Motherboards

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

Redline — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:35:53 GMT

I have this board, among others, and I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised. The whole single channel memory thing isn't really a big deal since it doesn't seem to impact performance much. Also, the onboard graphics are excellent for video, making it a good candidate for a HTPC - especially since it has onboard HDMI and support for Blu-Ray. And since there is a PCI Express slot, you could always plug in a much better graphics card if you decide to do any gaming.

I only have a couple of complaints:

The board includes IDE and FDD connectors. Personally, I would have preferred more SATA connectors, but not a big deal either way. I guess it makes it easier for someone transitioning from an older system.
The onboard Gigabit controller is terrible. It constantly drops connections and ended up forcing me to add in a simple LAN card instead. I searched the Internet and found this is a common complaint with the board. Again, not a critical issue since I had an old Linksys card sitting around, but now I'm running at 10/100 instead of Gigabit speeds. XFX support can't seem to fix the issue, but hopefully they'll get it straightened out down the road.

Overall the board is very good, especially for something in a mATX format. It has a lot of features and I was able to overclock much higher than in the review since I used the Intel E6750 processor with 1333 FSB. I was able to push the FSB up to 1670 without a lot of trouble, and it was extremely stable at that speed. Not bad being able to push a 2.66GHz processor to 3.34GHz with air cooling on an $80 dollar board!

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:31:13 GMT

Although this lil board isn't perfect if I had a friend that needed a very basic build on a budget, I'd get it. So long as I could find it for about 50 bux, which I bet I could at either Newegg or Fry's.

I think even average consumers realize that onboard GFX solutions aren't really inteneded for gaming. Single ch. config will suffice for general computing and e-sata while faster than USB, isn't a deal breaker IMO... especially for an entry lv. board like this.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:22:05 GMT

of course it is opinion :)

every one have right for opinion.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:04:28 GMT

n0nsense:

But there is a huge difference in fun level when your cortex stimulated by more impressive and more advanced visual and sound effects.

This is the point of gaming or anything else we do. Achieve maximum possible level of fun

I disagree, but am too lazy to fully debate the issue with you(trivial IMO)... realize that your statement is absolutely an oppinion and not by any means the last word or bottom line.

I'll simply add that there are those who can achieve their own personal maximum fun level playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out on NES vs playing Crysis in all it's glory at 1080p... different strokes for different folks.

BTW: Sorry to all for straying off topic... any further comments really should be about the board.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:49:04 GMT

What about having fun vs. having more fun ?

There is no difference in fun level (IMO only) between 50 fps and 250 fps. (unless you have inferiority complex of "Who has the bigger whatever" kind)

But there is a huge difference in fun level when your cortex stimulated by more impressive and more advanced visual and sound effects.

This is the point of gaming or anything else we do. Achieve maximum possible level of fun

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:57:50 GMT

I'm not into boiling things down and picking them apart... I just wanna game.

Having fun is paramount for me!!!

If a person is unable to have fun/as much fun as a direct result of realizing that better GFX, faster framerates and higher resolutions can be had... I see that as a flaw in the individuals thinking rather than a shortcoming of the hardware/software itself.

Just my oppinion of course.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:46:05 GMT

recoveringknowitall:
n0nsense:
Titles like ETQW still not released on consoles.

ETQW is slated for release on PS3. LINK

IMO comparing a high end gaming rig to a console is a fruitless endeavor as the PC will emerge victorious hands down.

Weighing the merrits of a console and it's games must be done relatively.

SLATED on 22.05 :)

6 month after PC release.

This is exactly what i'm going to do :) By benchmarking PC applications optimized for the platform (Gentoo gives the ability to do it) i'll find what is this "relatively" in numbers.

but unfortunately, Sony locked access to RSX so i wont be able to compare 3D performance. It should be similar or very close to 7800 but can't be sure if not tested.

Another thing, don't forget that consoles are very optimized for specific tasks and so the games usually optimized to take full advantage of their hardware. for example PC games compiled with general optimizations and do not use all instructions of new CPUs as they supposed to be compatible with 2-5 years old PCs.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:21:23 GMT

n0nsense:
Titles like ETQW still not released on consoles.

