AM3+ ITX motherboard recommendations

[Ben_Upde]

Hey guys,

New to the forums, been watching the youtube shows like crazy the last couple weeks.

 

Anyway, on to the question at hand.

I am finally able to upgrade my desktop from its 2006 era current setup. I would like to utilize some of the older parts to build a HTPC in a Coolermaster ITX case such as the Phenom x4 965BE, 8GB HyperX DDR3 1600. What recommendations do you guys have for a motherboard to fit inside the ITX case that has an AMD3+ socket and supports DDR3 and SATA3? Pricing isn't really a concern, although I don't want to spend $300 to get there as I could buy an Intel chip & board for that price. I am not afraid of used or last gen/2 gen ago stuff as long as it will work. I have a pile of ddr2 sticks laying around also so DDR2 and SATA 2 aren't off the list of suggestable choices either.

 

What other things should I consider for a HTPC that will basically involve a TV tuner card for DVR capabilities? I will basically use it for that purpose as well as maybe some Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime streaming. No gaming involved as I will use my newly upgraded (well, in process of upgrading) for all of that.

 

Thanks in advance guys!

 

If you want to convince me to go Intel i5/i7, show me sources for cheap prices and I will consider that as well!

[Coaxialgamer]

Hey guys,

New to the forums, been watching the youtube shows like crazy the last couple weeks.

 

Anyway, on to the question at hand.

I am finally able to upgrade my desktop from its 2006 era current setup. I would like to utilize some of the older parts to build a HTPC in a Coolermaster ITX case such as the Phenom x4 965BE, 8GB HyperX DDR3 1600. What recommendations do you guys have for a motherboard to fit inside the ITX case that has an AMD3+ socket and supports DDR3 and SATA3? Pricing isn't really a concern, although I don't want to spend $300 to get there as I could buy an Intel chip & board for that price. I am not afraid of used or last gen/2 gen ago stuff as long as it will work. I have a pile of ddr2 sticks laying around also so DDR2 and SATA 2 aren't off the list of suggestable choices either.

 

What other things should I consider for a HTPC that will basically involve a TV tuner card for DVR capabilities? I will basically use it for that purpose as well as maybe some Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime streaming. No gaming involved as I will use my newly upgraded (well, in process of upgrading) for all of that.

 

Thanks in advance guys!

 

If you want to convince me to go Intel i5/i7, show me sources for cheap prices and I will consider that as well!

there are currently no itx am3+ boards on the market, sorry.

[LabRat]

why not slap a cheap, "modern" low cost graphics card with hdmi hook up on the junk you have now? $20-$30....

[Clear17Mud]

um fm2+ cpus.. like the x4 860k and then a  r9 380 or a r7 260x or what ever budget you have...

[MageTank]

Hey guys,

New to the forums, been watching the youtube shows like crazy the last couple weeks.

 

Anyway, on to the question at hand.

I am finally able to upgrade my desktop from its 2006 era current setup. I would like to utilize some of the older parts to build a HTPC in a Coolermaster ITX case such as the Phenom x4 965BE, 8GB HyperX DDR3 1600. What recommendations do you guys have for a motherboard to fit inside the ITX case that has an AMD3+ socket and supports DDR3 and SATA3? Pricing isn't really a concern, although I don't want to spend $300 to get there as I could buy an Intel chip & board for that price. I am not afraid of used or last gen/2 gen ago stuff as long as it will work. I have a pile of ddr2 sticks laying around also so DDR2 and SATA 2 aren't off the list of suggestable choices either.

 

What other things should I consider for a HTPC that will basically involve a TV tuner card for DVR capabilities? I will basically use it for that purpose as well as maybe some Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime streaming. No gaming involved as I will use my newly upgraded (well, in process of upgrading) for all of that.

 

Thanks in advance guys!

 

If you want to convince me to go Intel i5/i7, show me sources for cheap prices and I will consider that as well!

 

 

This is your only option for AM3+ ITX, and its a bad option at that. http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-880G-ITX-WiFi-Motherboard-Motherboards/dp/B004LWEFH2

 

Phenom II is as high as it goes,  It also only supports 1333mhz memory, and does not have a full length PCIE slot. I really would go Intel if ITX is your goal, as it offers far more options and performance. 

 

You also don't need a quad core for HTPC streaming. Just go with a nice cheap ITX board, and a nice dual core CPU. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($68.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $139.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-08 16:51 EST-0500

 

This CPU can even be overclocked on this board, with most people averaging 4.0ghz. The board comes with Sata 6Gbps, and supports your DDR3 1600mhz memory native. It also has a full size PCIE x16 slot, in case you ever want to put a cheap GPU in it for some reason. 

 

Good luck on your build BTW.

[Ben_Upde]

why not slap a cheap, "modern" low cost graphics card with hdmi hook up on the junk you have now? $20-$30....

 

The current case I have is too big to fit in the entertainment area, not to mention it's just an old HP computer so its looks are rather blah..

I am confident that for my intended usage the stuff I have now will handle the job, hence why I was hoping to be able to just run it.

 

there are currently no itx am3+ boards on the market, sorry.

