Mastering Motherboard Form Factors and Computer Case Components

Form Factors

• The most commonly used form factor is the ATX form factor.

ATX Motherboards

• A standard ATX motherboard has dimensions of 12 inches x 9.6 inches (305 mm x 244 mm).
• Standard ATX motherboards have 7 expansion slots.

Case Types

• Home theater PC (HTPC) cases are designed to connect to TVs and be used as a home media computer.
• Cases smaller than microATX towers are typically small form factor (SFF) or mini-ITX cases.

Riser Cards

• Riser cards are used in some small form factor cases to add expansion slots.

Extended ATX (EATX) Form Factor

• The EATX form factor adds extra space for memory modules to the Standard ATX form factor.

ITX Form Factor

• The most common variant of the ITX form factor is mini-ITX.

BTX Form Factor

• The BTX form factor was intended to replace the ATX form factor but did not gain widespread adoption.

Case Compatibility

• Full tower cases are compatible with all ATX form factors, including EATX.

Large Form Factors

• The largest version of ATX is the Extended ATX (EATX) form factor.

Small Form Factor (SFF) Computers

• The mini-ITX form factor is designed for low-power, small form factor (SFF) computers.

Unsuccessful Form Factors

• The BTX form factor was designed as a replacement for the ATX form factor but did not gain widespread adoption.

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