mATX board for gaming

[syrus123]

Hello. I'm putting together a build for a friend of mine and was wondering whether I can successfully use an mATX board along with a graphics card without running into space issues. I know that mATX boards have come a long way in the last few years but am still concerned about the problem of running into issues with space when using a GFX card. Is this a legitimate concern with mATX boards?

I was thinking of using a MSI H81M-P33 board with a Radeon R9 270 card in a standard tower.

Would the card fit on this board?

May be a silly question but I've always used standard ATX boards in the past and have no experience of the smaller ones.

Many thanks.

 

[_Epix_]

Why are you using a mATX board when you are using a standard tower? A ATX board will have more expansions. And for the motherboard, try the MSI z87m Gaming

 

[scannall]

The main reason to use a mATX motherboard is to have a smaller computer. For whatever reason, like maybe not having a lot of room where it will be. Or maybe as an HTPC so you don't have some big ugly box next to your TV. If it's going into a standard sized box, then there isn't really any point to use the smaller motherboard.

 

[syrus123]

The main reason for using a standard tower and mATX is cost. The person has a tight budget, already has the tower and mATX boards seem cheaper. Unless anyone can recommend an ATX board at similar price.

 

[Obnoxious]

The graphics card will slot into the PCI-Express slot on the MicroATX (also known as mATX/uATX) with no problems whatsoever. The uATX board is simply smaller in dimensions from a regular ATX motherboard; the slots and all are still the same. With that said however, uATX motherboards do not have CrossFire/SLI support since they only have one PCI-E slot (and limited PCI slots); not that it's a problem if you're going to only use one GPU.

As mentioned, uATX boards can still utilise any GPU no problem. You don't need to worry at all about the GPU fitting into the motherboard; you need to worry whether or not the GPU fits into the case or not. Unfortunately I cannot judge based upon your description as a "standard tower." The Asus Radeon R9 270 measures 228.6 millimetres (9" inches) in length; therefore you need to look at your case manual, or measure yourself if your case can accept a card that long. Since your case is not a small/compact case, I suppose the height of the GPU won't be much of an issue.

You only need to worry if the GPU fits into your case or not, the motherboard is not an issue.

All the best.

 

[scannall]

Well, reading the reviews on the MSI, it doesn't seem all that good. Audio problems, no USB 3 headers and such.

Gigabyte GA-H81M-H is $1.00 more after rebate and should be a lot more reliable.