mATX or ATX

[EdwardBrown]

I have devised two builds I am happy with, they have the same specs and are roughly the same price. One is mATX, the other is ATX.

At the beginning I will have one GPU but intend to add a second in about 6 months.

What should I go for?

[Guuhan]

Actually depends on your case. mATX should fit in any smaller/mid towers, unlike ATX you need a pretty "big" environment to put it in. ATX should be easier to reach for every connections compared to mATX. Just tell us what case you've own/chose.

[maremp]

Does the mobo have enough pcie slots for 2 gpus + whatever else you might add? 

[EdwardBrown]

22 minutes ago, maremp said:

Does the mobo have enough pcie slots for 2 gpus + whatever else you might add? 

Both mobos have crossfire support for two cards.

[EdwardBrown]

34 minutes ago, Guuhan said:

Actually depends on your case. mATX should fit in any smaller/mid towers, unlike ATX you need a pretty "big" environment to put it in. ATX should be easier to reach for every connections compared to mATX. Just tell us what case you've own/chose.

For mATX I would go for a Bitfenix Phenom mATX and for ATX I would go for a Bitfenix Comrade Window.

[maremp]

2 minutes ago, EdwardBrown said:

Both mobos have crossfire support for two cards.

This doesn't really matter if you're planning on putting other stuff in pcie slots, such as wifi card, ssd, etc.

[EdwardBrown]

1 minute ago, maremp said:

This doesn't really matter if you're planning on putting other stuff in pcie slots, such as wifi card, ssd, etc.

Both builds are complete and have pretty much exactly the same components. I probably will not add more storage drives but might upgrade them.

[Cosmin1]

Consider the Corsair Air 240 case for the mATX bulit, it can fit 2 long video cards and also an 240mm radiator in the front.

[EdwardBrown]

1 minute ago, Cosmin1 said:

Consider the Corsair Air 240 case for the mATX bulit, it can fit 2 long video cards and also an 240mm radiator in the front.

I have looked at cases and that one is definitly a possibility. However my current setup on both builds is fully compatible. I just want to know peoples general preferences really.

[Cosmin1]

3 minutes ago, EdwardBrown said:

I have looked at cases and that one is definitly a possibility. However my current setup on both builds is fully compatible. I just want to know peoples general preferences really.

I personally prefer the mATX cases, last weekend I did a build in the air 240, still isn't 100% finished, still need to get some custom cables and a led strip, but this is is so far

[EdwardBrown]

1 minute ago, Cosmin1 said:

I personally prefer the mATX cases, last weekend I did a build in the air 240, still isn't 100% finished, still need to get some custom cables and a led strip, but this is is so far

Sexy. Is it meant to be in that orientation?

[Darkseth]

Which mobos are it exactly?

 

Because non-Z170 Boards will only support x16/x4 for Crossfire, which is VERY suboptimal.

Only Z170 supports x8/x8, as it doesnt use the PCH lanes for the 2nd Card, but splits the CPU Lanes.

[EdwardBrown]

3 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Which mobos are it exactly?

 

Because non-Z170 Boards will only support x16/x4 for Crossfire, which is VERY suboptimal.

Only Z170 supports x8/x8, as it doesnt use the PCH lanes for the 2nd Card, but splits the CPU Lanes.

What would be the optimal lane config for crossfire?

[EdwardBrown]

7 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Which mobos are it exactly?

 

Because non-Z170 Boards will only support x16/x4 for Crossfire, which is VERY suboptimal.

Only Z170 supports x8/x8, as it doesnt use the PCH lanes for the 2nd Card, but splits the CPU Lanes.

This one for the ATX Build (which I am leaning toward). https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/s9Gj4D/msi-motherboard-b150gamingm3

according to the MSI website it has two PCI-Ex16 Gen 3 slots.

[Darkseth]

depending on what platform you buy.

 

x16/x16 of course, but that's only possible with x99 atm, and a 500+ dollar CPU.

 

but as i said, x8/x8, so both cards have the same bandwidth. x16/x4 (H170, B150, etc) should give you some more disadvantages.

 

Anyway, with which cards do you plan to crossfire? The high end AMDs aren't out yet, and Multi-GPU with low end / mid class GPUs isn't really smart, since multi GPU comes with many many disadvantages. Such as more heat, more power consumption, driver problems, the need of CF profiles, and not a 100% scaling. Depending on game/drivers, you might have only 100% - 170% more performance.

 

This one for the ATX Build (which I am leaning toward). https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/s9Gj4D/msi-motherboard-b150gamingm3

according to the MSI website it has two PCI-Ex16 Gen 3 slots.

Yes, the upper Card will run at x16 speed, and the 2nd one will run at x4 speed.

Suboptimal.

 

I highly suggest, you switch over to a Z170 board + Overclockable CPU, or you stick to 1 GPU, which is the best choice in general.

[EdwardBrown]

1 minute ago, Darkseth said:

depending on what platform you buy.

 

x16/x16 of course, but that's only possible with x99 atm, and a 500+ dollar CPU.

 

but as i said, x8/x8, so both cards have the same bandwidth. x16/x4 (H170, B150, etc) should give you some more disadvantages.

 

Anyway, with which cards do you plan to crossfire? The high end AMDs aren't out yet, and Multi-GPU with low end / mid class GPUs isn't really smart, since multi GPU comes with many many disadvantages. Such as more heat, more power consumption, driver problems, the need of CF profiles, and not a 100% scaling. Depending on game/drivers, you might have only 100% - 170% more performance.

Here are some basic specs:

 

Intel i3 6100

2x AMD RX 480

8GB DDR4 RAM

250gb ssd + 1tb hdd

 

I will be adding the second GPU about six months after the first.

