Micro Atx Expansion Slots



People using PC should be concerned about which motherboard they should buy. Generally, people first look at other components such as the GPU and CPU and later then try to find the compatible motherboard. ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is a motherboard that was developed by Intel in the year 1995. It brought a major change in power supply, desktop computer enclosure and motherboard. It also helped in improving standardization and interchangeability of parts.

What Are Pci Expansion Slots

Contents

Moreover, there are four expansion slots, tempered glass side panel, and a very handy movable drive cage that accept up to two 3.5” drives, or up to four 2.5” drives, and can be moved forward or backward, depending upon circumstances. Micro-ATX Motherboard: expansion slot layouts Question. Thread starter icev; Start date Mar 31, 2011; 1; 2; Next. 1 of 2 Go to page.

1. Thermaltake Core V21 SPCC Micro

This product is designed in such a way that it can be used either in a vertical or horizontal orientation on the motherboard. It supports M ATX and Mini ITX form factor motherboards. It has remarkable expansions and advance ventilation. It includes a pre-installed 1*200mm front fan with the availability of optional cooling. It is designed like a chamber with optimized cable management space for small form factor builds.

2. NZXT H200 – Mini-ITX PC Gaming

This product is well-known for its unique design, RGB control features and a tempered glass slide panel. The H400i has the ability to hold video cards that are up to 16.2” in length and 6.2” in height. It has dual position cable management bar and cable routing kit which are located behind the motherboard tray. It also includes two aer F120 millimeter fans for optimal airflow.

3. Phanteks PH-ES314ETG_AG

This ATX case has its outer cover made of aluminum. It bears dual tempered glass panels and a PSU shroud. It comes with magnetic tempered glass panels on hinges. It releasesPanels quickly for easy access. It also has 26mm cable management space with additional cable compartment in bottom. It has the ability to hold a maximum of 6 fans. It can also hold GPUs up to 12.5” long. Also fits CPU coolers up to 7.6” tall.

4. DeepCool ATX Mid Tower 3pcs

A compact ATX computer case that supports motherboards up to E-ATX. It comes with pre-installed 3PCs of 120mm add-rgb fans (CF120). Two extra connectors can be synched with the motherboard to control any combination of Deep Cool/gamer Storm 5V add-rgb devices and other brand 5V add-rgb devices. It also comes with Full sized 4mm thickness, tempered glass Side panel, and the front panel gives the case a unique look and perfectly shows off the inner structure.

5. Antec Torque Black/Red Aluminum

This amazing gaming cabinet is made of Aluminum and has 4 mm Tempered glass on both the sides. The Mainboard Supports E-ATX (Up to 12″x11″), ATX, Micro-ATX, ITX. It is crafted with high precision CNC digital cutting to make sure perfection in every curve and edge.

6. Rosewill ATX Mid Tower Gaming

This gaming cabinet tower system has a unique and great style that will suit your PC.It keeps the system’s temperature low and components cool with front mesh panels to promote case ventilation and great airflow. It comes with excellent cable management with increased air circulation. It includes 4 stylish pre-installed 120mm dual ring blue LED fans (3 in front, 1 in rear) and supports up to 6 x 120mm fans. One can experience quick and easy building for first-timers, pro PC gamers and seasoned DIYers.

7. Apevia X-HARMONY-WH Mid Tower

The X-Harmony line of cases brings a cool and amazing look, both in function, structure and design. Boasting a full front panel mesh, it allows for extra cooling of the internal system but also allowing a stylish and unique design to stand out from the competition. The semi-open appearance also allows any front fan to shine through for that little extra glow. Comes with plenty of room for extra cooling. The case comes with a perfectly sized window that lets you easily see the internals. The top panel houses one USB3.0, two USB2.0, and HD Audio ports. Comes in four different colors: blue, green, red, and white.

8. Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow

The Corsair iCUE 220T RGB airflow is a compact mid-tower ATX Smart gaming tower case with a high airflow layout. The RGB PRO fans provide spectacular RGB lighting and liquid air cooling. There’s no perfect gaming tower than this. It is highly durable and cost effective!

9. Antec Performance Series P6 Micro-

This product has flexible hard drive mounting system for up to six 2.5” SSD. It has direct airflow cooling system with 120mm x 3 or 140mm x 2 fan locations (top), 120mm x 2 or 140mm x 2 fan locations (front) and a 120mm White LED fan pre-installed in rear. It supports Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards; multiple I/O Ports for power, reset, USB 3. 0 x 2, Mic and HD Audio; 4 PCI-E slots for more flexibility. It is also designed in a smooth and streamlined way with 4mm tempered glass slide panel, clean silhouette, elegant finish and white LED logo projector.

