What do you think of micro atx

May 24th, 2003

Hi all!

I m thinking about bulding a computer base on a micro atx motherboard. I dont need alot of pci slot and so.
I just wonder what you think about it.

for and against's.

i would be thank full for all posts.

**Taurus** · May 24th, 2003

i've always endorsed the spread of the mATX standard. after all, who needs 6 pci slots?

biostar has the M7NCG

it's nforce2 so it's the fastest athlon mATX board you'll find, unless anyone knows of any other manufacturers. if you want to go p4, then i'm no help.

May 25th, 2003

I like em.(Built the one I have now.Been 2 yrs.,runs great an fast)

I don like those "towers" that take up half the "livin" room space.

I like to have a lotta power in a little box.I use mini atx's now,but micros would be fun too.(Jus gotta stay on top o the coolin(fans)!)

RagnaroK · May 25th, 2003

Small is nice!

(Though I haven't use any of the smaller ATX forms... might try it next upgrade!)

May 25th, 2003

Whats to upp sides and down sides

- no raid, no firewire.

+ cheap, small

**LeeJend** · May 25th, 2003

Another down side. Air flow through the case looked pretty bad. Cooling on a high performance systsem could eb a problem.

About the big ugly towers...
What ever happened to the destop case? They were small, unobtrusive and you just set your monitor on top of them so they really didn't take up much additional space. They also raised the monitor up higher so I didn't get a crick in my neck looking down at the screen 12 hours a day (8 at work 4 at home).

**Taurus** · May 26th, 2003

Originally posted by Dexter
Whats to upp sides and down sides

- no raid, no firewire.

+ cheap, small

that board i posted is just one of many mATX boards with all sorts of different chipsets. you can get them with firewire. raid isn't a common feature though because you usually don't have room for many harddrives in an mATX case. but if you wanted, you could get a raid pci card and get em to fit rather easily.

Originally posted by LeeJend
Another down side. Air flow through the case looked pretty bad. Cooling on a high performance systsem could eb a problem.

About the big ugly towers...
What ever happened to the destop case? They were small, unobtrusive and you just set your monitor on top of them so they really didn't take up much additional space. They also raised the monitor up higher so I didn't get a crick in my neck looking down at the screen 12 hours a day (8 at work 4 at home).

they have monitor stands for that particular purpose, you know. besides, there's no law saying you can put an atx case on it's side. just make sure the optical drives have the little things in the tray to hold a cd sideways.

the desktop form factor (whatever it's called) is still around, though. one major drawback of it is you have to buy low-profile pci and agp cards.

BonyTony · May 26th, 2003

Micro ATX is the way to go.. like taurus said who needs 6 pci slots now ?...not the average joe bloggs !.

Alot of motherboards now come with quality integrated features which you used to have to add in to a Pc....you now don't have to bother so in affect you need less pci slots.

Have a look at Shuttle`s Small Form Factor Pc`s like the Sb51G and the Sn41G cases...you have high performance Pc`s in tiny cases with only ONE pci and Agp slot !...and loww running temps !!....the rest is built in.

I think that those big square box`s that are most popular are hindering the move from "bedroom geek" to "living room necessity"....thats why Apple pcs have the edge over your standard box in the living room.

**Taurus** · May 26th, 2003

Originally posted by BonyTony
I think that those big square box`s that are most popular are hindering the move from "bedroom geek" to "living room necessity"....thats why Apple pcs have the edge over your standard box in the living room.

yeah, good point.

May 24th, 2003	Top \| #1
Dexter Unregistered Posts: n/a	What do you think of micro atx Hi all! I m thinking about bulding a computer base on a micro atx motherboard. I dont need alot of pci slot and so. I just wonder what you think about it. for and against's. i would be thank full for all posts.

May 25th, 2003	Top \| #4
RagnaroK Must be dreaming... Joined: April 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 673 Reputation: 20 Power: 129	Small is nice! (Though I haven't use any of the smaller ATX forms... might try it next upgrade!) :: Illusional Hope ::

May 25th, 2003	Top \| #6
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,261 Reputation: 3386 Power: 199	Another down side. Air flow through the case looked pretty bad. Cooling on a high performance systsem could eb a problem. About the big ugly towers... What ever happened to the destop case? They were small, unobtrusive and you just set your monitor on top of them so they really didn't take up much additional space. They also raised the monitor up higher so I didn't get a crick in my neck looking down at the screen 12 hours a day (8 at work 4 at home). Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

May 26th, 2003	Top \| #7
Taurus hardware monkey Joined: May 2002 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 3,206 Reputation: 90 Power: 155	Originally posted by Dexter Whats to upp sides and down sides - no raid, no firewire. + cheap, small that board i posted is just one of many mATX boards with all sorts of different chipsets. you can get them with firewire. raid isn't a common feature though because you usually don't have room for many harddrives in an mATX case. but if you wanted, you could get a raid pci card and get em to fit rather easily. Originally posted by LeeJend Another down side. Air flow through the case looked pretty bad. Cooling on a high performance systsem could eb a problem. About the big ugly towers... What ever happened to the destop case? They were small, unobtrusive and you just set your monitor on top of them so they really didn't take up much additional space. They also raised the monitor up higher so I didn't get a crick in my neck looking down at the screen 12 hours a day (8 at work 4 at home). they have monitor stands for that particular purpose, you know. besides, there's no law saying you can put an atx case on it's side. just make sure the optical drives have the little things in the tray to hold a cd sideways. the desktop form factor (whatever it's called) is still around, though. one major drawback of it is you have to buy low-profile pci and agp cards.

May 26th, 2003	Top \| #8
BonyTony OSNN Senior Addict Joined: January 2002 Posts: 786 Reputation: 20 Power: 133	Micro ATX is the way to go.. like taurus said who needs 6 pci slots now ?...not the average joe bloggs !. Alot of motherboards now come with quality integrated features which you used to have to add in to a Pc....you now don't have to bother so in affect you need less pci slots. Have a look at Shuttle`s Small Form Factor Pc`s like the Sb51G and the Sn41G cases...you have high performance Pc`s in tiny cases with only ONE pci and Agp slot !...and loww running temps !!....the rest is built in. I think that those big square box`s that are most popular are hindering the move from "bedroom geek" to "living room necessity"....thats why Apple pcs have the edge over your standard box in the living room. -----------------Lurker--------------

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May 24th, 2003	Top \| #2
Taurus hardware monkey Joined: May 2002 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 3,206 Reputation: 90 Power: 155	i've always endorsed the spread of the mATX standard. after all, who needs 6 pci slots? biostar has the M7NCG it's nforce2 so it's the fastest athlon mATX board you'll find, unless anyone knows of any other manufacturers. if you want to go p4, then i'm no help.

May 25th, 2003	Top \| #3
kitct Unregistered Posts: n/a	I like em.(Built the one I have now.Been 2 yrs.,runs great an fast) I don like those "towers" that take up half the "livin" room space. I like to have a lotta power in a little box.I use mini atx's now,but micros would be fun too.(Jus gotta stay on top o the coolin(fans)!)

May 25th, 2003	Top \| #5
Dexter Unregistered Posts: n/a	Whats to upp sides and down sides - no raid, no firewire. + cheap, small

May 26th, 2003	Top \| #9
Taurus hardware monkey Joined: May 2002 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 3,206 Reputation: 90 Power: 155	Originally posted by BonyTony I think that those big square box`s that are most popular are hindering the move from "bedroom geek" to "living room necessity"....thats why Apple pcs have the edge over your standard box in the living room. yeah, good point.

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