Mainboard for the i3-3225

I'm wondering if you (or me) could reach wattage numbers like in this build: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1364084/htpc-k...t_22686839

26.3w idle: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1364084/htpc-k...t_22689986

Is the mainboard choice relevant for this? What do the expers say? Dougie Fresh, eskro, bluray, etc.?

There are probably some differences but it's going to take some digging to figure out the power consumption of each motherboard if it's available. Most everything is contained in the CPU these days except the Southbridge so most of the power consumption is in the CPU. Intel SandyBridge/IvyBridge consume about the same at idle and for videos. It's at the top end where the difference is. You won't see much of a difference at the low end among any of the CPUs. Where you see a lot of difference is in the PSU.

(2012-12-27 00:34)binwiederda Wrote:  How is the board? It's really cheap compared to the others and I haven't read any showstopper-kind-of-things. Any Linux experiences/issues?

I'm running the latest openelec beta6 intel build - didnt encounter any problems so far.

I just heard back from Streacom support regarding the compatibility of the above mentioned boards with the Streacom FC10 case. They are all compatible. The MSI Z77MA-G45 only with the HT4 riser extension. I updated the original post.

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Dougie Fresh, thanks for replying so quickly. That basically means it's a not relevant which mainboard I choose when it comes to idle power consumption?

What about durability? Are there any brands that are known for durable boards? I want it to run 24/7.

Almost decided to go with the Intel DH77EB board. Low power + low voltage RAM support.

I'd appreciate any comments on my almost-ready-to-order build in this post:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1274651

If you need 23.976Hz support, the DH77EB seems to be the only Ivy Bridge board that still has a major issue with it.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1407042/offici...thread/180
http://communities.intel.com/thread/32120

Google "DH77EB 24p" for more threads

O darn. I can still cancel the board, it's going out tomorrow.
Do you know if any of the other boards support 1.35v RAM? It's hard to find information about that...

I was able to cancel the mobo. Now the search continues. Seems like ASRock and ASUS support 1.35V RAM (as per http://www.corsair.com/learn_n_explore).

Dougie Fresh, any thoughts on the power consumption? I hear that Intel and MSI are the best when it comes to wattage. What are your experiences with ASUS/ASRock? Is it possible to achieve 20-25W idle with one SSD connected?

I am not currently an ASRock fan. I much prefer ASUS or Gigabyte. I can't imagine most motherboard will vary more than a few watts so I don't see why 20-25W idle would not be achieveable. I think though it's going to be whatever it'll be and I would focus on quality and features you needs vs. a few watts.

I am still sort of undecided between the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro and the Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H. Power consumption of the Gigabyte board seems a little lower according to reviews. Feature-wise I'm indifferent here. And according to this (German-speaking) thread, 1.35V RAM is not an issue.

I wasn't able to find anything to any of them regarding Linux/Ubuntu/Mint compatibilty. Any comments on that?

Right now I'm leaning towards the Gigabyte board. And I really want the search to be over :-D