micro atx

[gtoforce]

is the micro atx board really good?

and since this is the thread for mobo's

i need advice on xp media center

my specs are

amd athlon 3000+ (939) 1.8ghz winchester
msi k8n nf4 sli platinum (939)
corsair xms 3200c2pt 1024mb ddr400
msi geforce nx7800gt
vantec ion2 460w psu

can this pc support the media center?
and need it be formatted from windows xp sp2 to accommodate the media center?

[GeoEng]

Micro ATX is just a size of motherboard which is smaller than ATX, many companies offer a micro ATX board. What you have now is an ATX based board. Micro ATX is usually tailored towards entry level customers. Usually have onboard video, have less slots for ram, and less expansion slots.

I would say that unless you wanted to build a compact system then there is no way that a micro ATX board would be better then what you have.

As to xp media center i dont see a problem with your computer running it. Im not sure about installing it, however, if you boot off of the cd you can find out for yourself. It might give you the option of upgrading without reinstalling. Someone with more experience then me will be along in a while i assume. They can put you on the straight and narrow.

[Slumpy]

media center is built on XP sp2 so should just be a quick upgrade.
And be sure your tuner card is compatible with MCE and all in wonder cards are a pita to get to work right.

[yahooadam]

yeh microATX is just an ATX board which is shorter (Resulting in less expansion slots generally)

also you havent said what tuner your going to use, if you want to watch tv on your MCE machine, you need to decide

on the installation front, im not sure if you can upgrade for XP SP2

however a re-install would prolly be a good idea (sounds like your building a new PC anyway) so just boot the MCE disc and install