[gunny75]

Hi all!
I'm starting to build my own HTPC base on ION mb.

I consider 3 manufacturer:
- asus
- zotac
- asrock

asus and asrock are "simple", only few models of motherboard.

Zotac is a hell!!!!
Considering only the mb with atom 330, there are many models with "extra" feature like external psu, wifi ecc......

I want to use the HTPC only with XBMC installing the live version.

Someone has some tests/advices about power consumption, quality, speed etc....

The motherboard list is:
- AsRock A330ION
- asus at3n7a-i
- zotac ionitx G-E SYNERGY
- zotac ionitx D-E
- zotac ionitx K-E

We can build a comparison table....

[poofyhairguy]

You are missing out on my favorite board, the zotac ionitx f-E!

It is not that hard to pick what you want. There are basically four different features for the many Mini ITX ION boards:

-Does it use DDR2 or DDR3 RAM? Both work fine, but if you have some RAM lying around use it by buying the right Mobo.

-Does it have a PCIe 1x or 16x slot or no slot? I wanted a PCIe 16x slot so I could upgrade the GPU later, but I must admit finding a Mini ITX case that takes a full size GPU upgrade is hard.

-Does it come with a power supply, or do you have to use an external one? Many of the smallest Mini ITX cases assumed the mobo powers itself and they don't come with a power supply. A PicoPSU can bridge this gap though.

All can play 1080p, all work great with XBMC Live, and all have basically the same limitations.

Just pick whatever features fit the budget and case you want....

[BORIStheBLADE]

I agree with Poof, go with what fits your budget. The ram suggestion makes sense too, because the ASUS AT5IONT-I takes DDR-3. I had to buy some new stuff for it when I had DDR-2 sitting on my desk.

You can always buy a external PSU so its not the end of the world.