Hi all,

I was pondering whether I actually need a full size ATX mobo for my purposes: E8x00, GT8800, one WLAN extention card (if not available on the mainboard), no SLI planned.

Are there mATX boards with P35 on the market as well? Is there a stark difference in performance to the G-series with integrated graphics (which I wouldn't need).

I just thought about mATX, as I could chose from a bigger variety of cases (such as the Antec NSK2480 or NSK1380).

Thanks,
Cistron

No you dont need ful ATX by any means for that.

your main reasoning seems to be because you want a smaller case, there are 2 things to watch with this... 1. the length of the GPU 2. The cooling.

Alot of smaller casees will not support the length of some of the high end cards (this i know first hand, after buying a Silverstone LC-16 and a 7900GS this has about 2mm gap between GPU and ODD).

8800GT's with the single slot design need significantly more air flow than the dual slot cooler designs. A case with some intake and outtake is all thats needed here

As for the board i would suggest against an intergrated video even if your not going to use it. Intel P31 chipset maybe the way to go for you.

I thought about that issue as well, but one can get a normally clocked GT for ~£150, while the GTS is substantially more expensive.

I didn't know mATX mobos came with the P-series as well. Do you have any recommendations? What exactly is the difference between a P31 and P35?

The truth is that most of us only need 1 or 2 slots, period. I've only had a 1 PCI card and 1 Graphics card ever and I think most people are in the same boat as me. Alot of people are happy with an IGP and have no intention or need for all the slots that are provided on boards now days. However if you want to use SLI/Crossfire, RAID, internal WLAN, or even a superior audio card you'll need some kind of extra slot.

The thing is that most of these "extra" devices can also be found via USB which is usually alot easier to connect for most people, because most people are afraid of opening their cases. I myself open my case about 9 days of the week to dust, check my water, tap my tubes, and simply gaze at the beast.

Anyway, a P35 is the way to go over a P31. They should clock higher and have more features, some of which are minor but worth it. I'm sure you can google or yahoo or whatever you want to do to find what you need. Intel.com is good place to start.

At this point in time I'd advise you to wait for the P45 boards. They feature PCIe2.0 instead of 1.0a(1.1) Not that modern cards will benefit, but in the long run it's only time and patience that might be worth it.

Thanks, I'll have a look if I can find something.

The P33 is the mATX version of the P35, which as far as I know only comes with an ATX mobo. I couldn't install an 8600GT on my mATX board because the fan covered one of the 2 PCI slots so had to use the 7600GT.

Yes, I also stumbled across the information that G33 = P35+IGP. Slightly confusing and I'm wondering why mATX boards aren't supplied without integrated graphic solutions. Nevertheless, this will allow me to by the graphic card later, as soon as the 9000er series is released and the two slot cooler models become cheaper.

I thought that the GA-G33M-S2 might be a good choice, but I can't find any reviews about the board. Has anyone used it and is satisfied with the performance?

Every micro-atx board that I have seen has integrated graphics. If you want to overclock, the integrated graphics won't let you.

Looks like a nice board. As for the onboard video, most people that buy them want them for HTPC, want something inexpensive, or are cramped for space so they want the video. Most people who want a middle to high end machine aren't going to get a mATX board because of size issues that can affect upgrades

if you want to OC only some mATX boards have good OC Bios

P5E-VM HDMI, has a G35 chipset, great all around board for SFF case's

It is probably the more expensive mAtx boards out there, but from the reveiws it seems the best. I know they also covered a 65nm conroe overlock, pretty nice. Just google ASUS P5E-VM HDMI and you'll see what I'm talking about.

No, I don't plan to overclock. I assumed an E8400 to be sufficient for all my tasks. One of which is playing Oblivion at 1900x1200, as I intend to buy a 24" screen as well.

The Asus board seems very nice, but they let you pay extra for the HDMI function. £100 for a motherboard is quite a proud price, not including other nice boni such as WLAN.

Thanks for all you help guys, appreciate it!

I'll do some more thorough searching after work tonight.

Well if you don't plan on ocing it, then go with a cheaper board...

And yeah a E8400 will be sufficient, just go with a p31, or even a G33 board if you check out with the manufacturer, some of the baords willl work with the E8400 w/o even doing a bios update.