best micro atx board?

[aliasjanedoe]

Some people on here have had problems with certain boards, and I'm hoping to learn from those experiences. In hindsight, what does everybody think is the best one to go with? Which ones should I avoid? Thanks.

[RickyTick]

You still planning on doing that Alure case build?

I don't know much about the Micro ATX boards, but I found this to be a highly regarded motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128078

[The Wise Monkey]

I'll re-post what I've said already... XD

To be honest, there isn't really much difference any more. They use basically the same components, but microATX board sacrifice HD ports and PCI slots to take up less space.

Wikipedia's article, whilst short, is quite useful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroATX

The board that Ricky suggested is indeed good - it is very highly rated on newegg.

If you have some extra cash, you could go for the G33 chipset version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128085

The only real difference is that the G33 version can take more memory, but doesn't have onboard video.

[aliasjanedoe]

You still planning on doing that Alure case build?

I don't know much about the Micro ATX boards, but I found this to be a highly regarded motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128078

Yep, once I save up a bit more money. And does that board not have firewire? Also, it only supports up to 4gb memory. I only want 4gb for now, but should I leave myself the option to upgrade and go with a board that supports 8gb? Such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131237

[aliasjanedoe]

If you have some extra cash, you could go for the G33 chipset version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128085

The only real difference is that the G33 version can take more memory, but doesn't have onboard video.

This one doesn't list RAID in the specs. Does it seriously not support it? *scratches head*

[RickyTick]

Right, no firewire, and only 4gb of ram. Going Micro does mean some sacrifices I guess. Sorry.

[aliasjanedoe]

Right, no firewire, and only 4gb of ram. Going Micro does mean some sacrifices I guess. Sorry.

Yeah, but I don't see why ram and firewire would be included in those sacrifices. I can get an 8gb supported board, and even if it doesn't have firewire, can't I use the pci express to add firewire (leaving the regular pci slot for a good graphics card)? Or am I missing something here? And please tell me if I am, because I'm not trying to argue, just trying to understand and learn.

[aliasjanedoe]

I'll re-post what I've said already... XD

Just realized I forgot to include a huge THANK YOU to you for the re-post. And I'm fairly certain I've moved on from my original question of micro vs standard to which micro is best. I only want two main hard drives (although I'll have an external back-up firewire drive or two - probably Lacie http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154187), a dvd drive, and a good graphics card since I do video editing.

So I should be good with micro, right? Or am I overlooking something? Feel free to smack me upside the head and point it out if I am, okay? Thanks.

[RickyTick]

Give this one a look over.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131237

[aliasjanedoe]

Give this one a look over.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131237

That's the one I mentioned earlier, right? It does have some negative reviews, but an awful lot of positive ones as well. Has anybody on the forum actually used it? It looks like I might encounter problems if I go with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300, which I am considering. Although I might be leaning more toward the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700.