Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Channel Resource Center

Why Balanced Technology Extended (BTX)?

The current industry standard, ATX, was introduced in 1995, and as technology has evolved, new challenges have arisen that are increasingly difficult for ATX to handle. The Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) form factor specification was developed as an evolutionary follow-on to the ATX form factor to address these issues, and Intel expects it to eventually replace ATX as the industry standard.

ATX Challenge	How BTX Addresses the Problem
Limited Scalability	Improved Scalability
ATX does not scale well into small form factor (SFF) designs Core layout in FlexATX exceedingly difficult Custom SFF designs are generally expensive and often exclusionary Performance silicon often excluded	System ingredients with standard interface definitions in a broader range of sizes Two Standard Thermal Module designs Three standard board sizes with common core area design. pico Balanced Technology Extended (picoBTX) – 1 expansion slot micro Balanced Technology Extended (microBTX) – 4 expansion slots BTX – 7 expansion slots LFX12V and CFX12V added to the existing standard Power Supply portfolio to support Small Form Factor PCs
Expensive to cool	Superior Thermal Environment
Increasing system thermal demands can require substantial R&D investment in new heatsink and voltage regulation technologies and extensive chassis modifications.	High power components use the same in-line, high velocity, low temperature airflow Above and below motherboard airflow helps improve voltage regulation and socket capability
Increasing Noise	Superior Acoustic Performance
Increasing system thermal demands generally require more and noisier fans.	Only two fans required - even in high performance configurations -Thermal module fan and PSU fan create and manage simplified system airflow Lower impedance and high velocity, low temperature air allows lower fan speeds
Motherboard Design complexity	Improved Motherboard Design
Routing and component placement in ATX becoming increasing complex: Core routing area saturated Processor power delivery placement constrained ICH-to-I/O routing length MCH-to-memory routing imbalance	More room for power delivery and rear panel I/O Balanced memory and localized I/O routing
Limited support for heavy heatsinks	Improved Structural Integrity
ATX platforms limited to 450 gram CPU heatsink mass.	100% increase in allowable CPU heatsink mass (900g) Single, reusable ingredient (Support and Retention Module) used in all system sizes
Increasing cost to keep up with thermal requirements	Improved Cost Structure
ATX power delivery, power dissipation, and motherboard design liabilities increase cost: New heatsink technologies New voltage regulation technologies and increased component count Chassis modifications	Low temperature, high velocity airflow allows simpler, less costly heatsink technologies Standard ingredients replace custom ingredients for compact system designs