A technician is assembling a workstation inside a microATX desktop chassis that provides e… — CompTIA A+ (Core 1 & Core 2)

A technician is assembling a workstation inside a microATX desktop chassis that provides exactly four rear expansion slot cutouts. The system requirements call for installing three separate expansion cards: a dual-slot PCIe x16 graphics card, a single-slot PCIe x4 RAID controller card, and a single-slot PCIe x1 sound card. Which of the following motherboard form factor and expansion slot layout choices MUST the technician select to ensure all three cards fit into the chassis?

Select a Micro-ATX motherboard ( $9.6 \times 9.6\text{ inches}$ ) with its primary PCIe x16 slot located in Slot 1, allowing the dual-slot graphics card to overhang Slot 2 while leaving Slots 3 and 4 available for the remaining single-slot cards.Answer
B
Select a Mini-ITX motherboard ( $6.7 \times 6.7\text{ inches}$ ), because its smaller physical dimensions natively provide four expansion slots while reducing chassis cable clutter.
C
Select a standard ATX motherboard ( $12 \times 9.6\text{ inches}$ ), because its larger PCB surface area allows it to mount into four-slot microATX chassis without physical slot overhang.
D
Select a Micro-ATX motherboard with the primary PCIe x16 slot positioned in Slot 2, because dual-slot graphics cards require adjacent slot spacing to interface directly with dual-channel RAM.

Answer

Select a Micro-ATX motherboard (

9.6 \times 9.6\text{ inches}

) with the primary PCIe x16 slot located in Slot 1, allowing the dual-slot graphics card to overhang Slot 2 while leaving Slots 3 and 4 available for the remaining single-slot cards.

Micro-ATX motherboards (

9.6 \times 9.6\text{ inches}

) support up to four expansion slots, which aligns with the four slot openings of a microATX chassis. A dual-slot graphics card requires two physical slot widths. Placing the PCIe x16 slot in Slot 1 uses Slot 1 for the connector and Slot 2 for the cooler clearance, leaving Slots 3 and 4 available for the single-slot RAID controller and sound card.

Step-by-Step Solution

Analyze chassis physical constraints and motherboard form factor dimensions.

The chassis has four expansion slot cutouts, matching the maximum limit of the Micro-ATX form factor (

9.6 \times 9.6\text{ inches}

244 \times 244\text{ mm}

). Standard ATX (

12 \times 9.6\text{ inches}

) requires seven slots and will not fit, while Mini-ITX (

6.7 \times 6.7\text{ inches}

) only has one expansion slot.

Matching chassis slot count with motherboard form factor dimensions is required for physical compatibility.

Calculate the total physical expansion slot width required by the three cards.

Dual-slot PCIe x16 graphics card = 2 slot spaces; single-slot PCIe x4 card = 1 slot space; single-slot PCIe x1 card = 1 slot space. Total required physical slot spaces =

2 + 1 + 1 = 4

slots.

A dual-slot graphics card blocks the expansion slot space immediately adjacent to the connector it plugs into.

Determine the required motherboard slot layout to fit all cards into the 4-slot chassis.

Placing the primary PCIe x16 slot in Slot 1 causes the graphics card cooler to cover Slot 2. Slots 3 and 4 remain unobstructed for the RAID controller and sound card.

If the primary x16 slot were placed in Slot 2, the graphics card would cover Slot 3 and extend beyond Slot 4, preventing the installation of all three cards.

Key Concept

Motherboard Form Factor Dimensions and Expansion Slot Configurations

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