A Complete Review of the two Most Powerful Micro ATX Motherboards with HDMI Output..

A Complete Review of the two Most Powerful Micro ATX Motherboards with HDMI Output..
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A review of the two best Micro ATX Motherboards with HDMI output

What is the Best Micro ATX motherboard with HDMI? To answer that question, read this review of the two most powerful Micro ATX Motherboard with HDMI output support. HDMI (or High-Definition Multimedia Interface) enables you to watch High Definition Video on your TV. If you want to build a computer system that has a small case and has HDMI output then the only obvious choice is buying a Micro ATX motherboard with HDMI output. You can connect your TV on it and watch all of your movies or play games on a big screen TV. The Micro ATX form factor is smaller then ATX which makes it ideal for HTPC (or Home Theater PC). To get top performance from your system you should buy a Micro ATX motherboard that supports the most powerful Intel i7 processors. The two most powerful Micro ATX motherboards with HDMI output and support for Intel i7 processors are the GIGABYTE GA-H57M and MSI H57M-ED65.

First up is the GIGABYTE GA-H57M. Here is an overview of some of its specifications:

  • CPU: Socket 1156 Support Intel Core i7/ i5/ i3 series processors
  • Chipset: Intel H57 Express Chipset
  • Memory: 4x 240pin DDR3-2200+/1800/1600/1333/1066/800 DIMMs, Non-ECC, Dual Channel, Up to 16GB
  • Slots: 2x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slot(Support for ATI CrossFireX technology); 2x PCI Slots
  • IDE/SATA: 1x ATA-133 Channel; 5x SATA2 Ports , 1x eSATA2 Port, Support RAID 0/1/5/10; 2x SATA2 by SATA2 chip, Support RAID 0/1/JBOD
  • Audio: Realtek ALC889 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
  • LAN: Realtek RTL8111D Gigabit Ethernet Controller
  • Ports: 10x USB 2.0 Ports (4 rear, 6 by headers); 2x USB3.0 Ports; 1x eSATA2 Port; 2x IEEE1394a Ports(1 at rear, 1 by header); 1x PS/2 Ports; 1x optical S/PDIF-out Port; 1x DisplayPort; 1x HDMI Port; 1x DVI Port; 1x VGA Port; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; Audio I/O Jacks
  • Power Connector: 1x 24pin main power; 1x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
  • Form Factor: Micro ATX, 24.4 x 24.4 cm

Here are the MSI H57M-ED65 specifications:

MSI H57M-ED65 Up

  • CPU: Socket 1156 Support Intel Core i7/ i5/ i3 Series Processor, QPI up to 6.4GT/s
  • Chipset: Intel H57
  • Memory: 4x 240pin DDR3-2133(OC)/ 2000/ 1600/ 1333/ 1066 DIMMs, Unbuffered, Dual Channel, Up to 16GB
  • Slots: 2x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slot(Support ATI CrossFire Technology); 2x PCI-Express x1 Slots
  • IDE/SATA: 1x ATA-133 Channel; 7x SATA2 Ports; 1x eSATA
  • Video: Built-in Graphics Controller
  • Audio: Realtek ALC889 8-channel HD Audio Codec
  • LAN: Realtek 8111DL Gigabit LAN Controller
  • Ports: 8x USB 2.0 Ports (4 rear, 4 by header); 2x PS/2 Ports; 1x VGA Port; 1x DVI; 1x Display Port; 1x HDMI Port; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; Audio I/O jacks
  • Power Connector: 1x 24pin main power connector, 1x 4pin CPU power connector
  • Form Factor: Micro ATX, 24.5 x 24.5 cm

A Comparison of the two Best Micro ATX Motherboards with HDMI Output…

Do you choose the GIGABYTE GA-H57M or the MSI H57M-ED65? They both support Intel’s Socket 1156 Core i7/ i5/ i3 series processors and have the same Intel H55 Chipset. They each have two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 Slots and support ATI CrossFire Technology. The list of similarities goes on and on. To make this hard decision you have to see which motherboard has more to offer.

Here are the advantages of the GIGABYTE GA-H57M:

GIGABYTE GA-H57M Back

  • Memory: Supports DDR3-2200+ which is better than the MSI DDR3-2133(OC)
  • Supports RAID 0/1/5/10; 2x SATA2 by SATA2 chip and supports RAID 0/1/JBOD
  • Has 10 USB 2.0 Ports (4 rear, 6 by headers) and the MSI only 8x USB 2.0 Ports (4 rear, 4 by header)
  • 2x USB3.0 Ports and the MSI none
  • eSATA2 Port
  • Optical S/PDIF-out Port
  • And a Form Factor of Micro ATX, 24.4 x 24.4 cm which is smaller than the MSI

And now here are the advantages of the MSI H57M-ED65:

MSI H57M-ED65 Back

  • 7x SATA2 Ports and the Gigabyte only has five
  • 2x PS/2 Ports, Gigabyte one

From these stats you can see that the Gigabyte has more options, but the MSI has greater overclocking capabilities. But the MSI motherboard is also more expensive. So if you intent to squeeze the juice from your Micro ATX motherboard with HDMI buy the MSI H57M-ED65.

Another major factor would have to be the price and the much better options on the Gigabyte Micro ATX Motherboard. So what if you can’t overclock it as much as the MSI? You will never need that much power for watching movies on your big screen TV.

Both motherboards are great and to make a decision is hard, but I think that a lot of people will chose the Gigabyte motherboard just because it has a lower price tag.