Micro ATX boards have the same RAM capacity as standard ATX motherboards. They have up to 4 DIMM slots. It is also a balance between both standard ATX and Mini ITX. It is compact to a certain extent and maintains decent expandability. Anything else, dual-channel RAM is fine. Besides the difficulty of actually arranging 4 RAM slots on a mini ITX mobo. View Entire Discussion (6 Comments) More posts from the hardware community. ASUS Prime B550M-A WiFi AMD AM4 (3rd Gen Ryzen) Micro ATX Motherboard (PCIe 4.0, WiFi 6, ECC Memory, 1Gb LAN, HDMI 2.1/D-Sub, 4K@60HZ, Addressable Gen 2 RGB Header and Aura Sync) BIOS update might require for AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 series CPU. Number of Memory Slots: 4×288pin.

What is the standard ATX form factor and is an ATX motherboard right for you? Learn the answer here and how to choose the best ATX mainboard.

Introduced by Intel in 1995 to replace the aging 1980s AT form factor, ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) quickly became the dominant form factor for desktop computers due to a few reasons: smaller size (easier motherboard installation), improved power design, customizable back panel ports and most important of all... lower manufacturing costs.

While the smaller Mini ITX and MicroATX motherboards have been chipping away at ATX's share of the market in recent years, ATX boards still remain as a popular choice among power users such as serious gamers, overclockers, server admins, graphics designers etc.

Now let's meet this ATX form factor that has found such long-lasting success in the PC world:

When Should You Buy an ATX Motherboard?

1. You intend to overclock your CPU, RAM and/or graphics card

There's no competition here: Dollar for dollar, ATX offers the best overclocking performance (vs. Micro ATX and Mini ITX).
The extra real estate on an ATX mainboard allows it to have:

• More power phases for cleaner and more stable power
• More clearance around CPU socket to accommodate those huge after-market heat sinks
• Wider gaps between expansion slots for better graphics cards cooling
  

All the above factors add up to superior overclocking results. And let's not forget the spacious ATX mid-tower and full-tower cases with enough room for half a dozen case fans, water cooling setups, tall (CPU and RAM) heat sinks and all that other cool stuff.

2. You intend to build a computer for serious gaming

While modern MicroATX motherboards are able to meet the needs of mainstream gamers, an ATX system is still the way to go if you're craving for a gaming beast that can run the latest games at maximum resolution with ultra-high settings (while breezing along at 60+ fps).
It's the only consumer form factor that supports up to four graphics cards for an extreme quad graphics card setup. Even if you have just one or two graphics cards, a well-designed ATX board allows for wider spacings and better air flow. This is essential given that high-end graphics cards are easily the hottest components in your entire computer.
Most mid to high-end MicroATX boards support up to two graphics cards at best. There are rare mATX models that can sustain three graphics cards, but they come with massive price tags and the poor graphics cards are going to be packed like sardines.

3. You want a simple-to-build computer with more useful years

While it's common knowledge that ATX motherboards cater well to power users, an often-overlooked fact is that they are also easier to work with... making them an ideal choice for first time builders.
Most Mini ITX cases (and some MicroATX ones) have strict hardware restrictions such as SFX power supplies, low-profile expansion cards, low-rise heat sinks or SODIMM RAM etc. On the other hand, ATX cases are able to accept a wide range of hardware, giving you more computer parts to choose from.
The larger number of expansion slots on a ATX board also makes it more 'future-proof', allowing you to take advantage of new technologies as they emerge. For example, if your current motherboard lacks USB 3.0 ports, you can just pop in an USB 3.0 expansion card.

How to Choose the Perfect ATX Motherboard

Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos

Budget Computer:
AMD Athlon 3000G CPU
Gigabyte B450M DS3H Motherboard

Mid Range Computer:
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G CPU
Gigabyte B450 Aorus M Motherboard

Gaming Computer:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU
Asus AM4 TUF Gaming X570-Plus Motherboard

Home Theater PC:
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G CPU
Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro Wi-Fi Motherboard

Click here for our buyer's guide to the best motherboard CPU combos.

RAM Slots

Most standard ATX motherboards come with four DIMM slots (though you might have to make do with two on some budget models). Four slots will be adequate except for the most demanding of users - See our 'How Much RAM Do You Need' article for more info.
In case you do need that much RAM (e.g. server applications, virtualization, RAM disk), there are motherboards for Intel Extreme processors that come with up a mind-boggling eight RAM slots.

