There are many things to consider before using a BTX motherboard.
The Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) motherboard is a computer motherboard design introduced by Intel in 2004 in order to combat the issues that ATX motherboards had at the time. The most important issue was that the processors kept raising the operating temperature, making cooling a very important part of motherboards. The BTX was designed to allow for better airflow inside computer cases. This would eventually lead to lower operating temperatures of the components
Form Factors
The types of motherboards are also called form factors. These depend on the tower size and format and are called either ATX or BTX. The form factor determines the shape of the motherboard and the position of slots such as CPU, PCI and so on. ATX has been a leading form factor for a number of years and it stood uncontested until BTX was introduced.
The Advantages of BTX Motherboards
The BTX form factors give motherboard developers options to create products that require fewer ventilation fans, are more quiet and, many say, stylish. The most important advantage of a BTX motherboard is the heat management which is superior to its ATX counterpart. The heat dispersion is managed easier due to the layout of the BTX boards which is called the in-line airflow. This means that all the important components that require some sort of heat dispersion are set out in a straight line. This makes ventilation easier and more efficient when compared to ATX motherboards.
The Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of the BTX motherboards is the slow adoption rate from developers. While BTX offers better cooling and placement solutions it also requires a new case and power source for its PCI Express slots. BTX motherboards do not fit inside ATX cases and vice versa. This makes the transition an expensive one and the adoption rate slow from PC users. Also, the main Intel competitor, AMD, has not released a response to the Intel BTX design which suggests AMD does not plan to support BTX cases for their products. Despite the fact that BTX has advantages over ATX, it looks like it will take a long time to BTX to become dominant.
Conclusion
From a purely theoretical standpoint the BTX form factor motherboards outperform and outclass the ATX. They offer better cooling solutions, excellent scaling and good layouts that allow manufacturers to create stylish designs. That being said, due to the introduction of lower heat emitting processors and the spread of ATX design it is likely BTX won't replace it for years to come. It is also likely that a design will emerge that will bridge the gap between the two motherboard designs making the transition easier, faster and cheaper.
Tags: form factor, adoption rate, better cooling, heat dispersion, most important, that require