bit-tech Shopping: Asus P5E-VM HDMI Motherboard

• Intel Core 2 Duo
• Intel Core 2 Extreme
• Intel Core 2 Quad
• Intel Pentium 4
• Intel Pentium D
• Intel Pentium Extreme Edition

• Audio - Bass/Center Audio Out Jack
• Audio - Line In (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - Line Out (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - Microphone In (1/8" Mini)
• Audio - RCA Digital Coax (S/PDIF)
• Audio - Rear Surround Audio Out Jack
• Audio - Side Surround Audio Out Jack
• Ethernet - RJ45 Twisted-Pair (XBaseT)
• HDMI
• IEEE 1394 - 6 pin Powered
• Keyboard - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2)
• Mouse - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2)
• USB - Universal Serial Bus 2.0
• Video - 15 pin High-Density D-shell (VGA)

• Floppy - 34 pin Header
• Front Audio
• IDE - ATA/EIDE/ATAPI 40 pin
• IEEE 1394a
• S/PDIF Connector
• Serial ATA - 7 pin
• Serial RS-232
• USB 2.0

• Floppy Controller
• IDE (Ultra ATA 100) Controller
• RAID Controller
• SATA 3Gbps (Serial ATA II)

Rating: 2

Time with product: 3 Weeks

Strengths: Nice feature set; good documentation

Weaknesses: BUGGY; gigabit ethernet port flaky; can't get powerdvd to work

Summary: I was really wanting this board to be the perfect HTPC! An all in one solution, without the need of an extra video card which adds cost and consumes more electricity. However, it ended up being one of the worst motherboard installs I've gone thru! Note that I've built probably a dozen or so computers over the years, so I do have some experience. I never was able to get the gigabit ethernet port to install, so had to RMA the board for a replacement. However, after reading up on various sites, this is a major flaw for this board. Why ASUS went with a cheapie chip for this, I don't know. I don't know how many clean Vista installs that I went thru, but I was never able to get a stable installation. I couldn't even play a ripped DVD, w/out obnoxious stuttering. PowerDVD wouldn't work at all for a Blu-Ray disc, as it said the video was not compatible. Audio was also a mess. I was going to the extremely helpful AVSForum site for the G35 motherboard thread, and was having to install a combo of audio/video drivers just to get things working. Plus, the HDCP video will *NOT* work thru a HDMI repeater! This means that you cannot run the HDMI thru your audio-video receiver!! That is the whole reason I got this board, in order to support the HiDef audio formats. I ended up getting rid of the board, and went with a cheaper board from GibaByte that works fine.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Great install. When paired with an E6750 (2.6GHZ). Stock cooler runs about 56F on this board with the intel Cpu.. the dual monitor support is cool.

Weaknesses: None

Summary: The purpose in these feedback boards is to further understanding...not to be a know-it-all, slammer, or fanboy. I cannot begin to state how many times that I have read reviews by these high level folk that turn out to be errors on their part. You can usually tell who they are...they usually tell you how many elaborate systems they've built, how they are in the industry, etc. Often they will include a screen name indicating their educational and/or professional "prowess," like the guy who calls himself BSEE. LOL BTW, I did find that BSEE was right about the first two letters of his screen name. Please folks, if you don't know what you are doing, or if you have a problem, think and get help before you slam.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: High quality, complete set of features, excellent overclocker, future proof.

Weaknesses: Asus's software, PCI expansion slot.

Summary: Asus' P5E-VM HDMI is the best motherboard in the microATX format today, and, IMO, the best motherboard for HTPC. The first review in the Experts Review section already did an excellent job highlighting all its wonderful features, so I will focus on the problems that I encountered during the first adopter period. The first problem I had was the board dropping network connection every few minutes! Even though I could get the Vista networking subsystem to re-establish connection, it was extremely annoying. After many trial & error and web search, I discovered that the problem is the Atheros LAN driver. Instead of using the driver on the Asus supplied CD, use the Attansic driver that can be found in the Asus P5B download page. Besides the LAN driver, the BIOS also has problem reporting core temp. Actually this problem happens in other Asus boards. Until future BIOS upgrade fixes this problem, I suggest you download the free CORETEMP software. Another weakness of this board is its single PCI expansion slot. It is located at the top left corner (looking front to back). If you have a tight HTPC case like my Antec Fusion, whatever sits in that PCI slot does not get any air. Guess which HTPC device tends to be PCI? The heat generating TV-tuner card that is what. Instead of using my trusty Hauppauge 1600, I had to buy the PCI-express based Avermedia card. I hope my gripes haven't discouraged anyone from buying the P5E-VM HDMI. This microATX rocket really is a breakthrough product with minor problems. I hope other manufacturers will follow suit so we can have more choices in the microATX format.