Looking for mini ITX LGA 775 board

[Clayton_Bigsby]

I've inherited some parts for an HTPC that predate when I really started getting into computers so I could really use some help with finding the right motherboard. I have sort of fallen in love with the look of the Corsair 250D, but of course that only supports mini ITX boards. My current board (EVGA 680i SLI) is not only a full ATX board, but it has heat issues that will require me to spent time and money fixing. So at this point I'm looking to ditch it and get a mini ITX board that will accommodate the rest of my components.

They are:

• 
  ■ Q6600 CPU
  ■ 4GB DDR2 Ram
  ■ 9800 GTX

This board doesn't have to be top of the line. It just needs to be able to handle my components, and have some basics like gigabit ethernet, a couple SATA II connections, USB headers, etc. I won't be overclocking. I also will only be using a single SSD so lots of SATA II connections are not necessary.

 

[cin19]

Intel® Desktop Board DG41AN is one of them. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/271441957019?lpid=82

 

[PepitoTV]

This one should do:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-motherboard-boxdq45ek

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

Neither of those seem to support the Q6600 CPU. After some more research the ONLY LGA775 mini ITX mobo I've found that will work a processor above 65W is the Zotac gf9300 series. The specs for them can be seen Here. Those seem to be pretty rare though, and very expensive for a 5+ year old board. Kind of a bummer, but what you are going to do.

 

[Guest]

I'm looking for a mATX, but I can suggest Asus P5Q Deluxe. It supports Q6600 CPU because I use a Intel Core 2 Quad.


Edit:
Here you go: a list of Asus mATX for Core 2 familly: https://www.google.com.br/search?q=asus+p5q+deluxe&oq=asus&ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Aasus.com%2FMotherboards+lga775+matx

And some models I've just found: P5LD2-VM, P5B-VM, P5K-VM


Edit:
Sorry, I've just noticed you meant mITX and not mATX.

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

Edit:
Sorry, I've just noticed you meant mITX and not mATX.

Yeah, there seem to have been a good amount of mATX boards designed for the core 2 quad, but basically no mITX. I'm not completely surprised because putting high end components in such a small computer is a more recent trend.

I will probably have to abandon my plan for using the Corsair 250D (as beautiful as it is). I'll probably make another post asking for 250D look a-likes that fit mATX or modify the my existing board with new heat sinks.

 

[Guest]

mITX is not recommended for high end builds because it makes difficult to spread the heat (the area of the mb is smaller), and the case is smaller too.

 

[Rammy]

While there is the odd 775 ITX board, you are right that it's only fairly recently it's become more of a mainstream solution, so they are very limited. Not only that, if you can actually find one, it's likely to be very expensive, or you take your chances on Ebay.

By the time you've spent that much money, you have to consider whether or not it's really worth it. I have an old Q6600 system myself, very similar to yours, and while it's still perfectly serviceable for basic tasks, it's really getting pretty old. If you can see yourself going for an entirely new system in the short-medium term (next year or so) you might be worth holding out, and then building an ITX system from scratch, when you can take advantage of more modern tech, rather than spending a few hundred dollars on a short term solution.

There's no reason you can't do high end ITX builds. There is always going to be some sort of trade off, usually an additional cost, but the feature-sets of modern ITX boards can be incredibly good. You can comfortably bundle the best mainstream Intel CPU and the best current graphics card into something the size of a shoebox, with minimal compromise, it's impressive stuff.

The 250D is a great case, but it is a little dependant on a couple of things. If you are using a H100i (or similar) and also fancy keeping a full sized optical drive, there really is no other ITX case on the market, it's basically a class of one. If you aren't using either of those things, or only one, then it's quite possible there is a better option. For an ITX case, it's very wide (significantly wider than most ATX towers) and it's not super cheap either.

It's a bit obvious, but if you like the style of the 250D, it stands to reason that you'd also like the 350D and 450D which are the mATX and ATX equivalents respectively. Neither are cheap, and they perhaps aren't for everyone, but they might give you an aesthetic upgrade which you can use without changing much about your current system.

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

While there is the odd 775 ITX board, you are right that it's only fairly recently it's become more of a mainstream solution, so they are very limited. Not only that, if you can actually find one, it's likely to be very expensive, or you take your chances on Ebay.

By the time you've spent that much money, you have to consider whether or not it's really worth it. I have an old Q6600 system myself, very similar to yours, and while it's still perfectly serviceable for basic tasks, it's really getting pretty old. If you can see yourself going for an entirely new system in the short-medium term (next year or so) you might be worth holding out, and then building an ITX system from scratch, when you can take advantage of more modern tech, rather than spending a few hundred dollars on a short term solution.

There's no reason you can't do high end ITX builds. There is always going to be some sort of trade off, usually an additional cost, but the feature-sets of modern ITX boards can be incredibly good. You can comfortably bundle the best mainstream Intel CPU and the best current graphics card into something the size of a shoebox, with minimal compromise, it's impressive stuff.

The 250D is a great case, but it is a little dependant on a couple of things. If you are using a H100i (or similar) and also fancy keeping a full sized optical drive, there really is no other ITX case on the market, it's basically a class of one. If you aren't using either of those things, or only one, then it's quite possible there is a better option. For an ITX case, it's very wide (significantly wider than most ATX towers) and it's not super cheap either.

It's a bit obvious, but if you like the style of the 250D, it stands to reason that you'd also like the 350D and 450D which are the mATX and ATX equivalents respectively. Neither are cheap, and they perhaps aren't for everyone, but they might give you an aesthetic upgrade which you can use without changing much about your current system.

Awesome comment even if it doesn't completely solve my problem. I actually do have a H60 that also came with my friends computer. Still can't believe he let me take all that stuff. I agree about being able to do a high end build in an ITX case now-a-days; sure your expansion is limited , but most people don't ever need to really expand if they plan their build well.

I would really like to use some of these components because I think they will be more than serviceable in an HTPC for years to come, and they are free. Whereas ditching all those parts for modern tech is going to end up costing $400 or so. At this point I think I will get a used mATX board which unlike the mITX there are a lot of options, and settle for one of the SilverStone cases. My wife prefers those cases anyways.

Edit: or just sell stuff for parts lol