10. IN-WIN Desktop 300W Haswell Case,

Micro atx expansion slots jackpot

This product has slim desktop case with MicroATX as it MB form factor. It is generally available at a lower price as compared to other ones. Its expansion slots are of 4x low profile expansion slots. It also comes with a power supply of 300W standard TFX 12V. The product also has a 80mm side fan vent with removable air filter.

11. Fractal Design Node 804 No Power

This is a cube-style micro ATX case which has the ability to hold GPUs up to 12.6” long. It has an all-black minimalistic design. The material used for making this product is aluminum/steel. It bears 5 expansion slots. It provides enough room and clearance for users to be able to build a high-end system inside of as well. It also allows people to put a high-end AIO cooler in it or a custom liquid cooling inside of it.

12. Silverstone Tek Aluminum

This product offers LED indicator with adjustable brightness. It supports standard PS2(ATX) power supplies along with low profile expansion cards. It also comes with lockable front door and power button to make sure security of system and drives. The dimension of the product is 440 mm (W) x 105 mm (H) x 350 mm (D), 16.2 liters. It also has the ability to support up to four 80mm fans.

13. Thermaltake Core X2 Micro

Thermaltake core X2 is a very roomy micro ATX case which can hold up to a maximum of 15 fans. It can fit CPU coolers up to 9.0” tall. This product offers more room on its interior than any of other cube style products. It can also accommodate larger graphic cards and CPU coolers than any other atx device. One can run up to six different radiators simultaneously. It is optimized for space management and is divided into two main chambers for cooling performance and improved efficiency.

14. Aerocool Playa Desktop

This product has been designed in such a way that it is capable of mounting a 1080 Ti Mini graphics card. This is the ultimate gaming machine. It comes with a stand which allows for vertical or horizontal placement to suit your preference. It has a unique cross design with an RGB LED strip. This offers thirteen different lighting modes such as 6 RGB flow lighting modes and 7 solid color modes. It also supports air cooling in the top and bottom. It has quick and easy access to LED effect controls, 2 x 3.0 USB, HD audio and mic ports and power button.

15. Thermaltake Core V1 Snow

This product has built in dual USB 3.0 and HD audio connectors together with the Power and Reset Button on the side of front panel. It has dual modular rack design in which upper chamber is made for cooling performance and the lower chamber is made for power supply and cable management. It has various mounting points to supports all types of cooling systems that includes DIY/AIO liquid cooling systems and air-cooling units with 1 x 200 mm Fan reinstalled in the front and 2 x 80 mm turbo fans at the rear. The symmetrical panels allow users to build the system with personality.

More from my site

What is the standard ATX form factor and is an ATX motherboard right for you? Learn the answer here and how to choose the best ATX mainboard.

Introduced by Intel in 1995 to replace the aging 1980s AT form factor, ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) quickly became the dominant form factor for desktop computers due to a few reasons: smaller size (easier motherboard installation), improved power design, customizable back panel ports and most important of all... lower manufacturing costs.

While the smaller Mini ITX and MicroATX motherboards have been chipping away at ATX's share of the market in recent years, ATX boards still remain as a popular choice among power users such as serious gamers, overclockers, server admins, graphics designers etc.

Now let's meet this ATX form factor that has found such long-lasting success in the PC world:

Expansion Slots Types

When Should You Buy an ATX Motherboard?

1. You intend to overclock your CPU, RAM and/or graphics card

There's no competition here: Dollar for dollar, ATX offers the best overclocking performance (vs. Micro ATX and Mini ITX).
The extra real estate on an ATX mainboard allows it to have:

  • More power phases for cleaner and more stable power
  • More clearance around CPU socket to accommodate those huge after-market heat sinks
  • Wider gaps between expansion slots for better graphics cards cooling

All the above factors add up to superior overclocking results. And let's not forget the spacious ATX mid-tower and full-tower cases with enough room for half a dozen case fans, water cooling setups, tall (CPU and RAM) heat sinks and all that other cool stuff.

