Strengths: Lots of features for HTPC

Weaknesses: Stability issues; expensive

Summary: We got this for a dedicated low-power Home Theater PC (HTPC). I wanted a cheap and low-power CPU, so it was necessary for the video to perform hardware decoding of HiDef content (Blu-Ray & HD-DVD). I didn't want a plug-in video card, as that would consume too much power. Thus far, this board has met all those requirements. I use an Intel Core2Duo E7200 CPU, 2GB of RAM and Vista Ultimate. I can play Blu-Ray movies without glitches using TotalMedia Theatre (TMT). The CPU sits at around 20% usage during this time. My only knock on the product is it's stability w.r.t. Vista sleep and standby. The unit will sometimes not go back to sleep once it's been idle for sometime. My other systems do this, with the exact same Vista power settings. Note that sometimes it does work! The most annoying thing, however, is that it will sometime awake from S3 sleep/standby, but to a funky state where the unit is powered on, fans are running, etc., but there is no display and no response from the keyboard or mouse. I notice during this time that the Ethernet port is also "down" (lights are turned off). Intel has not responded to my bug tracking, and others on the internet have similar issues. As a result, it is likely a hardware bug that need to be fixed (hopefully) with a future BIOS update.

Strengths: Perfect HTPC MB! Great value

Weaknesses: No legacy PS2 support

Summary: I am building a couple of HTPC's in our house, with one going into a dedicated Media Room with 92" HDTV projector & screen. I wanted an all-in-one motherboard, to avoid the additional power required for a video card and to offload HD video decoding. The Intel G45 chipset promises all these features, and delivers! Installation was a snap. I downloaded all the latest drivers, including the latest BIOS. Intel has been updating the video/audio drivers frequently, so this is a good sign that they are supporting their product. Using ArcSoft Total Media Theatre, Blu-Ray movies look totally awesome! I needed AnyDVD software installed, due to a compatibility issue with HDCP between the HD software player & using a A/V Receiver for passing thru HDMI. Just google HDMI repeater bug. I have also had problems with waking from sleep, where the computer will power up by itself. This has been an ongoing problem, and it may not be limited to this board.