what do I loose out on getting mATX over ATX?

[macmodder]

OK, so the more I get down to it the more I realise my 'dream' custom case I'm building could really do with being an inch bigger this way and half an inch bigger that way etc. and that it's going to be a real tight squeeze getting an ATX board in. I understand that getting an mATX board would mean:

- Losing 3 expansions slots. At best I would be able to do a two card SLI/Crossfire setup, and then only safely with WC
- Fewer I/O ports
- Fewer internal ports (SATA etc.)

I'd like to OC the cpu (either a 2500K or 2600k), and looking around there are a few suitable P67 boards (e.g. the Asus P8P67 M Pro) which seem like they might fit the bill, but I was unsure how much I'd be losing out on.

What other drawbacks are there?

 

[Brumboy]

Yeah I'm in the same boat as you, anyone have an answer?

The Asus P8P67-M PRO is £105 compared to other £140+ boards and I can't see any major differences.

 

[panyan]

surely if you building a custom case, you want an impressive machine so you'd want every expansion port you could have so that it can be upgraded to the extreme?

building a custom case that can only house a mediocre machine is like buying a fiat panda with a ferrari shell?

or am i missing the point?

 

[Krislord]

surely if you building a custom case, you want an impressive machine so you'd want every expansion port you could have so that it can be upgraded to the extreme?

building a custom case that can only house a mediocre machine is like buying a fiat panda with a ferrari shell?

or am i missing the point?

I disagree - Other than GPU's what do we really use expansion slots for?

Maybe 1 soundcard would be used, but a lot use on board and so most slots are wasted.

 

[panyan]

I disagree - Other than GPU's what do we really use expansion slots for?

Maybe 1 soundcard would be used, but a lot use on board and so most slots are wasted.

ive never used an matx, would it be possible to have a big cooler for a decent overclock and a powerful gfx card as well? or is the space too limited? must be high temps no?

 

[Brumboy]

That's what I need to know too. For £105 it seems like a bargain but would I be able to crossfire 5850's or SLI GTX 460's and put a CPU cooler on there too?

Or is the space too small?

I've read that you cannot tweak the CPU voltage on this board so you might not be able to overclock the CPU as much as other boards.

 

[Jamiman]

I'm running a mATX board in an ATX case. It works really well for me, as i have bags of room in my case, not to mention it makes cabling a lot easier

 

[Brumboy]

I'm running a mATX board in an ATX case. It works really well for me, as i have bags of room in my case, not to mention it makes cabling a lot easier

But are you able to have two graphic cards?

If I can save £30 - £50 just because it's a smaller board and has a few less ports then that would be brilliant.

 

[deusexlumina]

usually they have different chipsets (for amd anyways) and different power phasing which results in lower stable overclocks. If you want to OC, go for a good atx board. If you're not that bothered than matx is fine.