I am thinking of buying a motherboard and fanless case. I am thinking that in 3 or 4 years I will replace the motherboard and continue to use the case. So what case & motherboard size should I buy? NUC, miniITX, microATX, ATX. By preference us for something smaller; I don't need a super fast gaming pc. Fanless is a must for me. PC is for general use and htpc.
Thanks, Lloyd.
Case for the long haul
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Case for the long haul
Last edited by ldavies on Thu Dec 05, 2013 8:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Mobo for the long haul
Try to list what you will use it for, to give you better advice.
NoFan95 should handle almost any CPU and its fanless, but its big and will require a big mini ITX case, the cpu socket position is important, and a motherboard that doesnt have any extra things on the back to mount it, maybe something like Lian Li Q07 + PicoPSU (you do need to crosscheck if it would fit).
There are other options like HDPLEX H3.SODD Fanless Mini-ITX HTPC Case that might fit more into what you are looking as long as its not a high TDP CPU, there are other options from other companies if you are interested.
Btw to what i have read the NUC is not fanless, has a slot blower on the bottom, weather its noisy or not idk, but since you are searching for a true fanless that shouldnt qualify, but this was on ivy bridge, not sure on haswell nucs.
NoFan95 should handle almost any CPU and its fanless, but its big and will require a big mini ITX case, the cpu socket position is important, and a motherboard that doesnt have any extra things on the back to mount it, maybe something like Lian Li Q07 + PicoPSU (you do need to crosscheck if it would fit).
There are other options like HDPLEX H3.SODD Fanless Mini-ITX HTPC Case that might fit more into what you are looking as long as its not a high TDP CPU, there are other options from other companies if you are interested.
Btw to what i have read the NUC is not fanless, has a slot blower on the bottom, weather its noisy or not idk, but since you are searching for a true fanless that shouldnt qualify, but this was on ivy bridge, not sure on haswell nucs.
Last edited by Abula on Thu Dec 05, 2013 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Mobo for the long haul
I just want a size recommendation. Not looking for a specific case or mobo recommendation. If microATX will not be around in 4 years then that would count it out.
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Re: Mobo for the long haul
for me its mitx ftw!
but impossible to say for you, without knowing your needs in a PC.
but impossible to say for you, without knowing your needs in a PC.
Last edited by xan_user on Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Mobo for the long haul
Form factor sizes of motherboards and cases are more popular each day, almost all manufacturers (case and motherboards) have micro atx and as well as mini itx, specially for HTPCs, still not as popular as the ATX standard, but personally i dont think either factor is going away anytime soon.ldavies wrote:I just want a size recommendation. Not looking for a specific case or mobo recommendation. If microATX will not be around in 4 years then that would count it out.
Thanks
I really enjoyed my micro ATX build for couple of years, but i decided to swap back out of desiring to go into a dedicated sound card + have the option for SLI for 4k in the near future, else i would still be on micro atx.
Re: Case for the long haul
I'm likely to use MiniITX next time but they don't offer much of any real expansion or upgrade options and they typically are more expensive than MicroATX. MicroATX is really the cheapest form factor so unless size is a desperate issue, MicroATX will do for 99% of users.