Expansion Slots

The number of expansion slots on an ATX board varies from a minimum of four to a maximum of seven. Even four slots are plentiful for most people since an average user is just going to fill up one to two slots.
Most modern motherboards offer three types of expansion slots: PCI Express x16, PCI Express x1 and the aging PCI (see image below):

Not all PCI Express x16 slots are built equal. They can have different number of lanes: 4, 8 or 16. If you're installing a (mid to high end) graphics card, the slot needs to have at least eight lanes so that it doesn't hold back your card's full potential. To check for the number of lanes, refer to the motherboard's specifications page.
Our general recommendation for an ATX board is to choose one with at least two PCI Express x16 slots and two PCI Express x1 slots. The remaining slots will depend on your usage. For example if you have an older PCI card, then you'll want to have at least one PCI slot as well.

SATA Connectors

Every internal hard drive and optical drive requires its own SATA connector. Most ATX motherboards have six or more connectors (four minimum), which is enough for most users. What's more important is to make sure that you have at least one SATA 3 connector (vs. the slower SATA 2) if you intend to install a SATA 3 solid state drive.

Power Phases

All things being equal, a motherboard with more power phases = cleaner and more stable power to your CPU and RAM. This is especially important for overclocking since you'll be tinkering with voltages.
One of the reasons why most overclockers prefer ATX motherboards is the extra real estate for accommodating more power phases. For serious overclocking, you should buy an ATX board with at least 8 + 2 phases (8 for the CPU, 2 for the RAM). For the rest of us who don't overclock, 4 + 2 phases works well enough.
A high quality motherboard VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) is essential for its longevity, especially if you intend to overclock. Well-built motherboards often have (Japanese) solid capacitors and ferrite chokes. Motherboard brands with good VRMs: Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI.

Others

With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting impressive real-world speed gains over USB 2.0 (two to four times faster in most cases), it is fast becoming a necessity rather than an optional feature.
That's why we recommend buying an ATX motherboard with at least one USB 3.0 port for connecting to external storage devices (e.g. USB 3.0 flash drives, hard disk drives and even solid state drives).

MOTHERBOARD GUIDE

• Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos
  
• The Difference Between USB 2.0 and 3.0
  

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Earlier I have written a post about best budget processors for gaming that you can get under 100 dollars for building a budget gaming PC. But, along with a budget processor or CPU, you do also need a budget gaming motherboard to keep the cost of your gaming rig as low as possible. Luckily, you do not need to spend more than 100 dollars on a motherboard because there are some very good budget motherboards available for all CPU Sockets that are more than enough for your gaming needs. These budget gaming motherboards come with all the necessary features, required ports and offer good performance for the price.

You can build a pretty good budget to mid-range gaming PC using a decent processor and graphics card with these budget motherboards and can enjoy the latest games on very high/high settings @ 1080p at playable frame rates. So, here in this post, I am going to list down the best motherboards under 100 dollars for Intel and AMD processors for building a powerful budget gaming PC.

Check out:

Budget Intel Motherboards for Gaming

LGA 1151 Socket (for 6th & 7th Gen. Intel CPUs)

Here are the best budget LGA 1151 Socket motherboards that you use with Intel 6th generation Skylake and 7th generation Kaby Lake processors.

MSI H110M GAMING Motherboard

MSI H110M GAMING is a budget gaming motherboard that supports 6^th generation Intel Skylake processors. It is based on the entry-level H110 chipset from Intel. With BIOS update this motherboard can also support the latest 7^th generation Intel Kaby Lake processors. It is an mATX or micro ATX motherboard and comes with one PCI-E 3.0 x16 graphics card slot and two PCIe x1 expansion slots. It supports DDR4 memory (2133MHz) up to 32GB in dual-channel mode.

The motherboard comes with a decent amount of gaming features that include gaming LAN, SteelSeries Certification, Gaming Hotkeys, DDR4 boost, onboard 8 channel HD audio. This is a pretty solid motherboard and is made from high-quality components. The motherboard does lack M.2 slot for PCI-E NVMe SSDs but you can always use SATA SSDs to boost your game loading time and Windows 10 performance.

MSI B250M GAMING PRO Motherboard

MSI B250M GAMING PRO is a Kaby Lake motherboard based on the newer B250 chipset and supports both Skylake and Kaby Lake processors out of the box. It is a micro-ATX form factor motherboard and comes with one PCI-E 3.0 x16 graphics slot, two PCI-E x1 slots, and one Turbo M.2 slot that support the latest PCI-Express NVMe and SATA3 6Gb/s SSDs. You will get a DS B1 GAMING Mouse bundled with the motherboard for free inside the package.

This is a VR Ready motherboard that supports DDR4 2400 RAM and comes with features like Mystic Light Sync, PCI-E Steel slot, Gaming LAN & 7.1 channel HD audio, Gaming BIOS, Gaming Heatsink and Reversible USB Type-C connector. Overall a nice feature-rich motherboard with Intel B250 chipset for Intel 6^th and 7^th generation CPUs.

