Micro ATX in the top segment. Review of the Asus Rampage II Gene motherboard. Four inexpensive mATX cases suitable for Microatx gaming system dimensions mm

Today there are four predominant motherboard sizes - AT, ATX, LPX and NLX. In addition, there are smaller versions of the AT (Baby-AT), ATX (Mini-ATX, microATX) and NLX (microNLX) formats. Moreover, an extension to the microATX specification was recently released, adding a new form factor to this list - FlexATX. All these specifications, which determine the shape and size of motherboards, as well as the arrangement of components on them and the features of the cases, are described below.

AT

The AT form factor is divided into two modifications that differ in size - AT and Baby AT. The size of a full-size AT board reaches up to 12" wide, which means that such a board is unlikely to fit into most of today's cases. Installation of such a board will most likely be hampered by the drive bay and hard drives and power supply. In addition, the placement of board components at a large distance from each other can cause some problems when working on large clock speeds. Therefore, after motherboards for the 386 processor, this size is no longer found.

Thus, the only motherboards made in the AT form factor that are widely available are boards corresponding to the Baby AT format. The Baby AT board measures 8.5" wide x 13" long. In principle, some manufacturers may reduce the length of the board to save material or for some other reason. To mount the board in the case, three rows of holes are made in the board.

All AT boards have common features. Almost all have serial and parallel ports, connected to the motherboard via connector strips. They also have one keyboard connector soldered onto the board at the back. The processor socket is installed on the front side of the board. SIMM and DIMM slots are found in various locations, although they are almost always located at the top motherboard.

Today this format is gradually disappearing from the scene. Some companies still produce some of their models in two versions - Baby AT and ATX, but this is happening less and less. Moreover, more and more new features provided by operating systems are implemented only on ATX motherboards. Not to mention just ease of use - for example, most often on Baby AT boards all the connectors are collected in one place, as a result of which either cables from communication ports stretch almost across the entire motherboard to the rear of the case, or from IDE and FDD ports to front Sockets for memory modules that fit almost under the power supply. With limited freedom of action inside the very small space of the MiniTower, this is, to put it mildly, inconvenient. In addition, the issue with cooling was poorly resolved - the air does not flow directly to the part of the system that needs cooling most - the processor.

LPX

Even before the advent of ATX, the first result of attempts to reduce the cost of PCs was the LPX form factor. Intended for use in Slimline or Low-profile cases. The problem was solved by a rather innovative proposal - the introduction of a stand. Instead of inserting expansion cards directly into the motherboard, this option places them in a vertical rack that connects to the board, parallel to the motherboard. This made it possible to significantly reduce the height of the case, since usually it is the height of expansion cards that affects this parameter. The price for compactness was the maximum number of connected cards - 2-3 pieces. Another innovation that has begun to be widely used on LPX boards is a video chip integrated on the motherboard. The case size for LPX is 9 x 13"", for Mini LPX - 8 x 10"".

After the introduction of NLX, LPX began to be replaced by this form factor.

ATX

It is not surprising that the ATX form factor in all its modifications is becoming increasingly popular. This is especially true for boards for processors on the P6 bus. So, for example, of the LuckyStar motherboards for these processors being prepared for release this year, 4 will be in the Mini-ATX format, 3 - ATX, and only one - Baby AT. And if you also take into account that much fewer motherboards are being made for Socket7 today, if only because of the much smaller number of new chipsets for this platform, then ATX wins a convincing victory.

And no one can say that it is unfounded. The ATX specification, proposed by Intel back in 1995, is aimed precisely at correcting all those shortcomings that have emerged over time in the AT form factor. And the solution, in fact, was very simple - rotate the Baby AT board 90 degrees and make appropriate adjustments to the design. By that time, Intel already had experience in this area - the LPX form factor. ATX embodied the best aspects of both Baby AT and LPX: expandability was taken from Baby AT, and high integration of components was taken from LPX. Here's what happened as a result:

