<s>
In	O
computer	O
design	O
,	O
microATX	B-Device
(	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
μATX	B-Device
,	O
uATX	B-Device
or	O
mATX	B-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
standard	O
motherboard	O
form	O
factor	O
introduced	O
in	O
December	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
maximum	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboard	O
is	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
examples	O
of	O
motherboards	O
using	O
microATX	B-Device
designation	O
despite	O
having	O
a	O
smaller	O
size	O
of	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
standard	B-Language
ATX	I-Language
size	O
is	O
25%	O
longer	O
,	O
at	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
microATX	B-Device
was	O
explicitly	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatible	I-General_Concept
with	O
ATX	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mounting	O
points	O
of	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
are	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
those	O
used	O
on	O
full-size	O
ATX	B-Language
boards	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
I/O	O
panel	O
is	O
identical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
full-size	O
ATX	B-Language
cases	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
most	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
generally	O
use	O
the	O
same	O
power	O
connectors	O
as	O
ATX	B-Language
motherboards	O
,	O
thus	O
permitting	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
full-size	O
ATX	B-Language
power	O
supplies	O
with	O
microATX	B-Device
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
microATX	B-Device
boards	O
often	O
use	O
the	O
same	O
chipsets	B-Device
as	O
full-size	O
ATX	B-Language
boards	O
,	O
allowing	O
them	O
to	O
use	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
since	O
microATX	B-Device
cases	B-General_Concept
are	O
typically	O
much	O
smaller	O
than	O
ATX	B-Language
cases	B-General_Concept
,	O
they	O
usually	O
have	O
fewer	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
modern	O
ATX	B-Language
motherboards	O
have	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
seven	O
PCI	B-Protocol
or	O
PCI-Express	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
,	O
while	O
microATX	B-Device
boards	O
only	O
have	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
four	O
(	O
four	O
being	O
the	O
maximum	O
permitted	O
by	O
the	O
specification	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
conserve	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
and	O
case	O
space	O
,	O
many	O
manufacturers	O
produce	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboard	O
with	O
a	O
full	O
range	O
of	O
integrated	O
peripherals	O
(	O
especially	O
integrated	O
graphics	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
may	O
serve	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
small	B-Device
form	I-Device
factor	I-Device
and	O
media	O
center	O
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
ASRock	O
G31M-S	O
motherboard	O
(	O
pictured	O
right	O
)	O
features	O
onboard	O
Intel	B-Device
GMA	I-Device
graphics	O
,	O
HD	O
Audio	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
Realtek	O
Ethernet	O
(	O
among	O
others	O
)	O
,	O
thus	O
freeing	O
up	O
the	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
that	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
for	O
a	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
sound	O
card	O
,	O
and	O
Ethernet	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
common	O
even	O
for	O
ATX	B-Language
boards	O
to	O
integrate	O
all	O
these	O
components	O
,	O
as	O
much	O
of	O
this	O
functionality	O
is	O
contained	O
in	O
the	O
typical	O
northbridge	B-Device
–	O
southbridge	B-Device
pair	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
DIY	O
PC	O
market	O
,	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
in	O
general	O
are	O
favored	O
by	O
cost-conscious	O
buyers	O
,	O
where	O
cost	O
savings	O
for	O
the	O
equivalent	O
feature	O
sets	O
outweigh	O
the	O
added	O
expandability	O
of	O
extra	O
PCI/PCI	O
Express	O
slots	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
full	O
ATX	B-Language
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2006	O
,	O
dual-GPU	O
configurations	O
became	O
possible	O
on	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
for	O
high-end	O
enthusiast	O
gaming	O
setups	O
,	O
further	O
reducing	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
full	O
ATX	B-Language
motherboards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
some	O
microATX	B-Device
cases	B-General_Concept
require	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
low-profile	O
PCI	B-Protocol
cards	I-Protocol
and	O
use	O
power	O
supplies	O
with	O
non-standard	O
dimensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
Mini-ITX	B-Architecture
,	O
microATX	B-Device
motherboards	O
have	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
four	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
and	O
four	O
DIMM	B-General_Concept
slots	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
single	O
expansion	B-Device
slot	I-Device
and	O
two	O
DIMM	B-General_Concept
(	O
or	O
SO-DIMM	O
)	O
slots	O
on	O
Mini-ITX	B-Architecture
motherboards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
microATX	B-Device
allows	O
dual-graphics	O
card	O
and	O
quad-channel	O
memory	O
configurations	O
.	O
</s>
