Crazydude185
New Member
This case im looking at has (Standard ATX / Baby AT / Micro ATX) but at the end of the year... ive heard alot of new technology is comming out... so do you think these will still be used for awhile?
This case gonna be obsolete?
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Crazydude185
New Member
Really i've never heard of BTX... this is why im hesitating about gettin a new case... =/
WeatherMan
Active Member
Holy Shit That Things Tiny!!!
Crazydude185
New Member
Are atx cases going to be compatible with btx ?
WeatherMan
Active Member
lol why would you want to put a tiny mobo in a standard size ATX anyway
Found this
ATX + The Future = BTX
The future of ATX is mostly BTX. The BTX specification (Balanced Technology Extended, a retronym if I ever heard one) provides a single specification covering multiple form factors. Unlike the ATX specification, it provides more detailed analysis of component layout and cooling requirements with the apparent intent of allowing more efficient (and thus perhaps quieter and lower-power) system design. In essence, it places the core heat-generating components in line with the airflow with the idea of minimizing the fan count while maximizing thermal efficiency.
It's good that these matters are being considered, but the history of change in system cooling makes me worry that developments in motherboard and peripheral technology might make these decisions impractical in the future.
The BTX specification is in many aspects compatible with the ATX specification and it seems most likely that ATX parts and designs will stay relevant for some time. The widespread availability of ATX components seems unlikely to change. For the next few years, it seems it will probably remain true that you can generally buy a motherboard, case, and processor for PC-compatible hardware without significant worry about whether they will work together, leaving you to focus on features and not just on whether the cables will fit.
Beyond the specifics of the BTX standard, the ATX standard has provided a lot of lessons about standardization of the commodity parts of computer hardware. ATX machines gain a huge amount of effective reliability from the knowledge that in the event of a problem with the power supply, you can simply go to any computer store and pick up a replacement. This is, quite simply, cheaper than anything you can do with a custom one-off power supply, no matter how technically excellent that power supply is.
These benefits extend past the desktop x86 computers the ATX specification is primarily designed for and offers benefits to anyone trying to put together computers on any platform. I hope that blade.org does as aggressive a job in promoting a standard, making it available, and letting everyone build compatible hardware as cheaply as possible.
ATX + The Future = BTX
The future of ATX is mostly BTX. The BTX specification (Balanced Technology Extended, a retronym if I ever heard one) provides a single specification covering multiple form factors. Unlike the ATX specification, it provides more detailed analysis of component layout and cooling requirements with the apparent intent of allowing more efficient (and thus perhaps quieter and lower-power) system design. In essence, it places the core heat-generating components in line with the airflow with the idea of minimizing the fan count while maximizing thermal efficiency.
It's good that these matters are being considered, but the history of change in system cooling makes me worry that developments in motherboard and peripheral technology might make these decisions impractical in the future.
The BTX specification is in many aspects compatible with the ATX specification and it seems most likely that ATX parts and designs will stay relevant for some time. The widespread availability of ATX components seems unlikely to change. For the next few years, it seems it will probably remain true that you can generally buy a motherboard, case, and processor for PC-compatible hardware without significant worry about whether they will work together, leaving you to focus on features and not just on whether the cables will fit.
Beyond the specifics of the BTX standard, the ATX standard has provided a lot of lessons about standardization of the commodity parts of computer hardware. ATX machines gain a huge amount of effective reliability from the knowledge that in the event of a problem with the power supply, you can simply go to any computer store and pick up a replacement. This is, quite simply, cheaper than anything you can do with a custom one-off power supply, no matter how technically excellent that power supply is.
These benefits extend past the desktop x86 computers the ATX specification is primarily designed for and offers benefits to anyone trying to put together computers on any platform. I hope that blade.org does as aggressive a job in promoting a standard, making it available, and letting everyone build compatible hardware as cheaply as possible.
The_Other_One
VIP Member
BTX is the standard(I beleive) made so things face the opposite way... Heat rising and all. I beleive the motherboar'ds basically on the opposite side of the case.
As for the tiny motherboards, a matchbock PC has been out for some time, you know
As for the tiny motherboards, a matchbock PC has been out for some time, you know
There are some strange case styles out there like LPX, NLX and ITX.
But apj is right, the design was to promote better airflow
The idea didn't take off as quickly as suspected. I can only recall Gateway and Dell that had a BTX model available to order. They still have a handful of BTX case manufacturers out there and many ATX/BTX convertible cases.
But apj is right, the design was to promote better airflow
The idea didn't take off as quickly as suspected. I can only recall Gateway and Dell that had a BTX model available to order. They still have a handful of BTX case manufacturers out there and many ATX/BTX convertible cases.
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Chris Chan
New Member
Alienware never made a btx model. Gateway and Dell were the only major amnufacturers that did.