Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
From
Figure4.12
,youcanseethatthemainheat-producingcorecomponentsarecentrally
located inline from front to rear, allowing the most efficient thermal design. Air flows
fromfronttorearthroughthecenter,coolingtheprocessor,motherboardchipset,memory,
and video card.
To support the heavy processor heatsink and thermal module assembly, an SRM is moun-
ted under the board. The SRM is essentially a metal plate affixed to the chassis under the
board, and the thermal module is bolted directly to the SRM instead of to the mother-
board. This helps carry the weight of the module and prevents excessive loads from being
applied to the processor and motherboard, especially during the shipping and handling of
the system.
The BTX I/O connector area is similar to ATX, except that it is at the opposite side of the
rear of the board. The size of the area is slightly shorter but wider than ATX, allowing a
large number of interfaces and connectors to be built into the motherboard.
SystemsusingBTXwereproducedprimarilyfrom2005through2007bycompaniessuch
as Dell and Gateway. After that, a lack of new BTX motherboards and cases forced most
