Computers & Electronics

All of these "critique my build" threads, why all ATX?

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Jun 28, 2012
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All of these "critique my build" threads, why all ATX?

Why are there so many people still looking at ATX and extended ATX mobo's? Why would a typical desktop user or gamer need so many PCI(e) slots? For most, one graphics card is enough and 2 is sometimes overkill. Why are people still so interested in ATX/eATX when there are so many high-end high-quality mATX and mini ITX boards available?

I mean, more power in a smaller footprint is the way to go these days especially when there are so many good looking mATX cases (and mini ITX cases if you look around for them)

The Asus Maximus VI Gene, for example, is one of the best mobo's currently available of any size and it offers everything a full ATX board offers minus a few PCI slots that would probably just collect dust anyway.
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Aug 22, 2006
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For gaming, I agree.
One card is almost always better than 2 crappier cards.

Actually now that I think about it the only place I use ATX regularly is my workstation where I have 4 GPUs to power my monitors.
Well mining too, but "regular" builds rarely get more than one or two cards.
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Feb 18, 2007
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i just looked and at around $225 it should have everything but until recently every m-atx and mini-atx that i have seen has had only had 2 memory slots. I really haven't done much research into them and most that are listed here are budget boards for around 65-85 bucks and so do not have all the bell and whistles.

My next build may be a small form factor system although i worry about adequate cooling if i put a video card in that runs on the hot side.

Anyway i agree if you have the money to spend on a decent small form MB it is a great option. I have a feeling once SSD's get into the 1 gig at a low enough price we will see even smaller forms for gamers and others. Now they only seem to be for nuc's and similar.
Poor Grammar and being long winded don't fit well together, Oh well.
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Feb 29, 2008
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ATx cases are easy to work on. I have size 7 hands. mini ITX won't happen.

Also the feature set on full ATX boards tends to be better. Better VRM cooling, more BIOS options, eSATA, etc... Why go mATX to save 20$ on a mobo?
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mr_raider wrote: ATx cases are easy to work on. I have size 7 hands. mini ITX won't happen.

Also the feature set on full ATX boards tends to be better. Better VRM cooling, more BIOS options, eSATA, etc... Why go mATX to save 20$ on a mobo?

If you actually need the extra space or extra PCI slots I see no problem with ATX/eATX but most people really don't need a machine that big.

Take a look at the Asus Maximus VI Impact. It's a mini-ITX board with full VRM, built in adapter for half-height mPCIe WiFi/bluetooth combo card, built in adapter for next-gen m.2 SSD, discrete sound card with something like 120db SNR. Basically everything a regular or gaming desktop user would need in 1/3 the size.

[IMG]http://cdn.pcper.com/files/news/2013-06 ... rboard.jpg[/IMG]

Maybe 3 generations ago mATX and mITX were inferior to their ATX/eATX counterparts but things have changed drastically and I'm sure computer hardware is heading in the direction of SFF.

mITX is definitely limited given only one PCI-e slot and 2 DIMM slots. However, mATX doesn't have this problem at all. My mATX board has 4 DIMM slots and the ability to add two GPUs and a third PCIe 4x/1x card with plenty of breathing room.
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^SFF you say? I don't see it, seems the standard atx works well, just because you can pack it tighter in a smaller form factor, doesn't mean you should, if you consider the ease of maintenance and air flow, clearly the standard ATX wins, not too many situations do you have to stick with mATX.
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Jul 1, 2009
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divx wrote: ^SFF you say? I don't see it, seems the standard atx works well, just because you can pack it tighter in a smaller form factor, doesn't mean you should, if you consider the ease of maintenance and air flow, clearly the standard ATX wins, not too many situations do you have to stick with mATX.
This. Most people don't even know how to manage airflow properly, never mind build the thing in the first place. SFFs are really for people who know what they are doing, otherwise you'll overheat that thing in no time. Plus, they aren't all that easy to work with and you need to ensure you have compatible-sized parts. The Maximus VI Impact is great, but at $260 that's no bargain. Also don't forget there are still a lot of enthusiasts who aren't going to give up all that space for SFF. You have those monster GPUs that aren't going to cool well in SFFs and those are not going away any time soon (in fact, we might just get more of them).

But the thing with mATX vs ATX, how much space, in reality, do you save? The only difference between the boards is height, so at most its a couple of inches of the top.
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divx wrote: ^SFF you say? I don't see it, seems the standard atx works well, just because you can pack it tighter in a smaller form factor, doesn't mean you should, if you consider the ease of maintenance and air flow, clearly the standard ATX wins, not too many situations do you have to stick with mATX.
ghost1001 wrote: This. Most people don't even know how to manage airflow properly, never mind build the thing in the first place. SFFs are really for people who know what they are doing, otherwise you'll overheat that thing in no time. Plus, they aren't all that easy to work with and you need to ensure you have compatible-sized parts. The Maximus VI Impact is great, but at $260 that's no bargain. Also don't forget there are still a lot of enthusiasts who aren't going to give up all that space for SFF. You have those monster GPUs that aren't going to cool well in SFFs and those are not going away any time soon (in fact, we might just get more of them).

But the thing with mATX vs ATX, how much space, in reality, do you save? The only difference between the boards is height, so at most its a couple of inches of the top.
I figure if you're building your own PC instead of purchasing a prebuilt, you know a thing or two about cooling (especially when looking at overclocking and gaming mobos).
Anyway, I see where you guys are coming from. I guess ATX isn't dying any time soon.
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ATX also offers more expansion space for storage. Most mATX boxes hold fewer hard drives than ATX which is a problem if people want their pc to double as a media server/store.

Like others have said, you're not saving THAT much on cost and what you're trading away is expandability and ease of installation. If you have the space in your house, why not ATX? mATX/ITX makes sense if you plan on moving it around a lot for LANs or are tight on space.

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