[SOLVED] Cheap and simple motherboard to run Windows 11

Oasis Curator

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Apr 9, 2019
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Hello

So it appears my old Asus P45Q-e doesn't have inbuilt TPM.
I think the motherboard supports an add on but not sure.

I use this motherboard to run plex for my HTPC. It has 5 hard drives connected, 4 mechanical, one SSD. So it doesn't need to do anything spectacular. Just good onboard (well, 5.1 is fine) audio and connections for all the hard drives.

Can anyone suggest a cheap motherboard that I can replace this with so I can upgrade to Windows 11?

Cheers
 
Solution
Hmm.
Is suggesting other answers and ignoring the actual question asked part of forums these days?

1) No where have I said I am installing Windows 11 now.
I will only upgrade when the PC tells me it's available. In the case of this PC, it'll be never.

2) I understand I have a good three or four years to upgrade.
But that isn't answering the question. Eventually, I will want to upgrade. I have the money now so have asked about a motherboard that is currently on the green list for Windows 11 (likely any new motherboard - my other 3 year old one can handle W11). I don't mean to be rude but answers of "don't need to do it now" aren't really helpful to the question in hand.
I don't want to bother to remember to do...

Oasis Curator

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Apr 9, 2019
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Yeah, Windows 10.

It is good enough but I'm very much a future thinker and don't want to forget or get stuck on Windows 10 as they'll stop supporting it eventually so I'd just be putting off an upgrade.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Yeah, Windows 10.

It is good enough but I'm very much a future thinker and don't want to forget or get stuck on Windows 10 as they'll stop supporting it eventually so I'd just be putting off an upgrade.
  1. Oct 2025. No need to rush into Win 11.
  2. Win 11 is not yet finished. I absolutely would NOT change a main system to run an OS that is still in beta at best.

Revisit this concept a year from now.
 
Hello

So it appears my old Asus P45Q-e doesn't have inbuilt TPM.
I think the motherboard supports an add on but not sure.

I use this motherboard to run plex for my HTPC. It has 5 hard drives connected, 4 mechanical, one SSD. So it doesn't need to do anything spectacular. Just good onboard (well, 5.1 is fine) audio and connections for all the hard drives.

Can anyone suggest a cheap motherboard that I can replace this with so I can upgrade to Windows 11?

Cheers
What CPU will you put on it? That's just as likely to be the blocker.
 

Oasis Curator

Reputable
Apr 9, 2019
236
7
4,595
Hmm.
Is suggesting other answers and ignoring the actual question asked part of forums these days?

1) No where have I said I am installing Windows 11 now.
I will only upgrade when the PC tells me it's available. In the case of this PC, it'll be never.

2) I understand I have a good three or four years to upgrade.
But that isn't answering the question. Eventually, I will want to upgrade. I have the money now so have asked about a motherboard that is currently on the green list for Windows 11 (likely any new motherboard - my other 3 year old one can handle W11). I don't mean to be rude but answers of "don't need to do it now" aren't really helpful to the question in hand.
I don't want to bother to remember to do it in three or four years... (that isn't my personality) I'm happy to upgrade whenever it's available - that doesn't mean I'm installing nightly builds now... just when it's released, I'll wait my turn in line.

3) It's not a case of "trying" Windows 11.
I WILL be upgrading to it at some point, I just don't see the need to stay on Windows 10 if there is an opportunity to update sooner. That will just give me a job to do in 3/4 years time.


I just want a couple of suggestions of cheapish motherboards that can play films - that's literally all that particular PC does... run Plex and play films at 1080p. It has a basic fanless graphics card as the on-board graphics aren't great, which I'd have thought is unusual as most come with two, if not three fans, double width these days.

I suppose the only thing that could be pointing people wrong is the stats in my sig - I'm not talking about that PC but another, less powerful one.
I think it has some sort of Intel processor. Not sure what though.
 

boju

Titan
Ambassador
Once requirements are confirmed, because it's changed already, and a list of compatible hardware then you can make an informed decision. So far,


There's been quite the rush on Win11 as you can see in the Win11 forum section here and asking for a motherboard now seemed similar behaviour. Any modern motherboard will be supported, it's not like you'll have trouble finding cheap there.
 
Hmm.
Is suggesting other answers and ignoring the actual question asked part of forums these days?

1) No where have I said I am installing Windows 11 now.
I will only upgrade when the PC tells me it's available. In the case of this PC, it'll be never.

2) I understand I have a good three or four years to upgrade.
But that isn't answering the question. Eventually, I will want to upgrade. I have the money now so have asked about a motherboard that is currently on the green list for Windows 11 (likely any new motherboard - my other 3 year old one can handle W11). I don't mean to be rude but answers of "don't need to do it now" aren't really helpful to the question in hand.
I don't want to bother to remember to do it in three or four years... (that isn't my personality) I'm happy to upgrade whenever it's available - that doesn't mean I'm installing nightly builds now... just when it's released, I'll wait my turn in line.

3) It's not a case of "trying" Windows 11.
I WILL be upgrading to it at some point, I just don't see the need to stay on Windows 10 if there is an opportunity to update sooner. That will just give me a job to do in 3/4 years time.


I just want a couple of suggestions of cheapish motherboards that can play films - that's literally all that particular PC does... run Plex and play films at 1080p. It has a basic fanless graphics card as the on-board graphics aren't great, which I'd have thought is unusual as most come with two, if not three fans, double width these days.

I suppose the only thing that could be pointing people wrong is the stats in my sig - I'm not talking about that PC but another, less powerful one.
I think it has some sort of Intel processor. Not sure what though.
Your OP suggests you just wanted a motherboard, implying you'd move the current CPU, GPU and memory to the new assuming Windows 11 compatibility. Providing any specific recommendations for a motherboard is pointless without knowing the system configuration, especially the CPU generation given that scenario.

The link you provided points to an Asus P5Q-E motherboard which is compatible with a number of older CPU's that probably don't work with Windows11. All anyone's trying to do is keep you from wasting time and money buying incompatible hardware...either with your current CPU or your implied goal of running Windows 11.

So now you've got a huge list of motherboard architectures that would work both for an HTPC and Win11...not really any more helpful than going into any computer shop and choosing from what's on display. Be sure to also pick a CPU/GPU combo that's compatible with Windows 11 and memory that's compatible with motherboard.
 
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