Question Mini-ITX vs Micro ATX

[deadrush]

I’m about to build a new pc and I’m looking for a smaller form factor than typical ATX mid tower. I’m have trouble deciding wether ITX is worth the extra cost vs MATX.

 

[punkncat]

There are smaller than ITX now, but in a traditional sense it is the smallest you can go. You lose a LOT of expandability, generally limit yourself to 2X RAM sticks, and in my own experience in spite of claims about power delivery I have yet to have an ITX board that offered the overhead of ATX for power.

M-ATX is the most affordable option in mobo and case, offers expandability, and also comes pretty standard with 4X RAM. Given the pricing and the very small increase in size with the correct case it is really a great build size option IMO.

 

[deadrush]

Thank you for the information. Are there any specific MATX cases you would recommend that are on the smaller size. I don’t plan to expand in the future and only really plan to use 2 ram sticks in dual channel

 

[punkncat]

Case selection can be really tough as it is so 'personal' on the aesthetic and what YOU have to look at for years moving forward. With that said there are a whole lot of case builders out there at just as many price points. At this very moment in time my two favorite builders in respect to feature to price are Lian Li in the high end, and Gamdias on the low/value side.

edit- I will say that I picked a really cheap LARGE case from NZXT and where I like the case a lot, I was turned onto some videos from Steve over at GN by a long time member here and after perusing them it really does make it hard to suggest purchasing something new from them by way of support of that type behavior. I really cannot comment much on that little case they offer other than to say that air flow has been an ongoing challenge with some of their older stuff.

 

[dwd999]

You can still have a small case with a full ATX motherboard. I use the Lian Li O11 Air Mini for that. If you're committed to an mATX then you might consider Lian Li's A3 line of cases which include ones with an attractive wood front.

 

[Why_Me]

Thank you for the information. Are there any specific MATX cases you would recommend that are on the smaller size. I don’t plan to expand in the future and only really plan to use 2 ram sticks in dual channel

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/pop/pop-mini-air/rgb-black-tg-clear/

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aukcnCb-64U