ZOTAC H67ITX-C-E Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Comment:
A mini-itx board that has everything. Onboard wifi, expansion slot, USB 3.0, SATA 3 etc etc... and also it uses normal desktop RAM. Everything is top-notch.Only complaint is that the power connector is too close to RAM slot. The picopsu is pressing against the RAM's heat spreader quite tightly.

Comment:
Overall, for my HTPC builds, I'm very happy with this Zotac H67ITX-C-E motherboard. In terms of features, it's hard to beat! I especially appreciate the included dual antennas and mini-PCIe slot, which holds an included WiFi-N adapter. That said, this board isn't going to be for everybody. First and foremost, it doesn't support overclocking. For me, that's no problem. But for serious gamers who want to build an ITX rig, it might be a dealbreaker. Another knock for serious gamers is that the CPU bracket is positioned about as close as physically possible to the PCIe slot. If you have a beefy graphics card installed, you need to be aware that a large heatsink/fan is likely going to rub against it or possibly not fit at all. Again, non-issues for me in an HTPC build with low-profile CPU heatsink/fan and no video card or only a low-powered video card.The included WiFi is fine. But I use Bluetooth devices and I also use dual band Wireless-N. Thankfully, with this board, it's super easy to swap out the included Atheros WiFi mini-PCIe adapter for an Intel Advanced-N adapter with Bluetooth and dual band 2.4GHz + 5GHz support! Do note that the mini-PCIe slot is a "full height" 70mm slot though. The Intel adapters are "minicard" half-height 50mm cards, so you'll either need an adapter, a bracket, or like me, you can just use some spare wire to make your own tie-down ;)The best feature though are the 6(!) SATA connections. For a HTPC, this is absolutely awesome as it allows me to connect an SSD for the OS, a Blu-ray drive, and 4 3TB drives for movie storage! It's unusual to find onboard support for so many SATA connections, so that's a major plus for a HTPC server!So no complaints from me. But it might not be the perfect choice for everyone.Oh, and by the way, the included twin antennas for the WiFi work perfectly well at the 5GHz frequency! I was a little worried about that, but I just installed the Intel Advanced-N minicard, hooked up the antenna wires to it, installed the drivers and had no problems at all! Recognized both my 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals perfectly and the Intel Bluetooth showed up without a hitch too!

Comment:
This is a great board for a powerful HTPC. I put a core i5 on it and it is super fast. The bios is not very good looking, but it is functional. Some people said that the Wifi was weak, but mine is fine. Also, all the included accessories were very usefull. More over, you will have access to pretty much all the feature a mini-ITX board can offer. Finally, on sale it can become very affordable.

Comment:
Bought this for a really small ITX gaming build for the gf. Incredible value with all the features one would need, including WiFi for her apartment. I installed Windows 7 and the rest of the drivers from the website need to be installed to enable all the features.The ZOTAC rebate centre is right in Richmond and they give you a cheque instead of a gift credit card, which I thought was great.Great mobo. Looking forward to more ZOTAC ITX boards.

Comment:
I purchased this board as part of an HTPC build, as I was looking for something compact and functional. Paired with an appropriately selected video card (eg. ASUS GeForce GT 430 - Low Profile) it works great in my setup with my 50" plasma. The board comes with onboard video (DVI) for those not interested in a discrete option (not tested in my setup).Cable maintenance / cleanup can be a bit of work with such a small board, and small cases, so I would advise going with a modular power supply. Plan ahead!During installation, as other reviews on the 'net have noted, you may observe some problems with clearance between a CPU heatsink and the PCI-e card (eg. video card). In my case, with this motherboard, an i3-2100 CPU, a Scythe Shuriken 3 Heatpipe Low Profile CPU Heatsink, and an ASUS GeForce GT 430 (low profile), I observed a clearance of just over 1.5mm...yes, that's "millimeters", between the CPU heatsink and the video card. Not much, but it works. As well, if your RAM chips have extra cooling fins, you may want to check the 'net for other reviews on possible clearance problems. In my case, I went with the simple option of Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/4G set which fits and works great.A great board for a strong build.