Motherboard selection

[Colin_97]

Hi all. I was wondering If anyone could help in determining what size motherboard I should buy between micro-ATX and mini-ITX and if possible what brand?

[Slottr]

You building a pc to preserve space? go ITX if thats the case.

[Gonio]

What case you plan to use?

[Trevor87]

Well is this your first build ?

If it is go micro-atx you can't really go wrong. 

[asdf2061]

MiroATX

 

-Smaller Form Factor than ATX

-Small enough to fit on a table

-Has 2 PCI-E x8/x16 slots

-4 DIMM/RAM slots

 

ITX

 

-Only has 1 PCI-E x16 slot (1 overall)

-Extremely Small; you can put it anywhere

-Same power as all of the above described

-Only has 2 RAM slots

[Mark77]

If you have the space in your case, go for the biggest motherboard you can afford.  Computers are lasting a lot longer these days, and an extra PCI-E slot or two could be the difference between being able to install upgrades in the future, or not.   Especially with storage now using the PCI-E bus instead of the SATA ports.

[JWPanz]

Asus, MSI, Asrock, and EVGA are all great motherboards. Of course, each company makes a numerous amount of styles in varying sizes. Any of those brands should be fine.

As for the size, it depends of what case you're looking to get, PSU size, and a couple other factors. An ITX is required for ultra small form factor cases and they usually come pre-built with WIFI. They only have one PCI-e so you're limited to one GPU.

MicroATX boards come with a few extra options connectivity wise but require a larger case and they typically don't come with WIFI built in.

What case and PSU are you using? Do you plan to use SLI? Are you trying to water cool? What is your budget?

 

[Colin_97]

3 hours ago, Trevor87 said:

Well is this your first build ?

If it is go micro-atx you can't really go wrong. 

Yes, technically I bought the pc online, but down the road I may DIY

[Colin_97]

3 hours ago, I_IHaveNoLife_l said:

MiroATX

 

-Smaller Form Factor than ATX

-Small enough to fit on a table

-Has 2 PCI-E x8/x16 slots

-4 DIMM/RAM slots

 

ITX

 

-Only has 1 PCI-E x16 slot (1 overall)

-Extremely Small; you can put it anywhere

-Same power as all of the above described

-Only has 2 RAM slots

I would just go with 2 or 4 RAM slots

[Colin_97]

3 hours ago, Gonio said:

What case you plan to use?

Currently I'm using nzxt phantom 240 case, Ill either buy the same case with better specs or go smaller with better specs 

[Trevor87]

2 minutes ago, Colin_97 said:

Yes, technically I bought the pc online, but down the road I may DIY

Cool. To answer your second question there loads good brands out there.

   

[Colin_97]

3 hours ago, JWPanz said:

Asus, MSI, Asrock, and EVGA are all great motherboards. Of course, each company makes a numerous amount of styles in varying sizes. Any of those brands should be fine.

As for the size, it depends of what case you're looking to get, PSU size, and a couple other factors. An ITX is required for ultra small form factor cases and they usually come pre-built with WIFI. They only have one PCI-e so you're limited to one GPU.

MicroATX boards come with a few extra options connectivity wise but require a larger case and they typically don't come with WIFI built in.

What case and PSU are you using? Do you plan to use SLI? Are you trying to water cool? What is your budget?

 

PSU probably 850 watt, SLI no, may change down the road though. Water cool, no. Budget 1300

[Trevor87]

It not worth SLI anytime soon. I would say 700 Watt  PSU will give you plenty of power for down the road for upgrades.      

[Colin_97]

Yea I plan to use one GPU anyway

[Trevor87]

Just let us know if you need any more help

 

[asdf2061]

3 hours ago, Colin_97 said:

PSU probably 850 watt, SLI no, may change down the road though. Water cool, no. Budget 1300

650W wold be good enough for 1 GPU, even if you're overclocking. Get a PSU on either the 1st or 2nd tier (or third if your budget isn't going to exceed 500.) 

 

[faziten]

Full ATX gives you more versatility for future upgrades. But the motherboard comes second.

First you have to decide CPU. 

Then comes the motherboard. And of course, take in consideration Case and cooling solutions while you choose motherboard. You won't like ending up with a motherboard and a huge ass cpu heatsink that obstructs the only PCI slot for your GPU or a watercooling AIO that won't fit in your case.