Noob Questions about Motherboards

[eofu]

Question 1

ATX vs BTX
Is BTX gona pick up soon and replace ATX in lets say 3 years? If so then
what about water cooling in a BTX. Will it be totally differnt then ATX. I mean with the Air duct and all it seems that it will get in the way of the tubing.


Question 2

There seems to be alot of bad vibe going toward Asus boards in this forum. And I don't want a peice junk. I never owned a Asus but I would like to know if it is wise investment. If not what other brands would you recommend.

Question 3

What features should I look for in Motherboard Bios for overclocking/speed. I mean what features could you not live with out.


Thanks

 

[thetanman]

This site/article helped me to understand all this stuff a lot better, not to mention let me know what it is I need to be looking for.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1804

Plenty of beginner's guides. 8O

 

[eofu]

Thanks for posting the link

 

[zag]

1. BTX is dead. Intel no longer supports it
2. Asus & Gigabyte (now merged) are the best. So check their best mobos
3. Read many reviews of any motherboard before buying it

 

[eofu]

1. BTX is dead. Intel no longer supports it
2. Asus & Gigabyte (now merged) are the best. So check their best mobos
3. Read many reviews of any motherboard before buying it

I didn't know that thanks.

 

[4745454b]

There isn't really a difference between BTX and ATX. They still use the same parts, just laid out differently. If your watercooling, feel free to remove all the fan ducts...

Asus quality does seem to have dipped a bit, but they are still (mostly) fine boards. I think most people seem to not favor them at much any more because they aren't the overclocking monsters they used to be. If you want stock, Asus is fine, if you want to overclock the heck out of something, DFI or Gigabyte can provide a better experience.

Bios recovery is almost a must now. A good working PCI lock is a must. Other then that, the more voltages to overclock, and bus's to control, the better. Over volt on the CPU and memory should be a given, over volting the northbridge is even better, but not absolute.

When did Gigabyte and Asus merge?

 

[Colonel_Curly]

I've never had any problems with Asus and Gigabyte mobos in the past so I can vouch for them
Didn't know about that merger either, all gd though

 

[zag]

Asus Gigabyte merger
http://www.theinq.com/default.aspx?article=33549
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060807A1002.html
http://www.theinq.com/default.aspx?article=34249

 

[eofu]

Thanks 4745454b. I will be taking that in consideration when I go to buy my board. That was what I was looking for

Ill check out DFI and Gigabyte . I didn't know that BTX was droped as Zag said. Nor did I know about the merger. So is there any new froms in devolopment? Since people are saying that ATX is losing scalability for routing and newer technology.

 

[GreenJelly]

1. BTX is dead. Intel no longer supports it
2. Asus & Gigabyte (now merged) are the best. So check their best mobos
3. Read many reviews of any motherboard before buying it

incorrect... BTX isnt dead... Intel still says it will be slowly adopted... I saw this mentioned in a press release within the last few weeks

As far as Watercooling goes... BTX wont make a difference... The plastic airducts will only come from the Compaqs and Dells of the world. Which A) wont support overclocking, and B) would be silly to watercool.

BTX will need a different type of case... But many great Case Manufacturers have built cases that support both BTX and ATX.

My coolermaster is both BTX and ATX compatable. They did this by removing, rotate and changing certain parts around.

 

[zag]

incorrect... BTX isnt dead... Intel still says it will be slowly adopted... I saw this mentioned in a press release within the last few weeks

Your info is a few weeks old, as you have stated !

Intel, inventor of BTX, has officially dropped it.

Here is the news (Sunday, Sep 10):

Intel will no longer support BTX
Intel called a meeting in Taipei with the mainboard and chassis manufacturers, Hexus.net's Willy managed to stealthfully get the gossip from the meeting and has provided some very interesting beans for all to gander upon. Interestingly enough,its all about one of the blocks which the axe has fallen upon. When Intel was suffering with thermals (not just CPU, but also with dual 160w Graphics cards) it launched a new method of chassis layout - called BTX.

Intel has now decided that it won't be supporting BTX in 2007 with new SKUs in the channel with retail products, however it will of course keep supporting SKUs which are present on the market such as the DQ965-CO. So, whilst the standards are not being ditched - Intel will no longer be supporting them directly for the channel customers, but no doubt will, if the large OEMs request offer support.

Next time, please google before replying

 

[GreenJelly]

Delete Me, Internet connection messed up!

 

[GreenJelly]

Delete me! Duplicate post!

 

[GreenJelly]

Well I try... but Intel is the son of the devil, and decides to announce one thing, then 2 weeks later change it...

BTW, what is the source of this information? Is it on Intel's website?

I beleive this may be a case of misinformation, cause I have looked through intels website, and there isnt a single pressrelease about dropping BTX as a standard. I also Googled BTX limiting the search to intel.com, and couldnt find it (google:"support BTX site:intel.com")... though I am having problems with my internet connection, making it near impossible to do ANYTHING!

BTX was a lame idea, but hey... it could have lead to VERY slight improvements in cooling.

 

[eofu]

Thanks 4745454b. I will be taking that in consideration when I go to buy my board. That was what I was looking for

Ill check out DFI and Gigabyte . I didn't know that BTX was droped as Zag said. Nor did I know about the merger. So is there any new froms in devolopment? Since people are saying that ATX is losing scalability for routing and newer technology.

So can somone please commnet on that? I would like to know what is new and comming out, if anything is. So I can get a headstart in studing it.

 

[zag]

The source is in the news. Hexus.net
"Intel shuffles BTX in to its deep dark closest" http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6685

 

[GreenJelly]

I cant find ANYWHERE on the Intel site an anouncement of the elimination of the BTX standard.

As far as the Asus and Gigabyte Merger, neither Gigabyte nor Asus websites mention any such move... Business News on Yahoo, AOL, or even the New York Times doesn’t mention it... In fact this information is not found on any credible website that I could find.

I did find a very interesting article directly from the wall street journal

BREAKING NEWS!!!
Microsoft in an suprise move purchased Cisco, AOL, Google, Time Warner Adelphia, and 5 other major internet providers. This large purchase was described by Bill Gates as the largest purchase and merger of all times, providing a large number of services to come together in an effort to better serve the world.

In related news, Microsoft and all their affiliates made a surprising move. They have decided to filter out and ban all information, websites, downloads and ftp sites related to CATS. A Microsoft spokesman is quoted as saying this is the most important step ever made to shift the country away from these evil animals, and towards the much more rewarding animal, the DOG!

WOOT!
Mike

LONG LIVE THE DOG! DOWN WITH CATS!