The ATX and the NLX -- acronyms that stand for Advanced Technology eXtended and New Low Profile eXtended, respectively -- are form factors that semiconductor company Intel Corp. devised for personal computer motherboards. The ATX debuted in 1995 and the NLX two years later. Both have received revisions to their specifications since their first appearances; at the time of publication, the latest revisions are Version 2.2 for the ATX and Version 1.8 for the NLX.
Size
A full-size ATX motherboard measures 12 inches wide and 9.6 inches deep, or 305 millimeters in width and 244 millimeters in depth. The NLX has physical dimensions that range from a minimum of 10 inches by 8 inches, or 254 mm by 203 mm, to a maximum of 13.6 inches by 9 inches, or 345 mm by 229 mm. Thus, an NLX motherboard can be bigger or smaller than an ATX motherboard.
Processor and System Memory
The ATX and NLX motherboards have a designated area for the processor, or central processing unit. The processor goes on a CPU socket for physical and electrical connection to the motherboard, with a fan applied for cooling it down so as to avoid malfunction due to overheating. On the ATX, the processor is roughly placed in the upper middle section, while that of the NLX can be found at the lower left section. Placed in the middle of each form factor are slots for the PC's system memory modules.
Disk Drives and Expansion Ports
Each ATX and NLX motherboard has connectors for disk drives, which comprise a hard drive for data storage, an optical drive for accommodating optical discs such as CDs and DVDs and a floppy disk drive. They can be found at the motherboard's bottom right section. Added on the ATX are expansion ports such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) for accommodation of expansion cards such as graphics processing units, network cards and sound cards.
Power Connectors and Inputs/Outputs
The power connector for the motherboard is located at the upper right hand section of each ATX and NLX form factor. The inputs/outputs, or I/Os, are also located at the upper section. These include PS/2 connectors for the computer mouse and keyboard, USB ports, headphone / microphone jacks and modem and Ethernet ports.
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