New build (intel) can i use a micro board?

dunn2k

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hi guys iv built a few computers in the past but due to budget have always stuk with AMD (upgrading from the x3 720be) im selling my current machine to my mate for £300 and am looking for a new build.

new build i want to be intel and probably the ivybridge 3450 for about £150....as im not going to be overclocking my CPU i was gong to stick to the stock cooler to save some money for now!? i was using a coolermaster hyper 212 which is being sold with my machine.....may have to look out for another flash one in future ;)

My big question is motherboard, in the past iv gone for old tech and cheap so this time round i want to spend £100 max and get a decent upto date board. ideally id prefer to spend a max of 80 on a mobo but i dont think i can get a decent upto date board for that.....

couple of choices; AsRock Z77 Pro 4 or for a couple extra quid (literally) i can get the AsRock Z77 Extreme 4 M (looks lush and £25 cheaper than the ATX).........i know this limits me on extra PCI lanes but other than that do you forsee any issues using a micro atx board??

very much doubt ill instal a 3rd party sound card and i also doubt ill ever use cross fire or sli......unless someone can convince me that its better to spend my money on 2 crap cards rather than 1 good one lol

currently selling my old GPU in my machine to my mate (1gb hd 6850 msi cyclone) so will have to get a new GPU and im looking at the 2Gb HIS 7850 ICEQ card for £150 as i cant really afford the £186 EVGA GTX 660 OC.....

ill also buy 8gb ddr 3 ram - probably £50 on the Crucial Ballistix Ellite (as they look so dam sexy and iv wanted to buy ballistix for about 8 years since my first build lol. i could save £9 and buy the Patriot Viper Xtreme ram (used patriot for years) but they have slightly higher latencys

as for the rest i have a 24" samsung hd monitor, a 256Gb Samsung 830 SSD, i will reuse my 1Tb samsung spinpoint HD and my 750W OCZ power supply (getting smaller ones for my mate) getting a case from a chap at work, the Fractal design R3 usb 3.

i use my computer for every day bullshit, internet, vids but mainly gaming, bf3 baby, skyrom, fallout, total war, etc etc.....dont really do vid editing or photoshop etc....

dont have a budget as such just as little as possible lol
any suggestions would be appreciated :pt1cable:
 

COLGeek

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Using a mATX mobo should meet your needs just fine. Let your budget decide. BTW, sticking with a 1 GPU solution really simplifies a lot of things and is a good way to go.

Good luck!
 

dunn2k

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thanks for the reply mate. other than the Size, what are the main general differences between micro atx and atx borads? i struggle to see the value of £25 extra for a standard sized board!!? thanks
 

COLGeek

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Typically, differences in size and the number of slots (peripheral and memory) are the only differences. The chipsets and their capabilities aren't affected by these differences.
 

chugot9218

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Hes is correct, it is mainly the size of the board which is going to restrict certain features (usually PCI slots). It is also likely to have less fan slots, header plug ins, that kind of stuff.

*Edit* Checked out the boards, you are mainly gonna lose a few SATA ports (the 6gb ones, shouldn't be a huge deal) and a decent amount of USB 2.0 ports, but it has the same amount of USB 3.0 which are backwards compatible. Also you have no regular PCI slots which should not be a big deal since you do not have any add-on cards (Unless you are looking for wireless, but the micro board should still have plenty of space for it).
 
I prefer micro boards. There's no reason to pay for a full size board unless you need it's features, most of us don't.

Just keep in mind, if you want to overclock that cpu in the future, you'll need a Z77/Z75.
 

dunn2k

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the boards im looking at mate are z77, but if i really wanted to OC then mayb i should spend £25 extra and get the 3570k!!

im struggling with the £100 for the mobo but sure the money is worth it - iv had my last one for 4 / 5 years lol (AM2+)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-061-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

stilll lokks like it has loads of connectivity in all areas so i shud b fine.....

just to make the decision on the GPU lol


oh any has anyone else noticed a rocket in pricess of SATA hard drives!!!???

 
Oh my bad, I thought you were referring to H77 micro, which is what you want if your not overclocking.

A non K will still overclock to 4ghz, if you want more, you'll need a K cpu.

Sata hd prices have actually dropped big time in the last couple months.
 

dunn2k

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i could save myself quite a bit of cash by going for a h77 board but like u say in future ill prob want to OC slightly :D

EDIT; i forgot i will require wireless in my PC......not the be all and end all for me as im close enough to my router for a cable at present but that may not be true in future..... do many mobos have built in wireless and is it any good???

I take it a micro atx prevents me using the PCI slot due to a large GPU above it??
 

chugot9218

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I have an Asus P8z77-V Pro that came with its own wireless module (it does not occupy a PCI slot, you plug it into a slot on the MOBO by the I/O shield). It comes with an antennae to plug in that has magnets in it which I took and stuck to the side of my case, so it actually looks pretty decent, and I get good speeds from it for wireless (Depending on the site obviously, through steam I can get 2-2.5mb download speeds and I don't ever find myself lagging in online play).
 

dunn2k

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well at the mo mate with my direct connection i get a 61Mb download speed!! lol dont think wireless could compare....
 

dunn2k

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also; note i do have an asus usb wireless dongle as a last resort cuz i could get anything else to work with windows 7 a year back lol
 

chugot9218

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Well, that mostly depends on your wireless service. If you live in the US, most carriers do not offer that kind of speed on a regular plan. I have 20mb download speed from the carrier which has never truly translated to downloads of that speed mainly because the websites and services I download from are not going to allow me to go at that speed. The performance from the wireless card is fairly high, you are not going to get equivalent hard line speeds from wireless, but that does not mean it is a bad product. I don't know what you are expecting from wireless, it is there so you do not have to be directly connected to the router, not for maximum performance....
 

dunn2k

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thanks for the info guys....i live in the uk and some areas around here still dont even have fibre optic broadband lol.... so yeh im happy without wireless in built no worries.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=71

thats the case im getting from my mate - really big noob question - with the micro atx board can i still connect all the usbs on the front of the case to the mobo???