Note that most PC cases that support a particular form factor also support boards of the form factors smaller than it-but always check the specs for confirmation of that before buying a new board or case. With Mini-ITX, you're usually limited to just one expansion slot. The 6.7-inch-square Mini-ITX standard, meanwhile, defines boards even more compact, intended for tight builds in small-form-factor (SFF) PCs. MicroATX boards measure up to 9.6 inches square (some are smaller) and have fewer slots than an equivalent ATX board, usually enough to install a video card and a supplementary card or two. Smaller towers ('minitowers'), flat-style 'desktop' cases, and home theater PC (HTPC) chassis tend to support boards of the MicroATX or Mini-ITX kind. The key thing to know apart from the size factor: ATX boards will have more expansion slots than MicroATX or Mini-ITX ones. A few multi-CPU boards, intended for servers and workstations, and some outliers (such as EVGA's Classified series (Opens in a new window) boards) support larger ATX 'standards' such as Extended ATX and XL-ATX, but these won't be of interest to most PC upgraders or builders. They're what you'll see in most midtower or larger PC cases-what most of us think of as traditional tower PCs. ATX is sometimes referred to as 'standard ATX,' and ATX boards (usually, but not exclusively) measure 9.6x12 inches. The ones that matter most to PC builders and upgraders are ATX, MicroATX, and Mini-ITX.

Left to right: ATX, MicroATX, and Mini-ITX boards To be sure that a given board will fit into a PC case, you need to know which of the standard board form factors the case supports.

'Form factor' is shorthand for the dimensions and layout of a given desktop motherboard. So, if you don't have that friend, let us be it: Here's a 101-level primer to the lingo you need to talk motherboard. The terminology around motherboards can be bewildering, though, and some of it can stump even experienced PC builders.įirst-time buyers and builders, meanwhile, definitely need to go into a motherboard purchase with a bit of background knowledge (or a savvy friend!) to get a board that fits-both literally in the PC's chassis, and in a usage sense.

How to Set Up Two-Factor Authenticationįolks who shop for motherboards-whether as an upgrade component or for a build-a-PC-from-scratch project-are a savvy bunch, confident enough to take their PC to pieces and put it back together again.

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GS15031 motherboard spec details