What is Micro ATX Motherboard? Uses, Pros, Cons & More

What is Micro ATX Motherboard?

A micro ATX motherboard, referred to as uATX or mATX are those that measure only 244 x 244 mm and have a maximum of 4 expansion slots and DIMM slots. It allows using quad-channel memory and dual graphics arrangement.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Also known as mATX motherboards, the Micro ATX motherboards are usually 9.6 inch wide and 9.6 inch deep.
• The major advantage of the Micro ATX motherboard is the compact and small size.
• The Micro ATX motherboards are cheaper in comparison to the standard motherboards.
• The output of the Micro ATX motherboards is however lower than the standard ATX motherboards.

Understanding Micro ATX Motherboard

The Micro ATX motherboard is a variant of ATX motherboard which is smaller in size.

Its 244 × 244 mm size is the standard but there are a few specific models that come with smaller dimensions such as 244 × 205 mm.

Designed primarily with intent to save energy usage, production cost and space, these smaller motherboards offer the same amount of room for memory as a regular ATX motherboard.

However, the mid to high range Micro ATX motherboards come with four RAM slots therefore offering less room for storage than the regular ATX motherboards.

The budget class of these motherboards however comes with only two of these slots.

Also referred to as μATX or mATX, the Micro ATX motherboards introduced in December 1997 come with a maximum of 4 PCI Express slots instead of 7 as found in a standard ATX motherboard.

The Micro ATX motherboards are backward compatible with standard ATX and its mounting points are designed as the subsets of the points used in a regular ATX board.

However, the I/O panel is pretty similar and so are the power connectors, which is why you can use a Micro ATX motherboard in a full-size ATX case.

Moreover, the chipsets used in these smaller ATX boards are usually the same as those used in the regular ATX boards. This allows using the same components in the two boards.

However, the Micro ATX boards will not offer similar expandability as the regular ATX boards due to fewer expansion slots which is why several manufactures design their Micro ATX boards with a complete range of integrated peripherals such as integrated graphics.

This saves space and at the same time conserves expansion slots.

Moreover, since 2006, the Micro ATX motherboards come with dual-GPU configurations.

Usages of a Micro ATX Motherboard

The design and small form factor of the Micro ATX motherboards makes it a useful component to use in modern computer systems.

The dual GPU and quad memory configuration has reduced the demand for a full ATX motherboard even further.

A Micro ATX motherboard is used by gaming enthusiasts as well as professionals along with those who are looking for a smaller and cheaper motherboard. These boards offer great value to them.

Also, these smaller ATX boards are useful to those PC builders who want to build a more compact system that will offer much more flexible placement, whether it is on the desk or on the floor.

Finally, a Micro ATX board is useful to build a PC that will be good enough and serve most of the computing purposes.

Though there is nothing official about it, these small form factor ATX motherboards have all those features to meet the computing demands of three quarters of computer users at the minimum.

This is a significant reason other than its low cost that the micro ATX boards are gaining immense popularity among the mainstream consumers.

The Lifespan of Micro ATX Motherboard

A Micro ATX can efficiently work for a period of 3-4 years. After this period, the users have to change the motherboard of his PC.

If the user goes with a good, updated motherboard, and properly uses the PC then, it can easily serve 5 years without any issue.

This update is necessary as new concepts and peripherals are introducing rapidly in the universe of computers.

For example, 5 years ago most of the motherboards offered DDR3 RAM slots, but now DDR4 RAM is mandatory in every great performing PCs.

The Pros 

• One of the major advantages of the mATX motherboard is its size. The size of it is very compact; for which the size of the chassis becomes relatively smaller.
• This type of motherboard is quite cheaper than the ATX motherboards.
• Except the high end users, most of the computer users prefer micro ATX motherboards, as they are able to fulfill most of the purposes of the users at an affordable price tag.

The Cons

• Some this type of motherboard, of low budget, doesn’t offer more than two slots for the RAM. Although most of the mATX motherboard manufacturers offer some product with 4 RAM slots and they are quite costly.
• It offers less PCIe slots to the users. Although it isn’t a major issue because most of the users use only one PCIe slot for mounting the GPU.
• Most of the computers which are equipped with a micro ATX motherboard have a very compact design. For this compact design, these PCs are not able to offer a great cooling system.
• This type of motherboards are not used in any gaming PCs. As it has a very compact size, it is not able to provide sufficient room for large GPUs, great cooling system, and other advanced features which are very necessary in a gaming system.
• The mATX motherboards offer a lower power output than a regular motherboard.
• An ATX motherboard can easily be replaced by a mATX motherboard. But to insert an ATX motherboard to a system which has mATX motherboard, the user has to change the whole cabinet as its size has to be increased.

Questions & Answers:

Conclusion

The Micro ATX motherboard is a smaller variant of the ATX motherboard, designed to save space and energy usage while offering similar memory and chipset capabilities.

They are more affordable and useful for building compact systems, and while they have fewer expansion slots and a lower power output than regular ATX motherboards, they are still able to fulfill the computing needs of most users.

However, they may not be suitable for gaming systems and their lifespan may be limited as new concepts and peripherals are introduced in the world of computers.