question about m4 ATX

tundra2000 · 06-06-2008, 12:48 AM

ok, i have been a member of these forums for a while and i know to search and believe me i have. i have struggled with this question for a little while now: M4-ATX or Opus350?

my only problem is the 12V line: here are my components (for that line):
-Pentium 4 Processor (2.40ghz) w/ Hyperthreading
-80gb 7200rpm hard drive
-geforce 6200 256mb agp video card
-xenarc monitor (~15watts i think?)
-idn if ram counts for the 12 or the 3.3 or the 5 line, but i have 1 stick of 512mb and 1 stick of 1gb

-the rest of my stuff is USB and will have more than enough power i think. my only question is is this all too much for the 10A/12A line on the M4-ATX?

Axel · 06-08-2008, 10:15 AM

I have almost the same setup except the Geforce card...

I'm running my pc on a M4-ATX and it was working just fine untill I decided to upgrade the firmware... (another story)

My setup is:
DFI MainBoard with 2,88 GHz Pentium 4 processor
512MB RAM
100GB 7200rpm Seagate HD
Linksys PCI card
Few USB devices (like GPS, Bleutooth, Keyboard, Touchscreen, ect)
7" Lilliput Touchscreen (15 watts?)

So this is running on a M4, but I don't know if the M4 would be enough with a GeForce Video Card added...

In your setup the Video Card and the processor are the biggest consumers. Considering that a normal Pentium Processor "eats" in idle state already around 60 watts, and full running up to 110W!

I searched for the specs of your video card and I the specs that I could find were with a 350W recommendation...

I hope it would help you a bit with your decision, because that's up to you

Grtz Axel

tundra2000 · 06-08-2008, 10:27 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Axel

I have almost the same setup except the Geforce card...

I'm running my pc on a M4-ATX and it was working just fine untill I decided to upgrade the firmware... (another story)

My setup is:
DFI MainBoard with 2,88 GHz Pentium 4 processor
512MB RAM
100GB 7200rpm Seagate HD
Linksys PCI card
Few USB devices (like GPS, Bleutooth, Keyboard, Touchscreen, ect)
7" Lilliput Touchscreen (15 watts?)

So this is running on a M4, but I don't know if the M4 would be enough with a GeForce Video Card added...

In your setup the Video Card and the processor are the biggest consumers. Considering that a normal Pentium Processor "eats" in idle state already around 60 watts, and full running up to 110W!

I searched for the specs of your video card and I the specs that I could find were with a 350W recommendation...

I hope it would help you a bit with your decision, because that's up to you

Grtz Axel

if you look up my processor, its says it eats 66.2 watts maximum (compare it to the other P4 processors which eat ~110 watts like you mention). one of those efficient types.

-video card box states it needs a 250w power supply minimum. i know its a low-end video card. every review i could find showed it was pretty low end. i think ive looked it up before and it eats like 35w max.

>>>still looking for recommendations.

-just because an M4-ATX powered your system, it doesnt mean that your power supply isnt crying and begging for mercy to ease up on it because youre constantly drawing more than 50% of its maximum potential. dont mean to bash, its just how power supplies are

Axel · 06-09-2008, 01:55 PM

Ah ok, I didn't noticed the link to the intel site... I'm a bit supprised it is such a low power comsumer.

For sure the geforce card is much better than a onboard video controller... Could be a low end (I don't know), but if it doesn't consume much and gives a better view.

The last thing you told I can imagine what you mean, but I don't know if that is the case by me?

Anyway, succes with your choise

Grtz Axel

kibble · 06-09-2008, 04:22 PM

I don't think the AGP bus is powered by the 12V line. I believe it's fed by the 5V. I'm running an M4 with quite a few things on it, minus the fans and monitor, and have had no power issues. I have a 128MB Radeon X600 card and it runs just fine. The motherboard technical document said my PCI-E slot is powered by the 5V line. The power supply doesn't get very warm either.

JimmyFitz · 06-09-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by kibble

I don't think the AGP bus is powered by the 12V line. I believe it's fed by the 5V. I'm running an M4 with quite a few things on it, minus the fans and monitor, and have had no power issues. I have a 128MB Radeon X600 card and it runs just fine. The motherboard technical document said my PCI-E slot is powered by the 5V line. The power supply doesn't get very warm either.

PCI-e slots have 12V and 3.3V fed to them but NOT 5V. A PCI-e card that uses 5V would have to have an external power connection in addition to the slot itself. Unless your graphics card has an extra power connector, it will draw mostly from the 12V rail.

kibble · 06-09-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by JimmyFitz

PCI-e slots have 12V and 3.3V fed to them but NOT 5V. A PCI-e card that uses 5V would have to have an external power connection in addition to the slot itself. Unless your graphics card has an extra power connector, it will draw mostly from the 12V rail.

This is taken straight from MY motherboards technical document:

The board is designed to provide 2 A (average) of +5 V current for each add-in board.
The total +5 V current draw for add-in boards for a fully loaded board (the PCI Express
x16 connector filled) must not exceed 2 A.

JimmyFitz · 06-09-2008, 10:24 PM

Here is the standard pinout for PCI-e 16x. I don't see 5V listed on any pins.

http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_P...6x_PinOut.html

kibble · 06-09-2008, 11:00 PM

Well then I guess intel's got some splainin' to do!

tundra2000 · 06-10-2008, 12:19 AM

wait, so are AGP video cards not powered by the 12V line??

FusionFanatic · 06-10-2008, 08:42 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by tundra2000

wait, so are AGP video cards not powered by the 12V line??

according to this site, AGP slots have both 12v and 5v pins...

Code:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  AGP pinout                                                    ║
║════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║      3.3 Volt Boards      Universal Boards     1.5 Volt Boards ║
║Pin# Side A     Side B    Side A     Side B    Side A    Side B ║
║════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║1    +12V       OVRCNT#   +12V       OVRCNT#   +12V      OVRCNT#║
║2    TYPEDET#   +5.0V     TYPEDET#   +5.0V     TYPEDET#  +5.0V  ║
║3    Reserved   5.0V      Reserved   5.0V      Reserved  5.0V   ║ 
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

JimmyFitz · 06-10-2008, 09:25 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by FusionFanatic

according to this site, AGP slots have both 12v and 5v pins...

AGP, PCI, PCI-e are all different.

tundra2000 · 06-16-2008, 08:14 PM

ok, instead of starting a new thread, i have antoher question(s):

1) does the M4-ATX include a 4-pin cable to connect to my P4 motherboard (requires 4-pin connector for power).

2) it seems like everyone is having problems with the M4-ATXs... i havent heard much good about them yet. are these things nothing but problems?

3) why are people ordering them from mini-box and not from MP3car.com's store? different firmware?

4) is there some new firmware that is coming out that i should wait for? is there a reason i shouldnt order right now?

-thanks to ANYONE who can help me. my computer is built and in the car and all im waiting on is a power supply to finish it all off! i appreciate ALL help!

kibble · 06-16-2008, 10:05 PM

1) Yes

2) Not completely. They "work" but some have little quirks to them which we hope future firmware releases fix.

3) I don't know, I got mine on ebay.

4) I hope they come out with a new firmware, but I don't know for sure.

tundra2000 · 06-16-2008, 11:44 PM

whats wrong with this firmware? should i wait?