My Opinion on BTX

[Hyperlite]

BTX promises to introduce several new "positive" technologies...but, at least in my case, none of them i want. it was pointed out that Intel is the only company pushing BTX at all, as an attempt to help out the temperature defunct Prescott.

Taken out of the article just posted..."...BTX is coming and it will bring a lot of positives with it. Smaller form factors (although not as small as the ones championed by Shuttle), cooler internals and quieter overall systems..."

now unless we're talking mobiles, i don't care about any of this accept for the "cooling"

1) Smaller form factors-Whats the advantage? the only effect i can see that having is that i will have less room to work with when i'm building/working on rigs. i don't care how big the thing is, within reason of course.
2)quieter overall systems-i don't care how loud my rig is. i want it running as cool and fast as possible. IMO, someone who wants to keep a OC'ed rig cool shouldn't care about about how loud it is. FANS MAKE NOISE. if you care that much, water cool it.

let me stress, this is just my opinion, an opinion coming from a heavy overclocker. the only advantage i see, short of the promised "cooler internals," goes to mobile applications.

*bathes in flame retardent gel*
what do you guys think?

 

[biostud]

There's two things I don't understand about BTX

1. Why does it have to be mirrored compared to ATX? If the BTX was mirrored wouldn't give exactaly the same airflow?

2. Why does it need new power connectors?

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: biostud666
There's two things I don't understand about BTX

1. Why does it have to be mirrored compared to ATX? If the BTX was mirrored wouldn't give exactaly the same airflow?

2. Why does it need new power connectors?

Excuses, excuses. I personally think it was designed for Prescott but they can't cancel it now that Prescott has basically been given the bin. It would look too stupid.

 

[alexXx]

I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

 

[oldfart]

1) Smaller form factors-Whats the advantage?

The advantage is it is smaller. It takes up less floor/desk/whatever space.

2)quieter overall systems-i don't care how loud my rig is.

The VAST majority of computer users do care about a quiet system.

IMO, someone who wants to keep a OC'ed rig cool shouldn't care about about how loud it is.

Who says an overclocked system has to be loud? You can have a fast overclocked system without it being noisy. My P4 2.6 @ 3.33 with a 9800P is almost dead silent. It just takes a little thought on setting things up right instead of just piling in lots of noisy fans. There were some things I had to do to get around the design issues of ATX. BTX would be a lot easier since it has a much better airflow design.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: alexXx
I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

I don't mind they move the stuff around on the motherboard for optimization but I don't understand why they need to mirror the board and use different plugs.

 

[Cerb]

I can believe that Intel had this in the works for a long time, but it does seem a bit rushed, with important bits not finalized, like the plate to hold the heatsink. Unless there's serious stupid comittee work, how hard would it be to finalize these things?

It's the next logical step towards good quiet cooling and sturdy design. However, it could also have been a "we need to get this out NOW so when this little baby here hits 5GHz, we can cool it!"

 

[Wahsapa]

im pretty sure apple's G5's already use a btx design. all the pictures i see of them with the side panel open show the processors in the lower right hand corner toward the cases front power button.

i dont see why you guys arnt jumping on this. i mean part of being an enthusiast is knowing that somethings gonna come out better tomarrow(or in a decade) and when looking at atx, btx is it.

and everybody is turning toward smaller form factors. you mention shuttle's smaller form factors but thoes are shuttle based designs for shuttle based systems(like apple and the imac), your not fitting a shuttle mobo in any case but one that has 'shuttle' on the front and the only reason why shuttle has had the growth spurt(lately) is beacuse of these small computers that everybody is buying from them because they got to market first(before btx). now with the picobtx form factor shuttles sales of mini-systems are going down or shuttle is moving its mobo designs to picobtx based because nobody likes a company to control every aspect of its hardware design(like apple)

as for room to work with, maybe you should actually work with a btx design first, part of the switch is the more logical layout leading to what is suppose to be faster and free-er movement inside your case(again ill point you to apple who wont shut up about the ease in which you can access the insides of there towers)

the mirror air flow thing; its because the air is cooler at the bottom in the front and hot at the top by the psu, simply put the airflow could be the same, nobody really cares, whats important is that the air hitting the cpu is cooler then with atx cases

 

[KpocAlypse]

Eh, every new PC i make for myself i pretty much get a new case and CPU anyway, so most of the bad i just can't see. So, from my perspective, its pretty much a step in the right direction. As i'm sitting here, posting asinine comments on Anand's forums, i really could give two cares what side of the case my CPU is on, but a few degrees cooler on the CPU might help some with UT...

New plugs? New PC=New case=new PSU=no worries..

 

[Yomicron]

Originally posted by: biostud666

Originally posted by: alexXx
I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

I don't mind they move the stuff around on the motherboard for optimization but I don't understand why they need to mirror the board and use different plugs.

By mirroring the board the video card will now face up, so that it can be better cooled.

The power connector for BTX is the same as for ATX. picoBTX and microBTX cases will likely be too small to use a regular ATX power supply, but there is no reason you couldn't use an ATX supply in a full size tower.

 

[imported_Nacelle]

I have a ATX case that's backwards. The CPU is at the bottom and the cards are at the top. The board is just flipped around and on the other side. I'm not sure why a redsign is needed to do that.

