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Building upwards on How do I find compatible motherboard for my computer?

After purchasing the m/b http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1156/P7P55DE_PRO/ which, as the specification says, has an ATX form-factor, I got me a CC 515 cabinet from http://www.entercircle.com/ (the site uses flash )+: hence just the path to the homepage)

Albeit the cabinet specification states Full ATX form-factor, the P7P55D-E PRO is a tight fit ... local shops shy away at opening up the cabinet, and websites list a number of cabinets and specifications; so my question what do I look for in the cabinet/motherboard specification to determine whether the two are compatible with sufficient room ?

EDIT: As an aside I'm looking at http://www.primeabgb.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=619&category_id=52&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53 ... but that is specific to me; my intent with the question is um if anybody else encounters a similar situation they'll have something to refer back to (if i may be so bold)

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Is it a tight fit or a "no fit"? – music2myear Apr 13 '11 at 16:58
A very tight fit; after getting the m/b in position the hdd bays are positioned so the back of the hdd is less than a centi-metre away from the components on the board no matter which bay i use – Everyone Apr 13 '11 at 17:02
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A whole centimeter? Well, it's not as if they're moving parts - that's not an issue. The only issue would be if it were interfering with the on-board fan(s) etc. It is perfectly normal for the hard drives to overlap the motherboard. – Majenko Apr 13 '11 at 18:07
Less than a centi-metre; in addition to the airflow and proximity to board components, the bays interfere with the rest of the sockets and cabling leaving some of them inaccessible /+: – Everyone Apr 13 '11 at 18:32
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What you're experiencing here is a conflict between case and mainboard design. Both the case and the mainboard may conform to the full- or mid- ATX specification, but within that specification there is not usually requirements as to where connectors go on the board, or where bays are arranged in the case or chassis.

This is just something you have to deal with and be careful of, there is not another specification or label that will guarantee better fit.

Prior examining and comparison of the desired mainboard and case are the only way around this issue.

It seems to me the CC515 is a mid-size ATX case rather than a full-size. But that difference is not generally a truly different specification, just a different size case.

I believe the only different ATX specs are Micro ATX and ATX (or full ATX). Micro ATX cases and boards are very small and usually found in very specialized systems such as those made by Shuttle.

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+1: (Except) MicroATX is very much 'regular' these days (and has been for a while) for desktops, and is not really in the realm of 'small form factor' anymore (that's more 'ITX' flavours these days). – techie007 Apr 13 '11 at 20:20
Got it ... one other peeve is that manufacturers tend to list dimensions in either of metric/classical (mm/inch) but that's an irritation rather than a real issue – Everyone Apr 14 '11 at 3:48
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