ATX or mATX

Gurt11

Gurt11

New member
Hello fellow OC3D'ers!

I need some advice on something that got stuck in my head. I see no way out. I'll try to explain as clear as possible :p

I'm at the point where I'm upgrading from my AMD Athlon II to an i5-2500K that I already got at a very fair price (secondhand).
Now I need a motherboard.

2 options:
- Asus Maximus V Gene
- MSI Z77 MPower

I now have a Corsair 600T (take a look at the buildlog in my sig to see how it's build). So one would think "well why don't you just go for the full size ATX board then?". Well, because I stumbled upon Parvum Systems.
That's an mATX case and I like it. It's also watercooling-ready, which I would like to move to, I think, wether in the 600T or in the Parvum.
I currently run a crossfire setup of 2 5770's too. I'd like to see these turn into a GTX660Ti. Don't know wether I'm going SLI/Xfire again in the future.
I thought I had my mind made up, but then my mother came along and said "but that 600T is such a beautiful case, I like it better then that Parvum, so why would you change it?". And it's true, I really really like the 600T myself too.
The sound card is an 'issue' too. I can't keep it when going mATX. Not while keeping crossfire/SLI. Got me wondering about sound quality of the Asus Xonar DX over the onboard Asus MVG too... If it's not significantly different, I might just sell it to get some more cash for watercooling or something. But I could also keep it and go single card on the mATX...

The way I see it, two options connected to the motherboard I choose, lay before me:

- Go for Asus mATX, go Parvum and GTX660Ti. Watercool when possible (budget).

- Go MPower ATX, no worries about crossfire cards sandwiched together, keep 600T, go GTX660Ti and go watercooling when possible.

Third alternate route: Go Asus mATX and keep 600T for now, think it over and maybe just leave it at that... Or not. No way to mATX when MPowered. But mATX in a 600T looking foolish, no? See the knot in my thoughts? :p


Please gives arguments for the option you'd choose!
Or maybe you have an entirely different idea all together?

Thanks for your time!
 
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I think that when you don't really need a small case then I think it's pointless even considering it. Most people want their mATX or ITX builds as home theatre PCs and place them next to the TV. If you intend to make it a regular gaming computer then I don't see why even consider the Parvum-case.

If it was my money I'd go for the 600T and go for the MSI Z77 MPower board.
 
But if I don't need all that room of an ATX case... ?
You have a point though. Cooling wise, for a gaming build, an mATX case is not ideal. However, there's going to be watercooling... Problem scratched?

The Parvum would be something very unique too. I really like that aspect of it.
 
I agree with PingPang, I'd stick with the 600T and grab the z77 MPower. It's an amazing board and still looks pretty damn good. You can always paint the heatsinks if you don't like the yellow.

Saves you the money of buying a new case and you can also go SLI *and* keep your sound card. Cause if you're used to having one, you really don't want to go back to onboard audio.

Only reason I could see you'd wanna go m-ATX is cause the 600T is too big and takes up too much space, which I doubt :p
 
Hmm... Okay, I'm leaning towards the MPower again. Keeps the color scheme and in the 600T I keep more options and I'll have to personalize it myself to make watercooling work. Saves a little money too. Hm :)
 
I you get the parvum you will be amongst the few who own them and have something unique. If you go for a 600T you can fit more into it. :p
 
As above, if you are going mATX then get an mATX case, if you are going with an ATX case then get an ATX mobo, the MPower is a great mobo
 
Also agreee with above... A mATX board in the 600 will not look that great. I tried the gene v in my 550 and although i kinda like it, i decided to use a full ATX board instead (the sabertooth z77) and it looks definitively much better!
 
Hmkay, I'll stay with the 600T guys :p it'll need a LOT of work though to make it look as clean as the Parvum... Challenge accepted!

When in doubt, trust your mother.

_______

Does anyone have an idea on how to paint the yellow on the MPower white? What material do I need? Sandpaper first? What kind of paint?
 
Ooeeewww, thank you very much :p

(it's not in my signature btw, just a line like this: ____ got ya! :p haha)

But really, thanks ;-)
 
Oh lmfao, just noticed.

I was like "Oh, he put it in his siggy... well, at least that must get attention" xD

Anyway, glad I could help ;)
 
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