Micro ATX Vs. ATX

Silent132

New Member
okay i plan on buying the Antec 300 case-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Now I am on a tight budget so im looking for a board with on board video for the time being.
I have seen these two:

ECS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075

Foxconn
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186141&Tpk=Foxconn 780g

They both have the same on board video but my question is the difference between ATX and MIcro ATX form factor. Will a micro board fit into the 300 case? Also, between those two boards, which is a better choice. I will be putting an Athlon 64 x2 5000+. Your help is appreciated!!

-Dan
 
yes, a micro atx motherboard will fit in to a normal atx case however an atx motherboard will not fit into a micro atx case. to me those boards are so similar.
the ecs supports 32gb of memory versus the other 8gb but the foxconn has a pci express 2.0 port so i would go with the foxconn.
 
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This might be bad experience for me but stay way the hell away from the ECS A780GM.

I ordered 1 from TG and I had 4 DOA back to back....first board booted up but made a crackle sound and stopped the other 3 wouldn't boot at all.

The TG rep actually said to me "your a freak of nature I never seen so many back 2 back DOAs before"

Thats when I got the MB in my current sig.


Though it might just be my luck.
 
yes, a micro atx motherboard will fit in to a normal atx case however an atx motherboard will not fit into a micro atx case. to me those boards are so similar.
the ecs supports 32gb of memory versus the other 8gb but the foxconn has a pci express 2.0 port so i would go with the foxconn.
Thanks for the replies. I didn't notice the PCI express difference! Looks like I will go with the foxconn unless anyone has any suggestions for a board with onboard video and sub $70. Thanks.
 
For a little more and DDR2 800 instead of 1066 memory the MSI micro atx model seen at the link here sees HDMI support over the rest in the $50-$75 price range. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130164

HDMI = High Definition Multimedia Interface MSI stands out over both ECS and Foxconn often. I could have pointed out an Asus model as well while I'm tending to lean away from them with a friend getting 3 doa 939 boards in a row and the first board for the current toast in the first 3 days of use! MSI, Gigabyte for the next build most likely.
 
The only destinct difference between M-Atx and ATX boards are ATX boards have more card slots (expansion slots) usually about 7, while M-ATX boards usually have 4. Another one is, ATX boards are the only boards that support X-Fire or SLI, M-ATX boards are too small for it. and the last difference is ATX has much more room, for your bigger modern cards such as the HD 4870x2.

Don't get me wrong, M-ATX boards are very good, but just a bit small. Heck the 610i I have is a M-ATX mobo.
 
The main difference between ATX/ M-ATX Mobo would be the number of PCI/ PCI-E explansion slot.

By the way, I would choose Foxconn instead of ECS.
However, I do suggest pay extra $10 going for Asus
 
There's a little more then just the number of expansion slots available when comparing a micro to a full sized atx board. Besides the number of slots you have to look at the features a full sized will generally see over a compact board. Yet some older micros had quite a bit packed onto them making a few models good competitors.

I can second the notion of moving away from both ECS and Foxconn while advising taking a look at a few Gigabyte, MSI, Abit, eVGA, or DFI micro atx models as well. Lately Asus seems to be slipping quite a bit where I'll be looking at other makes when it's time for the next build here.
 
The main difference between ATX/ M-ATX Mobo would be the number of PCI/ PCI-E explansion slot.

By the way, I would choose Foxconn instead of ECS.
However, I do suggest pay extra $10 going for Asus
I might actually go with that Asus board seeing that it will cost me the same as the other for it has free shipping!!
 
As a rule I would say you would end up with a better make while I'm currently tending to lean away from Asus when the next build is planned.
 
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