microATX motherboards are cheaper because they’re smaller and thus need fewer materials to manufacture.
Another reason is its popularity.
So, why is everyone suddenly buying mATX motherboards instead of the “standard” ATX size?
Back in the day, people needed many PCI slots for expansion cards.
For instance, a popular upgrade was adding a dedicated PCIe sound card to replace the subpar onboard sound.
Note that not all mATX motherboards arethisexpandable, especially in terms of M.2 and SATA storage.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | Gigabyte
Each chipset comes in dozens of different models from a handful of manufacturers.
If you care about expandability, review the specs sheet thoroughly before buying the motherboard.
With mATX, you have much more flexibility over what case to get.
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Be warned: SFF cases are primarily designed for Mini-ITX, and only some of them support mATX motherboards.
An mATX motherboard with only two RAM slots isn’t the end of the world, though.
If you’re planning a high-end microATX build, you’ll have limited options to choose from.
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MSI
Cooler Master
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MSI
