Can MicroATX Boards Do the Job?

[Onus]

Micro ATX gives up too much for my taste. E-SATA, firewire, solid capacitors, etc., etc..

On top of that, we seldom build a system that doesn't use all available PCI slots on a full size board, which makes Micro ATX unrealistic for most people. Add a modem on a Micro ATX and you're done.

But the one thing that I really don't like about this type of review is that they can't possibly cover the reliability factor. 90% of the failed motherboards we get in for repairs are Micro ATX. Pay a little less now and a more later, or pay more for a full size board that'll last.

The GA-G33M-DS2R has E-SATA (and power for it), 3xfirewire, and solid caps. I haven't needed to add anything else to mine, but both modem and sound card would fit. Those using them for HTPCs might choose sound and tuner. About the only thing I've definitely given up is SLI, which I'd never use anyway. As to reliability, I suspect you're getting in a lot of the cheap pre-builts that all use micro-ATX, have sparklers for PSUs, in poorly ventilated hotboxes, by people who don't use any kind of power / phone line protection. Using a SFF case costs me a Tuniq tower or other large cooler, so far another non-issue.
Rather than saying micro-ATX is "unrealistic for most people," which is simply untrue (most people want web-surfing, e-mailing, word-processing, business-class machines), you might say that M-ATX is not suitable for some enthusiasts.

 

[TSIMonster]

My last ECS board had ESata, and 3 available PCI slots and one PCI 1x. If you need 4 expansion cards... well, why would you? Sound, modem, wifi.... what else?

 

[KingmanIII]

Why didn't you include the Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R and the ASUS P5K-VM? Both are higher-quality motherboards than the ones you examined in your article (namely having all-solid caps).

 

[darklife41]

Very few of our customers only want internet, word processing and business class machines. And while most of these failed Micro-ATX boards do have cheap PSUs, that's not been the problem and in fact most pre-built systems from the big 3 (Dell, HP, and Gateway) have cheap PSUs whether they are full size boards or Micro-ATX. Very few are also in hot boxes as there's plenty of room for air circulation with a fan or 2 in a mid tower case of any type with Micro-ATX.

My experience is that most people who say they'll never play games on their system, then end up installing games for their kids. Seems everyone is encoding/decoding DVDs, burning movies and MP3s and playing some sort of games on their systems. It doesn't do much good to have a DVD burner if you're not going to use it. So the average system is put through the wringer pretty well.

It's true that the GA-G33M-DS2R has solid capacitors and most of the newer technology is supported, but its also the same price as full size boards with the same options so I don't see the point. I don't see E-SATA listed on the specs either. Anyway I'm hoping Gigabyte can break the trend and provide a good Micro-ATX that doesn't fail after a couple years, but I'm not holding my breath based on past experience.

I'm telling people how it is from a system builider perspective. Micro-ATX boards have a high failure rate compared to full size boards.

The entire idea of Micro-ATX was to provide cheaper motherboards with less options for those who didn't need them. Sure, you can probably pay more for a Micro-ATX that will last, but then why not go with a full size board in the first place for the same price?

 

[misiu_mp]

You might want high quality mATX to put it in a small case, that will not remind one of minicomputers of the 70's and 80's

 

[jadeite]

A lot of components have gotten smaller over time. It is only natural that now the motherboard can too without sacrificing a thing. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not familiar with the current generations of MicroAtx motherboards. Consider small form factor (SFF) cases of today can accommodate a MicroAtx motherboard (loaded out with all the same goodies like ESATA, FireWire, 4 dimms, open PCI slots, etc, etc), 8800GTX SLI, water cooling, RAID, *any* ATX power supply, and 2x120mm fans designed in.

A downside of MicroAtx is it may not match overclocking per dollar due solely to a bit less spacing if that is abslutely crucial to you. The upside of MicroAtx is the compact, sexy boxes you can choose from instead of being limited to those giant, clunky towers.

 

[misiu_mp]

Compact, sexy boxes IS THE SH!T! YEAH!

 

[Onus]

My X-QPACK2 is an outstanding design, although perhaps marred by poor QC (bad power switch). My system runs very cool with its front and rear fans, and it fit a Mushkin 550200, which is a little deeper than a standard ATX PSU.

 

[lensman]

I can't speak to history, but I'd have thought that mATX boards would have been created to be smaller first and cheaper second.

One thing that does seem to set them apart is that I think they all have onboard video. This has to drive the price up a little but does save money if you can manage to do without a separate video card.

For instance my Gigabyte GA-G33-DS2R cost $148, but came with everything I wanted in an overclocking motherboard:
1. support for 1066 memory
2. sata raid
3. clock and voltage tweaking
4. firewire
5. esata via slot adapter/header

I don't need the built-in video, but the case I'm eventually going to put it in long-term (Antec NSK2400) will only fit a mATX board.

 

[Onus]

I could have done without the onboard video, but yes, my -ds2r has everything I think I might need.

