mATX v ATX for i5-6500

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Yahitay

Commendable
Nov 3, 2016
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tl;dr : i want someone to explain to me the difference between mATX and ATX and some suggestions for my build regarding the mobo. the build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/j76JkT
Hey there,
I am building my first pc so far, tho i am not that inexperienced (since i watched some videos and guides and stuffs.)
The build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/j76JkT
But there's this thing that is still confusing to me and i can't find someone who can explain it to me well, which is the micro ATX v ATX.
since im going to use only 2x4 rams, and 1 PCI, and few SATA and USB 3.1, i dont really need an expensive one. BUT STILL, i dont understand the difference between the mATX and the ATX besides the slots, a friend told me something about cooling and performance and stuff but didnt actually understand what he meant. So, what is the best budget mobo for me to buy to this build. I plan on using this pc for up to 4~5 years, gaming and general use. Mostly gaming.
OC : i am not going to overclock it, i5-6500 after all.
Budget: no more than 100$
Color: i dont really care. anything works for me.
And please explain the difference between mATX and ATX with suggestions to me :D
 
Solution
Natsukage
Performance is unrelated to the motherboard size. The size of the board is simply to add more PCIe slots, ram sticks, etc. The underlying chipsets and cpu connectivity is the same.

For a i5-6500, which you can't overclock, the performance will be the same across all motherboards. That is, only if the RAM, OS disk and wiring is the same. A higher tier Z170 board will add a slight improvement sometimes, but it is minimal and negligible.
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Natsukage

Natsukage

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Oct 28, 2016
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Hello Yahitay, and welcome to this forum.

Micro-ATX (mATX) and ATX are form factors. This designates the size of the motherboard. An ATX board is larger than a micro- (small) ATX form factor. Google can give you the specs:
"A microATX motherboard is 9.6 × 9.6 in (244 × 244 mm). The standard ATX size is 25% longer, at 12 × 9.6 in (305 × 244 mm)."

If you only need one PCI, and no overclock, you are better off buying a cheaper mATX motherboard. You can browse through this list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=30&f=7&sort=a8&page=1

These all have USB3, one PCIe slot at least, SATA slots and a mATX form factor. But you should check individually for USB 3.1 availability.

Hope this helps. ^^
 
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Yahitay

Commendable
Nov 3, 2016
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What you stated is totally clear to me. The thing is about performance. If i buy an Atx and other mATX with the same price, which will be better? Also, does the motherboard's size affect the size required to buy other parts? like for example do i need to buy a micro CPI or anything to use it on a mini mobo?
 
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Natsukage

Natsukage

Estimable
Oct 28, 2016
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2,960
Performance is unrelated to the motherboard size. The size of the board is simply to add more PCIe slots, ram sticks, etc. The underlying chipsets and cpu connectivity is the same.

For a i5-6500, which you can't overclock, the performance will be the same across all motherboards. That is, only if the RAM, OS disk and wiring is the same. A higher tier Z170 board will add a slight improvement sometimes, but it is minimal and negligible.
 
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Solution
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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Define "better"
From a performance point of view, M-ATX vs. full ATX makes no difference.
M-ATX will have 4 expansion slots, ATX will have 7.
That is irrelevant if your only use for expansion is a single graphics card.
a M-ATX motherboard will fit in a full sized case.
But, a ATX motherboard will be too large to fit in a M-ATX case.

I need M-ATX because I have limited space for a case.

Your build will work as is, but I have some suggestions:

1. Consider the merits of a cheaper $125 I3-6100@3.7 processor.
Here is a review, note that it competes favorably with a I5-6600.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10543/the-skylake-core-i3-51w-cpu-review-i3-6320-6300-6100-tested

2. I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games. If you can go 240gb, or 500gb you may never need a hard drive.

I would defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.
Samsung EVO is a good choice for performance and reliability.


 
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Y

Yahitay

Commendable
Nov 3, 2016
7
0
1,510


Ah, I see! Thanks, that helped me a lot!



I really was hesitant about buying an SSD or not, but that made it clear that i should consider buying one.
Thanks, that was helpful!


 
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