Why aren't itx motherboards cheaper than matx?

[ZodaEX]

I was browsing around at new mini itx motherboards and noticed that the prices of these are almost always more expensive than the micro atx versions. You're lucky to find one at the same price point.
Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'd think itx boards would be a little cheaper because of fewer raw materials needed to make them. Do they just cost more because they're made in such a smaller volume?

 

[toast0]

Smaller volume, specialty audience, leads to higher prices even if the material costs are less. It doesn't matter how much cheaper the mATX board is if I need an ITX board for my case, so I going to get an ITX board. Even small heatsinks sometimes cost more than regular heatsinks. Although, occasionaly I come to my senses and abandon SFF for a few years, because prices and parts availability cause me too much grief at once.

When things are normal, sometimes you can find a couple itx boards at the same price as matx; or just $10 or $20 more, and usually with wifi that wasn't on the matx (or desired, but at least there's something for the extra money).

 

[matt167]

Matx has been around forever. ITX is a little newer. Specialty builds. Those come at a premium. I personally only build Matx. Better value than anything

 

[Nobu]

They often pack the same number of components or more into a smaller space. When they DO reduce the number of components, they're replaced with more expensive ones that are more efficient, to reduce heat or improve performance. If they're produced in lower volume, that would also result in increased costs.

 

[cjcox]

They often pack the same number of components or more into a smaller space. When they DO reduce the number of components, they're replaced with more expensive ones that are more efficient, to reduce heat or improve performance. If they're produced in lower volume, that would also result in increased costs.

Density has my vote as well, but also, could just be popularity and what they can get away with price wise.

 

[Dan_D]

Micro ITX motherboards are a niche item. On an enthusiast site, we tend to think of SFF as being fairly common. I've talked to ASUS and MSI about this and they both told me that they barely break even on ITX boards as a whole. They are very low volume sellers. MicroATX on the other hand is a favorite of OEM builders. It's fallen out of favor with the DIY crowd in recent years, not that MATX was all that popular with that crowd to begin with. But they are volume sellers to OEMs.

 

[DanNeely]

Micro ITX motherboards are a niche item. On an enthusiast site, we tend to think of SFF as being fairly common. I've talked to ASUS and MSI about this and they both told me that they barely break even on ITX boards as a whole. They are very low volume sellers. MicroATX on the other hand is a favorite of OEM builders. It's fallen out of favor with the DIY crowd in recent years, not that MATX was all that popular with that crowd to begin with. But they are volume sellers to OEMs.

So is DIY still mostly full ATX? And are the former mATX builders going to mITX, full ATX, or just dropping out?

 

[whateverer]

Micro ITX motherboards are a niche item. On an enthusiast site, we tend to think of SFF as being fairly common. I've talked to ASUS and MSI about this and they both told me that they barely break even on ITX boards as a whole. They are very low volume sellers. MicroATX on the other hand is a favorite of OEM builders. It's fallen out of favor with the DIY crowd in recent years, not that MATX was all that popular with that crowd to begin with. But they are volume sellers to OEMs.

I think part of the reason ITX boards have risen in price in recent years is because most big OEMs are shipping much smaller customized ITX-replacement motherboards.

Oh, and Intel's new NUC 5x5 is also responsible for bleeding the rest of the ITX: "I want a video card installed in my sff, but maybe I'll compromize for socketed," industry dry!

For about five years there (2010-2015), ITX was within 10 bucks of MicroATX ; but now that volume is gone, you have to have to charge a premium!

 

[DanNeely]

I think part of the reason ITX boards have risen in price in recent years is because most big OEMs are shipping much smaller customized ITX-replacement motherboards.

Oh, and Intel's new NUC 5x5 is also responsible for bleeding the rest of the ITX: "I want a video card installed in my sff, but maybe I'll compromize for socketed," industry dry!

For about five years there (2010-2015), ITX was within 10 bucks of MicroATX ; but now that volume is gone, you have to have to charge a premium!

