Computex 2004 Early Bird Coverage: NV45 in the Flesh, New Chipsets, BTX Boards and more...
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 31, 2004 12:31 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
BTX Motherboards
The last bit of interest at the show were two BTX motherboards that we saw on display.
Foxconn's picoBTX board is seen below:
You can see that the layout is significantly different from what we're used to with ATX. Moving the memory slot out of the way definitely cleans the board layout up considerably.
FIC also had a picoBTX board that we took a look at, the layout of which was understandably similar to the Foxconn board:
We were particularly intrigued by the fact that we didn't see more BTX boards on display, it does not bode well for a quick transition to BTX. Couple that with lower than expected initial demand for Intel's 9xx series of chipsets and this is beginning to sound more like an AMD friendly 2004.
Final Words
For us, it's on to the show. There's so much more to talk about that we haven't touched yet, including follow ups to everything we've discussed here already. Check back, because we're expecting to have much more information in the next 24 hours....
It's good to be back at Computex.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
23 Comments
View All Comments
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!