Micro ATX info?

[xanthmode]

Does anyone have any good resources they could point me towards regarding micro ATX cases/mobos/etc. Specifically I am not sure if a regular ATX power supply is used or not. But I would like to read as much as possible about them too. So if you all have any good resources for me to look at, then that would be great. Thanks for your help.


- Xanthmode

 

[Crashman]

ATX power is standardized across ATX platforms (micro ATX, Flex ATX, etc). Different cases use different power supply SIZES, some use the normal size (called PS-II), some use a version with shorter internal length (called PS-II), some use a tiny supply called SFX, and some use custom sizes.

That's all the information you could have found in hours of reading. All of those sizes work on the same boards, the size is limited not by the board but the dimensions of the case.

If you look hard enough you can find just the right case for your needs. Newegg.com has pictures to help.

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[xanthmode]

So, I am just going to have to find the case that I want and then get dimensions from that to fit the power supply. This isn't standardized, why?? Thanks for the info Crashman.


- Xanthmode

 

[Crashman]

Most cases that use smaller power supplies include them. And if you wanted a larger capacity version of that power supply, you'd need only look at the picture to tell what it is.

Power supply sizes are standardized, the larger units (PS-II), shorter version of PS-II (PS-III), and SFX. The reason all 3 exist is that you really want to use the largest version that would fit in the given space.

Full sized power supplies are easily found up to 600W in capacity. Because of their smaller size, SFX power supplies rarely exceed 200W (some 250W versions are available). So you can see why a case with enough room for the larger power supply should use the larger power supply.

Coolermaster has a compact Micro ATX "desktop" (horizontal) case that resembles a home stereo amp and uses a full sized power supply laying down. If they wanted to make that chassis any narrower, they'd have to either turn it upright and increase the height of the case, or use an SFX power supply.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>