• Integrated I/O port connectors. On all modern boards, I/O port connectors are present on the board, so it seems quite natural to place their connectors on it, which leads to a fairly significant reduction in the number of connecting wires inside the case. In addition, at the same time, among the traditional parallel and serial ports, keyboard connector, there was also a place for newcomers - PS/2 and USB ports. In addition, as a result, the cost of the motherboard has decreased slightly due to the reduction in cables included.
• Significantly increased ease of access to memory modules. As a result of all the changes, the sockets for memory modules have moved further from the slots for motherboards, from the processor and the power supply. As a result, expanding memory has become a matter of minutes in any case, whereas on Baby AT motherboards you sometimes have to take a screwdriver.
• Reduced distance between the board and disks. The connectors of the IDE and FDD controllers have moved almost close to the devices connected to them. This allows you to reduce the length of cables used, thereby increasing the reliability of the system.
• Separation of the processor and slots for expansion cards. The processor socket has been moved from the front of the board to the back, next to the power supply. This allows you to install full-size boards in the expansion slots - the processor does not interfere with them. In addition, the cooling problem has been resolved - now the air sucked in by the power supply blows directly onto the processor.
• Improved interaction with the power supply. Now one 20-pin connector is used, instead of two, as on AT boards. In addition, the ability to manage motherboard power supply - turn on at the right time or upon the occurrence of a certain event, the ability to turn on from the keyboard, turn off operating system, etc.
• Voltage 3.3 V. Now the 3.3 V supply voltage, which is very widely used by modern system components (take PCI cards for example!) comes from the power supply. In AT boards, a stabilizer installed on the motherboard was used to obtain it. There is no need for it in ATX boards.

The specific size of motherboards is described in the specification largely based on the convenience of developers - a standard plate (24 x 18'') produces either two ATX boards (12 x 9.6'') or four Mini-ATX (11.2 x 8.2'') . By the way, compatibility with older cases was also taken into account - the maximum width of an ATX board, 12’’, is almost identical to the length of AT boards, so that it would be possible to use an ATX board in an AT case without much effort. However, today this is more in the realm of pure theory - the AT case still needs to be found. Also, whenever possible, the mounting holes on the ATX board are fully compatible with AT and Baby AT formats.

microATX

The ATX form factor was developed back in the heyday of Socket 7 systems, and much of it today is somewhat out of date. For example, a typical combination of slots, based on which the specification was compiled, looked like 3 ISA/3 PCI/1 adjacent. Somewhat irrelevant today, isn't it? ISA, no AGP, AMR, etc. Again, 7 slots are not used 99 percent of the time anyway, especially today with chipsets like the MVP4, SiS 620, i810, and other similar products coming out. In general, for cheap PCs, ATX is a waste of resources. Based on similar considerations, in December 1997, the microATX format specification was presented, a modification of the ATX board designed for 4 slots for expansion cards.

In fact, the changes compared to ATX were minimal. The size of the board was reduced to 9.6 x 9.6’’, so that it became completely square, and the size of the power supply was reduced. The I/O connector block remains unchanged, so the microATX board can be used in an ATX 2.01 case with minimal modifications.

NLX

Over time, the LPX specification, like the Baby AT, no longer met the requirements of the time. New processors were released, new technologies appeared. And it was no longer able to provide acceptable spatial and thermal conditions for the new low-profile systems. As a result, just as ATX replaced the Baby AT, the NLX form factor specification appeared in 1997, as the LPX idea evolved, taking into account the emergence of new technologies. A format aimed at use in low-profile cases. When creating it, both technical factors were taken into account (for example, the emergence of AGP and DIMMs, the integration of audio/video components on the motherboard) and the need to provide greater ease of service. Thus, to assemble/disassemble many systems based on this form factor, a screwdriver is not required at all.

As can be seen in the diagram, the main features of the NLX motherboard are:

• Rack for expansion cards, located on the right edge of the board. Moreover, the motherboard can be freely detached from the rack and pulled out of the case, for example, to replace the processor or memory.
• The processor is located in the left front corner of the board, directly opposite the fan.
• In general, grouping tall components, such as the processor and memory, at the left end of the board to allow rack placement of full-size expansion cards.
• Single-height (in the area of ​​expansion cards) and double-height I/O connector blocks are located at the rear end of the board to accommodate maximum quantity connectors.

In general, the stand is very interesting thing. In fact, this is one motherboard, divided into two parts - the part where the system components themselves are located, and the part connected to it via a 340-pin connector at an angle of 90 degrees, where all kinds of input/output components are located - expansion cards, port connectors, drives data where the power is connected. Thus, firstly, ease of maintenance is increased - there is no need to access components that are currently unnecessary. Secondly, as a result, manufacturers have greater flexibility - they make one model of the main board and a rack for each specific customer, with the necessary components integrated on it.

