mATX or ATX?

[Mitch Anderson]

Hello all, I am planning on building a pc over the summer and I have two builds. Both have intel and Nvidia, but one is an ATX build, https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitch7Anderson/saved/qGhdCJ, and the other is a mATX build, https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dM2nCy, my question is, which is better? I know that the mATX is cheaper, but that is about all I know, thanks in advance for the help.

[QuantumBit]

mATX is smaller and may look awkward in a ATX case. Also ATX has more PCIE slots but mATX usually has 2 which is enough 

[GDRRiley]

Just now, QuantumBit said:

mATX is smaller and may look awkward in a ATX case. Also ATX has more PCIE lanes but mATX usually has 2 which is enough 

not pcie lanes slots. 

[QuantumBit]

Just now, GDRRiley said:

not pcie lanes slots. 

oops, thanks for correcting me

[lx_srs]

2 minutes ago, Mitch Anderson said:

Hello all, I am planning on building a pc over the summer and I have two builds. Both have intel and Nvidia, but one is an ATX build, https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitch7Anderson/saved/qGhdCJ, and the other is a mATX build, https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dM2nCy, my question is, which is better? I know that the mATX is cheaper, but that is about all I know, thanks in advance for the help.

It all comes down to your opinion really.  If you want a more compact build, ITX and mATX would be better.  If you want a larger build with more space to work with, go ATX.

[Mitch Anderson]

1 minute ago, AnnoyedShelf said:

It all comes down to your opinion really.  If you want a more compact build, ITX and mATX would be better.  If you want a larger build with more space to work with, go ATX.

Thanks, I will probably go with an mATX because I won't be upgrading for I will, and it will make for a neater setup, as in more tidy, because I am a neat freak.

[TheRandomness]

-Thread moved to New Builds and Planning.

[aisle9]

Having built all three form factors--and actually owning one of each form factor right now--they've all got pros and cons. ITX can fit damn near anywhere, but you sacrifice expandability by only getting two RAM slots, a single PCIe slot, and a case that's generally harder to cool. I personally don't mess with K-SKU processors in ITX builds, because unless you're getting a case like the Manta or Hadron that may as well be micro ATX for how big it is, you're probably going to have issues with airflow and cooler compatibility.

 

ATX gives you great expandability more often than not, and the cases are IMO the easiest to work in. I'd also venture a guess that there are more good ATX cases out there than there are good cases at any other form factor. Of course, they're bigger and take up more space, and if you're dealing with a confined area where your ATX case would have to sit on a floor to fit, it might not be the right form factor for you.

 

Micro ATX is my personal favorite form factor. You've got room for some expansion on the board, frequently four RAM slots to work with, plenty of SATA ports and something more compact than an ATX tower. You do sacrifice some cooling compatibility depending on the case you choose, and cable management can be more of a headache, but there are mATX cases out there like the Thermaltake Core V21 that can hide any cable you throw at it and take any size cooler that a full on EATX tower can. mATX motherboards and cases also tend to be the cheapest, but there's a caveat to that: mATX has more crap motherboards and cases than ATX or ITX. You can get a mATX mini tower for $20 brand new with ten minutes worth of research, but it's going to be built like crap, it's going to look like crap, it's not going to have any room for cable management, and you're going to need a tetanus shot and a blood transfusion by the time you're done building in it. Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice mATX cases and boards out there, but they're harder to find as the industry shifts more towards big or small, and less towards "both". mATX motherboards range from really nice Z-chipset with M.2 slots all the way down to H-chipset boards with two RAM slots, one PCIe slot, multiple PCI slots (yes, PCI) and a single fan header for you to figure out how to cool your case with. I would say that of all three form factors, mATX is the most versatile, but it's also the hardest to find really nice quality parts for and make them all fit into a case that theoretically supports them. Still, despite the brand new ATX build I'm typing this post on, it's the form factor that I enjoy building most.