Replies to post #78298 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[CombJelly]

"dub, just out of curiosity, wasn't BTX sort not given wide acceptance?"

BTX has several problems. The specs are pretty tight, there isn't a lot of room for manufacturers to differentiate their products. In particular, there isn't a lot of room to cost reduce the board by leaving off certain ports or slots. Connectors can be really expensive. For another, the case specs are pretty tight, too. So it meant that it was over designed for systems that didn't have a processor that was sucking 200 watts or more. And the power supply requirements meant that new power supplies needed to be designed and manufactured. So they are more expensive. And finally, if The Inq is correct, there is a licensing fee on top of it all. Now a licensing fee makes sense, Intel put a lot of work into the specifications. But it is an extra cost that ODMs are loath to pay.

So it all comes down to more money for a system that doesn't yield much in the way of benefits if the processor doesn't draw a lot of power. And that means ATX won't die and BTX won't get enough market share to drive the costs down.