In general, does this description remind you of anything? A rack mounted to the motherboard that carries some I/O components instead of being integrated onto the motherboard, all to make it easier to service, give manufacturers more flexibility, etc.? That's right, some time after the release of the NLX specification, the AMR specification appeared, describing a similar ideology for ATX boards.

Unlike the rather strict other specifications, NLX provides manufacturers with much greater freedom in decision making. NLX motherboard sizes range from 8 x 10'' to 9 x 13.6''. The NLX case must be able to handle both these two formats, and all intermediate ones. Typically boards that fit into minimum dimensions, designated as Mini NLX. It is also worth mentioning an interesting detail: the NLX housings USB ports located on the front panel - very convenient for identification solutions such as e.Token.

It only remains to add that according to the specification, some places on the board must remain free, providing opportunities for expanding functions that will appear in future versions of the specification. For example, to create motherboards for servers and workstations based on the NLX form factor.

WTX

However, on the other hand, powerful workstations and servers with AT and ATX specifications are also not entirely satisfied. There are problems there, where cost does not play the most important role. Ensuring normal cooling, placement large volumes memory, convenient support for multiprocessor configurations, high power supply power, placement more quantity storage controller ports and input/output ports. Thus, in 1998, the WTX specification was born. Focused on supporting dual-processor motherboards of any configuration, supporting today's and tomorrow's video card and memory technologies.

Particular attention, perhaps, should be paid to two new components - Board Adapter Plate (BAP) and Flex Slot.

In this specification, the developers tried to move away from the usual model, when the motherboard is attached to the case through mounting holes located in certain places. Here it is attached to the BAP, and the method of attachment is left to the board manufacturer, while the standard BAP is attached to the case.

Besides the usual things like board dimensions (14 x 16.75""), power supply specs (up to 850 W), etc., the WTX specification describes the Flex Slot architecture - in a sense, AMR for workstations. Flex Slot is designed to improve serviceability, provide additional flexibility to developers, and reduce motherboard time to market. A Flex Slot card looks something like this:

Such cards can accommodate any PCI, SCSI or IEEE 1394 controllers, sound, network interface, parallel and serial ports, USB, and means for monitoring the system state.

Samples of WTX boards should appear around June, with production samples expected in the third quarter of 1999.

FlexATX

And finally, just as ATX emerged from the ideas contained in the Baby AT and LPX, the development of the microATX and NPX specifications led to the emergence of the FlexATX form factor. This is not even a separate specification, but just an addition to the microATX specification. Looking at the success of the iMac, which, in fact, has nothing new except appearance and no, PC manufacturers decided to also follow this path. And the first was Intel, which in February at the Intel Developer Forum announced FlexATX - a motherboard 25-30 percent smaller in area than microATX.

Theoretically, with some modifications, the FlexATX board can be used in cases that meet the ATX 2.03 or microATX 1.0 specifications. But for today’s cases there are enough boards without this; we were talking about elaborate plastic designs, where such compactness is needed. There, at IDF, Intel demonstrated several possible options similar buildings. The imagination of the designers ran wild - vases, pyramids, trees, spirals, which were not offered. A few phrases from the specification to deepen the impression: “aesthetic value”, “greater satisfaction from owning the system.” Not bad for describing the form factor of a PC motherboard?

Flex - that's why it's flex. The specification is extremely flexible, and leaves many things to the discretion of the manufacturer that were previously strictly described. Thus, the manufacturer will determine the size and placement of the power supply, the design of the I/O card, the transition to new processor technologies, and methods for achieving a low-profile design. In practice, only the dimensions are more or less clearly defined - 9 x 7.5 "". By the way, regarding new processor technologies - Intel at IDF demonstrated a system on a FlexATX board with a Pentium III, which until the fall was announced only as Slot-1, and in the photo - see for yourself, and the specification emphasizes that FlexATX boards are only for Socket processors...

And finally, another interesting revelation from Intel - in three years, in the next specifications, the power supply may even be located outside the PC case.

Until recently, Micro ATX motherboards were the domain of systems entry level. With corresponding requirements for performance and functionality. The vast majority of them carried integrated video on board, and some, in principle, did not allow adding discrete video. What overclocking possibilities can we talk about in such a situation? Everything was bad with them. Although it is clear that some computer enthusiasts would happily give up their huge “coffin” on the table (or under it) in favor of system unit smaller and more accurate. Albeit in exchange for slightly worse performance.

