Micro-ATX vs ATX Motherboards and Cases

[bbezzina73]

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a H97 chipset motherboard. Which form factor should I get, micro-ATX or ATX? The only main difference that I've seen is that the ATX is more likely to have a SATA-Express slot.

I haven't chosen a case yet and I don't know which form factor I should get, although I'm sure it won't be anything smaller than a microATX. So I guess it depends on which size has better cooling or less noise...

On PCPartPicker, it offers these size types:
ATX Desktop
ATX Full Tower
ATX Mid Tower
ATX Mini Tower
MicroATX Desktop
MicroATX Mid Tower
MicroATX Mini Tower
MicroATX Slim

What's the difference between one and another?

 

[TechyInAZ]

ATX (or standard ATX) is good for builds where you have lots of room for a tower and you need to put a lot of expansion cards in for whatever you do. They also tend to be cheaper and have more features than their micro atx and mini itx counterparts.

Micro ATX (my favorite out of all form factors) is good for a build that is either smaller because you can't fit a big tower, or you need something that is a little bit more portable without sacrificing features and performance.

It's a personal preference aswell.

Cases is tougher:

Desktop ATX means that it's more of a boxish looking object than a tower.
ATX full towers (the lagest on the market) are ultra HUGE towers that are designed for peeps that need tons of room for radiators, HDD/SSDs, quad or 4 way SLI/Crossfire configs etc.
ATX mid towers are the most popular, because they are a good size and provide excellent room for all the components a normal computer person/enthusiast/gamer/video editor would need.
ATX mini towers I rarely see, they are just smaller mid towers, but if you want something smaller, go with micro atx.
The same sizes apply to micro atx too, just they are smaller.
Micro ATX slims are for really thin configurations, where mobility is key. It's also great for HTPCs.

Corsair, Cooler Master, and Thermaltake all make great cases. My personal favorites are the corsair obsidian 350D (micro atx) and the 450D (atx version).

 

[legend001523]

A ATX tower would most likely have more airflow, and micro atx boards will squeeze all your components closer, so low profile ram might be used instead or a smaller cpu cooler,

 

[bbezzina73]

ATX (or standard ATX) is good for builds where you have lots of room for a tower and you need to put a lot of expansion cards in for whatever you do. They also tend to be cheaper and have more features than their micro atx and mini itx counterparts.

Micro ATX (my favorite out of all form factors) is good for a build that is either smaller because you can't fit a big tower, or you need something that is a little bit more portable without sacrificing features and performance.

It's a personal preference aswell.

Cases is tougher:

Desktop ATX means that it's more of a boxish looking object than a tower.
ATX full towers (the lagest on the market) are ultra HUGE towers that are designed for peeps that need tons of room for radiators, HDD/SSDs, quad or 4 way SLI/Crossfire configs etc.
ATX mid towers are the most popular, because they are a good size and provide excellent room for all the components a normal computer person/enthusiast/gamer/video editor would need.
ATX mini towers I rarely see, they are just smaller mid towers, but if you want something smaller, go with micro atx.
The same sizes apply to micro atx too, just they are smaller.
Micro ATX slims are for really thin configurations, where mobility is key. It's also great for HTPCs.

Corsair, Cooler Master, and Thermaltake all make great cases. My personal favorites are the corsair obsidian 350D (micro atx) and the 450D (atx version).

So far I don't have personal preferences on which size to get, space for the case is not a problem either and portability is not really an issue.

So unless micro-ATX motherboards and micro-ATX cases have other advantages, are you saying you would recommend an ATX motherboard and ATX mid-tower case? (I would fall under enthusiast/gamer) This is my first build and I'm trying to find out which are the most suitable in terms of compatibility, price, fit and if possible, future-proofing...

 

[legend001523]

Then you should go for a atx, the extra room the case allows will let you sli or add more components later on

 

[bbezzina73]

Thanks for your replies and info!

Could you maybe have a look at these cases: http://www.scanmalta.com/scanshop/computing/components-storage/cases/cases.html?color=389&dir=asc&limit=all&order=price
Our local store really doesn't have much choice in PC cases, but I still aim to buy one locally. Any ideas or recommendations out of those listed please?

 

[TechyInAZ]

I'd get ATX just like you said, I also forgot to add that ATX mobos and ATX mid towers are the best for beginners since you have enough room to play around with where as micro atx and mini itx especially are harder for cable management.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Thanks for your replies and info!

Could you maybe have a look at these cases: http://www.scanmalta.com/scanshop/computing/components-storage/cases/cases.html?color=389&dir=asc&limit=all&order=price
Our local store really doesn't have much choice in PC cases, but I still aim to buy one locally. Any ideas or recommendations out of those listed please?

I like the Fractal Design Define R4 the best out of all of them, it's simple and has good quality.

 

[vagrancyx]

Come to the dark side (mATX). Corsair 350D is a great case..and you can certainly SLI in the case and still have room for 240mm radiator, fans, etc.

 

[bbezzina73]

Thanks all for your replies and opinions!

From what I've read, Fractal Design Define R4 is quite a good and silent case. The NZXT Phantom Black Pearl I think is also highly praised. In my country, the cost difference between the Define R4 and the Phantom is 11 dollars more. The biggest difference between them I would think is the size; Define R4 is a mid-tower while the Phantom is a full tower.

So is it worth paying 11 more dollars for a Phantom in terms of size, airflow and noise?