Computex 2004: BTX at the Show
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 2, 2004 7:17 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Shuttle: Better than BTX?
Although Shuttle was showing off a BTX SFF at Intel's showcase, they had their own version of the BTX standard on display in their latest SFF based on Intel's 925X chipset:
Shuttle's 925X SFF employs many BTX-like features, but others that Shuttle claims make it "better than BTX." For starters, the system has a smaller form factor than even a picoBTX based system could achieve.
Note the three fans at the back. The larger one in the middle is for the 350W PSU, the two at the top are dedicated fans for the two hard drive bays at the top of the case.
What's also very nice is the inclusion of a clear CMOS button at the back of the case, a feature Shuttle introduced with their Zen platform:
Having a clear CMOS button on the back helps avoid dealing with setting a jumper in the cramped internals (as clean as they may be on the Shuttle box).
The two connectors below are another unique feature of the 925X based SFF PC:
The connector to the left is a 4-pin fan connector (we'll get to why it's 4 pins in a bit), the connector to the right is actually a 4-pin PCI Express x1 connector - a proprietary connector that Shuttle implemented. Why include a custom PCI Express connector on the motherboard? In the event that Shuttle comes up with a unique location of a PCI Express expansion slot, run a cable to this connector and you've got instant PCI Express anywhere in the chassis. Shuttle will probably offer a cleaner connector if they decide to actually use this thing.
The PCI Express connector isn't the only unique thing about Shuttle's like-BTX box; this connector is Shuttle's version of the 4-pin 12V ATX power connector for CPUs:
Shuttle's connector has 3 x 12V lines and 3 ground lines, and is necessary because Shuttle does not use a standard power supply connector setup for this system.
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CrystalBay - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
The shuttles' seem to be the most intrigueing of the bunch.jliechty - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
Anybody remember WTX? (*crickets chirping*) ... well, I don't suppose many would. Anyway, Intel was behind that also, and heck, some people even _liked_ it - and look where it is(n't) today. I'm not saying that's what will happen to BTX, but I'm certainly not going to be an early adopter here.Dasterdly - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
BTX is a small step considering how long we've been using ATX (20+ yrs!).There's no cooling at the bottom for the expansion cards and they are still mounted flat, trapping heat under them.
Intel is still fiddling around with this seems like it's not happening.
It's almost time for upgrading for me I dont want to wait another year for BTX and Im not buying another ATX based system.
Cygni - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
Ive hated BTX since day 1. Its just completly un-needed in my eyes, even for a prescott. I see no reason for BTX to even exist.ZobarStyl - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
The hate is simple...they want to change everything and the only semi-decent reason they have for it is improved cooling. The idea that all of our mobos and cases will be rendered obsolete by Intel for cooling reasons is frankly quite stupid; the only cases that have real trouble cooling are those lousy Dell/HP boxes that don't even have a single 80mm in them...changing the whole factor to facilitate even crappier designs by OEMs isn't exactly good news to me. Personally I think BTX would be good to implement only in SFF if indeed the cooling is beneficial...since pretty much every SFF case has a custom mobo it wouldn't affect the end user very much. However for those of us who love the ATX cases we plopped down so much money for, we'd like to keep putting new mobos in, thanks but no thanks Intel. Why not champion some effective standard of water cooling if you are worried so much about your flamethrowing Prescotts? Frankly I hope AMD and all the manufacturers completely ignore this and let it die rather than let Intel use its monopoly to push the industry into some silly, unfinished standard.tfranzese - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
I must agree. Aside from some vague explaining of the BTX delima which has yet to be finalized by Intel there was a lot of good pics in there and descriptions.mcveigh - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
great pics, clear explanations.....this is why I love Anandtech :)tfranzese - Wednesday, June 2, 2004 - link
I wish you guys did more investigating. The Inquirer gives much more reason for the hate behind BTX.http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=16294