That weirdo dell board is midway between ITX and mATX in size, it has 2 PCIe slots and even ignoring the IO extension the main section is bigger than ITX which would end roughly where the memory slots are. Also Dell's been doing non-standard mobos for decades, there's nothing new here.

 

[Dan_D]

So is DIY still mostly full ATX? And are the former mATX builders going to mITX, full ATX, or just dropping out?

DIY has been mostly ATX since it very quickly displaced the AT form factor back in the day. mATX was never very popular in the DIY space to begin with. I'd say mATX builders have primarily either dropped out or went to mITX. With the death of multiGPU systems and the increase in integration of motherboard features, mATX just isn't all that appealing anymore. People who opted for mATX often did so because it either predated mITX or they wanted something smaller but still required some expandability. From a motherboard manufacturer's standpoint, mATX is cheaper to produce than mITX. It doesn't require a full redesign compared to full sized ATX motherboards. They only need to redesign the bottom half of the motherboard rather than the whole thing.

You could in theory have the same VRM design, memory trace layout design and most of the same components between ATX and mATX motherboards. In fact, enthusiast focused mATX boards were typically just that. ASUS ROG Gene boards were virtually identical to their larger ATX counterparts, even sometimes sharing BIOS ROMs. MiniITX on the other hand is a different beast. You don't have the physical space for the memory slots, VRM's or anything else. Sure, you can get away with less PCIe lane switches or things like that, but what companies who design these boards do is create an entirely new design that sells in low volume. In many cases, things you'd think would carry over can't due to space constraints.

A lot of people that "dropped out" as you put it went to laptops, OEMs, or to mobile devices as they "aged out" of gaming. If they do still game, they often do so casually or went to consoles.

 

[DanNeely]

DIY has been mostly ATX since it very quickly displaced the AT form factor back in the day. mATX was never very popular in the DIY space to begin with. I'd say mATX builders have primarily either dropped out or went to mITX. With the death of multiGPU systems and the increase in integration of motherboard features, mATX just isn't all that appealing anymore. People who opted for mATX often did so because it either predated mITX or they wanted something smaller but still required some expandability. From a motherboard manufacturer's standpoint, mATX is cheaper to produce than mITX. It doesn't require a full redesign compared to full sized ATX motherboards. They only need to redesign the bottom half of the motherboard rather than the whole thing.

You could in theory have the same VRM design, memory trace layout design and most of the same components between ATX and mATX motherboards. In fact, enthusiast focused mATX boards were typically just that. ASUS ROG Gene boards were virtually identical to their larger ATX counterparts, even sometimes sharing BIOS ROMs. MiniITX on the other hand is a different beast. You don't have the physical space for the memory slots, VRM's or anything else. Sure, you can get away with less PCIe lane switches or things like that, but what companies who design these boards do is create an entirely new design that sells in low volume. In many cases, things you'd think would carry over can't due to space constraints.

A lot of people that "dropped out" as you put it went to laptops, OEMs, or to mobile devices as they "aged out" of gaming. If they do still game, they often do so casually or went to consoles.

Thank you.

That largely fits with what I'd assumed was going on, but never had access to back up when talking with occasional mATX holdouts insisting that their preferred form factor should have largely replaced full ATX "because almost no one slots anything other than a single GPU anymore". A few years ago I'd've given more credibility to that argument; but slapping m.2 SSDs onto the mobo goes the other way around. Yeah most people probably won't need more than 1 or 2 slots; but don't want to risk getting caught out if they ever do.

For me, I've got an enormous Caselabs case, partly to fit a giant radiator and partly because having lots of room makes it easier to work on and bloody knuckles are no fun. So I've always went with full ATX in my main system; and occasionally kick my self for not going with an eATX tray at the time. (That started shortly after I finished building the case, at which point I realized that nominally modular or not switching to an eATX tray/midplate would be a ton of work.)