SYSTEM ORDERED! [Cheapest build needed] A web browsing machine for my mom.

[sm625]

in 5 years i doubt the H97 would be any more desirable than the H81.

Sure it would. About as useful as a first gen i5 motherboard is today. In 5 years, ebay will be flooded with Xeon E3-12xx V3 chips for dirt cheap and they should work in a H97 board.

 

[Zorander]

I would definitely spend a little extra on newer chipsets that can support newer CPUs down the road.

It sucks when you want to upgrade your CPU and there is limited option. That's the case with my parents' AM3 (not AM3+) board that can only accept 4-year-old Thubans at best.

 

[mfenn]

Sure it would. About as useful as a first gen i5 motherboard is today. In 5 years, ebay will be flooded with Xeon E3-12xx V3 chips for dirt cheap and they should work in a H97 board.

The MSI H81I (like most 8 series boards) supports every Haswell Refresh chip as long as you have an updated BIOS. Since you have a pre-existing CPU in an upgrade situation, flashing the BIOS is not an issue.

The reason to go with a 9 series board is that you have guaranteed support for Haswell Refresh chips out of the box. The G3258 is indeed a Hasewell Refresh chip, so a 9 series board is worthwhile on those merits.

Since this is a "mom PC", the H81I would be perfectly fine if you had another Haswell CPU that you could use to flash the BIOS beforehand.

 

[Zeze]

System ordered!

I was closed to getting that super mini system (ITX whatever), but ended up sticking with the conventional microATX this time.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BNqP99

I took your advice and went with MX100 SSD instead (also voted best SSD @ price range by Tom's).

I'll update again once parts arrive and assembly done.

 

[Ichigo]

I'd just have gotten a Chromebox and called it a day. No tech support plz.

 

[mfenn]

System ordered!

I was closed to getting that super mini system (ITX whatever), but ended up sticking with the conventional microATX this time.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BNqP99

I took your advice and went with MX100 SSD instead (also voted best SSD @ price range by Tom's).

I'll update again once parts arrive and assembly done.

Good luck!