MicroATX MOBO placed in a regular non-micro case?

[NurseRN]

Hi guys!

Would this be possible -- place a MicroATX MOBO into a non-micro, regualr case (mid-tower)? Or a specific micro case is needed.

Thanks,

RN

 

[AmberClad]

Yes. Most regular ATX cases have the appropriate standoff holes to mount microATX boards. The rest of the things, like rear I/O panel size/location and expansion slot locations are the same.

Don't forget to install the correct standoffs though.

 

[NurseRN]

Thanks so much for you reply!

So, what's the benefit of getting a micro MOBO to a regular ATX one? The micro cases are smaller indeed height wise but they lay longer sideways as compared to a mid-tower. In other words, the way I see it is that a micro case is in fact a mid-tower turned sidewas

Your thoughts??

 

[AmberClad]

The microATX cases tend to be far lighter and more portable - they're usually aluminum and there's less material required to build one. The rig you see in my sig - I can carry that around with one arm. Those cube cases are often nicknamed lanboxes for that reason. My other rig, which I don't have listed in my sig, is a regular mid-tower and I feel like I'm going to get a hernia every time I move it .

As far as laying longer sideways, are you only thinking of cube-style cases and desktops with a square footprint? There are also mini-towers, like the CM Elite 340. Also - slim towers that use low profile expansion cards - those are often not much larger than a gaming console.

 

[NurseRN]

Thanks so much for your reply! Much appreciated!

 

[Zepper]

Even though most ATX cases have the mounting holes for microATX as well, I recently ran across a couple that didn't: first was the Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC case - the way its standoffs worked, you could fasten them to the board instead of both the board and case to make mATX work; second is the Silverstone Kublai KL03 (so probably the Temjin 5 is similar as they are based on the same chassis) - on this one, you'd have to rig your own standoffs for a few spots but it still could be made to work. I used my mATX mobo in both of them just fine... Most cases could also handle mini-ITX mobos though most don't mention that one way or another as mini-ITX mounting holes are just a subset of the others.

re. mATX cases. Many are very compact - the standard 10x10" size of mATX mobos (though quite a few are smaller in the depth direction) allows for a fairly compact case. Newegg will show a variety of mATX cases from ultra thin to HTPC to nearly normal mini tower designs.

.bh.

 

[Aluvus]

Virtually any ATX case will also accept a microATX motherboard. The reverse is not true.

There is no standard for the size or shape of a microATX case. The advantage of such cases is their size. Some cases are marketed as "desktop" cases (turned so that they are short but take up a lot of desk space), but these can almost always be turned on their side. And there are plenty of smallish cases that are intended to stand on their edge.

The disadvantages of smaller cases are that they often won't accomodate a full-size ATX motherboard if you ever decide to upgrade, don't always accept normal-size ATX power supplies, and sometimes require "half height"/"low profile" expansion cards that are difficult to find.

 

[NurseRN]

Thanks guys! You're all a great bunch!

I think I'll stick wth a mid-tower. Small enough but easier to crunch stuff inside w/o any space issues. Also, I think ventilation is better the bigger the case.

Again, I thank you all for all your help!

You don't happen to have any ideas for a nice rig (minus the LCD) wth a 1000 bucks budget?!

I hope I'm not pushing my luck here :0

 

[tgunner]

Originally posted by: NurseRN
Thanks guys! You're all a great bunch!

I think I'll stick wth a mid-tower. Small enough but easier to crunch stuff inside w/o any space issues. Also, I think ventilation is better the bigger the case.

Again, I thank you all for all your help!

You don't happen to have any ideas for a nice rig (minus the LCD) wth a 1000 bucks budget?!

I hope I'm not pushing my luck here :0

The sky's the limit. As to motherboard, if you are talking about this new build, and plan to use a standard ATX Mid-Tower, than you should get an ATX motherboard. They generally are faster with better chipsets and have more room for upgrades and add-ons.

 

[AmberClad]

oops, wrong thread

 

[Zepper]

As tgunner wrote, there is a huge number of options allowed by a $1000. budget, so you'd have to narrow the focus for us to come up with a more targeted answer. Like what do you plan to run on this system. Is it storage intensive, Is it video intensive. Are you partial to either AMD or Intel, etc... It would be difficult NOT to come up with an excellent sytem anymore.
. Check the reviews over on the tech side of this site and other good sites. I'd say basic specs would consist of a dual-core processor, a mobo to match (I like to stick with ATX as there are more slots available and one never knows), 4 GB RAM (no more unless you are going to run a 64-bit OS - as anything above 3 is wasted on a 32-bit version of Win), around 500GB of hard drive space divided between two drives unless you are really running storage intensive apps like video editing as I like to keep a fresh image of the OS partition on a separate drive for quick recovery from problems, a couple of burners and that's about it. I like to keep a combo floppy drive/flash card reader in the floppy bay - you may never need to use the floppy for anything, but when you do need to, nothing else will do.
. For case and PSU, I'd recommend one of the Rosewill 5600 series like the R5605 which continues to demonstrate that you don't need to spend a lot for an excellent case. The new Antec Earthwatts EA-650 (made by Seasonic) is an excellent deal at $79.00 shipped (right now at the Egg) no matter what system you finally end up with, or what case. I don't normally recommend that large of a PSU, but since it is 80 Plus rated, you won't be wasting much energy regardless of the actual draw of your components and you shouldn't run out of safe margin on the high end either. Video card will depend on your specific needs so I won't recommend - plenty of good ones out there for under $100. I'm currently using the integrated video in my ASrock mATX mobo and it has been just fine for my purposes and the mobo cost less than $70.

.bh.

 

[NurseRN]

The computer will be used for gaming and everything else in between

What would a 1000 dollar budget buy me at this point? Should I QUAD or Duo is fine? AMD is a must as I love this company! I'm looking to have a stable system hence your help here.

Thanks again!

 

[Zepper]

There was a recent overview of the chipsets used in modern mobos over on ExtremeTech.com. Which should help you choose a category of motherboard. There are chipsets from both AMD and nVidia for the AMD CPUs. The AMD chipsets are generally for lower end systems (web surfing and business apps) while nVidia generally has sets for all levels, but it would be useful for you to scan the article's appropriate sections.
. I think a dual processor CPU is the sweet spot right now as there still aren't a large number of apps that really take advantage of even two cores, it's always good to throw in a little future-proofing though. I've heard AMD's new tri-core is interesting. Maybe others will throw in specific suggestions. Though it would be better to start a new thread with the new topic over in the Gen.Hardwr. section which is where all the YANSB (yet another new system build) threads seem to congregate.

You could always copy this reply into your first reply over there so others can pick on my suggestions too.

.bh.