[Notrial]

Hi all,

I would really appreciate some input on the following HTPC configuration. Please shout if you think that something can or should be replaced. I'm still deciding between 3 motherboard options, so tips regarding that are welcome as well.

Main usage: XBMC (HD movies), Netflix and similar HD streaming, FLAC playback through external USB DAC.

CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 with stock cooler
Motherboard: 3 candidates - sorted by price (local)

1. Asrock B75M-ITX - $105
   
2. AsRock H77M-ITX - $115
   
3. Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI - $140
   

RAM: PC-12800, 4 GB, G.SKILL DDR3
Case: Silverstone Sugo S05
PSU: Silverstone (Fortron) - 300W
SSD: ADATA 64GB, XPG SP900

Total price around $530.

OS: Windows 8

For the remote I'm considering dongle from AsRock Smart Remote and Harmony 300 or Philips Universal Remote.

Thanks everyone

[Dougie Fresh]

Do you need the WiFi/Bluetooth in the Gigabyte? Adding those to the ASRock boards might end up costing the same or more if you need those features.

Honestly, among them all I would pick the one that has the features you want.

[Notrial]

Nah, don't really need the WIFI or Bluetooth at the moment (router is next to the TV). It might be a good thing in the future though, and the overclocking ability that Z77 has (in case I want to change CPU in the future, but it's a long shot).

Regarding the chipset itself, any known quirks for B77/H77/Z77?

What do you think about the rest of the build by the way? Anything you would change?

[awp0]

I built mine with the ASRock H77M-ITX and an i3-3225. For me it's working great (Windows 2012). Microcenter runs a great promotion on this combo, if you have one nearby. I think it came out to like $170 total for the pair.

[Notrial]

I built mine with the ASRock H77M-ITX and an i3-3225. For me it's working great (Windows 2012). Microcenter runs a great promotion on this combo, if you have one nearby. I think it came out to like $170 total for the pair.

Yeah, I'm leaning toward H77 / i3-3225 combo as well. Seems like best bang for buck (and future proof enough). Z77 seems as an overkill since i3-3225 doesn't support overclocking.

I'm in Europe so prices here suck (almost $280 for the pair) -.-

[awp0]

If you want to save some money, you could take a look at the Ivy Bridge Celeron G1610, which is less than half the price of the i3-3225 and I think it would handle your requirements just fine. Same socket, so you could upgrade to an i3 later if you needed to.

[Notrial]

If you want to save some money, you could take a look at the Ivy Bridge Celeron G1610, which is less than half the price of the i3-3225 and I think it would handle your requirements just fine. Same socket, so you could upgrade to an i3 later if you needed to.

Nice catch!

These just arrived recently didn't they?

2657 passmark score...not bad...not bad at all, and here it actually is 1/3 price of the i3-3225

Thanks a lot for the tip!