Can I use an ATX PSU, ATX case and MicroATX motherboard together?

Question

I am building a new PC (my first one) at the moment. I have an ATX PSU and ATX case already, and my budget for new parts is rather limited. The only motherboard in my price range that does what I want is a microATX motherboard. I've read that you can use MicroATX motherboards with ATX cases, but can you do so while using an ATX PSU aswell?

Solution

YES.

A micro-atx motherboard will work fine with an ATX case and power supply. Atx cases normaly included the standoff mounts for smaller mirco-atx motherboards. In fact, I have a micro-ATX motherboard in a full size ATX case and power supply. MicroATX was intended to be backward compatible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroATX

microATX was explicitly designed to be backward-compatible with ATX. The mounting points of microATX motherboards are a subset of those used on full-size ATX boards, and the I/O panel is identical. Thus, microATX motherboards can be used in full-size ATX cases. Furthermore, most microATX motherboards generally use the same power connectors as ATX motherboards,[6] thus permitting the use of full-size ATX power supplies with microATX boards.

microATX boards often use the same chipsets (northbridges and southbridges) as full-size ATX boards, allowing them to use many of the same components. However, since microATX cases are typically much smaller than ATX cases, they usually have fewer expansion slots.