BTX (form factor)
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| Name | PCB size (mm) |
|---|---|
| WTX | 356 × 425 |
| AT | 350 × 305 |
| Baby-AT | 330 × 216 |
| BTX | 325 × 266 |
| ATX | 305 × 244 |
| EATX (Extended) | 305 × 330 |
| LPX | 330 × 229 |
| microBTX | 264 × 267 |
| NLX | 254 × 228 |
| Ultra ATX | 244 × 367 |
| microATX | 244 × 244 |
| DTX | 244 × 203 |
| FlexATX | 229 × 191 |
| Mini-DTX | 203 × 170 |
| EBX | 203 × 146 |
| microATX (min.) | 171 × 171 |
| Mini-ITX | 170 × 170 |
| EPIC (Express) | 165 × 115 |
| ESM | 149 × 71 |
| Nano-ITX | 120 × 120 |
| COM Express | 125 × 95 |
| ESMexpress | 125 × 95 |
| ETX/XTX | 114 × 95 |
| Pico-ITX | 100 × 72 |
| PC/104 (-Plus) | 96 × 90 |
| ESMini | 95 × 55 |
| Qseven | 70 × 70 |
| mobile-ITX | 60 × 60 |
| CoreExpress | 58 × 65 |
BTX (for Balanced Technology eXtended) is a form factor for motherboards, originally intended to be the replacement for the aging ATX motherboard form factor in late 2004 and early 2005. It was designed to alleviate some of the issues that arose from using newer technologies (which often demand more power and create more heat) on motherboards compliant with the circa-1996 ATX specification. The ATX and BTX standards were both proposed by Intel. Intel's decision to refocus on low-power CPUs, after suffering scaling and thermal issues with the Pentium 4, has added some doubt to the future of the form factor. The first company to implement BTX was Gateway Inc, followed by Dell and MPC. Apple's Mac Pro utilizes some elements of the BTX design system as well but is not BTX compliant, rather using a proprietary form factor. However, future development of BTX retail products by Intel was canceled in September 2006.[1] Many companies now use proprietary form factors.
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[edit] Enhancements
- Low-profile - With the push for ever-smaller systems, a redesigned backplane that shaves inches off height requirements is a benefit to system integrators and enterprises who use rack mounts or blade servers.
- Thermal design - The BTX layout establishes a straighter path of airflow with fewer obstacles, resulting in better overall cooling capabilities. A distinct feature of BTX is the vertical mounting of the motherboard on the left-hand side. This results in the graphics card heatsink or fan facing upwards, rather than in the direction of the adjacent expansion card.
- Structural design - The BTX standard specifies different locations for hardware mounting points, thereby reducing latency between devices[citation needed] and also reduces the physical strain imposed on the motherboard by heat sinks, capacitors and other components dealing with electrical and thermal regulation. For example, the Northbridge and Southbridge chips are located near each other and to the hardware they control.
[edit] Pico BTX
Pico BTX is a motherboard form factor that is meant to miniaturize the BTX standard. Pico BTX motherboards are relatively small, 10.5"x8" (smaller than many current 'micro'-sized motherboards), hence the name 'pico'. These motherboards share a common top half with the other sizes in the BTX line, but support only one or two expansion slots, designed for half-height or riser-card applications.[2]
[edit] Compatibility with ATX products
The BTX form factor motherboards are incompatible with most of the ATX form factor cases and vice-versa. In particular, BTX motherboards are 'flipped' compared to ATX and mount on the opposite side of the case. Some cases such as the Cooler Master Series (Stackers) support a varying range of motherboard types such as ATX, BTX, Mini-ATX and so forth. However, all connectors are compatible, including power supplies, PCI cards, processors, RAM, hard drives, etc.
[edit] Criticism
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The BTX form factor has not been widely adopted despite its improvements over ATX and related standards.[citation needed] As a result, the availability and variety of BTX-compatible components is limited.[citation needed] One reason for the failure of BTX to gain traction in key markets was the rise of energy-efficient components which require less power and produce less waste heat, eliminating two of the primary intended benefits of BTX.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ BTX development cancelled
- ^ http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/beginners-guide-motherboard-selection,1289-5.html
[edit] External links
- Balanced Technology eXtended (BTX) Form Factor — The Future of Cases & Motherboards from AnandTech
- Hardware Analysis' evaluation of the BTX proposal
- Anandtech's coverage of a 2004 trade show, where Intel featured BTX.
- "Whatever happened to BTX?"
- Intel to offer Mini-ITX desktop board
- Intel Desktop Boards Products List
[edit] Documentation
- FormFactors.org, an Intel-sponsored website dedicated to maintaining data and tools regarding the implementation of various form factors.
- Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Chassis Design Guidelines Revision 1.1
- Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Interface Specification Revision 1.0b
- Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Interface Specification Errata A Revision 1.0
- Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) System Design Guide Revision 1.1
- Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Entertainment PC Case Study Revision 1.0