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We are, of course, talking about the Intel LGA 1366 socket and the X58 logic set from the same manufacturer. At the moment, motherboards based on it in the Micro ATX format are produced by at least four manufacturers. Asus was one of the first to do this. Moreover, the Taiwanese did not waste time on trifles and “rolled out” the Micro ATX motherboard immediately flagship series Republic of Gamers (ROG). It was this “monster” that became the hero of today’s review.

Meet the Asus Rampage II Gene.

Packaging and delivery

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The motherboard comes in a very small square box made of thick matte cardboard. The color scheme gravitates towards red tones. On the front side there is only the name of the motherboard and a list of logos of “interested” brands. There is also nothing interesting on the sides, although there is a standard sticker with serial number present.

Brief list technical characteristics, closely intertwined with marketing statements, is located on the back of the box.

Things are better inside. Under the hinged lid, instead of the expected window, detailed descriptions are found: an integrated sound subsystem, in the development of which the well-known company Creative participated; as well as parts of the software supplied with the board. And if 3DMark 06 is already quite outdated (however, the latest Vantage released at the moment is also not the first freshness, and also does not work on “pre-Vista” Windows operating systems), then the presence of a popular antivirus developed in the kit Russian company cannot but rejoice.

The first thing you find inside is the motherboard. It sits comfortably in a separate compartment, covered with a plastic lid. The delivery kit, divided into two parts, was hidden under it. And at the very bottom there is a branded sticker with an abstract image that repeats the “main theme” of the box. It is quite large (if you stick it on a computer case, then maybe on the side wall) and will certainly attract surprised looks.

But let's get back to the included accessories. The Asus Rampage II Gene comes with:

• Quick Start Guide brochure in 12 languages ​​(Russian is available).
• Full instructions, but only in English.

• Disc with software. In addition to drivers for 32- and 64-bit MS Windows 2000/XP and Vista, as well as Linux; and the mentioned 3DMark with Kaspersky Antivirus on it the user will find:

• Plug for I/O ports of the motherboard. It is original here, with an insulating “sandwich” from the inside.

• A set of connectors Asus Q-Connector Kit, which allows you to connect case connectors outside a cramped case, and then insert them into the motherboard in one fell swoop. A very convenient "feature". It’s a pity that few people besides Asus use it (do patents get in the way?)
• An LCD Poster panel, which is essentially a screen designed to display system operating parameters.

• One PATA cable. Black, but ordinary, flat, not “put together”. However, in modern computers There are fewer and fewer corresponding devices, so this is not critical.
• Four SATA signal cables. These are red, packed in twos, in each set one is straight, the other is angled.
• Several disposable plastic cable ties.
• A cable for combining two video cards in SLI.

The motherboard, as I already mentioned, is located in a separate compartment. It protects it quite well even after the motherboard has been removed from the box. And most importantly, it is perfect as a basis for an open stand :).

Motherboard form factor- a standard that determines the dimensions of a PC motherboard and where it is attached to the case; location of bus interfaces, input/output ports, socket central processor and slots for RAM, as well as the type of connector for connecting the power supply. IN latest versions The form factor determines the requirements for the computer cooling system. When choosing PC components, you must remember that the computer case must support the form factor of the motherboard.

Form factor ATX(Advanced Technology eXtended) - a form factor that was proposed back in 1995. by Intel and has remained extremely popular ever since. Form boards factor ATX have dimensions of 30.5 x 24.4 cm. Currently, most motherboards, cases and power supplies based on Intel processors and AMD are available in ATX format.

Features of the ATX specification include the following:

• placement of I/O ports on the system board;
• built-in PS/2 connector for keyboard and mouse;
• location of IDE and FDD connectors closer to the devices themselves;
• placing the processor sockets at the back of the board, next to the power supply;
• use of a single 20-pin and 24-pin power connector.

mATX (micro ATX)– reduced ATX standard. It is used mainly in office machines where many slots for expanding the configuration are not required. The mATX standard measures 24.4 x 24.4 cm and supports 4 expansion slots. The mATX standard motherboard has a main connector for connecting the power supply, containing 20 or 24 pins. Almost all new models since 2003 have a 24-pin connector.

EATX (Extended ATX)– the main difference from ATX is the dimensions (30.5 x 33.0 cm). Their main area of ​​application is servers.

