i820 Motherboard Roundup - January 2000

What to look for in an i820 Motherboard

In the past few years, motherboards have increased in quality, reliability, and performance, but the main things you look for in a motherboard hasn’t really changed.  You look for stability, expansion and features.  Cost is often a concern, but for the most part, motherboards in the same category (such as those based on the i820 chipset) generally go for approximately the same cost. 

The old AT form factor gave us its last breath of air with the BX chipset as less than a handful of BX motherboards were ever made in an AT form factor layout.  The superior ATX form factor has now completely taken over and there are a number of different variations on the ATX form factor that you will see used with i820 motherboards. 

Of the form factors, you will most likely see i820 motherboards available in the standard ATX form factor, although, don’t be too surprised if they become available in microATX form factors as well. 

There is a new entry into the form factor arena, the WTX standard.  The WTX standard is a major extension of the ATX form factor, which was developed for the mid-range workstation market.  The specification primarily differs from the standard ATX spec by its support for larger motherboards.  Currently, we have only seen motherboards based on the i840 chipset taking advantage of the WTX form factor, but in the future, as more high-end i820 boards appear, we may start to see some of them using the WTX form factor.  Because of the larger motherboard support, WTX motherboards can’t be used in ATX cases (just like ATX motherboards can’t be used in microATX cases), but the standard is backwards compatible so you can use ATX form factor motherboards in WTX cases (just like you can use microATX motherboards in ATX cases).

The size of the motherboard is also a very important issue to look at.  For those of you with average sized mid-tower ATX cases, an overly large ATX motherboard may have a difficult time finding its home in your case.  Before you consider upgrading to a new motherboard, make sure your case can accommodate your new motherboard.