Dell's new desktops sport BTX chassis

Very quietly and with amazingly little notice, a new motherboard design/case form factor architecture is ramping up. Today's desktops are all of the ATX generation -- CPU is right-of-center on the motherboard. But today's hot-as-the-sun processors, graphics cards, and all the other stuff we cram into a case have overshot the ability of component engineers to deal with case thermal and noise issues. BTX is an industry standard which will, over the next several years, replace the old ATX kit. Not surprisingly, this will not happen over night for the obvious reason that literally entire factories will have to be re-tooled, as in, for example, cases.

Big changes:

• CPU goes to the front of the chassis, closest to the fresh, cool intake air. A dedicated plastic shroud will be commonplace for the CPU air.
• Better front-to-back air flow paths will minimize areas with poor air flow
• Larger but slower fan(s) with demand-driven variable fan speeds
• Potential for smaller cases, even with top-of-the-line (e.g., hottest) processors

Dell joins Gateway in delivering BTX. Dell's huge volume for corporate desktops will accelerate the shift to more, and cheaper, BTX parts. However, it will be next year before build-your-own hobbyists see BTX case and motherboard choices and prices which surpass the mature -- OK, commodity -- ATX parts market.

Peter S. Kastner