ATX or Micro ATX

[ldb88]

It seems like I have to search to find regular ATX motherboards now. Is everything moving to MATX? (I'm wondering if I should buy a new case or not)

 

[peterhuang913]

Where have you been searching? I think the ATX standard still dominates the market.

 

[ldb88]

I've been looking for one that supports Core 2 Duo through Pricewatch | Lower prices on computers, laptops, mp3 players, motherboards, computer parts and electronics. What I really need is one that supports Core 2 Duo CPUs, has onboard video and audio, PCI-E 16x expansion slot, a couple PCI expansion slots, 1x Ultra ATA (or compatible) and at least 1x SATAII, 1333 FSB, DDR2 4GB max at 667/800, ATX form factor, and whatever I need to connect my 2 CDRW/DVDRW drives up (I'm not familiar with those, but I have them connected to my current motherboard, which says "Two (2) UDMA/66/100/133 IDE controllers" in the specs). If there is one with AGP 8x AND PCI-E 16x then the onboard video isn't necessary, but I doubt that will be easy to come by.

 

[peterhuang913]

Price range?

I can recommend:
Gigabyte p35 ds3r or ds3l
Abit IP35

Also, you should try looking at Newegg.com

 

[ldb88]

I have $400 at the moment, but I really just need the motherboard, cpu, and memory right now (I can just move stuff from my old computer). I'm looking at one of the 2.67 4MB Core 2 Duos for the cpu. As long as I have 1GB of memory I'll be happy for a while. By the way, do you think prices will go down after Christmas?

 

[Nick]

if you want a nice big pc then go with an ATX motherboard with Sli capabilities, if you would rather a small dinky system then go with mATX

 

[Luke]

what sites are u looking at, atx mobos are still everywhere and are in every prebuilt system. You must be looking at crappy sites.

 

[Trotter]

are in every prebuilt system.

Most prebuilts come in mini-tower and use MATX boards due to space. VERY few prebuilts have ATX boards.

with Sli capabilities

Only if the SLI board costs the same or less. Otherwise you are throwing away money because you don't sound like you will be buying two high-end cards to play games on. A single PCI-E slot will do you good.

The boards Peter suggested are good. They don't have onboard graphics, though.

 

[Luke]

any where is sudbury ontario all prebuilt comp have atx boards, i havn't seen one with a matx, amybe in america they are.

 

[Trotter]

Must be white boxes. Dell, HP, Acer, eMachines, Gateway... they all use mATX.

Some of the boutique systems (Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Overdrive PC, etc) use ATX, but they also use full size cases.