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ATX or MATX...?

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Soldato
Joined
31 Dec 2006
Posts
7,234
Looking at another build for myself and I'm deliberating between ATX and MATX. The only sticking point seems to be SLI, as I may be going that way some point in the future, and although plenty of MATX boards can do it, when I look at the space in the cases, I'm wondering if that's a good idea and may cause heat issues? Does anyone run SLI in an MATX case? Is it advisable?

Outside of that, I only have x2 SSD's and 1-2 3.5" HD's, so I don't need a million drive bays, nor do I need an optical drive. SLI seems to be the deciding factor here, as I can't really see any other reason to go ATX... or is there something I'm not thinking about? I would like a cool and quiet case either way.

Any thoughts? :confused:
 
If you pick the right case with good air flow (AIR240 for example) and got gfx cards that exhaust directly out the rear, then you will be fine.
 
Well I'm not leaning either way necessarily... I have no problem with ATX if that's the more sensible way to go. Do you mean the reference style 970/980 with the blower style cooler?
 
Yeah, those types of coolers will be best for small spaces.

But, these cards run cool 'n' quiet anyway, so aftermarket cooler solutions wont dump much heat into the case that it cant cope with.
 
 
With a lot of really nice m-ATX cases with good cooling available now and a nice range of motherboards my next build is going to be m-ATX. It just seems to be the best balance between compromise on features and size. If I was buying now I would probably get the Asus Maximus VII Gene.
 
When it comes to aesthetics, I do prefer the MATX cases (and heavily leaning towards the Evolv right now), and with my low drive count and given the only cards I have in my system will be the GPU(s), full on ATX seems a bit excessive to me... my only concern being temps. As mentioned though, the 970s seem quite cool running cards.
 
It has been rather tempermental on here recently. Sometimes you click on a thread and it will take ages to open while others are instant.
 
That Raijintek Aeneas is interesting. No reviews of that anywhere yet I can see though. However, with the mesh it looks like it might not be so quiet. I can't seem to find a bad review of the Evolv, seems a good all rounder.
 
It comes with a pair of 120mm fans at the front but can take a 200mm fan. That's what I would fit there. I have 3x 200mm fans in my case, the front one runs at 480rpm and the side and top ones at 600rpm. With them at those speeds my case (Aerocool Mechatron) is practically silent.
 
Does anyone know much about this board? I quite like the unique look of it. How does it compare to the previously recommended MSI, Asus and Gigabyte?

Asus Z97 Gryphon Armor bundle

I did read in a review that it doesn't feature M.2 port or SATA Express support, but I've no idea how that would impact me.
 
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If you are using normal SATA drives then not having m.2 or SATA express will not effect you.

That board has a 5yr warranty (thats good actually).
 
Ah yes, I had seen them before but hadn't looked in to it much. Interesting. I've no idea if I'd go that route, but perhaps it makes sense to have the future proofing in case I do, especially if faster than a regular SSD. Shame the Gryphon board doesn't offer it.
 
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