, but never got around to hooking the two together to see what the fuss is all about. And - I must confess - I'm not a great deal clearer even after reading it.

If I have this right, what it boils down to is a simple matter of eliminating the RAMDAC, yes? This is why some people say there is little or no difference (if you are comparing to, say, a Matrox card), and others say that there is a great deal of difference (if you are comparing with something equipped with a cheap and nasty RAMDAC).

Guess I should try it for myself. But there a million and one other things that always seem to come first.

sigh

 

[B4RSK]

Good to see you too Tea!

Well, TFT displays are digital... And computers are digital too. So ideally they should be connected together digitally.

However, CRT monitors are analogue, hence the need for the RAMDAC on standard video cards. If a VGA port is used for a flat panel though, it ends up doing this:

Digital Computer
RAMDAC D/A Conversion
Analogue Cable
A/D conversion in the TFT
Digital Display on Screen

...which is why the quality drops and there are sync problems where the display looks slightly blurry until recalibrated.

If a TFT has a DVI port, and the video card does too, then it looks like this:

Digital Computer
Digital Cable
Digital Display

...much cleaner. The sharpness is amazing, and it never needs manual calibration.

Test it out with a card and display that both have DVI and analogue ports... I'm sure you'll notice right away that the digital is sharper.

Ian

 

[Tea]

I'll do that Ian, as soon as I have a TFT display in the place again. Usually, we have a nice Misubishi 17 on the front desk, but somebody has gone and bought it again.

Bloody customers.

Always buyng things.


PS: I didn't think of the reverse D to A conversion. I guess that means that different TFTs will produce different quality results (on the VGA cable, I mean), in much the same way that different video cards do.

Time I played with the hardware for a change, instead of just selling it.

 

[B4RSK]

Tea,

Nice to be able to "chat" with someone who is on a similar time zone!

Yes, I have found that various TFTs connected to the same computer will produce different image qualities. In general newer TFTs are better than older TFTs, but a really good one from the past will beat a lousy one from the present...

I can relate to your situation of customers buying stuff... I had a 80GB drive here waiting for my HTPC... Consulting client had a disk die and needed a replacement... Guess where my new HTPC HDD went... Oh well!

Ian