micro ATX advantage?
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:42 am
I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
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mATX enclosures may have less issues to fit in any ambient, and they often looks (I mean, it's a rather common sense) more cute/pretty.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
Yes. You will be limited to neutered mATX motherboards and sometimes half height CPU coolers.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
Look for one that's at least 7 inches or 180mm wide. They will hold just about any cooler.vitaminc wrote:Yes. You will be limited to neutered mATX motherboards and sometimes half height CPU coolers.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
Lian Li A05 W 8.27; H 15.00; D 19.29; (mATX & ATX)Fire-Flare wrote:Look for one that's at least 7 inches or 180mm wide. They will hold just about any cooler.
The new Asus P8 motherboard in full ATX has much better power/voltage regulation than mATX boards.fumino wrote:if you are not bothered by the feature set of a particular mATX board (they generally offer almost everything a full size board does, though generally multicard vga setups dont get a lot of love); i would say go with micro.
the cost is generally lower. but perhaps more relevant is that there is less volume in the chassis. just based off personal opinion... but i would venture a guess that there being less air inside the chassis would mean less air needing to be removed to get fresh air in, meaning lower cfm fans could achieve the same cooling since theres less work to actively do. if that makes sense.
plus i just think that going full atx is just a waste if youre not using more than one graphics card, or have some other specific reason to go with that particular board.
That really isn't so. You have x amount of heat. If you double the amount of air going in and out, the change in delta of the temp of the air going in compared to that leaving will be reduced in half.fumino wrote:i would venture a guess that there being less air inside the chassis would mean less air needing to be removed to get fresh air in,
a very valid point. the feature sets on full atx boards can get a lot more impressive than their matx brethren. we dont know what kind of system op is even considering though, just what the pros and cons are with atx vs matx.vitaminc wrote:The new Asus P8 motherboard in full ATX has much better power/voltage regulation than mATX boards.
what youre not taking into account is the efficiency of the fans/ their airflow. while aiming for the same temps, and either maintaining the same or lower levels of airflow; in a larger case, the exhaust fans would be wasting some of its capacity on emptying parts of the case that dont need it. same with the intake fans, theyd be pushing air towards places that dont necessarily need it depending on the configuration. in this instance, going with the smaller case is about creating a better airflow path; since that should translate to being able to run the fans at lower speeds to achieve the same performance, or runs with less fans for the same performance.ces wrote:...
Neutered my ass. Unless it's a 3- or 4-way SLI or crossfire or something else totally bonkers a mATX board will do just as well. Full ATX is nothing but waste of space if you're only going to have the single graphic card and maybe a sound card (like about 90% (statistics by Stetson&Co.) of people on forums do).vitaminc wrote:Yes. You will be limited to neutered mATX motherboards and sometimes half height CPU coolers.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
Jipa wrote:Neutered my ass. Unless it's a 3- or 4-way SLI or crossfire or something else totally bonkers a mATX board will do just as well. Full ATX is nothing but waste of space if you're only going to have the single graphic card and maybe a sound card (like about 90% (statistics by Stetson&Co.) of people on forums do).vitaminc wrote:Yes. You will be limited to neutered mATX motherboards and sometimes half height CPU coolers.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
As for cooling.. Yeah there isn't really going to be a difference caused by the form factor.
+1 ("might enjoy...")vitaminc wrote:Your neutered ass can enjoy less comptent power management, less stable power feed and a less capable BIOS.
But is that a consequence of the board being ATX, or is it due to something else?vitaminc wrote:The new Asus P8 motherboard in full ATX has much better power/voltage regulation than mATX boards.
diminishing returns. "good enough" is a term most people are familiar with. its value tends to be different for every person.vitaminc wrote:less comptent power management, less stable power feed and a less capable BIOS.
...None of which really has anything to do with the physical size of the motherboard. Please stick to the facts and drop the personal bs.vitaminc wrote: Your neutered ass can enjoy less comptent power management, less stable power feed and a less capable BIOS.
High performances heatsinks don't (usually) fit into such a slipper's box, for example.Jipa wrote:why on earth would it have to be 300x244 mm when 170x170 is all the board you'll need.
In a mATX case like the Silverstone TJ08 or Antec's NSK3480, the front intake fan is physically closer to the VGA card.goatsandmonkeys wrote:I'm torn between the getting a ATX case and a micro ATX case. Besides being a little less expensive are there airflow or other advantages to a smaller case?
My question really had more to do with cases. The mATX boards had more than enough features for me. To be honest there are ITX boards out there with enough features. What was missing was a good quiet ITX case with enough room for a large heatsink and large videocard I have also already made my purchases so everyone should feel free to argue without considering my needs.fumino wrote:we dont know what kind of system op is even considering though, just what the pros and cons are with atx vs matx.
This is exactly what I was talking about I was curious if it had *much of an effect. I ended up not really wanting to wait for my build and the more I looked into it the define mini isn't much smaller than the define R3. I think the effect would be much more in a much more compact case, but I wanted to use a large heat sink and large video card.fumino wrote:what youre not taking into account is the efficiency of the fans/ their airflow. while aiming for the same temps, and either maintaining the same or lower levels of airflow; in a larger case, the exhaust fans would be wasting some of its capacity on emptying parts of the case that dont need it. same with the intake fans, theyd be pushing air towards places that dont necessarily need it depending on the configuration. in this instance, going with the smaller case is about creating a better airflow path; since that should translate to being able to run the fans at lower speeds to achieve the same performance, or runs with less fans for the same performance.
Now I may be less sensitive to sound than some others, but I believe that if you get good components, all cases are quiet. Cases are no longer a material noise factor if you do a good job selecting SPCR tested and recommended components. And the only difference between "quiet cases" and others are some minor baffling in the large holes connecting the inside to the outside... and some plastic coating on the side panels. But to each his own.goatsandmonkeys wrote:What was missing was a good quiet ITX case with enough room for a large heatsink and large videocard...
goatsandmonkeys wrote:This is exactly what I was talking about I was curious if it had *much of an effect. I ended up not really wanting to wait for my build and the more I looked into it the define mini isn't much smaller than the define R3. I think the effect would be much more in a much more compact case, but I wanted to use a large heat sink and large video card.