Micro ATX versus ATX?

heartburnron · 24 Sep 2017 at 19:59

I'm building a budget gaming PC for my kids all be it the GPU will be my old Fury X. The PC case is a mid tower and I've found myself favouring a full ATX motherboard when I've been looking for one. However, given that the Micro ATX mobos are a good bit cheaper, is there any reason to favour a full ATX over a Micro given is will be a standard gaming PC set up - 1x GPU, 1x SDD, 1x HDD?

tamzzy · 24 Sep 2017 at 20:29

none at all. full atx is useful for multiple pci-e setups. doesn't sound like you need em

Minibiker · 24 Sep 2017 at 21:24

I think most mATX motherboards have less RAM ports (2 instead of 4 like on ATX)

8 Pack · 24 Sep 2017 at 22:20

No they don't. ^^

Matx for me makes the most sense out of all form factors. Compact whilst a good one has everything atx does...

tamzzy · 24 Sep 2017 at 22:22

Minibiker said:
I think most mATX motherboards have less RAM ports (2 instead of 4 like on ATX)

you're thinking about mini-itx? matx has 4 ram slots, just like atx boards (if dual channel)

8 Pack said:
Matx for me makes the most sense out of all form factors. Compact whilst a good one has everything atx does...

QFT

Danny75 · 24 Sep 2017 at 23:30

tamzzy said:
you're thinking about mini-itx? matx has 4 ram slots, just like atx boards (if dual channel)

Some mATX have two RAM slots, some have four. I wouldn't say most, though. There's even an E-ATX with two slots (Apex) but that's a lot rarer.

Hotwired · 24 Sep 2017 at 23:31

Maybe you're thinking of ITX with only two RAM slots, mATX is generally four just like ATX since it really isn't struggling for space to put RAM slots in.

Actually I don't know about "majority" since as I check both ATX and mATX have only two ram slots on the cheapest models and it's quite possible that cheap boards with 2 slots do sell more.

But mATX is not limited for RAM slots.

Prozn · 25 Sep 2017 at 09:10

On full ATX mobos the top PCI slot is normally a small 2x socket, with the first 16x being on the second slot. On mATX the top PCI can often be your first 16x slot (where your GPU will go) - this can cause clearance issues with some CPU coolers (eg the larger noctuas).

Probably not a problem for a budget system, but worth noting.

heartburnron · 25 Sep 2017 at 14:06

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and responses, micro ATX it is then.

Edit: Just thinking there that I'll also need to include a PCI wifi card on the PC. It does look there are a couple of slots that will accommodate this ok, even if the Fury X covers the first x2 slot. Anyone know of any reason where I might have issues using a wifi card with the smaller B250 boards.