Choosing a Mini ITX motherboard

[drchohan]

I want to upgrade my PC for normal home use, It will be used for:
Surfing internet (watch You tube in HD), Word Processing, Very Occasional small photo/video editing (let’s say once a month or once in two months, when digital camera memory is full!, Watch HD Videos in .mkv format etc
Creating .pdf files
My component choices are
Motherboard
1. ASUS P8H61-I http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61I/
2. MSI H61I-E35 (B3) http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H61I-E35--B3-.html
RAM 1*4gb DDR III PC 1333
Processor
Intel Pentium G620, Intel Pentium G620T, Intel i3-2100T, I want be as green as possible.
I have an old shuttle XPC Box with 150W PSU. I will need to make holes to accommodate the mini-itx format motherboard, as shuttle uses their own shuttle factor motherboard. But, it will fun!
• I am undecided over motherboard as Asus one have USB 3.0 but is at least 20 Euro expensive that MSI one. ASUS website states that USB 3.) ports can only be used after installing USB 3.0 driver in windows, so they cannot be used for booting PC (e.g., installing windows from USB flash drive. So I think MSI with only USB 2.0 ports should be ok for me.
• I have two HDD one is 1TB @ 7200rpm, and another one 2Tb @ 5900rpm, and CD/DVD Combo.
• Is 150W PSU enough?
• Is stock Heat sink/cooler on Intel CPU ok, or aftermarket coolers are needed?
• I will connecting the PC to a monitor and a TV and would like to use both of them at the same time, as I work on PC monitor but my son can watch his movie/cartoons on TV.
I am looking to keep the cost down as much as possible, while building a workable home pc. Keeping all this in mind, suggestion for my new DIY project are welcome. And Thank you in Advance.

 

[geofelt]

I think your plans are good.

USB3.0 is very nice for external backup. If you care about your data enough to back up externally, I would spend the extra for usb3.0. The motherboard also has usb2.0 so needing drivers should not be an issue.

The G620 should do the job. I doubt that it is worthwhile to pay extra for the low wattage cpu's for your applications. The 32nm sandy bridge cpu's run cool. The stock cooler will be fine.

150w is enough.

 

[itxgamer]

I am undecided over motherboard...I think MSI with only USB 2.0 ports should be ok for me.

It will do the job. The ASUS does give the option to upgrade the video later (may be a non-issue). You may find another alternative on this mini-itx comparison page. There's a number of options and you can sort by what you want.

Is 150W PSU enough?

Yes.

Is stock Heat sink/cooler on Intel CPU ok, or aftermarket coolers are needed?

Absolutly not. The stock heatsink will be just fine.

I will connecting the PC to a monitor and a TV and would like to use both of them at the same time, as I work on PC monitor but my son can watch his movie/cartoons on TV.

Won't be a problem, but beware that some boards dont allow the DVI and HDMI outputs to be used at the same time. If that's the case, just make sure either your monitor or TV has VGA input.

Your build looks good and will do what you need.

 

[drchohan]

I am undecided over motherboard...I think MSI with only USB 2.0 ports should be ok for me.

It will do the job. The ASUS does give the option to upgrade the video later (may be a non-issue). You may find another alternative on this mini-itx comparison page. There's a number of options and you can sort by what you want.

Is 150W PSU enough?

Yes.

Is stock Heat sink/cooler on Intel CPU ok, or aftermarket coolers are needed?

Absolutly not. The stock heatsink will be just fine.

I will connecting the PC to a monitor and a TV and would like to use both of them at the same time, as I work on PC monitor but my son can watch his movie/cartoons on TV.

Won't be a problem, but beware that some boards dont allow the DVI and HDMI outputs to be used at the same time. If that's the case, just make sure either your monitor or TV has VGA input.

Your build looks good and will do what you need.

Thank you.