The Abit Fatal1ty F-190 HD motherboard now features HDMI for the complete HD experience

Ever since Abit introduce their Fatal1ty range of products, they have really captured the heart of the enthusiasts and gamers. The Fatal1ty range, as you all know by now, is certified and approved by World Champion PC gamer John "Fatal1ty" Wendel. A name which is synonymous among gamers and enthusiasts.

Abit have already released many Fatal1ty products, all of which have done extremely well ... full-on enthusiast and gaming boards. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Fatal1ty sample Abit gave me, was a micro ATX motherboard.

       

 The Abit Fatal1ty F-190 HD motherboard utilises the ATI Xpress chipset (RS600) and has onboard X1250 graphics with performance equivalent to a X700. It has supports Intel Core2Duo processors, 1066Mhz FSB and DDR2-800 ram. It also features onboard gigabit ethernet, one 16x PCIe slot, 7.1 high definition audio with optical in/out and onboard HDMI output at full 1080p solution.

Wait a minute I thought ... this could all mean something here.

What I've noticed over the past few months, is a trend in which manufacturers are putting a little more effort into the Media Center PC market. This trend is also evident with big players like AMD, who will be introducing their 'AMD LIVE' this year. Same goes for many case manufacturers who have expanded their product range to include desktop/media center PC cases .

What does all this mean? Will consumers go ahead, and commit themselves entirely to a Media Center PC? The answer is no. Media Center PCs have been around for quite some time now, but it is only now, that the general public are aware of it.

One of the advantages of a Media Center PC is being able to plug the unit to a standard TV or even HDTV, and watch movies, videos and stream MP3s. The Apple TV is a good example of what a Media Center PC would do. You can, in effect call a Media Center PC a complete digital entertainment system for your home. Well, that all depends on what you have inside of course.

See the thing is ... unlike an Apple TV, with a Media Center PC you can choose the components you want to have in it, designed to your own specifications. With a Apple TV you can't. So imagine, if I wanted a Blu-Ray drive instead of a standard DVD, an extra 2Gb of ram or even have dual TV/monitor display ... then no problem. You can even use it as a standalone PC. However, there's only one downside. If you want all the functionality of a Media Center PC, then you have to use Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition as your OS. Not the greatest of OS, but works fine.

        

Now you can see why Media Center PCs could, over the next years be a large sector within the entire PC market. I know I would fancy one. A nice looking and sleek box, that looks and feel like a hi-fi amplifier sitting underneath my 42" LCD HDTV ... playing all my favourite movies and MP3s at a touch of a button.

OK, let's take a look at the Abit Fatal1ty F-190 HD ... and see if this motherboard could fit our bill for a Media Center PC platform.