BTX preview

ReV smokey255 · Nov 20, 2004, 02:04 AM

This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes.

time now, and a handful of PC vendors have started shipping BTX-based PCs. This week, the chip giant is rolling out its first two retail BTX motherboards. The company expects partners such as AOpen to begin shipping new BTX cases in the coming weeks (a BTX board won't fit in one of today's standard ATX cases).
Intel's BTX motherboards come in two flavors: Digital Home (model BOXD915GMHLK) and Digital Office (model BOXD915GMHL). Based on Intel's 915G chip set, both boards include the same core features, such as integrated graphics and PCI Express support. The Digital Home board will include advanced audio options and IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support; it will sell for about $138 to $148 at retail. The Digital Office board includes gigabit ethernet and RAID support; it will sell for about $120 to $130 at retail.

Sounds great, right? Well, in many ways BTX is pretty cool--after all, who doesn't want a quieter PC? But after talking with industry insiders, I get the feeling that the only companies that are excited about BTX so far are Intel and close partners like Gateway, which sells a [color=#0000ff]BTX system[/color].

A Module in Your Pocket?
PC World first covered BTX in the January 2004 issue, in a story about future technologies. Writer Seán Captain gave a fairly simple and straightforward [color=#0000ff]description[/color] of the technology, and it's worth a read.

The short version of BTX's evolution, as told by Intel, goes something like this: Today's ATX specification has served the industry well; but as it approaches its tenth year of service, it's beginning to reach the limits of its thermal capabilities. With heat-producing components like the processor, video card, and memory spread out across the motherboard, the only way to effectively cool the system is to introduce more and more fans, which increases the noise level and adds cost.

Plus, due to the way air flows in today's ATX cases, there are inherent limits to the amount of cooling that can take place. According to Intel executives, within the next few years CPU fans would not be able to sufficiently cool the processor, which means vendors would have to move to liquid-based cooling systems that are more complicated and expensive.

This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes.This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes.

Nov 20, 2004, 02:04 AM	#1
ReV smokey255 John Kerry of video cards Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 574 Rep Power: 0	BTX preview This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes. time now, and a handful of PC vendors have started shipping BTX-based PCs. This week, the chip giant is rolling out its first two retail BTX motherboards. The company expects partners such as AOpen to begin shipping new BTX cases in the coming weeks (a BTX board won't fit in one of today's standard ATX cases). Intel's BTX motherboards come in two flavors: Digital Home (model BOXD915GMHLK) and Digital Office (model BOXD915GMHL). Based on Intel's 915G chip set, both boards include the same core features, such as integrated graphics and PCI Express support. The Digital Home board will include advanced audio options and IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support; it will sell for about $138 to $148 at retail. The Digital Office board includes gigabit ethernet and RAID support; it will sell for about $120 to $130 at retail. Sounds great, right? Well, in many ways BTX is pretty cool--after all, who doesn't want a quieter PC? But after talking with industry insiders, I get the feeling that the only companies that are excited about BTX so far are Intel and close partners like Gateway, which sells a [color=#0000ff]BTX system[/color]. A Module in Your Pocket? PC World first covered BTX in the January 2004 issue, in a story about future technologies. Writer Seán Captain gave a fairly simple and straightforward [color=#0000ff]description[/color] of the technology, and it's worth a read. The short version of BTX's evolution, as told by Intel, goes something like this: Today's ATX specification has served the industry well; but as it approaches its tenth year of service, it's beginning to reach the limits of its thermal capabilities. With heat-producing components like the processor, video card, and memory spread out across the motherboard, the only way to effectively cool the system is to introduce more and more fans, which increases the noise level and adds cost. Plus, due to the way air flows in today's ATX cases, there are inherent limits to the amount of cooling that can take place. According to Intel executives, within the next few years CPU fans would not be able to sufficiently cool the processor, which means vendors would have to move to liquid-based cooling systems that are more complicated and expensive. This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes.This week Intel begins in earnest its push to establish what it sees as one of the PC industry's next big things: BTX. Balanced Technology Extended replaces today's aging ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) motherboard and chassis specification, and Intel says it will lead to cooler, quieter, and more efficient PCs of all sizes.