BTX - the Future of Motherboards and Cases?

LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, Alaska Icrontian
edited September 2003 in Science & Tech
For years we've bought motherboards and installed them in cases based on the ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) form factor. The move to ATX brought huge improvements over the previous AT standard not only in the cases, but in power supplies as well.
With BTX motherboards and cases due out next year, it's time to start learning about what's changed with BTX and, what improvements the specification offers over ATX.

Basic Technology eXtended Form Factor - BTX

Comments

  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    <H1>R O F L</H1>

    Am I the only one that sees the connection here? CPU at the bottom front of the case? That ring a bell anyone? Looks to me like we're going back to a modernized, pseudo-AT form factor...

    I was actually thinking about just this thing the other day- about how the AT form factor boards really were much better for CPU cooling. Ah well... just goes to show that Great Minds really do think alike :D
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited September 2003
    Hmm... this sounds great. However, I don't remember the old AT style.
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Random thought:

    I like the cpu placement cause and idea would be a duct with a intake fan in the front and the exaust would be a fan that's modded to the side so that no hot air from the cpu enters the rest of the case. A normal size case like a Antec/Chenbro or a Lian Li, you could have 2 fans on the front. I would guess it would help cooling since the cpu would get cool air directly and the hot air would get in the rest of the case and have a cooler case. Well maybe in the future a standard for the size of HSF so that the duct can be used. If you didn't understand well, what I mean is that the whole hsf would be inside the duct. Would be too hard on cases now unless you make the intake from the side like normal ducts and mod the exhaust to the rear fan. The thing would be people that open the case alot.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Danball:

    //Edit... Stupid Tom's Hardware. Just a sec...

    That's a relatively new baby AT board (that is, the board was done when AT was being phased out) with a Socket 7 CPU interface... The CPU socket is at the bottom front of the motherboard, with the keyboard connector at the top rear. All other connectors were on slot plates.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Here:
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited September 2003
    I dunno....


    I like my large ATX tower case just fine.

    And I thought the SPCI and PCI slots would be interchangable. Oh well.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited September 2003
    Wouldn't putting the CPU directly below the PCI/AGP slots interfere with the expansion cards installed in a system? Could you imagine trying to fit a GeForce 4 Ti4600 (the long ass ones) in a mid-tower system with an SLK-900U & 92mm fan mounted on top of a CPU? You would have to dissassemble the entire system just to remove the hard disk (which would be just to the right/overtop of the CPU cooler) or change the RAM.

    BTX should really look at moving more powerful features onboard and reducing the size of the motherboard. The current layout is fine in terms of memory slot locations & the CPU location. If anything, they should phase out the AMR/CMR slots and incorporate 4 USB 2.0 ports into the BTX Back Plate.

    Maybe BTX will finally standardize a location for the PSU connector(s)?

    How about doing away with Serial/Parallel & PS/2 connectors? (well, at least Serial & Parallel ports)...

    //Edit: Next time, I'll read the article BEFORE I comment. :D

    Legacy free is great. Improved cooling is great! The flipped mobo is great too! But it would be nice to see a BTX board that has an AGP slot. I don't like the sound of a riser card at all (too many bad memories and scars from old OEM systems like ComCrap and Dell.)

    NO MORE FLOPPY would be excellent. :D
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Simguy... I NEED LEGACY PORTS!!! ;D

    Well, one of them anyhow. One serial for my 12x12" Wacom Intuos 2 and I'll be fine. (And yes, I'm too cheap to buy a $20 adapter to make it USB unless I really really really have to...) :D
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    As long as there is a Keyboard and Mouse PS/2 Connection, I am happy, I would not like to buy a MB that doesn't have those, as for serial and parallel, I don't need them!

    BTX will rock my world!
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited September 2003
    Geeky1 said
    Simguy... I NEED LEGACY PORTS!!! ;D

    Well, one of them anyhow. One serial for my 12x12" Wacom Intuos 2 and I'll be fine. (And yes, I'm too cheap to buy a $20 adapter to make it USB unless I really really really have to...) :D

    Daisy chain 2 adapters together!

    Serial to PS/2 & a PS/2 to USB adapter. :)

    Sure, the thing would be 6 inches long and have absolutely no bandwidth, but you'd have your Wacom for use on the new BTX mobo's :D
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