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Recommend board for i3-2100 & GTS450

G

ganymede

Member
Here's my planned build:
  • CPU:
    Intel Core i3 2100 @3.00 GHz
  • RAM:
    Kingston KHX1333C9D3B1/2G, DDR3 1333 MHz, 2x2 GB
  • GPU:
    GIGABYTE GV-N450D3-1GI, GeForce GTS450, 1GB, PCIe
  • HDD:
    Samsung HD753LJ, 750 GB, 7200 rpm, 32 MB SATA
  • Optical:
    Samsung SH-S203D
  • Soundcard:
    Creative X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro, SB1095, external USB 2.0
  • PSU
    CoolerMaster RealPower 450W (might upgrade, see thread here)

I'm not planning any overclocking. I'm buying parts from Hungary.

So far I've been trying to decide between the Asus P8H67-V ($102) and the Gigabyte GA-PH67-DS3-B3 ($85) simply because they are affordable, full ATX boards.

I've been thinking though: I don't have any PCI cards and I don't really have any use for an IGP. Seems like I could buy a mATX board, except I'm not sure if it would fit properly in the case. I have a Casetek 1026-9, and the specs page simply says "Motherboard: standard ATX".

So what do you think, could I/should I go with mATX? If so, what board?
 
One site says the case is compatible with microATX. I'm a bit confused myself about the microATX size specifications though. Wikipedia says microATX is 244mm x 244mm, but size specs for H61 and H67 motherboards on newegg vary quiet a lot and none of them seem to be 244mm x 244mm when converted from inch to mm. E.g. Gigabyte H61M-DS2 = 226 x 174mm, Asrock H67M = 244mm x 218mm, Biostar TH67+ = 244mm x 230mm. So perhaps your best bet is to go with ATX to make sure it fits.

So far I've been trying to decide between the Asus P8H67-V ($102) and the Gigabyte GA-PH67-DS3-B3 ($85) simply because they are affordable, full ATX boards.
Click to expand...
The GA-PH67-DS3-B3 lacks USB3.0 but that may not matter to you so it could be worth saving $17. If you can find a similarly priced Gigabyte with USB3.0 that'd be better though. Other than that if you have no special requirements for connectivity (i.e. must have x number of PCIe / PCI slots or must have firewire etc.) then you'll be fine with almost any H67 board from a reputable manufacturer. (All H67 boards have SATA 6gb/s from the chipset, USB3.0 is provided as an add-on.)

Did you find any Intel boards? They have Intel's own network controller which I've read is better, though it wouldn't hurt if someone knowledgeable about NICs would explain why they're better (if so).
 
How about the plain P8H67 for $87? It's full ATX, has USB 3.0 (via ASMedia controller), and I'm not paying extra for an onboard IGP (I'm buying a discrete GPU, so that would be only a backup anyway).

Seems like the best option, everything in the sub-$90 category is mATX (or non-USB 3.0 Gigabyte boards). Even an ASRock H67DE3 costs $95.
 
The other boards don't actually have onboard graphics either, they just have the connectivity for taking advantage of the IGP on the Sandy Bridge CPU. You'll still get the IGP but just can't use it with that P8H67. The specs look good and knowing Asus it's a decent board. I suppose you won't need the graphics connectivity even though it'd be good to have as backup.
 
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Oh my freakin' bad, I didn't know the Sandy Bridge itself has the IGP. I think I can afford an extra $16 to not cripple the CPU 🙂 especially since I might use the stock CPU cooler.
 
If you plan on using the on chip video, the i3 2100 has Intel HD2000 video, the 2105 has HD3000, about 40% better performance.
Does not matter if you are using a video card, but worth knowing.
 
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