ATX vs Micro ATX?

[PCDesignerRy]

Hey all, 

I'm wondering what the primary differences are between a micro ATX Motherboard and a standard ATX board are. I've come up wit a few questions: 

Q. What are the CPU socket differences is micro vs standard? 
Q.Is there a micro ATX board that handles Intel-i9 processors?
Q. Do micro ATX boards come with m.2 slots, or, are they m.2 capable? 
Q. Can you build a gaming computer from a micro ATX board? 
Q. Do micro ATX boards still hold GPUs like an Asus Strix 1080Ti? 
Q. What kind of RAM does a micro ATX board hold if not DDR4 and what are it's capacity limits? 
Q. What words of wisdom/advice can you offer for someone looking to building a tiny gaming computer for their first time ever? 

Sorry if these are very basic questions, I am thinking in the direction of building a gaming computer as small as possible and this would be the first time ever I've gone in the direction of doing a small build instead of the largest I can think of. As always, I appreciate any time and assistance you can afford me. 

Thanks! 

[Slottr]

Aside from the size, they carry the same compatibility as an ATX board. Just have to see which ones are good, which are bad, which have the specs you need/want

 

If you want it as small as possible, then you'll want to look at ITX.

[PCDesignerRy]

3 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Aside from the size, they carry the same compatibility as an ATX board. Just have to see which ones are good, which are bad, which have the specs you need/want

 

If you want it as small as possible, then you'll want to look at ITX.

Basically I'm looking to do a computer build that has the same power as my full sized desktop computer, but that is small enough that I can easily carry it in my arms. I'm not sure where to go to pick a full build of parts that are fully compatible with each other. 

[Slottr]

Just now, PCDesignerRy said:

Basically I'm looking to do a computer build that has the same power as my full sized desktop computer, but I'm not sure where to go to pick a full build of parts that are fully compatible with each other. 

PCPartPicker.com will sort that out for you. Their lists filter depending on part choice for compatibility

[minibois]

3 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

I'm wondering what the primary differences are between a micro ATX Motherboard and a standard ATX board are. I've come up wit a few questions: 

mATX is smaller, about 3cm less tall. This results in the loss of 2-3 PCIE slots.

4 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. What are the CPU socket differences is micro vs standard? 

Nothing is explicitly different in the socket depending on size, just less PCIE slots.

4 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q.Is there a micro ATX board that handles Intel-i9 processors?

Maximus XI Gene could work

5 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. Do micro ATX boards come with m.2 slots, or, are they m.2 capable? 

Most are compatible, usually with 1 or 2 M.2 slots. sometimes one is one the back of the board.

6 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. Can you build a gaming computer from a micro ATX board? 

ye

6 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. Do micro ATX boards still hold GPUs like an Asus Strix 1080Ti? 

ye

6 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. What kind of RAM does a micro ATX board hold if not DDR4 and what are it's capacity limits? 

DDR4 UDIMM memory. The Maximus XI Gene I mentioned before for example can handle up to 64GB of memory, 32GB DIMMs max.

7 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

Q. What words of wisdom/advice can you offer for someone looking to building a tiny gaming computer for their first time ever? 

Do your research and seek out all the different options.

Check if AMD is an option, I would consider that.

[PCDesignerRy]

Just now, Slottr said:

PCPartPicker.com will sort that out for you. Their lists filter depending on part choice for compatibility

Thanks I'll have a look!

 

[Jurrunio]

Probably ITX board instead? imo mATX cases are still too big to hug around

[PCDesignerRy]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

Probably ITX board instead? imo mATX cases are still too big to hug around

In that case all of the same questions for an ITX board versus any ATX? 

[PCDesignerRy]

Also, I'm searching within the MSI flavor of boards currently. 

[Jurrunio]

Just now, PCDesignerRy said:

In that case all of the same questions for an ITX board versus any ATX? 

mITX only has 1 PCIe x16 slot, 4 SATA ports, 1-2 M.2 slot (one support everything M key, the other differs) and 2 memory slots (exception: X299 ITX board from Asrock). For size the board itself is nearly half as long and 70% as wide as an ATX board.

[PCDesignerRy]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

mITX only has 1 PCIe x16 slot, 4 SATA ports, 1-2 M.2 slot (one support everything M key, the other differs) and 2 memory slots (exception: X299 ITX board from Asrock). For size the board itself is nearly half as long and 70% as wide as an ATX board.

What about the sockets for CPU any differences? 

[PCDesignerRy]

MSI M-ITX

This seems like a good board, and one of the only MSI brands I seem to be able to find so far. 

[maverick_brent]

Just now, PCDesignerRy said:

What about the sockets for CPU any differences? 

Sockets are the same, as thier are no cpus "made for itx only" orientation may change on some boards but thats about the extent in my experience.

[Sir0Tek]

I've yet to find a good and compact µatx-case that deserves the label 'compact'. Often it's the psu-placement that prevents it from beeing significantly better in size than a compact atx, and not at the cost of having to use low-profile components.

On itx there are several nice options, with sometimes ingenious psu-solutions. I've found some µatx (dtx?) boards that would physically fit inside those itx-cases due to them having a 2x slot-design but it would prevent the use of a serious gpu-solution - or I'd need to mod around a little...

 

[Jurrunio]

41 minutes ago, PCDesignerRy said:

What about the sockets for CPU any differences? 

board's form factor do not affect the socket in any form, otherwise they can't even hold the same CPUs.