2. You intend to build a computer for serious gaming

While modern MicroATX motherboards are able to meet the needs of mainstream gamers, an ATX system is still the way to go if you're craving for a gaming beast that can run the latest games at maximum resolution with ultra-high settings (while breezing along at 60+ fps).
It's the only consumer form factor that supports up to four graphics cards for an extreme quad graphics card setup. Even if you have just one or two graphics cards, a well-designed ATX board allows for wider spacings and better air flow. This is essential given that high-end graphics cards are easily the hottest components in your entire computer.
Most mid to high-end MicroATX boards support up to two graphics cards at best. There are rare mATX models that can sustain three graphics cards, but they come with massive price tags and the poor graphics cards are going to be packed like sardines.

3. You want a simple-to-build computer with more useful years

While it's common knowledge that ATX motherboards cater well to power users, an often-overlooked fact is that they are also easier to work with... making them an ideal choice for first time builders.
Most Mini ITX cases (and some MicroATX ones) have strict hardware restrictions such as SFX power supplies, low-profile expansion cards, low-rise heat sinks or SODIMM RAM etc. On the other hand, ATX cases are able to accept a wide range of hardware, giving you more computer parts to choose from.
The larger number of expansion slots on a ATX board also makes it more 'future-proof', allowing you to take advantage of new technologies as they emerge. For example, if your current motherboard lacks USB 3.0 ports, you can just pop in an USB 3.0 expansion card.

How to Choose the Perfect ATX Motherboard

Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos

Budget Computer:
AMD Athlon 3000G CPU
Gigabyte B450M DS3H Motherboard

Mid Range Computer:
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G CPU
Gigabyte B450 Aorus M Motherboard

Micro Atx Expansion Slots Jackpot

Gaming Computer:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
Asus AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus Motherboard

Home Theater PC:
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G CPU
Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro Wi-Fi Motherboard

Click here for our buyer's guide to the best motherboard CPU combos.

Micro Atx Expansion Slots Jackpot

RAM Slots

Most standard ATX motherboards come with four DIMM slots (though you might have to make do with two on some budget models). Four slots will be adequate except for the most demanding of users - See our 'How Much RAM Do You Need' article for more info.
In case you do need that much RAM (e.g. server applications, virtualization, RAM disk), there are motherboards for Intel Extreme processors that come with up a mind-boggling eight RAM slots.

Expansion Slots

The number of expansion slots on an ATX board varies from a minimum of four to a maximum of seven. Even four slots are plentiful for most people since an average user is just going to fill up one to two slots.
Most modern motherboards offer three types of expansion slots: PCI Express x16, PCI Express x1 and the aging PCI (see image below):

Not all PCI Express x16 slots are built equal. They can have different number of lanes: 4, 8 or 16. If you're installing a (mid to high end) graphics card, the slot needs to have at least eight lanes so that it doesn't hold back your card's full potential. To check for the number of lanes, refer to the motherboard's specifications page.
Our general recommendation for an ATX board is to choose one with at least two PCI Express x16 slots and two PCI Express x1 slots. The remaining slots will depend on your usage. For example if you have an older PCI card, then you'll want to have at least one PCI slot as well.

SATA Connectors

Every internal hard drive and optical drive requires its own SATA connector. Most ATX motherboards have six or more connectors (four minimum), which is enough for most users. What's more important is to make sure that you have at least one SATA 3 connector (vs. the slower SATA 2) if you intend to install a SATA 3 solid state drive.

Power Phases

All things being equal, a motherboard with more power phases = cleaner and more stable power to your CPU and RAM. This is especially important for overclocking since you'll be tinkering with voltages.
One of the reasons why most overclockers prefer ATX motherboards is the extra real estate for accommodating more power phases. For serious overclocking, you should buy an ATX board with at least 8 + 2 phases (8 for the CPU, 2 for the RAM). For the rest of us who don't overclock, 4 + 2 phases works well enough.
A high quality motherboard VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) is essential for its longevity, especially if you intend to overclock. Well-built motherboards often have (Japanese) solid capacitors and ferrite chokes. Motherboard brands with good VRMs: Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI.

Others

With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting impressive real-world speed gains over USB 2.0 (two to four times faster in most cases), it is fast becoming a necessity rather than an optional feature.
That's why we recommend buying an ATX motherboard with at least one USB 3.0 port for connecting to external storage devices (e.g. USB 3.0 flash drives, hard disk drives and even solid state drives).

MOTHERBOARD GUIDE

  • Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos
  • The Difference Between USB 2.0 and 3.0

Like and Share