 That may explain why I cannot find info on them lol! Thanks for the heads up!

um fm2+ cpus.. like the x4 860k and then a  r9 380 or a r7 260x or what ever budget you have...

If I can't utilize what I have I may as well look into moving over to the intel camp as I like AMD but realize they are lagging way behind in the performance category and may as well make it worth my time to spend the money.

Thanks for the info!

[Ben_Upde]

 

 

 

This is your only option for AM3+ ITX, and its a bad option at that. http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-880G-ITX-WiFi-Motherboard-Motherboards/dp/B004LWEFH2

 

Phenom II is as high as it goes,  It also only supports 1333mhz memory, and does not have a full length PCIE slot. I really would go Intel if ITX is your goal, as it offers far more options and performance. 

 

You also don't need a quad core for HTPC streaming. Just go with a nice cheap ITX board, and a nice dual core CPU. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($68.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $139.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-08 16:51 EST-0500

 

This CPU can even be overclocked on this board, with most people averaging 4.0ghz. The board comes with Sata 6Gbps, and supports your DDR3 1600mhz memory native. It also has a full size PCIE x16 slot, in case you ever want to put a cheap GPU in it for some reason. 

 

Good luck on your build BTW.

 

 

Awesome, thanks for your time! I just have a hard time not going all out when it's not necessary. I may look into a used i3 quad core or something lower end as it will still be more capable than what I have in hand right now.

I pretty much only want to go ATX because I have my eyes on the square coolermaster case that would fit in my entertainment center really nicely and not stick out like a sore thumb.

[dizmo]

Do you plan to play games on the HTPC? What exactly is the goal for it?

The Phenom should be more than adequate if it's simply a movie/media machine.

 

 

 

 

 

This is your only option for AM3+ ITX, and its a bad option at that. http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-880G-ITX-WiFi-Motherboard-Motherboards/dp/B004LWEFH2

 

Phenom II is as high as it goes,  It also only supports 1333mhz memory, and does not have a full length PCIE slot. I really would go Intel if ITX is your goal, as it offers far more options and performance. 

 

You also don't need a quad core for HTPC streaming. Just go with a nice cheap ITX board, and a nice dual core CPU. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($68.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $139.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-08 16:51 EST-0500

 

 

If his goal is media that's actually a really good find, and works with the CPU and RAM he already has.

[LabRat]

 That may explain why I cannot find info on them lol! Thanks for the heads up!

If I can't utilize what I have I may as well look into moving over to the intel camp as I like AMD but realize they are lagging way behind in the performance category and may as well make it worth my time to spend the money.

Thanks for the info!

but you can utilize what you have. slapping a cheap[ card on what you have.............. i'm doing that with a blu-ray player. why spend money if you don't have to for something you'll be using once in a while? otherwise the new amd stuff (apu stuff ) will be  way more than enough.   i also have a 5800k that's way more than enough.

[Ben_Upde]

Do you plan to play games on the HTPC? What exactly is the goal for it?

The Phenom should be more than adequate if it's simply a movie/media machine.

 

 

If his goal is media that's actually a really good find, and works with the CPU and RAM he already has.

No gaming at all, strictly DVR/TV duties and streaming from the web to TV. I'll look further into that board, sounds like it will achieve what I am after. I will run the CPU at either stock or below stock levels if necessary to keep power consumption within tolerance of the board.

Thanks guys!

[Ben_Upde]

but you can utilize what you have. slapping a cheap[ card on what you have.............. i'm doing that with a blu-ray player. why spend money if you don't have to for something you'll be using once in a while? otherwise the new amd stuff (apu stuff ) will be  way more than enough.   i also have a 5800k that's way more than enough.

my goal is to fit this into an ITX case which I can't do with the M-ATX  setup I have now

[MageTank]

 

 

Awesome, thanks for your time! I just have a hard time not going all out when it's not necessary. I may look into a used i3 quad core or something lower end as it will still be more capable than what I have in hand right now.

I pretty much only want to go ATX because I have my eyes on the square coolermaster case that would fit in my entertainment center really nicely and not stick out like a sore thumb.

 

i3's will work pretty much exactly the same as the G3258 i linked above, but they will last you longer if you intend on gaming down the road. A solid investment. Just be mindful that i3's are not "quad cores" but dual cores with hyperthreading. This means that each core has an additional thread that can process extra things if the original core is being underused on another process. 

 

The board i linked also comes with Wifi. I don't know if that will be something you are interested in. If not, you can get the non-Wifi board and save an extra $12. If you want a board with USB 3.0, it will cost you about $70 on the board, getting something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-b85mitx

 

If you want Wifi AND USB 3.0, this would be your best option: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mitxac

 

Plenty of options available. If you want an all out list of ITX boards compatible with socket 1150, look through this: http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#f=8&sort=a8&page=1&L=3&qq=1

 

Once again, good luck on your build. I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Clear17Mud]

 That may explain why I cannot find info on them lol! Thanks for the heads up!

If I can't utilize what I have I may as well look into moving over to the intel camp as I like AMD but realize they are lagging way behind in the performance category and may as well make it worth my time to spend the money.

Thanks for the info!

