Hey I'm building my first rig and going for water cooling, of course. I plan on overclocking the D805 CPU with parts from Koolance...but cant decide on one thing: Which type of setup is correct for the motherboard and my system, ATX or BTX form factor. I've read a couple reviews and it is said that BTX will shine in the next year, but havent looked for any motherboards like this. Are they available? And if so what would be better for gaming? Are there any other compatibility issues? Thanks!

Intel isn't supporting new products with BTX. It will continue to support old products and by request, apparently?
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6685

Basically just go ATX.

If you want something like BTX, the P180 case from Antec somewhat follows the same idea. Also a number of cases offer ATX/BTX form factors so you can switch if you'd like.

THere are BTX parts out there, they're just not as common as the regular ATX ones.

BTX is bigger in the large OEM manufacturers like Dell, etc.

Thanks!!... that's interesting there may be an application for BTX in quad core setups, we'll have to continue following the action

Yeah, I personally like the BTX form factor as it makes more sense to me. Also its quieter.

But without support, my next build will probably be in a P180. I've heard and read some good things about it.

Just remember that BTX needs a BTX CPU cooler - much different than the ATX coolers.

Well, BTX is only being promoted by Intel but, oddly enough, their conroe procs (because of its low energy requirement and low heat output) are actually one of the reasons that most of the motherboard and case manufacturers have publicly stated that they do not plan to offer any BTX supported products.

I doubt the BTX will have much presence next year - unless you are buying a computer from Gateway.

That being said, specifically, what do you plan on water cooling on your computer? Just the CPU?

So far the CPU is all I'm focused on water cooling. Next in line will be the memory, then graphics card. I haven't researched any specific order in which to do this.

Basically, the two hottest components in a computer are going to be the CPU and GPU. That being said, cooling the CPU first is wise as it is the heart and soul of your rig. I think that cooling the memory should not be such a priority for a few reasons. The heat spreaders on system meory do a fine enough job as it is for the amount of heat that ram generates. As long as you have decent airflow, you'll be fine in that area.

Are you set on using that Koolance system as your initial liquid cooling solution or are you open to something else? If so, what is your budget?

like others have said... ATX


BTX lost most of its reason for even existing once intel pulled there heads out on thermal management.... w/ Core C2D

most of the reason intel wanted BTX was cause the prescotts were as hot as the sun.

I think BTX is a good idea still. It just lacked widespread support.
Intel's the only one that makes BTX motherboards (at least the ones I found for sale). I think it just died because the motherboard manufacturers didn't want to change everything ($$$), the case manufacturers didn't want to change everything (more $$), and AMD was definitely not going to accept BTX.

The only real way to get a BTX is to buy from a big OEM like dell or gateway.

Have to admit though, they look really nice and are quiet.

I wonder if the high-end GPUs have surpassed the CPU in terms of heat generation. I'd say they have (w/ the new C2D chips) or its really close.