Except that BTX boards wouldn't fit in an ATX case even if they were on the "right" side. The connector layout and a number of other things are different. I think this may in fact help avoid confusion as you'll instantly be able to tell the difference.
#17 - that's a feature of some Gigabyte motherboards. The second ("dual") BIOS chip is a backup in case the first one is damaged by a failed flashing attempt or a virus.
#15, #19 - Those things have me interested also. Can't wait to find out what they're there for. :-)
What are those golden fingers on the SiS motherboard solutions for? My initial thoughts were that you could plug these mobos into some expansion slot, but that would be unrealistic now wouldn't it? But how awesome would that be? If you haven't noticed them before they are on the top left of the first picture and at the bottom left on the second picture, just right beside the PCI 32-bit slots. Someone tell me what's up with this? Thanks. - John
I was kinda disappointed to see the moldy old parallel connector still on these new motherboards. I haven't used one of those for over 2 years, and I'm glad for it. I really wouldn't mind getting that large pink connector off of my motherboard
Just favours left handers with case windows. I pity those mobo makers. With all the different sockets, DRAM types, PCI-E/AGPs and peripherals, its a wonder they are not all getting treated for schizophrenia!
#7 - These are PicoBTX boards, meant for desktop rather than tower systems. So if you just think of the front of the desktop case as being on the right side of the board, with the board laying down in the bottom of the case, it isn't really upside-down.
Just curious, what is "stupid" about moving the motherboard to the other side of a tower case? Doesn't seem to really change anything to me.
Interesting...but with the memory and the Athlon 64, there's one thing I really want to know: will the dual core Athlon's AMD is planning have dual memory controllers, too? Given the stellar memory performance of dual-opteron systems under a UMA-enabled OS (Longhorn will be UMA-enabled), it would certainly make sense to give each core it's own memory. And if they upgrade the memory controllers to support QBM by that time...>:)
Oh, and aren't those pico BTX motherboards upsidedown? One of the stupidest features of BTX is the fact that the case now opens on the right side, not left. So if it was facing right the I/O ports should be on the left, not right.
Yeah, but is that board from Asrock dual channel with just 2 slots? The only real advantage I see to getting a 939 processor is the fact you can have 2 more slots of memory.
man that x600 is just silly...PCI-X and a mem clock boost isn't going to change the fact that it's only a 9600XT...anyone getting a PCI-X board is going to want to actually use that extra bandwidth for something worthwhile...at least, I hope so.
Wheee! Love the early stuff but really the meat and potatoes of this computex, at least for me, is going to be the new amd processers and and amd info regarding PCI-E and AMD64 chipsets.
That K8 Combo board is quite interesting. If you'd have a board like that with support for either Socket 939 or 754 CPU, along with support for both AGP 8X and PCI-Express, then that would be really cool for transitioning/upgrading...
Not something I'd expect to see anytime soon, but it would be cool :)
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SKiller - Tuesday, June 1, 2004 - link
#13Except that BTX boards wouldn't fit in an ATX case even if they were on the "right" side. The connector layout and a number of other things are different. I think this may in fact help avoid confusion as you'll instantly be able to tell the difference.
Bozo Galora - Tuesday, June 1, 2004 - link
Good article, scooped everyone else, you rascal you.
jliechty - Tuesday, June 1, 2004 - link
#17 - that's a feature of some Gigabyte motherboards. The second ("dual") BIOS chip is a backup in case the first one is damaged by a failed flashing attempt or a virus.#15, #19 - Those things have me interested also. Can't wait to find out what they're there for. :-)
Khronus - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
As for the NV45 only requiring 1 power connector, that's simply because PCI-X allows for more power to be drawn over the bus than AGP does.jcastro - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
What are those golden fingers on the SiS motherboard solutions for? My initial thoughts were that you could plug these mobos into some expansion slot, but that would be unrealistic now wouldn't it? But how awesome would that be? If you haven't noticed them before they are on the top left of the first picture and at the bottom left on the second picture, just right beside the PCI 32-bit slots. Someone tell me what's up with this? Thanks. - Johnshabby - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
So the nv40 refresh gets a 50mhz faster clock? Pffft.jsco - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
on the "intel's 9xx chipsets in the flesh" page in the first picture:there are two bios chips, and one of them is labeled dual bios. what is a dual bios?
what is connected to the green slot and has a heat pipe connected to it?
Monkeyboy0076 - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
I was kinda disappointed to see the moldy old parallel connector still on these new motherboards. I haven't used one of those for over 2 years, and I'm glad for it. I really wouldn't mind getting that large pink connector off of my motherboardnitromullet - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
In the top picture of the NV45, what is the connector directly above the heat sink fan?Pumpkinierre - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Just favours left handers with case windows. I pity those mobo makers. With all the different sockets, DRAM types, PCI-E/AGPs and peripherals, its a wonder they are not all getting treated for schizophrenia!Chuckles - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
It just makes some people's $150 cases become obsolete faster.I just find it funny that a pico (10^-12) BTX is larger than a nano (10^-9) ITX.
Also, what's up with the 24-pin + 4-pin power connectors?
GI2K - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Nice to see that MB based on the intel 9xx with AGP8x,PCI Express 16, DDR and DDR2, a must have for those that want to upgrade slowly...Xentropy - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
#7 - These are PicoBTX boards, meant for desktop rather than tower systems. So if you just think of the front of the desktop case as being on the right side of the board, with the board laying down in the bottom of the case, it isn't really upside-down.Just curious, what is "stupid" about moving the motherboard to the other side of a tower case? Doesn't seem to really change anything to me.
Araemo - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Hrm.. On motherboards with PCI-express and AGP...Will both be enabled at the same time in the bios? Will windows be able to handle both at once?
/me has dreams of dual head x800 + his current 9700 pro.. or would that be quad head?
I know it wouldn't be much use for gaming, but I LOVE high res + ultra high refresh rate, so I need decent cards to drive the big screens.
AtaStrumf - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Interesting stuff. Keep it comming :)Nighteye2 - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Interesting...but with the memory and the Athlon 64, there's one thing I really want to know: will the dual core Athlon's AMD is planning have dual memory controllers, too? Given the stellar memory performance of dual-opteron systems under a UMA-enabled OS (Longhorn will be UMA-enabled), it would certainly make sense to give each core it's own memory. And if they upgrade the memory controllers to support QBM by that time...>:)sprockkets - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Oh, and aren't those pico BTX motherboards upsidedown? One of the stupidest features of BTX is the fact that the case now opens on the right side, not left. So if it was facing right the I/O ports should be on the left, not right.sprockkets - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Yeah, but is that board from Asrock dual channel with just 2 slots? The only real advantage I see to getting a 939 processor is the fact you can have 2 more slots of memory.ZobarStyl - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
man that x600 is just silly...PCI-X and a mem clock boost isn't going to change the fact that it's only a 9600XT...anyone getting a PCI-X board is going to want to actually use that extra bandwidth for something worthwhile...at least, I hope so.thatsright - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
A great initial article to whet everyone's appetite. And it's nice to see Anand back writing again.JGF - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
Wheee! Love the early stuff but really the meat and potatoes of this computex, at least for me, is going to be the new amd processers and and amd info regarding PCI-E and AMD64 chipsets.Da3dalus - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
That K8 Combo board is quite interesting. If you'd have a board like that with support for either Socket 939 or 754 CPU, along with support for both AGP 8X and PCI-Express, then that would be really cool for transitioning/upgrading...Not something I'd expect to see anytime soon, but it would be cool :)
mjz5 - Monday, May 31, 2004 - link
just stick with an A64 939 pin CPU, and you'll be happy. Intel == crap!