In my humble opinion, the ATX customary is damaged. The PCs we all know and love have advanced a lot during the last 30 years. Small revisions and additions to the usual aren’t assembly the wants and necessities of a 2024 period PC, to say nothing of the calls for of a PC as we transfer in the direction of—and into the 2030’s.
ATX (Superior Expertise Prolonged) is a motherboard and energy provide configuration specification launched by Intel in 1995. Its goal is to outline the essential fundamentals of our PCs. In the event you take a look at the internals of a PC from the mid 90’s and examine it to at least one in the present day, the structure is definitely recognizable.
At its most simple, ATX exists to make sure compatibility throughout the PC ecosystem. In principle, any ATX motherboard might be put in into any ATX case with any ATX energy provide. The scale, mounting factors, the form and placement of the I/O panel and the positioning of the enlargement slots are key to this.
Over time the ATX customary has undergone many revisions and expansions. Probably the most well-known of those are the addition of the microATX and Mini-ITX requirements, although there are others extra related to workstation and enterprise motherboards. Prolonged ATX is one we frequently see in high-end shopper motherboards.
PC energy provides are additionally required to satisfy sure specs. That features the bodily connectors and the requirement to provide numerous voltages inside tolerances. These embody the 12V, 5V and three.3V rails, in order that it ensures compatibility with—hopefully—all motherboards.
The latest main ATX energy provide revision is ATX 3.0, which was launched in February of 2022. ATX 3.1 is coming this 12 months. It introduces the 12V-2×6 16-pin connector which may provide 600W of energy to the thirstiest graphics playing cards. It replaces the difficulty inclined 12VHPWR connector, which has not precisely gone properly.
There are a mess of the explanation why I imagine there is a want for an ATX substitute. These embody the rise of M.2, the bodily measurement and calls for of recent graphics playing cards, cooling necessities, energy effectivity, cable administration, and the necessity to put together for future applied sciences.
However there are some components of the usual which can be completely effective. The positioning of the rear I/O panel and the motherboard mounting factors are two options which have stood the check of time.
M.2 wasn’t even a twinkle in daddy Intel’s eye 30 years in the past
I am going to start with M.2. I’ve beforehand outlined the explanations why I feel M.2 is a poor answer. It is bought nothing to do with the efficiency of a speedy NVMe M.2 drive, it is all to do with the bodily, electrical, and cooling calls for it locations on a contemporary system. Today, motherboard designs are just about dominated by M.2 slots, and there was nothing like them when ATX was launched in 1995.
Ditching M.2 in favor of an alternate kind issue would take away the need for expansive motherboard mounted heatsinks, it might release motherboard PCB area for different elements (or make them cheaper), they usually require inefficient 3.3V energy.
For some cause, competing cabled requirements together with U.2 and U.3 connections have by no means taken off within the shopper area. U.3 contains help for 12V energy. Eradicating 3.3V help would repair one of many inefficiencies of recent ATX energy provides. However, I am going to get to that shortly.
A U.3 drive may incorporate cooling right into a 2.5-inch SSD chassis. Such a drive would require the *shock* routing of a cable. However, that might be simply solved by placing the connectors on the rear of the motherboard, which brings me to my subsequent level.
Make bottom cable connectors necessary
Mounting the entire motherboard connectors and headers on the rear of the motherboard could be one of many simpler modifications to mandate. Motherboard producers are already experimenting on this regard, with MSI’s Mission Zero and Asus’ BTF ideas being outstanding examples.
Rear mounted motherboard connectors enhance aesthetics and case airflow. It might additionally make the system simpler to entry. M.2 drives are a ache to put in, whereas a SATA (or U.3) SSD might be merely and simply mounted and connected with not one of the fiddliness of M.2 drives.
One other instance many builders have most likely come throughout is the problem of accessing the EPS energy connectors when you’ve got prime mounted followers or an AIO cooler put in. Rear mounted connectors utterly take away this challenge, and others prefer it, similar to cables that connect to headers alongside the underside of the motherboard. They are often tough to entry when you’ve got a PSU shroud instantly beneath them, or have enlargement playing cards put in.
So, bottom motherboard connectors make your system look higher, enhance case airflow, are comparatively simple for motherboard producers to implement, and make system modifications simpler. It is a no brainer.
Graphics playing cards have turn out to be bodily dominant
Altering the discrete graphics card kind issue is far simpler stated than finished. It is virtually laughable how bodily massive a contemporary high-performance graphics card is. Examine them to the heatsink-less single slot designs from the 1990’s! Curiously, although, a quad slot RTX 4090 can theoretically be put in into an ATX case from 30 years in the past when single slot, half size passive playing cards have been frequent.
A contemporary graphics card nonetheless must be put in right into a slot that bodily differs little from the AGP slots of the 1990’s. The identical might be stated of a case’s enlargement slots. Anti-sag brackets deal with the burden facet, however the cause they exist in any respect is proof that fashionable graphics playing cards are nothing like their 1990’s ancestors. Their dimensions and weight, together with runaway energy and cooling calls for have come too far to be sustainable. What’s subsequent? 600W five-slot playing cards? That is ridiculous.
This brings me to the tough half. I might wish to see a brand new graphics card kind issue. A big graphics card already protrudes above the highest of the I/O bracket. Why not take {that a} step additional? As an alternative of a card that is 140mm tall, why not make it 180mm? Makers may set up greater CFM, decrease RPM followers which can be quieter, whereas permitting the playing cards themselves to be thinner or shorter. You could possibly mount them vertically, away from the motherboard, not in contrast to you are able to do with riser cables now. That method we would not need to resort to circumstances which can be extra like cubes than the oblong towers they’re now.
