Sup Cred Forums. I'm getting ready to build a pc and got stalled deciding between mini ITX vs micro ATX. I used to add cards to my comp for everything - usb2.0, wifi, soundcards - that was back when AGP was the special port (sonny). Now, it seems like there's nothing worth adding besides a GPU. What do you guys stick in your spare pcie slots? It seems like only special use cases like audiophiles, storage fiends, and tv tuners.
TL;DR, any reason to get mATX over mITX
mATX ends up just as big as ATX.
None. mini-ITX even has wifi. USB DAC is the way to go so soundcards are obsolete.
ITX is great. Just get a motherboard with wifi built in because you don't have enough PCIe slots for a wifi card and a GPU.
My rig is ITX and I just use a single m.2 SSD so that there's only 4 cables: the motherboard power cable, CPU power, the power cable for my GPU, and the front panel connectors. It's awesome having almost no cable management in such a small case.
Is there any word on when the Dancase or Zaber Sentry will be available?
MITX can have wifi, but I would be cautious with their mini pci cards. Support for non-pcie cards can get a bit sparse depending how popular it is.
I have heard in particular that Windows 10 has had many issues with pci wireless adapters.
Make sure the card your motherboard comes with is clearly supported by your system so you don't have to worry about it later.
Personally, picking from the multitude of pci-e×1 expansion cards is easier, and you know that the format won't be going anywhere anytime soon
>Usually closer to 15"×16" instead of 17"×19" for a smallish atx case
Maybe big compared to your ncase meme1, but matx cases can be noticeably smaller than your typical atx mid-tower.
You should try looking at mATX "mini-tower" cases instead of "mid-tower" ones.
None that I've heard.
The cerberus case is just as newsless
I'm diggen how resourceful the hobby community's been at solving the space problem. I don't understand how thousands of highly engineers from the other case manufactures have been so slow on the trend.
I've been looking at the Raven RZV02 myself...
kimeraindustries.com
The only things I use on my expansion ports are a wireless card and that's about it, maybe an addon USB 3 card, but that's rare. Only did that on my server for a passthrough VM. If you are trying to play games I would not recommend ITX because of heat issues, however you can find very well ventilated ITX cases. I just personally don't want to risk it myself.
I'd do mITX, but it only has two slots for RAM, so mATX it is.
My motherboard uses an m.2 slot for the wifi card. I'm pretty sure I can replace the wifi card with a different m.2 wifi card if I wanted to.
What case are you running?
Yeah, I've been looking at the N200 since it's so cheap. I'm still conflicted since I'm moving to new york so I want something small and unobtrusive, but part of me worries about robberies. Friend's house got broken into on her first night there. I kind of think a midtower would be way more inconvenient to steal than an x-box sized mitx case
Silverstone sg13.
your concern about heat issues is only a problem if you're terrible with cable management and you wildly undersize your cpu cooler. It really isn't an issue in most mitx cases.
How much RAM do you think you need? Why more than 32gb?
I probably should have mentioned that It's for gaming (maybe an rx480, who knows), photo retouching, and 3d modeling (rhino, unity, modo, cad/revit)
I'm running a matx build. It's a comfy size to be honest! The design is a too edgy for my liking if I stare at it for too long but I love how the motherboard sits flat down.
I'm going 2x16
I've run out 16gb with photoshop often enough that I'll def need 32.
Think I'll need an aftermarket cooler in an mitx case if I'm not OCing?
if you're air cooling, the ITX cases will often be even larger than mATX, in which case there's no reason to get ITX.
32 will be your maximum with most mitx boards, but I doubt you'll need more than that unless you're doing some pretty heavy video editing. Photoshop should be fine unless you're working on 35 different projects at once.
You will probably want an aftermarket cooler without the overclock just to make it run quieter and a bit cooler. Nothing crazy though. A $20 noctua or something like a cryorig C7 should be good.
Out of the four slots on my mATX board, I have a 2-slot GPU, 1-slot WiFi card, and 1-slot eSATA passthrough card.
As I'm sure you've found, most mITX boards integrate wifi, or at least have a slot for it, and you could easily find one with eSATA as well.
>part of me worries about robberies
They make Kensington Lock adapters for desktops.
this is wrong.
>Kensington Lock adapters
great idea! thanks!
I might not go with a lock, but I have an idea for making removal extremely inconvenient now
Itx cases are smaller, but you sacrifice storage slots and replacing or adding anything later basically means you have to take it all apart again. I would only go to Itx for fun or if I wanted a super portable case for regular lan parties. Matx is generally easier to install/upgrade, slightly cheaper and probably small enough for your needs.
You do need to plan ahead because it's harder to add storage later. M.2 SSDs are great for this; you can get an 850 EVO M.2 (SATA III speeds) for the same price as the 2.5" drive. No cables, and if you want to add another SSD down the road, you'll still have room in the case.
As far as upgrading anything else, you won't be able to crossfire/SLI, but you shouldn't bother with that goose hunt anyway. Otherwise, I don't know what else you'd add besides maybe RAM, which is easy peasy.
I've got 2 graphics cards and a sound card.
I think I might end up with a midtower case and an sfx psu with the idea of upgrading to an itx board a few years down the line
>air cooling makes the case bigger
Ok matx shill
I'm interested in micro ATX as well, but I want to make sure I get everything right before diving in.
First, because of the small form factor I am concerned about it overheating. Is this a problem? Should I fill the thing up with fans?
I am also thinking about meme-ing and buying a 500GB SSD instead of the usual 120 GB SSD/1 TB HD combo that is popular these days, for less heat and less moving parts in the build. I havent decided if I will do that, but I do own a 1tb external which I save movies and shit on so it might work out. What do you guys think?
Also, this is the case that I am interested in getting.
Actually, because the case is smaller, you generally get better airflow. Look up the venturi effect; that's basically what's going on here. Less volume of air to move in a tight space means that a couple of fans can effectively move that smaller volume of air. Overheating shouldn't be a problem in an mitx case.
I completely agree with the 500gb SSD + external drive for media storage. I think too many people suggest a small boot drive and mechanical storage. SSDs are relatively cheap now, and most of your media is probably in the cloud anyway. 500gb is a good amount.
If you want to save even more space (and get rid of two cables), get an M.2 SSD. Check out this one: pcpartpicker.com
About the same price as a regular 500gb SSD, but it doesn't need a power cable or a SATA cable (since it plugs directly into your motherboard).