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Much more expensive than other form factors + Lots of room for custom liquid cooling loops Avoid if you plan to ever move your PC as it can be a pain in the arse to carry one of these around. Great for high-end gaming rigs and custom liquid cooling loops. Only available for very high-end platforms. Might not fit large graphics cards or CPU coolersĮATX: Very large. Great for a PC you'll have to carry around a lot, or a living room TV box. Not ideal for liquid cooling due to smaller case size Best for desktop PCs that might be moved, or if you don't have enough room for a full ATX case. MATX: Smaller than ATX, common in pre-built PCs. Large and usually heavy if you move your PC often. + Lots of room for upgrades (depends on the board) Great for desktop PCs that won't be moved, and closed-loop liquid cooling. These four are the ones you'll find when building a gaming PC.ĮATX, or Extended ATX, is usually reserved for high-end platforms like Intel X99.Įach form factor has its own advantages and disadvantages, and you should buy one appropriate for your use of the PC.ĪTX: Standard form factor, most PCs use it. There are other form factors, such as XL-ATX, but they are very rare - XL-ATX in particular isn't even an actual standard. Below is a picture comparing motherboard sizes.įor simplicity, I will refer to micro-ATX as mATX and mini-ITX as simply ITX. First of all, the form factor, or the size of the motherboard and case.
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