All You Need to Know About Types of Motherboard
If you're looking for a new gaming PC, your choice of motherboard should never be an afterthought. Your choice has a lot more to do with all the different capabilities your PC will ultimately have.
Form factors refer to the various sizes of motherboards. The ATX is the most widely used form factor today, thanks to numerous improvements such as integrated I/O ports, reduced interface, and improved airflow. Other form factors based on this form factor, such as Micro ATX, Extended ATX, and Mini ITX, have been released over the years. The motherboard form factor specifies the board's shape and size specifications. Additional parameters such as the casing, power supply, mounting holes, and overall physical layout are also determined.
Let's look at some of the most common motherboard form factors.
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Mini ITX
When purchasing a Mini ITX board, you will have to make some obvious compromises. You'll need to pay close attention to all of the features on a Mini ITX motherboard, such as M.2 or Wi-Fi, to ensure that you're not making a mistake.
When you build a gaming computer, you should double-check the specifications to ensure that it supports PCIe x16 graphics cards.
Also, because you won't have any slots to expand your RAM later, make sure you get enough RAM from the start. Keep in mind that almost all Mini ITX motherboards only have two slots.
This motherboard has an insufficient number of ports. It has room for two RAM sticks as well as one PCI Express x16 slot. This demonstrates that using more than one GPU is not an option. Furthermore, the maximum RAM in this system is limited to 32 GB.
Overall, Mini ITX motherboards are fantastic because they allow for the creation of small computers. If you've always wanted to build a computer but needed something small and portable, a Mini ITX motherboard is the way to go.
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Micro ATX
Micro ATX, along with ATX, is the most popular form factor. It is well-balanced in terms of features, size, and price. This motherboard is a scaled-down version of the ATX form factor. Micro ATX motherboards are perfect for high-end or mid-range gaming.
Despite the fact that the mounting holes are positioned differently than in a standard ATX case due to the difference in measurements, these form factors can be easily installed into regular ATX cases. These motherboards can support up to four expansion slots when combined with PCI, ISA, and AGP slots. For both Intel and AMD processors, these form factors are available.
This type of motherboard is best for those who don't need a lot of connectivity and don't plan on doing any future upgrades, such as adding more RAM, additional GPU or Graphics cards, or PCI cards. This board is compatible with larger cases that accept Standard ATX and EXTENDED ATX motherboards.
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Standard ATX
The ATX form factor, also known as Standard ATX, is the most common. It's a lot longer than Micro ATX, but it's about the same width. This is due to the fact that it has more expansion slots, including up to four RAM slots, two or more PCIe slots for dual graphics cards, and more USB and other ports for connectivity, as well as more space between components for airflow to keep heat in control. Water cooling, RGB, overclocking, cooling, and other features are more common on ATX motherboards. ATX motherboards have significantly better I/O and more features than Micro ATX motherboards.
This size of motherboard is used by those who want more expansion slots and different connecting ports and deal with heavy workloads. This motherboard will only fit in cases that support full ATX or Extended ATX motherboards.
On ATX motherboards, three or four fan headers are common in addition to the CPU fan header, so that alone may persuade you to buy it.
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Extended ATX (EATX)
Extended ATX motherboards, also known as EATX, are larger than ATX motherboards. When compared to smaller form factors, this makes them better at dissipating heat and easier to work with. Depending on which EATX motherboard you get, the exact number and type of expandability you can expect varies significantly. EATX motherboards are ideal for high-end gaming and production applications. From modern AAA games to innovative software.
EATX form factors are usually supported by PC cases designed for ATX motherboards. These motherboards have plenty of room for other components to stay cool. When compared to ATX boards, you get all of the same features as you would on an ATX motherboard. EATX motherboards have more and different expansion slots.
These motherboards are built to support multiple GPUs, have up to 8 RAM slots, and more PCIe and PCI slots for adding PCI cards for various purposes.
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Finally