 

[MDE]

If some companies would put the 5 1/4" drives at the bottom of the case, ATX would pretty much be BTX mirrored. Sure the CPU won't have direct access to cool outside air, but it's almost as good and doesn't require a massive redesign of motherboards.

 

[apoppin]

Isn't the real reason simply CHANGE?

Now that ATXis the standard, it just seems time to sell more HW. . . . Sure it's smaller and has better air flow . . . and it'll FORCE people to UPgrade and sell more HW . . .

. . . good for the economy.

:roll:

 

[Tab]

im pretty sure apple's G5's already use a btx design. all the pictures i see of them with the side panel open show the processors in the lower right hand corner toward the cases front power button.

You sure Apple's use a BTX Form Factor? I highly doubt that.

I really dont like form factor that much, it looks more crampt to me. I more worried about the LGA Pins than the new form factor.

 

[randomlinh]

the apples use their own form factor. it's actually pretty neat... my friends dual g4's is nice... you can open up the side and look at the mobo while it's still running.

 

[imported_Nacelle]

PIC
Not being used currently. Monitor went out.

 

[KpocAlypse]

Originally posted by: Tabb

im pretty sure apple's G5's already use a btx design. all the pictures i see of them with the side panel open show the processors in the lower right hand corner toward the cases front power button.

You sure Apple's use a BTX Form Factor? I highly doubt that.

I really dont like form factor that much, it looks more crampt to me. I more worried about the LGA Pins than the new form factor.

I think he means more of a BTXish design, with the CPU thermal module, ducting, etc. Methinks our G4s also have a foward mounted CPU. Heck, i think out G3 its at least in the front of the case (but no front fan or Ducting) Though, i would be the first to say that the G5 isn't a "foward mounted" CPU, but the case design overall screams CPU cooling in mind. (pulls air from the front, pushes it past a enclosed CPU module, and out the bad)

I think he's more meaning, "In theory" rather than a "carbon copy of"

Heh, thats accually something i never thought of, Apple was doing it first. Just what the Mac fans on our staff need, more ammo.

EDIT: due to amazingly bad English..

 

[wickedone]

OK If I had the cash to upgrade now or in a month no but extra cooling for the CPU is always good. Intel as needs this right curentley but when they come out with Dual core that may change stiil keeping the Cpu cooler will help even if they dont need it as bad as they curently do.

AMD may be runing into heat problems later on too soo this would help them if they could fix the issue with the mem controler with the BTX form.

ATX like it stated will be here for some time so AMD should have somthing in the works if heat dose become a issue.

 

[azndelite6983]

Summary: BTX makes more sense and will improve cooling, but because it requires a new case and mobo, it's a hassle most people won't deal with until they replace their current system.

Although based on the designs I've seen so far, the chipset is uncomfortably close to the cpu and seems to limit the size of a replacement heatsink.

The new power connector, which will go along with new BTX psu's, will probably be designed to keep the cpu's 12V rail separate from, say, the graphics card, to avoid having too much juice running through a single rail (power instabilities). Newer ATX psu's are already incorporating this type of technology.

BTX stuff is just designed for all the new standards, like pci express and SATA (inegrated power connectors on the psu).

I will probably wait a few more months at least, just to see what shakes out, but I would definitely prefer to be able to build my next rig in BTX.

 

[apoppin]

Intel BTX chassis designs cause fury from partnersYou really like it.?

:roll:

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: alexXx
I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

I care. Please explain why my already cool-running ATX case needs to be replaced? Intel, IMO, is trying to force a new standard just to be seen forcing a new standard. Also, my undertanding is that the big mobo fabs are resisting.

 

[biostud]

How hard can it be to make a cooler that comes with an exhaust and intake? wouldn't it just require two 'tunnels' from the air intakes in the case?

 

[KpocAlypse]

Originally posted by: HardWarrior

Originally posted by: alexXx
I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

I care. Please explain why my already cool-running ATX case needs to be replaced? Intel, IMO, is trying to force a new standard just to be seen forcing a new standard. Also, my undertanding is that the big mobo fabs are resisting.

Well, How many fans are we running on our setup?...

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: KpocAlypse

Originally posted by: HardWarrior

Originally posted by: alexXx
I am designing my own small case at the moment and the ATX design IS flawed. the layout of components on BTX mobos makes 10fold more sense. If you care, i can share what i mean.

I care. Please explain why my already cool-running ATX case needs to be replaced? Intel, IMO, is trying to force a new standard just to be seen forcing a new standard. Also, my undertanding is that the big mobo fabs are resisting.

Well, How many fans are we running on our setup?...

5 most of the time, 8 when internal temp hits 78 degrees. Okay, TOO many...

 

[daniel1113]

You guys are pathetic (no offense). ATX is an old standard, and simply doesn't work for today's computers, which are not only getting hotter, but louder at the same time. Whether or not a new standard will be adopted soon is not the question, as this will happen. The question is whether or not BTX will be that new standard.

Many of you claim that the only reason for BTX is because Intel is producing processor that run hot. Well, that is reason enough right there. If current motherboads cannot properly dissipate the heat produced by Prescott chips, then they need to change. It's pretty simple

Even if BTX became the new standard today, ATX (and ATX parts) would still be available for a few years, giving the average PC user PLENTY of time to upgrade if they want.

If computer manufacturers don't like BTX, then I'd like to see some of their own designs. It's about time motherboards were updated to fit current technology, and I commend Intel for taking the plunge (regardless of their reasons for doing so).