Micro atx mobos.

Abz Hussain · 9 Mar 2013 at 11:20

Just want to know which matx mobos are currently best of the crop out there for both 1155 and AMD equivelent. Looking to do an overclocked SFF build for gaming.
Thanks.

Something Else · 9 Mar 2013 at 15:57

here is a selection of matx and some itx motherboards (itx even smaller than matx)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe (Socket 1155/Intel Z77.DDR3/S-ATA 600/Mini ITX) £159.95
1 x Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £154.99
1 x ASRock Z77E-ITX Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £123.95
1 x Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-M Pro Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £116.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £98.99
Total : £786.85 (includes shipping : £10.00).

i have the asus maximus v gene, love it tbh you can crossfire but you would need watercooling to keep the gpu's cool

the best for clocking is the V gene

Abz Hussain · 9 Mar 2013 at 23:07

Looks like the gene v is worth considering.
Thanks for that.

Jay85 · 9 Mar 2013 at 23:27

The gene is a great board, i've been using mine for over a 4 months now and it runs solid with my current overclock. Looks beautiful as well in a windowed case

Abz Hussain · 10 Mar 2013 at 08:17

Jay85 said:
The gene is a great board, i've been using mine for over a 4 months now and it runs solid with my current overclock. Looks beautiful as well in a windowed case

Cool, im looking to downsize from EATX. MATX seem to be the compromise as i want to overclock. Whats the onboard sound like on yours gene?

PapaLazaru · 10 Mar 2013 at 09:16

I am planning the same but am looking to get the Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77. I will not buy ASUS anymore and the G1 gets very good reviews (and is currently on special offer).

Anyway, downsizing eh Abz? You might want to change your sig.

RetrogamerX · 10 Mar 2013 at 10:52

PapaLazaru said:
I am planning the same but am looking to get the Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77. I will not buy ASUS anymore and the G1 gets very good reviews (and is currently on special offer).

Anyway, downsizing eh Abz? You might want to change your sig.

I feel like you do. I don't really like Asus anymore. I went for gigabyte and have been extremely happy.

stulid · 10 Mar 2013 at 11:13

The sniper M3 is no slouch when it comes to overclocking, Sin0822 reviewed it here - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?282700-GIGABYTE-G1.Sniper-M3-Review&highlight=

As with most things the actual CPU overclock abilities may matter more.

Abz Hussain · 10 Mar 2013 at 16:11

PapaLazaru said:
I am planning the same but am looking to get the Gigabyte Z77-G1-Sniper M3 Intel Z77. I will not buy ASUS anymore and the G1 gets very good reviews (and is currently on special offer).

Anyway, downsizing eh Abz? You might want to change your sig.

Yeh i will change it, im in lazy mode right now.

Abz Hussain · 10 Mar 2013 at 16:12

So for matx overclocking i should go for the gene or sniper yeh?

stulid · 10 Mar 2013 at 16:56

Abz Hussain said:
So for matx overclocking i should go for the gene or sniper yeh?

Yeah.

hyperst · 10 Mar 2013 at 17:43

From experience of the Gene, it is an absolute doddle to overclock to 4.5Ghz, but I suppose it is mostly the same for all makes, I just go into the UEFI BIOS and set the core multiplier to 45 and hit save

Bonus with the Gene is the ASUS AI SUITE, I don't use it for overclocking but for the Fan Expert software, give's you control over the fan headers on the motherboard so you can set up a profile, very similar to what MSI Afterburner can do.

Abz Hussain · 10 Mar 2013 at 18:40

hyperst said:
From experience of the Gene, it is an absolute doddle to overclock to 4.5Ghz, but I suppose it is mostly the same for all makes, I just go into the UEFI BIOS and set the core multiplier to 45 and hit save

Bonus with the Gene is the ASUS AI SUITE, I don't use it for overclocking but for the Fan Expert software, give's you control over the fan headers on the motherboard so you can set up a profile, very similar to what MSI Afterburner can do.

Well i will need to sell my Z77 UP7 as the proceeds from that will buy the matx board. Not that there is anything wrong with the UP7, apart from the poor audio.
I have 4.7 on 1.3v on it at mo. can get 5.0 @ 1.4v but thats a bit too much voltage for my liking. Warmest core gets to 73c at 5.0. - watercooled.

stulid · 10 Mar 2013 at 18:43

Abz Hussain said:
Well i will need to sell my Z77 UP7 as the proceeds from that will buy the matx board. Not that there is anything wrong with the UP7, apart from the poor audio.
I have 4.7 on 1.3v on it at mo. can get 5.0 @ 1.4v but thats a bit too much voltage for my liking. Warmest core gets to 73c at 5.0. - watercooled.

If onboard audio is an important part of what you want to see on a board then the Sniper M3 does have the better audio chip.

Abz Hussain · 10 Mar 2013 at 19:15

stulid said:
If onboard audio is an important part of what you want to see on a board then the Sniper M3 does have the better audio chip.

Yeh i believe its creative audio on the m3. Good audio is wanted be it onboard or discrete.