Processors & Motherboards
The vast majority of HTPC chassis
accommodate either mini-ATX or mini-ITX motherboards. The latter of these two
sizes is a lot smaller, normally only providing a single expansion slot. Due to
this lack of expandability, you should therefore aim to get a model with as
much integrated as possible, because you won't be able to add extra
functionality later through add-on cards. One of the best manufacturers of
heavily integrated mini-ITX solutions is Zotac, a company that specialises in
Intel Atom / NVidia Ion boards.
mini-ITX
motherboards
The Intel Atom is a great little chip for
basic use, like web browsing, word processing and basic office work. When faced
with more stringent demands like decoding high-definition video, however, it
falls flat. As anyone with a netbook will attest, if you try watching an HD
video on YouTube, Intel's microscopic wonder just isn't up to the task.
Atom-based processors are therefore very poor choices for an HTPC box, unless
coupled to an NVidia Ion dedicated graphics chip. The Ion is a lightweight
graphics processor that takes the burden of hardware video decoding away from
the Atom chip, allowing for even 1080p video to be decoded with no dropped
frames. The only requirement is that your player of choice supports hardware
acceleration. We've tested a Zotac integrated motherboards solution with a
recent HW-accelerated XBMC release and the results were spectacular; flawless
1080p video playback from a tiny mini-ATX motherboard without any need for
additional component purchases beyond the case, RAM, PSU and storage.
the
ionlTX S-E
Our favourite Zotac board is the ionlTX S-E.
It features a passively cooled Atom D525 dual-core 1,8GHz processor, support
for up to 4GB of memory, an NM10 NVidia Ion chipset with 512MB of dedicated
video RAM, 802.11n wireless networking, and dual SATA ports. It has both
optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, USB 3.0, HDMI and DVI video
connectors, as well as support for two SATA drives. The whole bundle can be
snapped up for less than $224, making it an ideal, low-cost way to add a
contemporary and feature-rich HTPC to your home.
Intel®
Core™ i3 Desktop Processor I3-540: Core i3-2100
Those of us with a need for more
performance than can be provided by an Atom-based solution should now look
towards a Socket 1155-based mini-ITX motherboard. The i3 dual-core chips are
relatively low-power consuming in their own right with a peak TDP of 65W, but
if that is too much for your chosen HTPC case and PSU combo, you can go for
ultra-low-voltage versions instead.
The i3 2120T, for example, is a 2.6GHz dual
core chip with a TDP of just 35W. This is ideal for those who need extra
performance without too much heat being generated.
When it comes to mini-ITX Socket 1155
motherboards, the brand new Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe is one to look out for. This
beast of a tiny motherboard supports features that put most high-end, full-ATX
motherboards to shame, including ten-phase digital power for overclocking,
802.11n wireless networking, four USB 3.0 ports, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort and
dual eSATA ports. The latter are excellent for adding additional storage to
your HTPC in the future, and come in addition to the motherboard's four
internal SATA ports. There's even a PCI Express 16x slot if you find some way
to cram a discrete video card into your HTPC case as well.
If you have a larger form factor to play
with, there's a vast array of mini-ATX motherboard choices to choose from.
There's such broad scope here that regardless of what you're looking for, one
manufacturer or another will have what you need. Mini-ATX motherboards are
usually the cheapest category of boards on the market - they don't need the
same degree of miniaturisation as mini-ITX boards, yet use fewer materials than
full-size ATX models. Socket 1155 variants can be snapped up for as little as
$72 for a mini-ATX H61 chipset board. Just make sure you don't skimp on $16 or
$24 now only to have to spend double that adding a useful feature you need
later via an add-in card!
