[SaintGermain]

Hello !

I would like to build a HTPC which can also be used as NAS or other server functions (but primary function would be XBMC).

A very good combo (performance/price) is currently ASRock H77M-ITX + i3-3225 (could be found last year at 170$ at Micro Center).
However I would very much like to have wifi somewhere in the future and was wondering if I could add a PCI-Express Wifi expansion card to the H77M-ITX ?

If yes, what would be the cheapest but still small case which would fit this H77M-ITX + PCI-E Wifi + 2.5" hard drive + DVD/BR player ?
Under 100€, the MC-80BL from MS-TECH looks affordable and still nice for instance but I am not sure if everything could fit inside.

Thanks !

[SaintGermain]

Here is a B75 motherboard which can use its mini PCI-E for a wifi card:
http://codecrunchero.blogspot.de/2013/02...pci-e.html

GA-B75N is a bit cheaper than H77M-ITX.

[Dougie Fresh]

Hello !

I would like to build a HTPC which can also be used as NAS or other server functions (but primary function would be XBMC).

A very good combo (performance/price) is currently ASRock H77M-ITX + i3-3225 (could be found last year at 170$ at Micro Center).
However I would very much like to have wifi somewhere in the future and was wondering if I could add a PCI-Express Wifi expansion card to the H77M-ITX ?

If yes, what would be the cheapest but still small case which would fit this H77M-ITX + PCI-E Wifi + 2.5" hard drive + DVD/BR player ?
Under 100€, the MC-80BL from MS-TECH looks affordable and still nice for instance but I am not sure if everything could fit inside.

Thanks !

If you use a 28mm (1U) cooler, you can fit a 2.5" HDD, slim optical drive in the MC-80. However, there is no PCI-e slot so you'd need a motherboard with built-in Wifi or a mini-PCIe slot. Look at the GA-H77N-WIFI or similar. Also beware if you want to use the included IR receiver and the front-panel USB ports, you need a motherboard with two USB headers which is not easy to find in mini-ITX. The ASRock Z77E-ITX has WiFi and 2 USB headers I believe. You could also replace the IR receiver with an ASRock CIR and use the CIR header on an ASRock board and then you'd just need one USB header.

[SaintGermain]

Thanks !
It seems it comes down to:
- GA-B75N: cheap, wifi optional (can choose the best mini pcie card), but only one USB header (not sure ? the spec are difficult to read)
- GA-H77N-WIFI: a bit more expensive, wifi included, only one USB header
- Z77E-ITX: much more expensive, wifi included, two USB headers
And all of them would fit in the MC-80.