 

[jphili]

I saw a lot of speak about HTPC, but no specific relevant tests in this regards.

Is there hardware acceleration?
What's the video quality like (cadence, noise, interlace, ...)?
Any issues with the audio on your HDMI or SP-DIF with DVI?

 

[Onus]

Sorry, I have not used those features, and probably won't. I put a 7900GS on mine; it is a general purpose and gamer.

 

[eltouristo]

Does anybody know why in the power consumption charts for these MB's it should about a 50% increase in consumption at 90 min running
sysmark 2004 compared to at 60 mins? That's just weird. I dont think they are talking about watt-hours. I dont know what the heck that means. anybody?TIA

 

[darklife41]

We just our first GA-G33-DS2R in for repairs. So much for the small and sexy case. The board is shot. Sure was a nice looking little case, but provided no air flow. Heat is devastating to any motherboard and the reason we're going with bigger cases all the time instead of smaller ones.

 

[Onus]

Well, the ventilation in the X-QPACK2 is excellent. A sensor sandwiched between my hard drives usually runs around 32C, and the one on the stock Intel cooler is perhaps 31C. Last time I checked, after playing Guild Wars for a few hours, my 7900GS was around 52C.
This case has front and rear [low-speed] fans, and they seem to do a decent job. I don't anticipate my -DS2R croaking from heat.

 

[konman43]

Lame, no overclocking results.

word. haha. i have the GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R. it rocks. at first it was limited by not having 1:1 ram ratio, but one of the bios updates included it. since then i've not updated the bios for fear of losing it, and i've had overclocks of 490htt http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=235635. my only real limiting factor is my cpu. i'm using an e6320 that just refuses to go above 2.96GHz (stable that is). i can't wait to get my hands on a Q6600 G0 😀, an e6600 might even do for now ( i sure do miss my e6300 that went 3.6+GHz be a great combo with this board). only boards i've enjoyed oc'n more than this would be my asus p5b deluxe (530htt), and biostar tforce 965p (499htt). i've seen people hit 500, so i'm trying to figure a way to do that. the new asus p5k-vm hits 510, but it's puke color ugly (sorry i'm a little shallow).
and yes, only thing really holding an sff back is worrying about temps due to lack of airflow/space, but squeeze water cooling/peltiers in there or mod a little, and you're set to go. once again though, matx with a buff northbridge would be awesome, say a p965 or p35 (maybe even a 680i SLI!!!)/w no onboard video (it seems like the onboard video is what ALWAYS holds back good overclocks). now that'd rock. true sff enthusiast board (kinda like evga's sli matx board). i bet if one company did it, it oc'd/performed well, they'd sell out. no joke.
many people are sitting on the sff fence because there just isn't enough overclocking potential in them (owned 15+ mobos and have never used more than 2 pci slots). i don't need onboard graphics. i'm a gamer, and onboard will never do if it's the way it's always been. come on, someone give us an matx board that can seriously compete with the atx guys. doh! my post has become a complain about matx manufacturer rant again....

edit: i wouldn't mind paying the same price for an matx board that has the same/better features than an atx board. $140 was a beautiful price for the ds2r. i replaced an asus p5n32e-sli plus with this little thing. no regrets (mainly due to no fsb holes 😀) and matx = awesome portable cases (i own a p180b lovely case, hell on my back though). the way i see it the ds2r doesn't lack anything it doesn't need. i lose a few pci/pcie ports and integrated wifi. like i use them anyways, besides there are great pcie wifi cards or just use a usb wifi stick.
and remember... crossfire can be used with the ds2r, but limited at 4x ;p
one must be very picky about their cases. i've narrowed my choice down to a sugo sg03, sg01, or microfly/xpack, maybe even the lanbox as they are the most affordable with the best airflow (fairly easy to mod also). there are so many bad case designs out there. (ie. the xgene mini seemed like a great sff build with it's double tier setup, but it has a closed front panel so no air can even come in through the bottom vent.)
+ never skimp on the psu (especially if you overclock), i learned the hard way about that. the cost of my psu equals and sometimes costs more than the cpu as it's providing the juice for all components.
only boards that have failed me were... an msi kt3 ultra (bad caps), asus a8nsli premium (oem board). abit fi90hd (horrible board went through 4 of them (bad igp, no boot, instant restarts, etc.) before i decided to give up on c2d matx. but Hooray gigabyte!)

btw darklife41, what matx case was used, and what were the matx boards you speak of that failed all the time? i've had 4 abit fi90hd boards die on me (well 1 didnt work at all and only got to overclock with one), and my experience with the other ones have been good (ie. asrock 945g-dvi, ecs p4m800 m2 pro, and gigabyte ds2r), although i've never owned them for too long, overclock like crazy though.

 

[TSIMonster]

I have built several PCs using the MicroFly cases and they all run very cool.

 

[kittyhawk]

BEWARE of the GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2H.

It's PCI-E x16 slot only runs at x4 speed! Any PCI-E x16 3D accelerator will be crippled by the reduced bandwidth!