Best USB 3.0 Mobo for i3 2100 (office & image editing, no gaming)

[pnin]

Hello,

I'm currently considering the following ATX boards for an Intel i3 2100:
Intel DH67CL
Asus P8H67-M LE

Both have USB 3 and SATA 6GB/s. I'm leaning toward the Intel board because it is less expensive. But I'm told Intel's build quality tends to be poor. Is this true?

So which board should I go with? Or are there are other boards that give better value?

Note: I need a config that's good for normal office use and occasional image editing/creation - with Photoshop or Illustrator. I need the machine to be fast and power efficient, so I'm leaning towards Intel rather than AMD. Also, there is no gaming requirement, so high-end graphics are not needed.

I'd prefer an H67-chipset board with USB 3.0. SATA 6 GB/s is optional because I'm told it has negligible impact on real-world performance.

 

[puttsy]

I do ask why you want an H67 board? This late in the game, I would say go Z68 at the very least.

The Asus P8Z68 boards are great boards to work with and, they offer all the functinaloty (err...pretty much anything worth having) of the P67 or H67 but, also a few more useful features. (SSD caching seems popular amoung some people)

Asus P8Z68-V LX motherboard

If you get a Z68 chipset, you can forego the discrete graphics and see if the on-the-chip Sandy-Bridge graphics are enough for you. If not, you can still easily upgrade down the road.

 

[pnin]

I do ask why you want an H67 board? This late in the game, I would say go Z68 at the very least.

Thanks for the suggestion, puttsy. It does look like a great board. As you say, I don't really need the on-board graphics with the i3 2100.

Problem is, I live in India, and the Z68 boards are way too expensive here. For example, the ASUS P8Z68-V LE which costs $130 on newegg costs $212 in Indian rupees! On the other hand, the H67 boards are less expensive (DH67CL costs $112 and the P8H67-M LE costs $132). So I guess I'm stuck with H67 if I want to keep the costs down.

 

[amuffin]

Asrock z68 extreme 3 gen 3?

 

[puttsy]

Well, if there is that drastic of a price difference, you are looking at the *67 boards for a very good reason! I can accept that reason with no further hassles!

Just about any of the Asus boards are solid, the P8P67 are very good boards. I am a die-hard Asus guy so I won't recommend anything else...except an occasional Gigabyte but that's spotty. I can bet you will be happy with most boards you find. And, to save a few bucks, you may be able to forego USB 3.0 and snag a PCIe x1, USB3 card, but that's only a thought. I don't know the cost/price of them so I can't say that's a definite option nor a greater one--something to consider though.