ZOTAC GF9300-A-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Great HTPC Motherboard

Reviewed By: Cerberus on 11/8/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

Pros: Flawless 1080p playback with onboard video chipset. HDMI/DVI/VGA outputs will let you hook it up to just about any new TV. LGA 775 socket lets you put some in horse power in there with it. Runs XBMC on Ubuntu like a dream on my 42" LCD TV.

Cons: GPU idles at about 80C, however it never seems to go above 88C so just be sure you have good air flow in your case and it shouldn't be a problem.

Other Thoughts: Depending on what case you get be aware that the CPU's heat sink will come very close any rear mounted PSUs so consider getting an aftermarket that has a low profile. Also note this board only has 2 SATA ports (one for your optical drive, one for your hdd) so its best to stream any content you may have over the network or from a large external drive (I went with a "drobo" external drive and it works great!).

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A Tight Fit for a Tight System

Reviewed By: Flowertown, SC on 11/5/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Small. Filled with what you need including wireless. Bios with options for tuning.

Cons: I needed a magnifying glass to see what my needle noose pliers were doing (forget using your hand).

Other Thoughts: Running: Windows 7 HP, 4GB 6400 DDR2 with E6300 in a Rosewill RC-C1X-01 with DVD and 1TB SATA. Slightly disappointed with a Microsoft score of 4.7. Graphics was the limiting score. The rest were in the high 5's. I just used the drivers that came automatically from Windows update. Also the memory I installed was not 1066.

Temps: CPU 42C (Intel, retail cooler).

Noise: a hum (it is much quietier than my other ITX and my larger machines).

The case made working with the board more difficult than I suspect other cases would be. I was able to install the antenna on the unused top audio hole on the back plate. However, I had to turn it upside down to get it to fit (I don't think the radio waves minded).

Price: < $540 including OS

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Reviewed By: btidey on 10/26/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Easy to put together and very good feature set for the price, particularly the video output connectivity, the support for 6 SATA, the large number of USBs and the Firewire. Well laid out internal connectors offering easy expansion. I'm using with Q9550 and 8GB. I like the fan cooling on the 9300 chipset as this has a reputation for running hot with passive cooling and the fan on mine is very quiet.

Cons: Only 4 of the USBs brought out on backplate. I have put a 4 port expansion plate to pick up on motherboard headers. So now have 8 at the back, 2 at the front spare.

Other Thoughts: Supplied CD drivers were not Windows 7 64bit compliant but not really an issue as it always best to check on manufacturer's site for latest anyway and they were available there.

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