Case forms

[indigodream]

Hi,

As a newbie to PC building, I'm discovering the many pitfalls it involves!

The latest is I had chosen a motherboard that is compatible with my chosen CPU only to find it is a MicroATX (or uATX as I saw somewhere) form. I read on Wikipedia that a MicroATX board would still fit in a ATX case, but is it a better idea to go for one or the other. Ie. uATX board and uATX case or ATX board and ATX case?

Also, do all ATX boards have a standard arrangement of sockets on the rear? What I'm worried about is having to get my hacksaw out to make a board fit a case!

Many thanks.

[TwoRails]

Using a uATX board in an ATX case is no problem at all: it's just smaller. You can't go the other way 'round, though, as a ATX board will not fit into a uATX case. Yes, the "arrangement" is standard in the back and you won't have to get the hacksaw out .

[indigodream]

Great, thanks for that!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by indigodream The latest is I had chosen a motherboard that is compatible with my chosen CPU only to find it is a MicroATX (or uATX as I saw somewhere) form. I read on Wikipedia that a MicroATX board would still fit in a ATX case, but is it a better idea to go for one or the other. Ie. uATX board and uATX case or ATX board and ATX case?

I think most people would avoid using a micro-ATX case whenever possible...it's small and very cramped inside with terrible cooling properties. It's better go use a standard mid-tower case with a micro-ATX or standard ATX motherboard.

Originally Posted by indigodream Also, do all ATX boards have a standard arrangement of sockets on the rear? What I'm worried about is having to get my hacksaw out to make a board fit a case!

If you're talking about the I/O plate (where you plug in your mouse, keyboard and such) then it's not a problem since the I/O plate is removable and the motherboard you buy will come with the proper I/O plate that just pops in to the old I/O plate space.

Cricket

[indigodream]

Thanks!

[TwoRails]

Thanks for the backup on the IO shield, Cricket I was thinking of the card slots.