GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 / nForce 430 ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: The most full-featured, non-SLI AM2 board currently available. Legacy ports (LPT, COM), FireWire, HD Audio, GbE, onboard video, 4 PCI slots - literally stick a CPU and 1 or 2GB of memory in it and you have a complete system without using a single slot. The big surprise is the complete but not DFI-style overwhelming set of overclock options (hit Ctrl-F1 in BIOS to access). VCore up to 1.550v, DDR2 voltage up to 2.4v, adjustable chipset & HT Link voltages as well. HT speeds up to 500MHz; I stopped testing HT speeds at 330MHz, and it was a surprise to me that it'd work that high on an integrated video chipset. Running a Brisbane X2 3600+ at 2.85GHz (300 x 9.5) at 1.35v. Speeds over that required big bumps of Vcore for IMHO not much benefit. With the BIOS Memory Clock option set to DDR667 (CPU/6), it has a pair of 1GB Super Talent DDR2-667 sticks running 5-5-5-12 @ 475MHz (DDR2-950) with voltage @ Auto (which is 1.9v). Orthos Blend mode stable for 48+ hours.

Cons: 1) The heatsink on the GeForce 6100-430 chip got hot enough to burn my finger and should probably come from the factory with a small fan on it. 2) In the PC Health Status BIOS screen, voltages are listed as "OK" instead of showing the actual values. 3) The floppy connector could be in a better location. 4) Accessory brackets are a little hard to find. I found some generic combo 2-port USB/2-port FireWire brackets on that auction site that worked. The SPDIF bracket is next to impossible to find in the US, but seems to be available in Europe. Go figure. Other than that, no cons for Windows users; for Linux users, the onboard NIC issue and fix have been well-documented here.

Overall Review: 1) As long as you don't need a microATX board this board is a no-brainer for a HTPC, especially with 4 PCI slots (read: multiple tuner cards) and everything else that's onboard. 2) Gigabyte used a TI chip for the onboard FireWire instead of the cheap(er) VIA solution, plus there are a total of 3 FireWire ports - one on the back & two headers on the system board. 3) The BIOS-embedded QFlash BIOS flasher can find BIOS files on USB pen drives. 4) I'd recommend putting a fan on the GeForce 6100-430 chip. Even a small & quiet 40mm fan is enough to cool it down significantly. 5) With an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro + AS Ceramique on the CPU and a Delta 50x50x10mm fan + AS Ceramique on the 6100-430's heatsink, the system is virtually silent even under load (idle temps are ~30°, load temps under Orthos are ~44°).

Pros: First board was DOA, but then the RMA board came in and booted up nicely. Good board layout, color coated and the instructions were pretty straight forward. Nothing too complicated for the average user
Well like I said earlier and in my previous review first board was DOA.

Cons: BUT the 2nd board could not get the Ethernet adapter to work at all. The driver CD scans the configuration first then selects the drivers you need to install based on the scan results. Well with the LAN not working, it wouldn’t give me the option.

With that, updated drivers, onboard LAN was DOA. Nothing worked with it so I was forced to purchase a PCI Lan adapter.

Overall Review: Would have been a nice board without the problems. First board was DOA, and then the 2nd board LAN was DOA. I have been a fan of Gigabyte for a few years, but this experience has left somewhat a sour taste in my mouth. I am starting to question their product quality