Balanced Technology Extended

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The BTX: MotherBoard [Balanced Technology Extended] format is 325.12mm wide x 266.70mm deep. The BTX mother board was developed to replace the ATX: form factor.

The new BTX format addresses many of the ATX issues, including improved scalability, thermal placement, Acoustic Performance, and increased area for heat sinks. Three motherboard form factors are allowed with BTX:
...BTX: (Balanced Technology Extended) 325.12mm wide x 266.70mm deep [Holds 7 Add-On card]
........microBTX: (Balanced Technology Extended) 264.16mm wide x 266.70mm deep [Holds 4 Add-On card]
........picoBTX: (Balanced Technology Extended) 203.20mm wide x 266.70mm deep [Holds 1 Add-On card]

Normal ATX motherboards do not work in BTX systems. The BTX case differs greatly from those designed for ATX mother boards. The BTX mother board layout is completely different from that of ATX. Air flow and air ducting is entirely different. A Support and Retention Module [SRM] is also required with BTX motherboard designs. The SRM plate resides beneath the processor to support the mother board and thermal module.

A number of different Power Supplies may be used with the BTX form factors. The power supplies will indicate the standard which they comply to, in this case the notation ATX12V indicates the power supply compiles with these pinout tables. The BTX size board will use either the ATX12V, or SFX12V power supplies. For the Small Form factor [SFF] board sizes the power supply will be the CFX12V or LFX12V form factors. The board was rotated in the Chassis to allow for improved air flow. Pin out tables for ATX connectors are listed below.

By mid 2005 there were still not many takers for the BTX format. In 2006 Intel announced it would be dropping support for the BTX format in 2007. Additional companies have also expressed a desire to drop their support. Additional Mother Board form factors and processor types are listed on the OEM MotherBoard Manufacturers page.

The power connector for the Floppy drive on an ATX mother Board is shown below.

The BTX power connector for the Fan is shown below. The third sensor pin is relatively new and allows the mother board to adjust the speed of the fan as the case/IC temperature changes. Pin 3 may not always be available, but the table provides the ATX pinout.

The power connector for the Serial ATA drive is shown below. The Serial ATA [SATA] Hard Disk Drive [HDD] is the new standard for Hard disk drives, using a serial interface [instead of the large parallel flat ribbon cable of the past]. This is the ATX pinout for SATA power, refer to the SATA page for the signal pinout.

Memory Module formats and manufacturers are listed on the Memory Module Manufacturers page.

To save money and reduce operating costs some computer manufacturers may use non-standard or proprietary components in their systems. The pinout for the power headers listed above comply with the BTX specification. However some companies may use pinouts that differ from the pinout tables above. First try to determine the pin out of the headers listed above from the manual that shipped with the computer, and use these tables only after checking all the manufacturing sources of OEM data.

Electronic Key words: BTX, Bus Standard, Interface Standard, Specification, Spec, Interface, Physical Interface, Description, Personal Computer Interface, PC, Peripheral Interface, BTX Pinout, Pin out, Pins, Pin Assignment, Signal Name, SFF, MotherBoard, Mother Board.

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