Nearly every motherboard for home computers at your local pc shop or online will be in one of these flavors. Motherboard form factors without a doubt, the most important component in a pc system is the main board or motherboard. The terms motherboard, main board, system board, and planar are interchangeable, although i prefer the motherboard designation. Motherboards come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, which is known as the form factor. The motherboard is the main board in your computer that contains the bios chips, ram, io ports, and cpu. Complete guide to understand motherboard by ganesh prabhakaran updated june 22, 2018 the motherboard is a printed circuit boardpcb it holds all the major components such as ram slots, cpu slot, bios, sata and ide slots, expansion slots video, audio, pci cards etc. If you see the term applied to software or programming, it will usually mean the size of the program or. The easiest way to categorize memory is by form factor. Computer form factors comprise a number of specific industry standards for motherboards, specifying dimensions, power supplies, placement of mounting holes and ports, and other parameters. Types of motherboards on the motherboard pearson it. A miniatx motherboard is a slightly smaller variation of the full atx size that measures 11. Motherboard specifications explained and more pc rookies. The most popular motherboard form factors are atx, microatx a smaller version of atx, and miniitx a smaller version of microatx. When you are building a computer or replacing a motherboard, it is important to obtain the correct form factor.
Today, the most common motherboard form factor for desktop computers is the atx form factor. The case used for a computer must match the motherboard form factor. To help you compare the difference in motherboard sizes, we have laid out all three standard motherboard form factors side by side in the image below. Motherboards and bios 85 inside information the motherboard manual theres no way that a single book like this can show you all of the. To help you compare the difference in motherboard sizes, we have laid out all three standard motherboard form factors side by side in the. Pages in category motherboard form factors the following 37 pages are in this category, out of 37 total.
There are many standard sizes of motherboards, and the different sizes provide different advantages and disadvantages. Some of the information is considered legacy and provided for. Most servers are housed in a traditional tower case, similar to the tower cases used for desktop computers. When choosing a system case, other than considering the size of the computer that we want, the most important thing is to match the motherboard form factor with the form factor supported by the computer case. As the first major innovation in form factors in years, it marked the beginning of a new era in motherboard design. Various form factors of motherboards are at, baby at, atx, miniatx, microatx, flex atx, lpx and mini lpx and nlx. Feb 05, 2008 in this video i show four different motherboards and describe their form factor and main components. The computer networking term form factor refers to the size, shape, and packaging of a hardware device. If an operating system supports the feature, it can turn off the power to a system after the shutdown procedure is done. The intel advancedml motherboard, launched in 1996, was designed to solve issues of space and airflow that the pentium ii and agp graphics cards had caused the preceding lpx form factor. Atx motherboards are easiest to install in atx cases. Computer motherboard and their different types chtips. The picoitx is the motherboard form factor announced by the via technologies in january 2007. Youll find some very large motherboard, youll find very small motherboards.
The manufacturer thus produces motherboards which have some common features like their shape,size, and dimensions. But if you want to overclock an intel chip or you need a lot of ports, you will have to spend more. Motherboard basics a recent tech tip covered the basics of selecting a computer caseand made mention of the various sizes that correspond to motherboards of different form factors. Small form factor sff, a more loosely defined set of standards which may refer to both motherboards and computer cases. The size of your motherboard affects the size of the case you need for your build. For form factors of computing components other than motherboards, see form factor design. For form factors of computing components other than motherboards, see form factor. Form factor is the physical size and shape of a device. Dec 06, 2000 form factor refers to the size and shape of the motherboard, the types of connectors on the board, their layout, and how the board fits into the computer case. Because of this, the standard depth of atx and micro atx boards is often defined as a maximum. The sheer size of an at motherboard caused problems for upgrading pcs and did not allow use of the increasingly popular slimline desktop cases. Below is a listing of the various motherboard form factors and links to additional information about each of them. Most computer systems have memory sockets that can accept only one form factor.
Form, hardware, hardware terms, motherboard, motherboard terms, standard. It also specifies what type of case and power supply will be supported, the placement of mounting holes, and the physical layout and organization of the board. A consequence is that there can be some quite wide variation in design detail between different manufacturers\ motherboards. Different types of motherboard formfactors explained. Some companies refer to the motherboard as a system board or planar. Now, in this episode, what i want to do is cover the form factors that youre going to be seeing on the exam, and just to give you some idea of how it works and the motivations for doing form factors.
Form factor refers to the size and shape of the motherboard, the types of connectors on the board, their layout, and how the board fits into the computer case. Motherboard form factors explained guide to motherboard. The original motherboard xt form factor evolved to 40 different forms, all deviating from the traditional personal computer use case. Determines general layout, size and feature placement on the motherboard. Computers sure have gotten a lot smaller since the dark days, and the family of casings has gotten a lot larger. There are many different motherboard form factors that provide the best starting point for any project. Different types of motherboard form factors with definition the computer motherboard comes in lots of variety they differ in size, shape, dimensions, compatibility to hold cpus and power supply. The main circuit board inside a computer that connects the different parts of a computer together. And in this video, well look at a number of different motherboard form factors.
But there are some very distinguishing characteristics that can help you determine exactly what size motherboard youre working with. Fur pc motherboards hauptplatinen werden zum beispiel abmessungen, bestuckungshohen. Chapter form factors, power supplies, and working inside a. It is often used to describe the size of circuit boards.