[EdwardBrown]

5 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

depending on what platform you buy.

 

x16/x16 of course, but that's only possible with x99 atm, and a 500+ dollar CPU.

 

but as i said, x8/x8, so both cards have the same bandwidth. x16/x4 (H170, B150, etc) should give you some more disadvantages.

 

Anyway, with which cards do you plan to crossfire? The high end AMDs aren't out yet, and Multi-GPU with low end / mid class GPUs isn't really smart, since multi GPU comes with many many disadvantages. Such as more heat, more power consumption, driver problems, the need of CF profiles, and not a 100% scaling. Depending on game/drivers, you might have only 100% - 170% more performance.

 

Yes, the upper Card will run at x16 speed, and the 2nd one will run at x4 speed.

Suboptimal.

 

I highly suggest, you switch over to a Z170 board + Overclockable CPU, or you stick to 1 GPU, which is the best choice in general.

I keep seeing things about z170, but nothing about z110. 

[Cosmin1]

36 minutes ago, EdwardBrown said:

Sexy. Is it meant to be in that orientation?

Thank you, the case can be used either in ths orientation, or in the standard one, the rubber feet are't attached when you get the case and you can chose the orientation that best suits you, even the corsair logo in the front is magnetic and cand be rotated.

 

16 minutes ago, EdwardBrown said:

I keep seeing things about z170, but nothing about z110. 

I also suggest going for a z170 with a 6600k or 6700k if you want a dual graphics card config, for the mATX build you can get the asrock z170m extreme4 which is decently priced and supports crossfire and also SLI

[EdwardBrown]

1 minute ago, Cosmin1 said:

Thank you, the case can be used either in ths orientation, or in the standard one, the rubber feet are't attached when you get the case and you can chose the orientation that best suits you, even the corsair logo in the front is magnetic and cand be rotated.

 

I also suggest going for a z170 with a 6600k or 6700k if you want a dual graphics card config, for the mATX build you can get the asrock z170m extreme4 which is decently priced and supports crossfire and also SLI

OK, this one looks good and is fairly cheap. https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z170-A-PRO.html#hero-specification

[typographie]

1 hour ago, EdwardBrown said:

I keep seeing things about z170, but nothing about z110. 

I don't believe there is a Z110. There is an H110, and also H170. I'm sure there are reasons why the naming scheme is what it is, but some of those reasons are a little arcane.

[Technous285]

Typically: X-series boards are the Extreme/Server-range (LGA-1366 & LGA-2011 flavours), Z-series boards are Enthusiast/Prosumer-range board for the mainstream sockets (LGA-775 & LGA-115*), H-series are mid-range boards for mainstream sockets & B-series boards are the budget-range boards for mainstream sockets.

[Darkseth]

um...

If you're running an i3... Then forget your crossfire idea.

Get 1 GPU, and that's it.

Paying 50 bucks more just for a Z board, and still staying with an i3 Dual core... Fail.

 

 

 Stick with a cheap B150, and if you want to upgrade something, uipgrade to an i5 6500 first. Will give you more, than a stupid Crossfire.

 

Why would you want Crossfire so bad anyway? Before you get 2 R9 480, you are better off with 1 GTX 1070.

 

Plus, you SHOULD have an i5 here, and not an i3. Which should slow down the GTX 1070, AND 2 R9 480.

 

Yea sry.. That Configuration isnt good. You should buy a different configuration. Can't recommend your way.

[EdwardBrown]

10 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

um...

If you're running an i3... Then forget your crossfire idea.

Get 1 GPU, and that's it.

Paying 50 bucks more just for a Z board, and still staying with an i3 Dual core... Fail.

 

 

 Stick with a cheap B150, and if you want to upgrade something, uipgrade to an i5 6500 first. Will give you more, than a stupid Crossfire.

 

Why would you want Crossfire so bad anyway? Before you get 2 R9 480, you are better off with 1 GTX 1070.

 

Plus, you SHOULD have an i5 here, and not an i3. Which should slow down the GTX 1070, AND 2 R9 480.

 

Yea sry.. That Configuration isnt good. You should buy a different configuration. Can't recommend your way.

As far as I can tell the i3 6100 @3.7ghz is as the sweetspot for price to performance. This build is not only for gaming -  crossfire is extremely beneficial for video editing and alike. 

[EdwardBrown]

13 minutes ago, Technous285 said:

Typically: X-series boards are the Extreme/Server-range (LGA-1366 & LGA-2011 flavours), Z-series boards are Enthusiast/Prosumer-range board for the mainstream sockets (LGA-775 & LGA-115*), H-series are mid-range boards for mainstream sockets & B-series boards are the budget-range boards for mainstream sockets.

Oh thanks that is really helpful! Not very clear from the start on that!

[EdwardBrown]

15 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

um...

If you're running an i3... Then forget your crossfire idea.

Get 1 GPU, and that's it.

Paying 50 bucks more just for a Z board, and still staying with an i3 Dual core... Fail.

 

 

 Stick with a cheap B150, and if you want to upgrade something, uipgrade to an i5 6500 first. Will give you more, than a stupid Crossfire.

 

Why would you want Crossfire so bad anyway? Before you get 2 R9 480, you are better off with 1 GTX 1070.

 

Plus, you SHOULD have an i5 here, and not an i3. Which should slow down the GTX 1070, AND 2 R9 480.

 

Yea sry.. That Configuration isnt good. You should buy a different configuration. Can't recommend your way.

plus the i3 has hyperthreading so is 3.7ghz per thread.