Motherboard

The motherboard is a printed circuit board and foundation of a computer that is the biggest board in a computer chassis. It allocates power and allows communication to and between the CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components.

A motherboard provides connectivity between the hardware components of a computer, like the processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card. There are multiple types of motherboards, designed to fit different types and sizes of computers.

Each type of motherboard is designed to work with specific types of processors and memory, so they don't work with every processor and type of memory. However, hard drives are mostly universal and work with the majority of motherboards, regardless of the type or brand.

Motherboard form factors and types

As computers advanced, so have motherboards. Below is a list of the various motherboard form factors and additional information about each, including ATX, which is the most common.

Commonly referred to as AT and full-size AT, the Full AT is a motherboard form factor introduced by IBM in August 1984, and was widely used in the 1980s. The Full AT is 12" wide x 13.8" deep and only fits into a full size AT tower case. Today, this form factor is rarely found or used and was replaced by ATX and Baby AT. Below is an example of an early IBM AT motherboard.

ATX

Short for Advanced Technology eXtended, ATX is a specification used to outline motherboard configuration and dimensions to improve standardization. First released in July 1995 by Intel, ATX has since had many revisions. The first was version 2.01 in February 1997, then 2.03 in May 2000, 2.1 in June 2002, and 2.2 in February 2004.

ATX boards didn't hit the market in force until mid-1996, when they rapidly began replacing Baby-AT boards in new systems. The original ATX motherboard, often referred to as Standard ATX or Full-ATX, is 12" wide x 9.6" deep (305 x 244 mm). Its COM port, LPT port, PS/2, and USB are mounted directly on the motherboard. The image below is an example of the ATX form factor.

Baby AT

A replacement for the Full AT motherboard and sometimes referred to as BAT, the Baby AT is a motherboard form factor introduced by IBM in 1985. It is used with the 286, 386, 486, and Pentium computers up until the early 1990s. The Baby AT is 8.57" wide x 13.04" deep, which is almost the same as the original IBM XT motherboard but with different screw hole positions to fit into AT-style case. The Baby AT is now considered obsolete and was replaced by ATX.

BTX

Short for Balanced Technology eXtended, BTX is a motherboard form factor first announced by Intel on September 17, 2003 as a replacement for ATX. BTX was later revised to 1.0a, which was released in February 2004. The BTX features a low profile, more efficient layout to facilitate cooling, a scalable board to accommodate different system sizes, and support for high-mass motherboard components. In September 2006, Intel announced that it was stopping all future development of BTX.

DTX

With physical dimensions of 8.0-inches by 9.6-inches, a DTX motherboard allowed for two expansion slots. A somewhat smaller version was also developed, called the Mini-DTX, having dimensions of 8.0-inches by 6.7-inches.

The DTX form factor provided a lower cost of manufacturing because it used fewer layers of printed circuit board wiring. It was intended to be an industry standard for small computers, like the Shuttle "SFF" design. DTX motherboards are backward compatible with the ATX form factor, fitting into the same size cases, and utilizing the same 24-pin power connector.

LPX

LPX (Low Profile eXtension) is a motherboard form factor developed by Western Digital in 1987, that was used in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. An LPX motherboard is 9" wide x 13" deep, uses a riser card, and has different placement of the video, parallel, serial, and PS/2 ports compared to other motherboards. Below is a picture of a Packard Bell LPX motherboard. As shown, this motherboard has one large brown slot for the riser card. Using a riser card allowed the expansion cards to be installed parallel to the motherboard, which is why the LP in LPX stands for "Low Profile." The low profile allowed computers using this motherboard to be much slimmer than computers using a Baby-AT motherboard.

Full AT

Micro ATX

Sometimes called mATX, the microATX is a motherboard that is 9.6" wide x 9.6" deep and capable of being as small as 6.75" wide x 6.75" deep. This motherboard was first introduced by Intel in December 1997, and is a smaller motherboard that is used in an ATX or smaller computer case.

NLX

Short for New Low Profile Extended, NLX is a motherboard form factor originally developed by Intel and finalized in March 1997. The NLX motherboard was designed to replace the nonstandard LPX design and is 9" wide x 13.6" deep maximum to 8" x 10" deep minimum and included the below features.

