Motherboard Q. can I use onboard graphics?

[mixmanx]

Hi all,

I'm new to this HTPC lark, and I'm just at the planning stage of my system. I intend to use ut just for playing DVD's and music, and surfing the net.

I'm looking at THIS (http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n266-vm/overview.htm) motherboard, which has integrated Nvidia GeForce 2 graphics, will this be good enough to get a decent display on my Tosh plasma?

Thanks in advance for any help.



:)

[halephil]

Hi, the asus a7n266-vm is a great board and although starting to show it's age is very stable and a good value choice. It'll support up to an XP2400 and although only needs DDR266 RAM will run with faster DDR333 (keeping your options open if you plan to upgrade the board at a later date).

Significantly the onboard graphics is supported by Powerstrip so you can tweak the resolution to match your plasma if needed. Don't expect great 3D performance though - for that I'd suggest an upgrade to Radeon 9000 (the Sapphire one doesn't use a fan) or higher.

Cheers, Phil

[mixmanx]

Thanks for the info, is the Radeon 9000 available as a half height card? the case I'm looking at will not take a full height one.