ASRock B250M Pro4 Motherboard

Another B250 chipset motherboard but this one is from Asrock. ASRock B250M Pro4 is a feature-rich and affordable gaming motherboard for Intel 6^th and 7^th generation processors. This is also a Micro-ATX motherboard but comes with more slots and ports compared to any budget motherboard in this list. It comes with two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots that support AMD Quad CrossFireX, four DDR4 memory slots supporting up to 64GB memory, two Ultra M.2 slots for connecting high-speed PCI-E NVMe and SATA III Solid State Drives.

Other features of this motherboard include Gigabit LAN, USB Type-C connector, VR Ready, Intel Optane Memory support, three graphics ports, onboard 7.1 channel audio and more. According to me, this is the best budget motherboard under 100 dollars price range that you can get for Skylake or Kaby Lake processors. Highly Recommended by me.

LGA 1150 Socket (for 4th Gen. Haswell CPUs)

Motherboards for the older 4^th generation Haswell series Intel Processors. I really don’t recommend getting a Haswell processor today, but if you can get it at a great bargain then you can use it to build your budget gaming rig.

Asus B85M-G R2.0 Motherboard

Asus B85M-G R2.0 is an ATX motherboard for Haswell series CPUs from Intel. The motherboard comes with one PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot, two PCI-Ex1 slots and supports only DDR3 RAM up to 32GB. Other features of this Intel B85 chipset motherboard include Gigabit LAN, Realtek 8 channel audio, ASUS 5X Protection, 3 phase power design, UEFI BIOS, USB 3.0 Boost (UASP Support) and fast USB 3.1 ports. Overall an affordable and reliable motherboard from Asus for 4^th generation Intel CPUs.

Budget AMD Motherboards for Gaming

AM4 Socket

Here are AM4 Socket Motherboards for Ryzen and 7^th generation APUs/Athlon series processors from AMD.

Gigabyte GA-AB350M-Gaming 3 Motherboard

This is an AM4 Socket gaming motherboard from AMD based on the B350 chipset. Gigabyte GA-AB350M-Gaming 3 is a Micro-ATX motherboard and it comes with all the high-end features and ports that you would expect from a gaming motherboard. The motherboard has got two PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots, one PCI-E x1 expansion slot and an Ultra fast M.2 slot that supports high-speed PCI-Express NVMe SSDs and SATA SSDs. You can add up to 64GB of DDR4 3200 RAM on this motherboard.

The motherboard supports overclocking and you can overclock your Ryzen series processor in presence of a better aftermarket CPU cooler. Other features of this motherboard include UEFI BIOS, Gigabit LAN & 8 Channel audio, Gigabyte UEFI BIOS, Hybrid Fan headers, USB 3.1 ports and more. Highly Recommended by me.

ASUS PRIME B350M-E Motherboard

Another B350 chipset based motherboard for AMD AM4 Socket CPUs but this one is from Asus. ASUS PRIME B350M-E is budget gaming motherboard that supports overclocking and comes with one PCI-Ex16 graphics card slot, two PCI-Ex1 slots and an M.2 slot for high-speed solid state drives. The motherboard supports DDR4 3200 (OC) RAM up to 32GB in dual-channel mode.

This motherboard is more than sufficient for building a budget gaming rig using AMD Ryzen processors. Other features of this motherboard include Asus Safeslot, Gigabit LAN, 8 channel gaming audio, Windows 10 support, and UEFI BIOS.

AM3+ Socket

Motherboards for older AMD FX series and Phenom II / Athlon II CPUs.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P FX Motherboard

Micro Atx Motherboard 4 Ram Slots

This is an ATX sized motherboard for use with AMD FX series CPUs. The motherboard comes with two PCI-Ex16 slots supporting 2-Way Crossfire Multi-GPU setup, three PCI-Ex1 slots and two PCI slots. It only supports DDR3 RAM up to 32GB only. Other features include Realtek 7.1 channel audio, Gigabit LAN, UEFI BIOS, and USB 3.1 ports.

FM2+/FM2 Socket

Motherboards for older AMD A-series APUs & Athlon series processors that support FM2+ Socket.

Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-H Motherboard

Micro Atx 4 Ram Slots For Sale

Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-H is an AMD A68H chipset motherboard for Socket FM2+ Processors that include A-series APUs and Athlon CPUs. This an mATX motherboard and it comes with one PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot, one PCI-Ex1 slot, one PCI slot and supports DDR3 2400 (OC) RAM up to 64GB total capacity. Other features of this motherboard include Gigabit LAN, 7.1 channel audio, UEFI BIOS and high-speed USB 3.0 ports.

Final Words

Micro Atx 4 Ram Slots Free

In the end, I would only like to say that if you are building a budget gaming PC then the above-mentioned budget gaming motherboards will not disappoint you at all. I have listed the motherboards for all popular CPU Sockets for both Intel and AMD processors. These budget motherboards for gaming are priced under 100 dollars and offer you the best performance for the money. If you have got any queries regarding them then you can ask me by leaving a comment below.