BTX or ATX..........AGP or PCI Express?

[FalvinP]

I’m doing research for my first pc build. I am not necessarily going to get the latest and greatest components, but I do want to keep future upgrades in mind.

I will use the computer for email, web browsing, Microsoft Office applications, photo and video editing and rendering DVD’s. I don’t play any games, so, with the possible exception of the video editing and dvd rendering, I don’t necessarily need a screaming fast system.

The first thing that comes to mind is the case form factor. I’ve done some reading about the BTX form factor. It was introduced in 2004, but doesn’t seem to have made much of a dent in the ATX market. I understand that it took several years for ATX to replace the AT form factor. I won’t be putting in the latest and greatest processor, but I will probably want to eventually replace it with something more robust. As of right now, the more powerful processors create more heat. From what I understand, the selling point of the BTX cases is the way the compartments deal with heat dissipation. On the other side of the coin, I’ve read that future Intel chips will supposedly use less power. Will this mean they will run cooler, thus negating the need for the BTX case? Does anyone have a crystal ball handy that can tell if this new form factor will take off, or should I stick with ATX for now?

If I do stick with ATX I’ll probably order an Antec P160 case. I’ve hard good things about this case.

The second major decision is whether or not to go with the new PCI express motherboards or stay with boards with AGP video. This seems like an easier decision to make since the AGP video cards seem to be on the way out. Most boards I’ve looked at have both PCI and PCI Express slots. If I go with PCI Express I’ll have to get a new video card. Right now I have a NVidia GeForce FX 5500 video card with 256 Mb of ram on it. It came in a used computer I recently bought.

The only other board that I can see getting soon would be a sound card.

Down the road I can see getting a board that would come with video editing software from someone like Pinnacle or Ulead.

Your thoughts on these issues are greatly appreciated.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by FalvinP The first thing that comes to mind is the case form factor. I’ve done some reading about the BTX form factor. It was introduced in 2004, but doesn’t seem to have made much of a dent in the ATX market. I understand that it took several years for ATX to replace the AT form factor. I won’t be putting in the latest and greatest processor, but I will probably want to eventually replace it with something more robust. As of right now, the more powerful processors create more heat. From what I understand, the selling point of the BTX cases is the way the compartments deal with heat dissipation. On the other side of the coin, I’ve read that future Intel chips will supposedly use less power. Will this mean they will run cooler, thus negating the need for the BTX case? Does anyone have a crystal ball handy that can tell if this new form factor will take off, or should I stick with ATX for now?

Stick with ATX.

Originally Posted by FalvinP The second major decision is whether or not to go with the new PCI express motherboards or stay with boards with AGP video. This seems like an easier decision to make since the AGP video cards seem to be on the way out. Most boards I’ve looked at have both PCI and PCI Express slots. If I go with PCI Express I’ll have to get a new video card. Right now I have a NVidia GeForce FX 5500 video card with 256 Mb of ram on it. It came in a used computer I recently bought.

Go with PCI-Express.

Cricket

[FalvinP]

Cricket, thanks for your speedy reply. As you might have been able to tell from my post, I was inclined to stay with ATX and go with PCI-Express.

[blue60007]

I doubt BTX will ever take off. As it was designed to tackle the heat problem and with Intel now getting into the make it more efficient bandwagon, the need for it may not even be there in a few years. Intels next round of processor, Core 2 (code name Conroe), will be much more efficient and are back in AMDs ballpark in terms of power consumption.