question Is ATX Motherboard overkill when only going to use 1x GPU and 1-2x NVME M.2 SDD?

Plexolot · November 11

Country: Switzerland

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: exclusively for gaming (Horizon Zero Dawn 1+2, Space Marine 2, Trackmania, Baldurs Gate 3, Nothing competitive like CS-Go 2 or therelike that needs 200+ FPS)
Currently running:

Monitors: 2x ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q (1440p up to 165 Hz)
CPU:                   Intel i7-9700K
GPU:                   ASUS RTX 2080 Super A8G
MB:                      ASUS Z390-E
CPU-Cooler:   ASUS Ryou 240
SSDs:                 1x 970 EVO M.2 500 GB
                            1x 860 EVO SATA 2 TB
PSU:                    Be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W
Case:                  Thermaltake Core P3 TG

Comming Build:
CPU:                   9800X3D
GPU:                   MSI 5080
MB:                      MSI MPG X670E (ATX, around CHF 330.-) or some MSI B650M Mortar or Gaming Plus (mATX, around CHF 150.-)
SSDs:                 Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB and 4 TB
Case:                  MSI MPG Gungnir 300R (CHF 150.-) or Montech KING 65 (CHF 100.-)

Question:

What I’m not quiet sure is, if I want to go with a big Case (Gungnir) and an ATX-Motherboard again.

I have been using my 9700K with the 2080 Super since November 2019 and only used the GPU PCIe-Slot and one of the 4 M.2 Slots. I don’t plan on streaming (no Capture Cards) and so don’t have any need for the additional PCIe-Slots that the ATX X670E provides. On top on that at most I will need 2 of the 4 M.2 Slots on the Motherboard. I think going again with an ATX-Board would be an overkill for my usecase.

So what if I would go with a smaller Case (Montech) and mATX Motherboard to safe some money. But then I would lose PCIe Gen 5 for the comming 5000 Series GPUs and just have PCIe Gen 4. How would that have an effect on the gaming performance and is that a smart move just to safe around CHF 230.-? Or would I give up more than just that?

podkall · November 11

Both yes and no can be answer,

just because MB is small doesn't mean it lacks required features/qualities, ASRock B650 Pro RS is a small motherboard that can still power the likes of 7950x without breaking a sweat,

5 minutes ago, Plexolot said:

So what if I would go with a smaller Case (Montech) and mATX Motherboard to safe some money. But then I would lose PCIe Gen 5 for the comming 5000 Series GPUs and just have PCIe Gen 4. How would that have an effect on the gaming performance and is that a smart move just to safe around CHF 230.-? Or would I give up more than just that?

Not much, 5000 series will be PCIe 4.0, and the performance hit going from 5 to 4 wouldn't be that noticeable/significant anyway..

For what it's worth even some smaller budget B650 boards can get the job done, though if you seek any specific X670E features that the B650 chipset doesn't have..

7 minutes ago, Plexolot said:

Case: MSI MPG Gungnir 300R (CHF 150.-) or Montech KING 65 (CHF 100.-)

Are you up for some case recommendations?

ChrisLoudon · November 11

1 hour ago, Plexolot said:

I think going again with an ATX-Board would be an overkill for my usecase.

Technically yes, but you might find (depending on your region) availability and price comes into play.

As ATX is classed as the 'standard' and ITX or even uATX boards being less common, you might find that ATX boards are price more competitively that the others.

You should also consider any reduced fan headers or rgb headers a smaller board might have. I love the additional space an ITX board offers in a larger case as I'm into water cooling and its helped me over the years with some tight spaces but the significantly reduced board headers does cause issues so I need to rely on splitters or hubs.

Plexolot · November 11

4 hours ago, podkall said:

Not much, 5000 series will be PCIe 4.0, and the performance hit going from 5 to 4 wouldn't be that noticeable/significant anyway..

I read some leaks that the coming 5000 series will have PCIe Gen 5?
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 specs leaked - VideoCardz.com

Quote

Are you up for some case recommendations?

Sure, go on

podkall · November 11

15 minutes ago, Plexolot said:

I read some leaks that the coming 5000 series will have PCIe Gen 5?
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 specs leaked - VideoCardz.com

Even then...