Micro ATX MB In ATX Case?

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Will a Micro ATX MB usually mount in in a medium size ATX case? What about power supply? What is the general opinion out there on Micro ATX boards vs ATX? Board I'm looking at right now is a MSI K9MM-V (AM2).

Price with shipping would be $50. From my searches that seems reasonable for a new board with video.How does that sound to you guys.

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Rainy day + bored + Ebay = Oh heck just stop obsessing and buy something.

Here is what I bought for $130 including shipping (New in box).

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty
ECS K8M890M-M AM2 Micro ATX Motherboard (On-Board Video) - 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty
Includes Heatsink & Fan

User: inactive Posts:

The problem is never, can you put a little mobo in a big case....
(of course you can!) Confused

But.....

The problem occurs when you try to put a full sized ATX board in a mini case.
(it probably won't fit)

The only question about the PSU, is......"is the running wattage (not the Max. peak wattage) enough to take care of all your hardware?"

In todays computers, putting in a PSU of less than 400 watts is suicide. Crying or Very sad

Next question......

Cheers!
Shadow Cool

Werebo

Allo Ray

The other problem that MIGHT occur with a micro ATX mobo is that the rear socket panel MIGHT not line up with the corresponding hole in the back of the PC case. I've found, in the past, that the majority will be fine, but a few won't line up correctly.

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

goretsky

Hello,

Most µATX motherboards will fit inside an ATX chassis since the chassis have mount points for the smaller motherboard inside of them. I have never had a problem with the motherboard not fitting in one, but it is possible there are older ATX cases which are missing threads or mount points for a µATX motherboard, as Werebo noted. Also, there are several other small form factor motherboards such as LPX and NLX or proprietary ones and those will probably not fit in an ATX case.

As far as power supplies go, µATX motherboards typically use a 20- or 24-pin power ATX power connector, so there shouldn't be any issues there. Some µATX chassis may require a physically smaller power supply as well, but since you are using a regular chassis this should not be an issue.

Generally speaking, µATX motherboards are designed for use in smaller cases, so they go places where space is at a premium. They tend to have less expansion slots and less memory banks than regular ATX motherboards, but otherwise tend to have the same features one finds on conventionally-sized motherboards.

Regards

Aryeh Goretsky

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Thanks all for the replies. I received the Motherboard and CPU yesterday. I am very happy with what my $126 (+shipping) bought on Ebay. As advertised both the mo-bo and the processor were in sealed manufacturers packaging. No, not a big savings over street value but within my budget.

I haven't really started working on it partly because I'm still tossing around the idea of doing something a bit mod instead of just going with an ATX case.

The weirdest part of this project though is while the mo-bo and CPU were reasonably priced I may have to mortgage the house for memory. <G>

User: inactive Posts:

If you want it to assemble and run correctly, put it in at least a Mid-Tower case, with a 400w or better PSU.

The mobo should have come with a back panel to match the outputs on the back of the mobo. If it didn't you may have a problem.

Good Luck,
Shadow Cool

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Well oddly enough size may be a problem with this so called micro ATX mo-bo. It's bigger then the Tyan K7 ATX board I had in the case. About two inches wider on one dimension. The IDE plugs may interfere somewhat with the drives. (And yes it came with the back plate.)

It's a ECS K8M890M-M AM2 Micro ATX Motherboard. Somehow micro ATX conjured up this idea of a little bitty board not something that barely fits in a mid size case.

pc7wizard

Well, good luck with that ECS MoBo!!! I have had no luck at all with ECS.

Must be me, 'cause they have a boat-load of MoBo's on the market...

Cheers! Cool

User: inactive Posts:

Similar experience with ECS here.
It's the bottom of the barrell of the Mobo world. The dregs, so to speak.

No ECS or PC-Chips mobo's will ever find their way into any PC of mine.

I've had to replace and throw out a bundle of them.
Lately, I've had the best luck with the MSI mobo's.
I just bought one for my new machine.

Good Luck, is all I can say.

Shadow Cool

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Oddly Googling before buying I really didn't see any really bad reports. Now PC Chips I knew about though in all fairness my first used computer had a MoBO probably from some subsidiary of PC chips and ii was OK. Though forget support. I never could even positively identify the board the site was so poor.

User: inactive Posts:

WELL, get in the business and work on over a thousand PC's with different mobo's in them and you'll begin to get an idea of what's Quality and what's Junk. ECS and PCChips definitely fall into the latter category.

You never have to make costly mistakes if you'll just learn from those who already know the answers. That's why we have this forum. Good Luck!

Cheers!
Shadow Cool

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

I really need software to prevent me from deciding to place bids on Ebay after 10 pm. <G> Well at least I got a good CPU for my money. If the MoBo fails I won't be out that much... unless it takes out the CPU too.

Ray2047 · Joined: Nov 01, 2003 Posts: 766

Well as the saga continues I can't quite get the mounting holes to line up front to back. I'm considering slightly enlarging the holes but am worried about accidentally hitting traces. It looks like 3/32" increase in overall diameter would do it. AM I safe in assuming if I stay in the tinned area around the mounting holes I'm reasonably safe?