Motherboard I3-2100

[Solvarisis]

I'm contemplating a I3-2100 processor, 4GB RAM, WD Caviar Green 1TB, Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 2 GB GDDR5

I am confused regarding the motherboard. I know i need a LGA1155 socket type. Admittedly not a very big fan of overclocking, i have narrowed it down to H or Z series but i want suggestions on what type i should use (H77, Z77, Z68 OR H61). Being new to this "MSI Z77A-G45 Motherboard" seemed the right choice for now. Please suggest a suitable motherboard in a similar price bracket

furthermore is 500W enough power?

 

[o1die]

Yes to 500w, but I recommend a 650w corsair while they're on sale, if your vender has one for $75 or less. Newegg has several this weekend in that price range. Here's two boards from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130653

 

[Guest]

i'll try to briefly explain the differences:

the H series 61, 67 and 77 are not for overclocking and have video outputs. the Z series 68, 77 and 75 are for overclocking and also have video outputs. both types of video out are for the intel HD graphics (2000, 2500, 3000 & 4000) that are on the cpu. the P67 motherboards are for overclocking but no video out.

the 6 are for sandy bride cpus but just about all can use an ivy bridge cpu with an updated bios. the 7 are ivy bridge motherboard but can use a sandy bridge cpu without worrying about the bios.

there is also the B75s that are more for business or regular users that are similar to the H series motherboard but do not have more than one x16 PCI slot and usually one sata 6 bgs port for a SSD or hard drive.


along with thinking about the H,Z,P or B type; you might want to ask yourself just what are you going to put on it. you will look to get a K series cpu and overclock? will you possibly want the option to use two graphic cards for SLI or Xfire?

because if you don't want to overclock in the future then there is no need for a Z68/77 motherboard. or if you want to SLI later one then you need to find a motherboard with two x16 slots that run x8,x8 mode. if you want just a non overclocking board with one graphics card than a H61/67/77 or B75 would fit the bill.

and yes a 500 watt PSU is more than enough to run a i3-2100 with a GTX 650; that won't even use 200 watts of power. so no offence to anyone i am not sure of the wisdom of getting a 650 watt just because they are on sale; unless you plan to upgrade to an i5 and SLI a couple of 670s in the very near future . . .