CompuServe Thread

The motherboard I'm using with the PVR is the PVI-486sp3, which I think is made by ASUSTek Computer Inc (that's the only company name I can find in the documentation, anyway). I don't have the daughtercard, so I don't know if it would block a PCI slot. I've had lots of problems. Corrupted files, crashes, etc.. I think part of the problem may be the BIOS (Award ver 4.50g), and I'm told the new BIOS is due next month.

Eron, 1) What motherboard are you using? (Give model, part number or any other form of positive ID) MF: ASUS PCI/EISA 90/100 dual cpu. Don't have model # handy. 2) Was it easy to get it working with the Perception Video Recorder? MF: Not bad. Using the last PCI slot I could avoid the CPU sockets. 3) How many PCI slots does the motherboard have? MF: 4 4) Does the Perception daughterboard overlap one of the PCI slots so that you cannot use it for another card? MF: No, but it blocks an EISA slot. I don't have enough slots for a sound card since I have an IDE I/O card, a Network card, etc. It might be possible to re-arrange to fit everything but sound isn't critical for me. If I used a PCI network card instead of EISA, I could get a slot back for sound. 5) Where did you get your motherboard? MF: Cornell Systems (now defunct). However ASUS is very common via mail-order suppliers. 6) Do you recommend this board? MF: Yes, with one reservation: I'd prefer one with on-board i/o to free up a slot, so I could have my sound back. But this one works.

(1) Micronics P90 Powerstation Motherboard in a custom server case. (2) I had to sacrifice a 3 1/2" drive bracket which was suspended from the main bay area. I still have three 5 1/4" and one 3 1/2" bays open, though. Three 5 1/4" bays and one 3 1/2" bays are being used by other thingys. After removing the bracket, the first PCI slot is available for the PVR. The Micronics MB has integrated IDE. <see #4 also> (3) 2 PCI, 1 PCI,ISA (4) The daughter card renders the adjacent PCI slot unusable. It also comes VERY close to the CPU heatsink. (5) I purchased the motherboard as part of a system direct from Micron. (6) If you already have one of these motherboards around, I would not hesitate recommending it. You may have to change cases, though. I am not familiar with the Micron tower case configuration. If you are building a PVR system, however, I would recommend a PCI/EISA MB with SMP support. I noticed a photograph of a Tri-Star system motherboard the other day with 4 PCI slots and dual pentium sockets. The first three PCI slots were wide open! The fourth was questionable.

1) What motherboard are you using? (Give model, part number or any other form of positive ID) Intel Premiere PCI II (Plato) 2) Was it easy to get it working with the Perception Video Recorder? Fairly. I used a win icu manager before I installed it to make sure that there were no upcoming conflicts. 3) How many PCI slots does the motherboard have? 3 4) Does the Perception daughterboard overlap one of the PCI slots so that you cannot use it for another card? No, but it does overlap the shared ISA slot. Which is ok, either you use the PCI slot, or you don't and use the ISA slot. Only one of the two can be used, and both can accommodate full length cards. 5) Where did you get your motherboard? swapmeet 6) Do you recommend this board? For PVR usage, yes. There is one minor problem with this board, and it has to do with the fifo buffer getting scrambled whenever it is activated. Using an internal modem bypasses this problem. BIOS updates have been frequent and there is a board specific ICU manager available.