BTX (Balanced Technology Extended) – new standard, designed to effectively cool the internal components of the system unit. BTX is relatively small in size and is suitable for building miniature computers. BTX boards measure 26.7 x 32.5 cm and have 7 expansion slots.

mBTX (micro BTX)– a smaller version of BTX that supports 4 expansion slots. mBTX – have dimensions 26.7 x 26.4 cm.

mini-ITX– standard electrically and mechanically compatible with the ATX form factor. The mini-ITX form factor was developed by VIA Technologies and has small dimensions (17 x 17 cm).

SSI EEB (Server Standards Infrastructure Entry Electronics Bay)– this form factor of the motherboard is mainly used for building servers and has dimensions of 30.5 x 33.0 cm. The main connector for connecting the power supply has 24+8 pins.

SSI CEB (SSI Compact Electronics Bay)– this form factor is also used for building servers and has a 24+8 pin main connector. The dimensions of such boards are 30.5 x 25.9 cm.

Legacy standards: Baby-AT; Mini-ATX; full-size AT board; LPX.

Modern standards: ATX; microATX; Flex-ATX; NLX; WTX, CEB.

Implemented standards: Mini-ITX and Nano-ITX; Pico-ITX; BTX, MicroBTX and PicoBTX

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended)- a standard created in 1995 that describes the geometric dimensions and methods of pairing them, as well as the geometric and electrical parameters power supplies, their methods of connecting to motherboards and interacting with them.

A visual comparison of the sizes of motherboards of popular formats of the ATX family:

A more complete list of known motherboard sizes:

Currently used or planned for use in computers:

Other motherboard formats that are not fully ATX compatible.

Outdated or not widely used:

Used in industrial and embedded equipment:

Form factor computer cases and motherboards is one of their significant characteristics. Often faced with a misunderstanding of the difference between ATX and mATX or when assembling new system, or when upgrading the old one. Most are only familiar with these abbreviations, although others may appear in context. Both standards are similar to each other, and they have identical requirements for a number of characteristics of a number of components, so it is worth considering ATX and mATX specifically in relation to motherboards - the form factor will be decisive here.

Definition

ATX- form factor of full-size motherboards for desktop computers, which determines the dimensions, number of ports and connectors, and other characteristics. It is also a form factor of personal desktop computers, determining the dimensions of the case, the location of the mounts, the placement, size and electrical characteristics of the power supply.

mATX- form factor of motherboards of reduced dimensions and with a reduced number of ports and interfaces. Also - the form factor of system unit cases.

Comparison

The difference between ATX and mATX is primarily in size. Full-size motherboards are installed in full-tower and midi-tower form factors, mATX motherboards are also installed in mini-tower cases. The standard dimensions of ATX boards are 305x244 mm, although they can be slightly smaller in width - up to 170 mm. The standard dimensions of mATX boards (often called micro-ATX) are 244x244 mm, but can be cut down to 170 mm. The standards are not very strict, and a difference of a few mm from one manufacturer or another is common and does not affect anything. But the places for mounting are rigidly standardized by the form factor, and absolutely always coincide with the housing holes for installing motherboards. Visually it is determined as follows: the first vertical row of holes from the plug is universal, the second is intended for mATX, and the third is for ATX boards. It is not possible to install an ATX board in small mATX cases; on the contrary, in the vast majority of cases the installation will not cause difficulties.

Another difference is in the number of ports and interfaces. This is not subject to standardization and remains at the discretion of the manufacturer, however, mostly on mATX boards, a minimum gentleman’s set is soldered: two, and not four, as in ATX, slots for RAM, fewer SATA and USB interfaces, on back panel there is one video output (if any), I/O ports, often combined, a minimum of USB, most often there are no frills like eSATA or HDMI. All motherboards today are equipped with an ethernet port. The number of PCI slots on mATX boards is minimal, so installing a video card plus a couple more expansion cards is the ultimate dream. Also, due to the reduction in area on small boards, integration is always relevant, plus the number of soldered parts is less.

In practice, a computer user will find almost no differences between the form factors of motherboards. Due to the small size of the cases and the “clustered” nature of mATX electronics, mATX may become hotter, and installing new components may be inconvenient due to the space saved.

Conclusions website

1. ATX is larger both as a motherboard form factor and as a case form factor.
2. mATX has reduced functionality due to a reduction in the number of ports and connectors.
3. mATX boards can be installed in ATX cases, and not vice versa.
4. In some cases, mATX causes inconvenience when installing components.