ETQW is slated for release on PS3. LINK

IMO comparing a high end gaming rig to a console is a fruitless endeavor as the PC will emerge victorious hands down.

Weighing the merrits of a console and it's games must be done relatively.

I've seen the absolute best of what PC gaming has to offer as of late 1st hand(had a great rig that I sold... scored 13K+ on 3D 06) and could sing PC gaming's praises all day, but am of the mind that great gaming experiences can be had on all platforms and don't feel that direct comparisons are warranted.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:17:08 GMT

I'm FPS guy :)

Titles like ETQW still not released on consoles. And do not forget resolutions.

I have two Full HD panels. 24" Dell for PC and 42" Toshiba for HT. Somehow I do feel the difference in favor of PC in image quality. The Cell BE paired with XDR + RSX inside PS3 is a monster but can't compare with overclocked to 3.6 Q6700 (FSB 1600) in sync mode with 2x2GB of DDR2 800 @ 4-4-3-12-1T + pair of 8800GT on 680i :) Actually i'm planing to do benchmarking PC vs PS3. But to do this i have to make systems run same OS and this is not easy task since my main running on Gentoo x86_64 and the PS3 32 and 64 versions of Gentoo considered Experimental (which mean lot of time to spend on solving strange problems). I'll probably do it next time i'll get sick :)

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:38:54 GMT

PC gaming is awesome, but console games are deffinately getting WAY better lately.

So far Uncharted is 1 of the best games I've ever played on any platform and GTA IV is going to be incredible... I'm sure of it!!!

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:27:37 GMT

Thanks for HOT welcome :)

Neat is exact thing that this board does not fit with its eSATA ugly thing. I actually thought to build an HTPC since i had all parts (left from upgrades of the main) except mobo and case. I'm nvidia fan (reasonable, i wont by something that isn't good) and after some research i came to this one at newegg. Nice one, but after going through reviews, I found this thing about eSATA. Then i found GIGABYTE board and it was looking better build quality. But after all, the HTPC idea was dropped and replaced by PS3 (much more cost effective and the only thing to replace was HD). I've installed linux on PS3 and mow it is small, nice HTPC with blue ray and after reboot it can be game console (but i really prefer PC gaming)

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

recoveringknowitall — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:47:42 GMT

Welcome to the forums nO!

Neat little board for the market segment it caters to IMO.

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

n0nsense — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:39:42 GMT

Hm ...

nice review.

First a little remark for all complaining on single chanel memory:

This is not XFX fault, this is the chipset feature. This is the low-end/HTPC chipset and really no need for more expensive dual channel memory controller. Soon Nvidia goin to release MCP7A intel chipsets that will replace all 7xx0 chipsets. They will support dual channel DDR2/DDR3. DX10, more SATA II and more USB ports.

As for the review:

I really miss this board compared to other board based on same chipset with similar features like GIGABYTE GA-73PVM-S2H.

As i remember the eSATA connection is not hardwired (you need to connect it with regular SATA cable from connector behind rear panel to one of the four in the corner) on XFX and it is the real miss. More cables more mess :)

Re: RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

Super Dave — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:10:31 GMT

I understand that this is a budget board, but how much do they save without dual-channel memory support? Heck, they incorporated LED POST code error reporter, but that is just a luxury IMO. I would never buy a board that only ran single-channel. I am an XFX fanboy, and I purchased a 7800GS and a 6600GT OC from them back in the day when they were top-dawg (and expensive). XFX has a wonderful Double Lifetime Protection Warranty on their video cards, but I wouldn't buy this motherboard even if it had that same warranty. Sorry, but I consider dual-channel to be mandatory. I hope someone from XFX is reading this!

RE: XFX MG-630I-7159 nForce 630i / GeForce 7150 Mobo

shanewu — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:28:17 GMT

I reacted that way too, Super Dave, but as you can see, the single-channel memory doesn't really affect performance as much as you might expect.