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post #11 of 16
8/10/12 at 11:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkitekt View Post

I don't plan on gaming on the HTPC at all, just playing and streaming media. If the A4 will do what I need for a cheaper price then I will go with that, will the ASRock A75M still be a suitable motherboard? or should I step down to the ASRock A55M-HVS mATX FM1 AMD A55 FCH DDR3 1PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 1PCI SATA2 HDMI D-Sub USB2.0? The only big difference is that the A55 doesn't have SATA3, only SATA2. Would the SATA3 on the A75 be better than just having SATA2 HDD and SSD?
The Scythe heatsink doesn't look like it is for Socket FM1? The Coolermaster looks nice, I am wondering if it would cover any of the RAM slots on the mATX board (not a big issue right now as I will only be using 2 sticks, but who knows in the future)
If the Antec Earthwatts 430 is still on sale when I order my parts then I will get it, it is only $10 more for what I presume is a quieter PSU.

Only 2 DIMMS on that mobo, which is fine for this rig.

SATA 3 can limit some very fast SSD's nowadays. I doubt youd notice on this build.

GeminII m4 info looks like plenty of room for ram so long as your not running some crazy tall heatspreaders which are just for looks now anyways... Also FM1 supported according to CM
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post #12 of 16
8/10/12 at 11:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LuckySe7ens View Post

Only 2 DIMMS on that mobo, which is fine for this rig.
SATA 3 can limit some very fast SSD's nowadays.
Quote:
3gbs = 375MBs

so 375MB/s theoretical maximum, maybe reduce 15% for overhead, around 300MB/s
I doubt youd notice on this build.
GeminII m4 info looks like plenty of room for ram so long as your not running some crazy tall heatspreaders which are just for looks now anyways... Also FM1 supported according to CM

I can't say that I picked that particular motherboard for any specific reason other than its a a75 chipset and a decent price. An a55 should meet your needs as well.
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post #13 of 16
8/11/12 at 12:31am
Thread Starter 
Ok, thanks for all of your help smile.gif I will have to do some searching around and see what the best prices I can get for what, and what will suit my needs the best. Don't see much price difference in HDD's and SSD's between SATAII and SATAIII, I just would like to get a good motherboard for my needs.

Also, earlier you suggested the G.Skills Ripjaws memory, is there any reason why that over Corsair? The reason I ask is because I found a place that has the 2x2gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 Mhz for $33
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post #14 of 16
8/11/12 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkitekt View Post

Ok, thanks for all of your help smile.gif I will have to do some searching around and see what the best prices I can get for what, and what will suit my needs the best. Don't see much price difference in HDD's and SSD's between SATAII and SATAIII, I just would like to get a good motherboard for my needs.
Also, earlier you suggested the G.Skills Ripjaws memory, is there any reason why that over Corsair? The reason I ask is because I found a place that has the 2x2gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 Mhz for $33

There is a potential performance increase with SATAIII already so to me it seems worthwhile to spend a few more $$ to have that, like i said before though, its pretty doubtful whether you would actually notice the difference for your uses. Since real world transfer numbers rarely seem to hit their max theoretical peaks that manufacturers suggest. So its up to you whether the extra money spent is worthwhile there.

SATAIII HDD's can be the same or less $ than SATAII, so the price difference is negligible there ( SATAIII is backwards compatible so no issues with that), mechanical drives really aren't going to require SATA III yet, but SSD's are.

I definitely wouldnt spend more money to get the corsair vengeance since they are the same speed (unless they are 1.35v or cl7 or something) G Skill makes great ram. Don't shy away from other manufacturers.

The ripjaws i recommended are 1.5v 1600 cl9. for 26$ CAD thats about good as its going to get.


If they are the low profile heatspreaders then thats ok

But i think these are ugly and would just get in the way of your cpu cooler.


You may consider this board (try and price match somewhere that doesn't charge so much shipping) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130615

or this biostar http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138361
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post #15 of 16
8/11/12 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
I'll stick with the GSkill then smile.gif

That MSI mobo is ATX though, I don't think it will fit in the mATX case. And the Biostar one doesn't have HDMI.

I have been also looking at these Motherboards as well:

Gigabyte GA-A75M-D2H http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=717472&CatId=7243

Biostar TA75M http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138333

ASRock A75M http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157260

MSI A75MA-G55 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130605

I like the Gigabyte GA-A75M-D2H and can get it from an independent retailer for less then TigerDirect has it for, or I can spend about the same somewhere else and get free shipping, I guess it will all depend on who I will be getting most of my parts from.

I also liked the looks of the Gigabyte GA-A75-UD2H, but that appears to be out of stock at most places, possibly discontinued?

I think the hardest part in choosing the motherboard is trying to figure out what differences they all have.
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post #16 of 16
8/15/12 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
Decided to go with an Intel i3-2120 and an H77 motherboard, mostly because the transcoding that Plex will do to stream to the multple Roku boxes will be CPU intensive.

Also was curious, would 8Gb of DDR3 be overkill?

I was going to get 4Gb of the Ripjaws Low but they would be just a little too high if I chose to get an aftermarket cooler such as the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B. I was then looking at the low profile Corsair Vengeance, but I could get 8Gb's of the G.Skill Ares low profile for $10 more than the 4Gb Corsair Vengeance.

with transcoding being CPU intensive, I was thinking of just getting something like Handbrake to convert all of my files during the night into MP4 with H264, would that be as CPU intensive? or does that require RAM?
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