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	Motherboard The motherboard is a printed circuit board and foundation of a computer that is the biggest board in a computer chassis. It allocates power and allows communication to and between the CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components. A motherboard provides connectivity between the hardware components of a computer, like the processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card. There are multiple types of motherboards, designed to fit different types and sizes of computers. Each type of motherboard is designed to work with specific types of processors and memory, so they don't work with every processor and type of memory. However, hard drives are mostly universal and work with the majority of motherboards, regardless of the type or brand. Motherboard form factors and types As computers advanced, so have motherboards. Below is a list of the various motherboard form factors and additional information about each, including ATX, which is the most common. AT Commonly referred to as AT and full-size AT, the Full AT is a motherboard form factor introduced by IBM in August 1984, and was widely used in the 1980s. The Full AT is 12" wide x 13.8" deep and only fits into a full size AT tower case. Today, this form factor is rarely found or used and was replaced by ATX and Baby AT. Below is an example of an early IBM AT motherboard. ATX Short for Advanced Technology eXtended, ATX is a specification used to outline motherboard configuration and dimensions to improve standardization. First released in July 1995 by Intel, ATX has since had many revisions. The first was version 2.01 in February 1997, then 2.03 in May 2000, 2.1 in June 2002, and 2.2 in February 2004. ATX boards didn't hit the market in force until mid-1996, when they rapidly began replacing Baby-AT boards in new systems. The original ATX motherboard, often referred to as Standard ATX or Full-ATX, is 12" wide x 9.6" deep (305 x 244 mm). Its COM port, LPT port, PS/2, and USB are mounted directly on the motherboard. The image below is an example of the ATX form factor. Baby AT A replacement for the Full AT motherboard and sometimes referred to as BAT, the Baby AT is a motherboard form factor introduced by IBM in 1985. It is used with the 286, 386, 486, and Pentium computers up until the early 1990s. The Baby AT is 8.57" wide x 13.04" deep, which is almost the same as the original IBM XT motherboard but with different screw hole positions to fit into AT-style case. The Baby AT is now considered obsolete and was replaced by ATX. BTX Short for Balanced Technology eXtended, BTX is a motherboard form factor first announced by Intel on September 17, 2003 as a replacement for ATX. BTX was later revised to 1.0a, which was released in February 2004. The BTX features a low profile, more efficient layout to facilitate cooling, a scalable board to accommodate different system sizes, and support for high-mass motherboard components. In September 2006, Intel announced that it was stopping all future development of BTX. DTX With physical dimensions of 8.0-inches by 9.6-inches, a DTX motherboard allowed for two expansion slots. A somewhat smaller version was also developed, called the Mini-DTX, having dimensions of 8.0-inches by 6.7-inches. The DTX form factor provided a lower cost of manufacturing because it used fewer layers of printed circuit board wiring. It was intended to be an industry standard for small computers, like the Shuttle "SFF" design. DTX motherboards are backward compatible with the ATX form factor, fitting into the same size cases, and utilizing the same 24-pin power connector. LPX LPX (Low Profile eXtension) is a motherboard form factor developed by Western Digital in 1987, that was used in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. An LPX motherboard is 9" wide x 13" deep, uses a riser card, and has different placement of the video, parallel, serial, and PS/2 ports compared to other motherboards. Below is a picture of a Packard Bell LPX motherboard. As shown, this motherboard has one large brown slot for the riser card. Using a riser card allowed the expansion cards to be installed parallel to the motherboard, which is why the LP in LPX stands for "Low Profile." The low profile allowed computers using this motherboard to be much slimmer than computers using a Baby-AT motherboard. Full AT Commonly referred to as AT and full-size AT, the Full AT is a motherboard form factor introduced by IBM in August 1984, and was widely used in the 1980s. The Full AT is 12" wide x 13.8" deep and only fits into a full size AT tower case. Today, this form factor is rarely found or used and was replaced by ATX and Baby AT. Below is an example of an early IBM AT motherboard. Micro ATX Sometimes called mATX, the microATX is a motherboard that is 9.6" wide x 9.6" deep and capable of being as small as 6.75" wide x 6.75" deep. This motherboard was first introduced by Intel in December 1997, and is a smaller motherboard that is used in an ATX or smaller computer case. NLX Short for New Low Profile Extended, NLX is a motherboard form factor originally developed by Intel and finalized in March 1997. The NLX motherboard was designed to replace the nonstandard LPX design and is 9" wide x 13.6" deep maximum to 8" x 10" deep minimum and included the below features.