I have been looking into these awesome small form factor cases lately, as im looking to downsize my gigantic server case. I originally bought it as my new (at the time) 460GTX wouldnt fit in the Antec Lanboy case that i had, without some shoe-horn action. And i really wasnt in the mood for that kind of modding. Anyway, it is time to downsize and im really not sure what case i want to get.

For the hardware side of things i was thinking of getting something with an i7 in it and probably about 6 gig of ram. I also have heared good things about the ASUS ROG Rampage III or II GENE (MicroATX) motherboards, for there all in one features.

Motherboard

Board Specs: (Version II)

• Intel I7 Processor – LGA 1366
• Intel X58/ICH10R Chipset
• 6 DDDR3 DIMM Slots w/ MemOK! Support
• Supports DDR3 up to 2000 MHz
• PCI Express 2.0
• Supports ATI CrossfireX and nVidia SLI Graphics
• 24-bit X-FI SupremeFX HD Audio
• EAX 4.0 Support
• Tuned for Overclocking
• Onboard Power, Reset, and CMOS Clear Buttons

Board Specs (Version III)

• CPU: LGA1366 socket Intel® Core™i7 Extreme Edition /Core™i7 Processors Chipset Intel® X58/ICH10R
• Memory: 6 x DIMM, max 24GB DDR3
• 2200(OC)/2133(OC)/2000(OC)/1800(OC)/1600/1333/1066 MHz
• PCIe x16 slots: 2 x PCIe2.0 x16 slots, supports dual x16 mode
• Multi-GPU: Supports NVIDIA SLI™ / ATI CrossFireX™
• LAN: Gigabit Intel® LAN
• Audio: SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in
• Storage: 2 x USB 3.0
• 11 x USB 2.0
• Exclusive features: ROG Connect
• Game First
• CPU Level Up
• MemOK!

(Hmm.. wonder if i can fit a blockquote within another blockquote…(Edit: No it looks kinda not cool.)) Rampage GEN III or R3G takes more of the great features that Rampage Extreme III have a best seller. It features the Intel X58 chipset, supporting Intel six-core processors i7-980X, 6 GB, and USB 3.0 and SATA (6GB/s(ZOMG!:))) for the fastest data transmission available to consumers.

You can pick these up for about… $432.51 (at the time of printing) Phew… thats a bit much for a motherboard. But really it does come with some nice features. All you need then is a video card, ram and a cpu and your set to go. And with the cheap prices of video cards at the moment, you could actually run SLI / Crossfire quite easily on this board as it totally supports it!

Whats the difference between Micro ATX and Mini ITX?

This one caught me out once, Please note that it is not a fun experience when you byt a MicroATX board and try and fit it into a MiniATX Case. you can however do it the other way around, but still just check that both the motherboard and case are the correct sizes, or otherwize your in for a major headache .

Here is the “official” specs of…

Micro ATX

microATX, also known as µATX (sometimes transliterated as mATX[1] or uATX[2][3] on Internet forums) is a standard for motherboards that was introduced in December of 1997.[4] The maximum size of a microATX motherboard is 244 mm x 244 mm (9.6 inches x 9.6 inches), but some microATX boards can be as small as 171.45 mm x 171.45 mm (6.75 inches x 6.75 inches)[5]. The standard ATX size is 25% longer, at 305 mm × 244 mm (12″ wide x 9.6″ deep). via.

Vs

Mini ITX

Mini-ITX is a 17 x 17 cm (or 6.7 x 6.7 inches) low-power motherboard form factor developed by VIA Technologies[1]. Mini-ITX is slightly smaller than microATX. Mini-ITX boards can often be passively cooled due to their low power consumption architecture, which makes them useful for home theater PC systems, where fan noise can detract from the cinema experience. Beside that specific application, they are commonly used in small form factor (SFF) computer systems. The four mounting holes in a mini-ITX board line up with four of the holes in ATX-specification motherboards, and the locations of the backplate and expansion slot are the same (though one of the holes used was optional in earlier versions of the ATX spec). Mini-ITX boards can therefore often be used in cases designed for ATX, micro-ATX and other ATX variants if desired. via.

In summary:

Mini ITX = 17 x 17cm (or 6.7 x 6.7 inches)

Micro ATX = (the bigger one) = From: 171.45 mm x 171.45 (6.75 inches x 6.75 inches) to 305 mm × 244 mm (12″ wide x 9.6″ deep).

Small Formfactor MicroATX Case Round-Up

So what are we going to put this tasty motherboard in? well i personally prefed the Lan-Li Micro ATX Cases, there just slick. but here are some of the options available.

Silverstone Sugo SG07

The Sugo SG07, with a size that slots in between the venerable SG01 Micro-ATX SFF case from 2005 and the SG05, a powerful Mini-ITX case released in 2009, was designed to take the Mini-ITX platform to a whole new level. It is twice as powerful as the SG05 but only 37% bigger. Its custom 600W power supply, which is rated up to 50?with 80 PLUS Bronze level efficiency and single +12V rail, was carefully chosen and optimized for SG07. Exhaustive testing was conducted to create unique VGA fan duct and exhaust vents that enable SG07 to not only accommodate the longest consumer graphics cards physically (up to 12.2 inches/310mm) but also capable of supporting graphics thermal profile of up to 400W through overclocking. For the CPU and motherboard area, a record-breaking use of 180mm fan (bigger than the Mini-ITX motherboard!) with vortex generating design was utilized to provide possibility of fanless CPU cooling of up to 95W (via CPU cooler such as SilverStone’s NT06-E). But despite having tremendous amount of cooling performance, the SG07 is easy to maintain as well. It employs positive pressure layout with all intake areas fitted with removable filters so dust will not accumulate inside. If the goal is to make the ultimate Mini-ITX system, the SG07 is hard to beat. via here.

Looks to be only available at this time in NZ, but they can ship to pretty much anywhere. Just makes the price tag of, $365 a little much…

Lian-Li V350

This is a bit of an older case now, if cases age? i guess they do, but not as much as hardware, or as quickly anyway.

Antec NSK1380

The NSK1380’s small and compact cube design allows it to fit into virtually any workspace while the inside is spacious enough for your microATX motherboard, up to four full height PCI expansion cards, and four drive bays.

Check it out here

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