Coolest and lowest power draw Mini ITX H67

[Lupine Lacuna]

So I cannot seem to find which is the most economical Mini ITX H67 to run in the H3 case.

Anyone got any idea?

Thanks

[Vicotnik]

The economical choice is seldom the power efficient choice. Intel have very power efficient boards, but they are usually a bit more expensive than the competition. MSI has also been good lately with regards to power efficiency.

[Lupine Lacuna]

I only meant economical with power, not in terms of cost.

[quest_for_silence]

I only meant economical with power, not in terms of cost.

I'm afraid that currently there's no such a rank.

However, go for an Intel board, as they are consistently the most or among the most efficient ones.

[Abula]

As Vicotnik n quest_for_silence said, intel has been known to have some of the most efficient boards, so if H67 is a must, i would go with Intel BOXDH67CFB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard, its been reviewed and came as really good option, check MissingRemote Intel Core i3-2100T and DH67CF Mini-ITX Motherboard.

Personally i havent tried MSI boards lately, but there are good comments about their power consumption. If you were to consider H61, then check MSI H61I-E35 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Mini ITX Intel Motherboard. Pair it with a cheap Intel Celeron G530, and you got a really nice setup for very little money, well depends on your needs.

Another one to look if you dont go with H3 case since it comes with PSU already is, DH61AG Intel Mini-ITX + 19v/8.4A 160 Watt AC-DC Power Adapter, if you want more info check MissingRemote Intel DH61AG Media Series Mini-ITX Motherboard and Core i5-2390T.

[DaRuSsIaMaN]

Intel motherboards appear to be the best at power consumption, hands down. Second place is ASUS, from what I've read.

Check out this review, for example:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=632&Itemid=69&limit=1&limitstart=15
Here are their specs:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=632&Itemid=69&limit=1&limitstart=4

I have a very comparable system--also a microATX motherboard (the ASUS P8H67-m Evo), also 2500k, also 2x2GB RAM, also a SSD (Kingston V+100, 96GB). Difference is I also have a secondary drive, a 500GB laptop hdd, and I have a different PSU. My PSU is only 380W, not the ridiculous 850W they used, and it's 80Plus Bronze, so it must be more efficient. And yet, I never got my build down to the 27W they got. I also used a P3 Kill-A-Watt. I had it at like 30W, after I adjusted for the Kill-A-Watt's error.

[Lupine Lacuna]

Thanks everyone. I really like the look of the Intel dh67cf, but does it have a wifi adapter in it? It suggests it does not, which is critical for the H3...

[DaRuSsIaMaN]

What is this H3 case you're talking about? And can't you just get a wireless adapter that either goes into one of the PCI/PCI-e slots, or one of those external ones that plug into a USB port? They're pretty cheap...

[Abula]

What is this H3 case you're talking about? And can't you just get a wireless adapter that either goes into one of the PCI/PCI-e slots, or one of those external ones that plug into a USB port? They're pretty cheap...

Im guessing he refers to HDPLEX H3.SODD Fanless Mini-ITX HTPC Case

Thanks everyone. I really like the look of the Intel dh67cf, but does it have a wifi adapter in it? It suggests it does not, which is critical for the H3...

As DaRuSsIaMan you can go with an external USB dongle, for example, AirLink101 AWLL5088 Wireless N 150 Ultra Mini USB Adapter or 150mbps USB Wifi 802.11n Wireless Network Adapter with Antenna. I believe there are also miniPCIe to PCIe Adapters, but might be an issue with H3 cpu cooling and doesnt have a PCI slot on the back.

Another alternative is to go with Intel BOXDH61DLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard, i own this mobo on my mini mi build (check signature), it has a miniPCIe slot, i havent used it but it should work with laptop WIFI cards, like Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Ultimate N, get some internal antennas like Tyco Wifi & Bluetooth Antenna. Just if you go this route, be careful with the memory, as the board is very picky, but you should be fine if you go with something that someone already is using.



The DH61AG, also has a mini PCIe, also has msata port in case you also would like to add an ssd. But you will waiste the PSU on the H3 and need to buy an an power brick for the board, like 19v/8.4A 160 Watt AC-DC Power Adapter

[Lupine Lacuna]

Thanks everyone, yes, this is for going in the H3 SODD.

And that might be the problem with the Intel DH67CF, because it doesnt have as good heatsinks as say the Asus H67...

[wayner]

Thanks everyone. I really like the look of the Intel dh67cf, but does it have a wifi adapter in it? It suggests it does not, which is critical for the H3...

Why is a wifi adapter critical for this case, but not others? I am using this case to build an HTPC and I wouldn't think of using wifi since it can be unreliable for HD video. As a worst case scenario you can always buy a USB wifi adapter.

[Lupine Lacuna]

I agree, on reflection. I intend this to be wired. However funnily enough the board I decided on in the end was the Asus H67 Deluxe.. I wanted internal 3.0 and decent heatsinks all over.