 

 

 

 

Awesome, thanks for your time! I just have a hard time not going all out when it's not necessary. I may look into a used i3 quad core or something lower end as it will still be more capable than what I have in hand right now.

I pretty much only want to go ATX because I have my eyes on the square coolermaster case that would fit in my entertainment center really nicely and not stick out like a sore thumb.

 

thats fine I thought that you didnt have a am3+ cpu already. and if its only for a htpc with no gaming. my vote is am1, because its cheap and has integrated video thats about as good as a r5 240.

[LabRat]

thne it's a new build from my perspective. apu's are the way to go.

 

at the time my build was a 5800k/8gigs gskill 2133/asrock board/and a 120 toshiba ssd. paid less than $240. you should be able to do better now.

[dizmo]

No gaming at all, strictly DVR/TV duties and streaming from the web to TV. I'll look further into that board, sounds like it will achieve what I am after. I will run the CPU at either stock or below stock levels if necessary to keep power consumption within tolerance of the board.

Thanks guys!

Ah yeah, it should definitely be able to handle that!

I love going through my fathers old stuff to see what I can build out of it. I bet I could build something similar. I'll have to take a look into it now that I've seen this board, didn't think AM3 had any ITX boards.

[MageTank]

Ah yeah, it should definitely be able to handle that!

I love going through my fathers old stuff to see what I can build out of it. I bet I could build something similar. I'll have to take a look into it now that I've seen this board, didn't think AM3 had any ITX boards.

They are very rare, because fitting both the north and south bridge (as large as they are) on an ITX board has been difficult. ASUS had a really good AM3 ITX board with USB 3.0 and supported SO-DIMM memory, but they stopped selling it long ago. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131659

 

This board was capable of unlocking those 720 black editions into quad core Denebs, and supported 1600mhz SO-DIMM memory modules, making it pretty great at the time. USB 3.0 was also a big deal at the time too. 

[Ben_Upde]

They are very rare, because fitting both the north and south bridge (as large as they are) on an ITX board has been difficult. ASUS had a really good AM3 ITX board with USB 3.0 and supported SO-DIMM memory, but they stopped selling it long ago. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131659

 

This board was capable of unlocking those 720 black editions into quad core Denebs, and supported 1600mhz SO-DIMM memory modules, making it pretty great at the time. USB 3.0 was also a big deal at the time too. 

I found one of the ASUS ITX boards on eBay in the UK, but they want $260 for it! Yowzers. I can pick up a decent Intel CPU and board for that price so all that's really left is the Zotac option. At $60 the price isn't too bad. It already has an HDMI port and built in Wi-Fi so it should be able to handle the video requirements I have for it, basically just playpack of video files, one would think, right?

[MageTank]

I found one of the ASUS ITX boards on eBay in the UK, but they want $260 for it! Yowzers. I can pick up a decent Intel CPU and board for that price so all that's really left is the Zotac option. At $60 the price isn't too bad. It already has an HDMI port and built in Wi-Fi so it should be able to handle the video requirements I have for it, basically just playpack of video files, one would think, right?

Yeah. Just watch out. The 965 Black Edition CPU is a 125w CPU. That Zotac board supports a maximum of 95w. You might be playing with fire (literally) by using that CPU on that board. It's just too cheap to be practical for stronger CPUs. You might be better off selling your 965 BE for $50 or so on Ebay, and investing in a cheap dual core Intel, and a much newer motherboard platform. That way, even if you are done using the machine as an HTPC, you can turn it into a gaming PC, or a business machine with little to no effort.

[Ben_Upde]

Yeah. Just watch out. The 965 Black Edition CPU is a 125w CPU. That Zotac board supports a maximum of 95w. You might be playing with fire (literally) by using that CPU on that board. It's just too cheap to be practical for stronger CPUs. You might be better off selling your 965 BE for $50 or so on Ebay, and investing in a cheap dual core Intel, and a much newer motherboard platform. That way, even if you are done using the machine as an HTPC, you can turn it into a gaming PC, or a business machine with little to no effort.

You would think I would have that engrained in my head already because I have overclocking stability issues with my current motherboard due to it barely being able to support the 125W of the 965BE. Thanks for the reminder. I think I may end up just going with a cheap Intel proc and motherboard and try to carry over as much of the rest of the system as I can.

[FruitBasketSilex]

This is your only option for AM3+ ITX, and its a bad option at that. http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-880G-ITX-WiFi-Motherboard-Motherboards/dp/B004LWEFH2

Phenom II is as high as it goes, It also only supports 1333mhz memory, and does not have a full length PCIE slot. I really would go Intel if ITX is your goal, as it offers far more options and performance.

You also don't need a quad core for HTPC streaming. Just go with a nice cheap ITX board, and a nice dual core CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.89 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $139.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-08 16:51 EST-0500

This CPU can even be overclocked on this board, with most people averaging 4.0ghz. The board comes with Sata 6Gbps, and supports your DDR3 1600mhz memory native. It also has a full size PCIE x16 slot, in case you ever want to put a cheap GPU in it for some reason.

Good luck on your build BTW.

That is the single most cramped motherboard I have ever seen.