An alternative choice could be to go in the other way, so, as an instance a card takes up 5 – 6 slots. In principle, a GPU cooler may incorporate a single 120mm or 140mm fan to direct cool air from the entrance of the case over an enormous heatsink floor space and straight out the rear of the case. That concept might be a bit foolish, although.
That is only a spitballing of concepts, however with graphics playing cards trending upwards in energy consumption, which suggests ever steeper cooling necessities, the PCIe graphics card kind issue we all know and love is trending in an unsustainable route.
The case for ATX12VO
Firstly, the 20-pin and now customary 24-pin energy connectors are relics. It would not be arduous to make them bodily smaller, together with the 8-pin EPS connectors. However, there’s an current customary that addresses that, amongst different issues. It is referred to as ATX12VO, developed by Intel in 2019. Its major declare to fame is that it provides 12V DC energy solely.
The issue with ATX (and SFX) energy provides is that they carry the legacies of prior many years. Today, PCs rely way more closely on the 12V rail of the facility provide. System elements that require 3.3V (similar to M.2 drives) or 5V (USB) may use motherboard mounted step-down circuitry to provide the facility these gadgets require. The motherboard is already required to route these voltages anyway.
The upside is that ATX12VO energy provides could be a lot easier in design with higher effectivity. Meaning a mixture of much less waste warmth and decrease energy consumption, an extended lifespan and cheaper buy value.
One of many potential obstacles I see is the rise of USB Energy Supply. ATX12VO PCs with a number of USB-PD supporting ports could be difficult for motherboard makers to implement.
ATX12VO might be the change I might award the bottom precedence to. I might like to see higher effectivity and thousands and thousands of ATX12VO energy provides combining to decrease international vitality consumption, however the ongoing growth of ATX energy provides, with ATX 3.0 and three.1 being the newest examples, means ATX12VO has a steep—however not insurmountable climb forward of it, if it is to ever see widespread adoption.
As we transfer in the direction of the 2030’s there shall be new concerns
It is just a little arduous to see into the crystal ball and predict among the modifications to return. One instance that involves thoughts is that if or when optical interconnects turn out to be viable. System energy consumption continues to rise, and there is a want for higher effectivity that is quicker, with decrease latency. Optical interconnects are one thing we’ll absolutely hear extra about within the years forward. What for those who may get by with out the necessity for PCIe slots?
Because the mid 1990’s PCs have required SDRAM, DDR1, DDR2 and so forth. Their bodily dimensions stay primarily the identical, even when they don’t seem to be appropriate. A few weeks in the past, I wrote a narrative after recognizing an Asus ROG motherboard with SO-DIMM slots, and it bought me fascinated about how desktop PC reminiscence may do with a bodily change, if solely to create just a little bit of additional PCB area for an additional M.2 slot.
May we see one thing just like CAMM reminiscence within the years forward? How about optical RAM? It is good to consider, however actually, we’re way more more likely to have the identical RGB outfitted DDR7 in 10 years from now. Regardless of the case, a smaller RAM footprint wouldn’t go astray, if the business may get on board with it.
Lastly, simply how excessive will CPU TDP’s go? Lengthy gone are the times of flagship 65W CPUs that might get by with a easy air cooler. The ATX customary would not particularly deal with the topic of cooling, but when CPU TDPs begin reaching ludicrous 500W ranges, it’s one thing that must be thought-about. The realm required for monstrous VRM options and heatsinks to tame them have to be factored right into a future customary.
Bear in mind BTX?
Ahh, do you keep in mind BTX? That was Intel’s try to switch the ATX motherboard kind issue within the mid-2000’s with one thing extra related within the twenty first century. Aside from a couple of ideas and OEM methods, BTX got here and went with a whimper.
It did have some fascinating properties, one among which was swapping the positioning of the I/O panel and enlargement slots. It additionally gave the CPU ‘first dibs’ on incoming case airflow. Some methods had the flexibility to vertically mount the graphics card, and even have it positioned reverse the motherboard, permitting airflow to maneuver extra freely although the case.
BTX was a novel thought, and one which had some actual benefits. It was developed to handle the extreme warmth points affecting Intel’s Pentium 4 period CPUs. Historical past is repeating…
The issue was its lack of business help. Motherboard distributors did exhibit merchandise round 2004, however BTX rapidly fell by the wayside. And therein lies the issue with any effort to switch the ATX customary.
Some closing ideas
Any substitute of the ATX customary would require close to common business help. Intel cannot come excessive and say: ‘Let’s do it this manner’ because it may in years previous. One thing like an IEEE group or another business physique made up of all the important thing gamers is the one life like method ahead.
Such modifications have an effect on each space of not simply the PC, however every thing else to some extent. From a easy motherboard to laptops to knowledge facilities masking soccer fields: all could be affected in no less than a way.
I say let the enterprise of us do their factor. These of us can chuck a billion {dollars} at an issue and clear up it. However the humble PC wants a redesign that introduces higher energy effectivity, improved cooling, and improved cable administration. Add a touch of simplicity and extra enticing aesthetics, and we have got a bunch of issues all avid gamers would profit from.
Sadly, if I needed to put a wager on it, I might say the probabilities of main kind issue modifications are just about zero within the brief time period. The business is simply too large lately, there’s an excessive amount of time and cash invested within the current ecosystem. A change of momentum of this scale when so many corporations have their fingers within the ATX pie makes imminent change unlikely.