what is motherboard- types types of motherboard

motherboard

the motherboard is the main component of  a computer. It's basically a large circuit  board that's mounted into a computer case and  it's where all the computer components connect  to. Now motherboards come in different shapes  and sizes and this is known as a form factor,  and in addition to its dimensions, the form  factor includes the type of power supply,  and the power connectors, the rear I/O panel, the  mounting holes, and so on. So a form factor is a  standard in computers that manufacturers follow  to make sure that their parts are compatible with  a motherboard. Now the most common form factor  that's used in PCs today is ATX. ATX stands  for advanced technology extended. Now this is  a non-proprietary industry specification that  was created by Intel back in 1995, and is now the  de facto standard form factor for PCs today. So  if you are the type a person that likes to build  their own PC, then most likely you'll be getting  an ATX motherboard. A standard ATX motherboard is  12 x 9.6 inches and they will have either a 20,  or in modern motherboards, a 24 pin power  connector and they will also have several  expansion slots. So for example, this particular  ATX motherboard has 6 expansion slots. Now prior  to the development of the ATX, there was the AT  form factor. AT stands for advanced technology. 

motherboard

Now this was used back in the 1980s that was  developed by IBM. AT motherboards are 12 x  13.8 inches in size and they are no longer  in development since the succession of the  ATX. Another version of the ATX motherboard is the  micro ATX. Micro ATX motherboards are smaller than  ATX boards as its name suggests. So it's a square  design, compared to the standard rectangular design  of the ATX. Micro ATX boards are 9.6 x 9.6 inches.  So from top to bottom, it's about two and a half  inches shorter than the standard ATX. And because  it's shorter it will have fewer expansion slots.  So this particular board has 3 expansion  slots, compared to 6 on the ATX. These are  cheaper than ATX boards and they were designed to  fit in smaller computer cases. And like the ATX,  they will also have a 24 pin power connector.  And even smaller than the micro ATX, there is  the ITX form factor. The ITX form factor came  out in 2001 starting with the mini ITX. Now this  was designed for the ever increasing demand for  smaller space-saving computers. The ITX standard  consumes less power, and because it uses less  power, some versions were often cooled only by  the use of heat sinks and not with fans. ITX was  developed by VIA Technologies and they come in  different sizes. So here is the mini ITX. The mini  ITX is 6.7 x 6.7 inches.So it's about half the length of an ATX  board, and because it's so short, it's only going  to have 1 expansion slot, compared to ATX and  micro ATX and it will only have 2 memory slots,  

motherboard

where the ATX and micro ATX will have at  least 4. The mini ITX will fit into the  same computer case that's meant for the ATX and  micro ATX. And this is because all three of these  boards, the mounting holes, their rear input/output  panels, and their expansion slots, they all line up  the same. Then there's also the BTX form factor. The BTX was designed by Intel to make further  improvements from the ATX form factor, such as an  improved board design, which creates a more inline  airflow, which improves cooling. So for example  notice how the memory and bus lots are horizontal,  flowing with the direction of the airflow instead  of inhibiting it compared to the ATX form factor.And another improvement is the structure design,  which is flexible enough to work on both smaller  and larger tower cases. However even though the BTX  was supposed to succeed the ATX, it never did and  this was largely due to components such as newer  CPUs and chipsets becoming more energy efficient  which required less power and resulted in reducing  heat. So right there a major benefit of BTX boards,  which was cooling, was eliminated because of  these newer components running cooler. And another form factor is the NLX. NLX was created  by Intel and it was designed for low end, low  profile computers. And instead of expansion cards  that plug perpendicular into the motherboard, the  NLX board uses a riser card so they can plug  in parallel with the motherboard. You would  typically find NLX boards in slimline computer  cases. So thank you everyone for watching this