Micro ATX vs. Full ATX motherboards?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by novicebb, Dec 5, 2005.

  1. novicebb

    novicebb Regular member

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    I have a couple of questions that I hope many of you all can answer for me. First can a Micro ATX motherboard fit properly and function properly in a Mid Tower or Full tower ATX case?
    Second are Micro ATX usually as overclockable as full sized ATX motherboards and just depends on the board just like with the Full-sized ATX motherboards?

    Third are Micro ATX easier to keep cool since they are smaller than regular ATX motherboards and more air can move over entire board. I am only interested in a Micro ATX motherboard because they are the only 939 based boards that I have seen so far with builtin graphics Such as the Radeon xpress 200 Chipset and the Nvidia chipset. Are there any Full sized AMD 939 ATX motherboards with builtin graphics?
     
    novicebb, Dec 5, 2005
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  2. wdowsing

    wdowsing Regular member

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    Just a question y do you want built in graphics?
     
    wdowsing, Dec 5, 2005
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  3. Deadrum33

    Deadrum33 Active member

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    Most 939 boards will have a slot for pci-e. Use that with some of the videocards you've been thinking about (I read your other related posts). A cheaper one than a 6200 - 6600 will even be better than about all onboard graphics. Other than that size of the board I think cooling-wise I'd rather have a small board in big box for ventilation than big board in small cluttered cable box.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2005
    Deadrum33, Dec 5, 2005
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  4. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    micro-atx can go into larger cases with no problem
     
    ddp, Dec 5, 2005
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  5. SypherTek

    SypherTek Guest

    Micro ATX is good right up until you need that 1 extra pci device and youve already used up all your slots which is why i have an ATX board but theres nothing wrong with micro boards
     
    SypherTek, Dec 6, 2005
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  6. Ragnarok2

    Ragnarok2 Guest

    1.Ive got a micro-atx board and it fits fine in my mid tower ATX case.
    2.Overclockability depends on motherboard manufacturer.
    3.Nope cooling doesnt depend on you motherboards size, it depends on how hot your components get and what kind of cooling you have(fans, heatsinks, water-cooling)
     
    Ragnarok2, Dec 15, 2005
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  7. novicebb

    novicebb Regular member

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    To Ragnarok2: Ok what Micro ATX mobo have you heard or read about that are decent overclockers?
     
    novicebb, Dec 19, 2005
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  8. Ragnarok2

    Ragnarok2 Guest

    Well I have a SOYO P4RC350 right now. Come with 128MB integrated Radeon graphics, 6CH. sound, lets you overclock your Front Side Bus(which overclocks the CPU too), overclock RAM, and you can even set your AGP Aperture size to 512MB. But I'd recommend you get a motherboard from ASUS because they make the best motherboards and they have great overclocking capabilities. Look around here http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=789&modelmenu=1
    Comes with nFORCE 4 SLI chipset and AI NOS™ which is a sweet overclocking system. Look around the ASUS site for more motherboards which suite your needs.

    P.S. That motherboard doesnt look like its micro-ATX, but theres no difference as ATX should fit in fine in Mid-tower and full-tower cases.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 19, 2005
    Ragnarok2, Dec 19, 2005
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