Intel's Long Awaited BTX Form Factor
by Purav Sanghani on November 15, 2004 5:31 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
BTX Cooling and Airflow Explained
We know the purpose of the BTX design and why each component is placed where it is, but the question is, will it work? Will a single CPU heatsink fan be able to effectively cool all of the critical components in a system? In our preview of BTX last year we explained the placement of each component as well as showed a top view of the heat paths in a BTX system. The CPU, Northbridge, Southbridge, and VGA card are all inline which creates a single path for air to flow and in one single direction, from front to back through the thermal module.
From the picture we see the flow of air pushed back through the CPU thermal module towards the Northbridge, Southbridge, and VGA card. As this air flows around the CPU, it warms up, as we can see from the red areas to the left and right of the CPU. This warm air then flows over the Northbridge and seems to cool as it travels further back in the chassis. At the left we see the channel of air flowing to the left over the memory and out through the PSU. The channel on the right flows straight back to the VGA card and out through groups of holes in the back of the case.
Intel will incorporate various other features that will help their CPUs perform at an efficient level no matter the conditions beginning with the Pentium 4 6xx series chips scheduled for Q1 of 2005. One feature is an enhanced version of their mobile processor SpeedStep technology called just that, Enhanced SpeedStep Technology; EIST or EST. EIST will allow the operating system to lower the CPU's power state during idleness which will reduce heat dissipation and power consumption. Another feature which will have a great effect on a system's thermal conditions as well as safety is the Thermal Management feature. This feature allows the CPU to immediately cut its clock speed to a fraction of its normal operating clock speed when the motherboard detects it is operating at temperatures out of the norm. There are a lot of Centrino-eque technologies at work here. The lessons learned from Pentium M have played heavily on system design as well as processor design.
So how will Intel's new BTX form factor affect third party manufacturers specializing in cooling equipment? The fact of the matter is that cooling hardware will always be required. We have seen in past ATX case reviews that no matter how many fans are in a case, a single 80mm fan at the front as an intake, or a set of six 80mm fans throughout a mid tower case, current hardware will operate under normal loads. Users, however, still prefer to spend their money on extra cooling equipment to get the most out of their systems. Intel has been bundling their heatsink fans with their CPU's since the beginning while third party manufacturers like Zalman and Thermaltake provide solutions for enthusiasts who prefer custom hardware. So the market for third part hardware will still be there for the BTX form factor as it has been for ATX.
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sprockkets - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
Not at all 48#.The move from AT to ATX, wonderful, nice, a big improvement.
ATX to BTX, err, why?
Well, I do see a need to have this in place with LOW PROFILE cases. Otherwise, the ventilation is terrible. And pBTX looks nice too. BUT, all you are doing is standardizing the design of small case designs, something that those poor OEMs had to do (aww, poor dell doesn't have to design utterly poor cooling solutions, like the ones we have at work, where the case doesn't even have front air intake, and the processor gets cooled from the very air it exhausts, sad). Large cases such as ATX do not need this.
Hmmm, doesn't that L shaped power supply bring back GREAT memories?
Add to it, why didn't video cards get mounted with the cooling on top? That would have helped it a lot with cooling.
For that matter, you people REALLY need to get with the program with InWin cases. Their latest uATX case has a large fan duct for processor fan intake, a large holed opening on the bottom left hand corner for cooling the add in cards, a quiet 90mm fan exhaust and a 120mm fan on the 300w power supply for exhaust.
Bozo Galora - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
Intel quicksand gets deeperDS Delaroca - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
so the way i see it, its that for a long period of time we will have to standards for each company, BTX for Intel ATX for AMD, so these means for us DIY computers builders the future its limited by what CPU U choose,as for none of the parts for an AMD system would be not interchangeble with an INTEL BTX system, as it is today that both use the same ATX desing, and i mean u would not be able to use the same PS, video card,sound card and any non BTX complyant part, correct me if im wrong if this correct THANKS.pjarvi - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
Unless I misread the article, the exhaust is blowing out the front?!? If that's true, then that's really, really, stupid. Every company I've worked for buys dekstop systems, that sit infront of, or to the side, of employess. If BTX is blowing exhaust out the front, then a lot of people are gonna get cranky due to allergies. I know that I personally can't stand a fan blowing air in my face, and hot dusty air is gonna be a million times worse.Nonsense - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
The airflow described on page 6 is inconsistent:"The CPU, Northbridge, Southbridge, and VGA card are all inline which creates a single path for air to flow and in one single direction, from back to front through the thermal module"
...PICTURE...
"From the picture we see the flow of warm air pulled forward from beyond the VGA card. As it moves towards the front of the case the air flows over the Southbridge and Northbridge passively cooling each chip. "
Now look follow the link at the top of that page: "heat paths in a BTX system" which goes to: http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?...
Which says: "The redesign of the board layout was done in order to improve airflow through the system; moving the CPU to the "front" of the case allows it to be right next to the intake fan, giving it the coolest air out of any component in the system. You will then notice that the chipset is directly in line with the CPU, allowing airflow over the CPU's heatsink to be channeled over those heatsinks as well before exiting the case."
These two articles directly contradict of each other. I think the latter is correct. Please post a correction, thank you.
PsharkJF - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
Fat fingers for ATX ;]Chuckles - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
OK, so after all that, I have only one question. Why in the name of $DIETY are they venting out the front of the case? Do they want the dust bunnies to have a home? Why not flip the components around and (with a little coercion towards the graphics card manufacturers) vent all the hot air out the back?Also, to those that think AMD is immune to the heat problems: Power consumption (and dissipation) has gone nowhere but up in computers. Heck, ten years ago CPU's didn't have a heatsink, much less one with a fan. With increased heat has come to be expected more noise. I personally think BTX is a stumble in the right direction towards reducing the noise while dealing with the heat output of modern and future micorprocessors.
ZobarStyl - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
Yeah 48, what about the guy who's pissed cuz he can't do a P4 to P4 upgrade because the damn thing is now obsolete for the mobo AND Case/PSU? And all the HP/Compaq old school jokes are true; this looks exactly the same, and will have all the same problems.The issue isn't so much that we hate Intel, it's that they are a) forcing this on us and b) it has little tangible benefits to necessitate the cost and some of c) AMD chips may not be able to use the standard, but have no need for it anyway. Mostly, we're all tired of Intel moving the industry around wherever and whenever it wants to make up for its own downfalls.
bob661 - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
#48No one needs it but Intel. It doesn't take a "fanboy" to see that. AMD does NOT have the heat issues that Intel does. That's just a fact. There are some here that hate Intel but some do not. I will only buy what gives me the most bang for my buck. Intel does not provide this at the moment. So I will continue to buy AMD unless that changes. There are others here with the same mentality. No hating involved.
five40 - Monday, November 15, 2004 - link
I'm not a fan boy of intel or amd but so much blatant dislike of intel is sad. It seems that if AMD came up with this standard you guys would be saying how amazing it is and that you want it ASAP. Since it's Intel, no one "needs" it.