marcfolio Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I'm looking to build a HTPC. Having lived all Mac for a decade now it's been a while since I built a PC. I've gone over the forums, looked at different components and I'm now looking for some recommendations. The biggest piece of the puzzle I'm missing is the motherboard. So let me give you my description of what I'm thinking in terms of the whole picture. Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Hard Drvie: SATA 500GB (this I already have) Case: Antec NSK2480 w/ 380 watt PSU link:http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MzI= RAM: regular cheap ram Number 1 the PC will be hooked up to my TV. It'll always be on and work as a bittorrent server, time machine back up, and of course frontrow media player. Right now it'll just have the one Hard drive but in the next couple of months I'd like to add a couple more drives to it. Oh and I prefer not to have a DVD drive. As for installation of os x I'd prefer the boot-132 and then retail install (since I have a copy of leopard). I also think the idea of running software updates would be keen. As for the motherboard I'm hoping to get one that has a graphic card integrated and has HDMI out. Oh and ins micro-atx (since my case is). Of course working as straight out of the box would be great. And my budget is around $300. Please help. MOBO suggestions and any links to step by step how to's would be amazing. Thanks! marc Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/161167-need-some-help-choosing-my-motherboard/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I believe the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H works- it has DVI and HDMI output, the nVidia 9400 is supposed to work with OSX, and the board is supposed to be Hackintosh-able. (Retail or not, I have no idea). I can't say from personal use though- never had one of them. $300 total budget may be a little optimistic though- that board is $130 by itself. I'd recommend a GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L and seperate cheap graphic card (onboard video on this board doesn't work)- the board is only $50 and you can get a decent video card for the remainder and probably still spend less than the other board. This board works great with a retail install, and there are plenty of guides around. Install your system with a SATA DVD drive, then if you no longer need the drive once set up, yank it. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/161167-need-some-help-choosing-my-motherboard/#findComment-1127794 Share on other sites More sharing options...
or_astroman Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 If I were in your shoes then I would get the Asus p5n7a-vm. It seems to be running a bit more stable than the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H. The Asus also has HDMI out, Nvidia 9300 onboard graphics and unlike the Gigabyte, you can use more than 2 gigs of ram. Sleep, Shutdown ect all work. You will need to make sure you use RAM from the Asus QVL. All the info is here. Plus right now New Egg has open box ones for $84. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/161167-need-some-help-choosing-my-motherboard/#findComment-1128275 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick14 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I would get an E5200 instead of E7400 becouse it's cheaper and perfect for HTPC Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/161167-need-some-help-choosing-my-motherboard/#findComment-1128301 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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