ITX is not good with air flow in general. The components, DIMMs, and connector panel surround the CPU, and block air flow, regardless of flow direction. If you plan on running BOINC on this, I suggest a something like a hydro H60, it it will fit. I can't really tell from the pictures. It will also help keep the noise down, compared to a normal heatsink fan stack. I think noise would be a big concern for a HTPC.