[iLynx]

Foxconn 6150M2MA-KRS2H GeForce 5150 Socket AM2 5.1 Channel Audio mATX

Hey guys, as part of a college project we were given some cash to build a multimedia PC.

Ive got to write up a presentation about the hardware, but i dont really know the advantages and disadvantages to the motherboard.

Could someone please explain this to me.

Thanks.

[Carbon]

Are you looking for pros and cons of the board, how the actual hardware works (i.e. how the motherboard operates), or what?

Also, I am in favor of any college course that lets you assemble a PC :) Do you get to keep it afterward?

[iLynx]

Mainly looking for the pros of the board, but would like to know how it all operates.

We personally dont get to keep it, but it gets added to the 'fun' room within our ICT department. We plan to use it for making / editing videos.

We were given £300 so thats pretty cool.

[Carbon]

Well, it's a solid board. It supports PCI Express x16 for graphics updating, AM2 is a pretty good socket and it can run DDR800 RAM, which is as fast as you'll need. Gamers won't like the integrated video, as it's often better to streamline out anything on the northbridge (the part of the motherboard that controls the CPU, RAM, and graphics). Others will, though, because if you don't have or need a dedicated graphics card, it will still work.

On the southbridge (USB, HDD ports like IDE and SATA, Ethernet, PCI) side of things, it's adequate but not great. 4 USB ports is just OK but two PCI slots is not a good thing if you have a lot of peripherals. Usually, boards either have a lot of PCI slots or a few PCI-E high speed slots. PCI is a legacy (a format kept around to keep old things working, essentially) connector, but refuses to die: so that's why you could use more of those slots.

It's also micro-ATX, which means it will not fit into ATX cases and has a harder time cooling, something that may be detrimental for an average or power-user. It might be good for a media user though, as it's easier to tuck away if you want to use it as a streaming video thing or just don't want to take up much space. Also, AMD is being beaten handily in the processor wars by Intel, which has come out with their 45nm "Wolfdale" processor that is much better for media and gaming work, so as a downside, a Intel motherboard would have been better.

Hope this helps.

[iLynx]

Thats Great!

Thanks v.much