These are largely used in small form factor sff computer systems. Miniitx boards can also be cooled easily because of their low power consumption architecture. In this video i show four different motherboards and describe their form factor and main components. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Form factor refers to the overall dimensions and component layout of a devicein other words, its physical size and packaging. As a result, almost all consumer motherboards sold today belong to one of these form factors. Welcome to a guide on the types of computer cases and motherboard form factors. For computer form factors both larger and smaller than desktop personal computers, see list of computer size categories. Other product and corporate names may be trademarks or registered.
Some cases can accommodate different form factors, but you should always check. Below well diagram most of the major ports, headers, and slots common on todays motherboards, followed by some helpful basics about expansion. In additional to the dimension, a form factor will also dictate the layout and specifications of the ports, expansion slots, mounting holes, power supply, and of motherboard components. In computing, the form factor is the specification of a motherboard the dimensions, power supply type, location of mounting holes.
Some computer systems are designed with more than one type of memory socket, allowing a choice between two or more form factors. Different motherboard comes with different form factors but the common form factors are at and atx. A form factor is introduced in scattering problems to account for the spatial extent of the scatterer. The probability amplitude for a pointlike scatterer is modi. As different form factor depend upon size, shape, compatibility and capacity for example at motherboard can be installed in a specific case which supports at motherboard,you will not be able to. In this video, youll learn about the atx and microatx standards, as well as the smaller itx standard motherboard form factors. To increase general awareness of pc users on motherboard sizes and form factors, the following outlines most known atx motherboard form factors in a simple guide. However, keeping to the standards allows case manufacturers to develop for particular motherboard form factors, a boon for home builders, modders and pc technicians. The different form factors for the motherboard along with the dimensions that each size goes up to. To be sure that a given board will fit into a pc case, you need to. This board maintains the electrical pathways that enable all other components to communicate with each other. The term is commonly used in describing the size andor arrangement of a device, acomputer case or chassis or one of its internal components such as a motherboard or a daughterboard. A diagram and explanation of motherboard parts and their. Content provided on this page contains information and standards formerly located on the website.
Configured manually using jumpers, switches or both. After that, however, the size of the motherboard was reduced and boards using the at advanced technology form factor was released. A basic guide to motherboard, case and power supply form factors. Types of computer cases and motherboard factors utilize. The motherboard is the foundation of many computing devices. Nlx thermal design suggestions thermal and mechanical design guide rev 1. We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads.
Form factor processor socket for cpu and chipset buses and number of bus slots speed other power connectors, slots, and ports on the motherboard motherboard types and features. Standard atx most of the time referred to as simply atx standard atx specifies length to. Initially these boards only supported the via processors. Expansion slots for installing different cards like video, sound, graphics, and nic. This guide can be a pdf file stored on the cd or dvd. A few people wrote in expressing interest in understanding more about the basics of motherboards, and thats exactly what this tech tip intends to address. The motherboard can have a number of different form factors. The modern form factors are true standards, which guarantees improved interchangeability within each type. The manufacturer thus produces motherboards which have some.
Motherboard form factors recall from chapter 1 that a motherboard form factor determines the size of the board and its features that make it compatible with power supplies and cases. Motherboard form factors early pcs used the at form factor and 12in wide motherboards. Limited to 1mb of memory has an eightbit isa bus atstyle form factor motherboard come in a variety of form factors and are designed with different clock speeds and. Of course, you can put smaller motherboard inside a bigger case, if the motherboard screw holes align, but the ideal situation is that both the motherboard and the case share the same form factor. One of the most obvious characteristics of a motherboard is the physical form factor, the size of the motherboard itself.
There have been a variety of form factors over the decades. The mounting hole positions for the atx formfactor motherboard were carefully chosen. Chapter form factors, power supplies, and working inside. Form factor motherboard size description microbtx up to 10. Form factor is shorthand for the dimensions and layout of a given desktop motherboard. Types of computer cases and motherboard factors utilize windows. The form factor of any memory module describes its size and pin configuration. Information is provided to help in the design and development of related motherboard form factor compliant computer systems. Overview of motherboard form factors atx, etax, miniitx. Form factors such as physical size, shape, component placement, power supply connectors etc.
Server computers typically come in one of three form factors. So, if you take a look here on my desk, what i have are three very different sized motherboards. Motherboard form factors 197 although the babyat, fullsize at, and lpx boards were once popular, they have all but been replaced by more modern and interchangeable form factors. Motherboards come in different sizes, known as form factors. In this video, youll learn about the differences between the atx, microatx, and miniitx form factors. Also contains ram slots, system chipset, controllers and underlying circuit to tie it. Just how many different types of computer cases are there in the market, what are their sizes, and which one should you get. Miniitx boards can also be cooled easily because of. Just like other pc components, motherboards have standardized form factors, including atx, microatx, and miniitx.
Whether you are looking for types of motherboard form factors mini atx motherboards atx motherboards micro atx matx motherboards eatx extended atx slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. In computing, the form factor is the specification of a motherboard the dimensions, power. A typical atx motherboard with nothing connected chapter 4. Over time, in the computer industry, we have had a number of different motherboard form factors being developed. The different types of atx are known as microatx sometimes shown as atx, miniatx, flexatx, eatx, watx, nanoatx, picoatx, and mobileatx. While there are dozens of form factors for desktop computers, most of them are either obsolete or developed for specialized purposes as a result, almost all consumer motherboards sold today belong to one of these form factors. This form factor can be employed for small sized and extremely low power computers. Probably the most common form factor for a motherboard is the atx form factor. The term covers technical specifications andor generalpurpose. Picobtx up to 8 wide smaller than microbtx and can have up to two expansion slots. The succession of motherboard form factors the form factor of a motherboard determines the specifications for its general shape and size.
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