BTX Suggestions!!!

[imported_Dhaval00]

Hey guys...am a new member on the AT Team..got busted for using @hotmail account. But anyhow...I am planning to buy a new PC and want to load it up with goodies...I already have my eyes on the Intel 775s and Asus's new Premium mobo for the mentioned processor. I could go with AMD but the only problem is I will have to upgrade again after pbly a year when AMD goes BTX as well. I am pretty sure about all my componenys right now...but the only messed up part is "what case to get?" I had my eyes on Lian Li but for some reason I dont like the cases...I am just not satisfied with the 2 fans they have to provide! I need your help in the sense tht if you guys could post any info on upcoming cases from companies like Antec and Chenbro tht are BTX based!!!
All the help will be very much appreicated...thanks in advance!

 

[Mik3y]

since you can afford to get the new intel 775, then can i ask you why you want to stick with intel on this upgrade or new build? wtih amd and socket 939, they beat intel on EVERY single benchmark, including encoding/decoding. i'm not being biased here, but ya, if you dont believe me, have a look for yourself here. intel has no advantage over amd right now. btw, welcome to anandtech forums.

 

[Mik3y]

also. the only btx capable case i know of is the cooler master stacker, which i hear is huge, solid, and really heavy. besides that, its got great airflow and is relatively quiet.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

Mik3y...as i mentioned...I am "planning to upgarde"...not yet completely positive coz there r a lot of changes happening as far as hardware goes. I know that AMD is kicks ass and rips Intel apart with the socket 939 and the mobos tht run it...but my point being...if i buy it now....wht do i do after a year when AMD makes BTX mainstream?!...I will have to thorw away all tht I got i jst now...plus one more very very important point...where is PCI express support on AMD mobos..???...and yeah...as we know the basic rule...I dont mind waiting if i am getting something better. Thts why i mentioned lemme know if u know bout any release dates in this regard!!!...Ty for your replies.

 

[Mik3y]

amd should be coming out with pci-e sometime this fall. i know they are not bringing it out now because the technology is still too premature and so far, it sux, just like ddr2. btx wont be coming out in a while and even then, it will take many years just to make the switch from atx to btx. btx's primary purpose is to power a cooler system so that it wont succumb to heat like atx sumtimes does. btx wont be mainstream til 2006-2007. as for amd, they arent really looking for btx yet since they run much cooler and more efficient then intel's current cpu's. as of now, theres really no reason for btx and the change wont be that big when it comes out.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

I was thinking about tht and was in doubt until taking the final step...i really apprecite u helping me and everyone else(if they do help me!)...so after all getting an AMD based on 939 and MSI mobo wont be bad after all?...also i hope AMD comes out wid pci-e soon...thn i can make a swtich...also...shud i get a MSI mobo or one frm Asus?...i personally like Asus much better..ty again

 

[Mik3y]

i like both actually. my personal favorite is abit, but asus is still considered top dog. as for msi, they've gotten pretty big since the athlon 64's came out. if you like the asus better, go for it. as for pci-e, current agp video cards KILL the pci-e ones in every benchmark. its still a bit premature for the technology, but if you dont mind switching motherboards later, then get a cheaper socket 939 board and then sell it once pci-e gets big. then get the new boards. also, ddr2 should become better and that's a plus for you. if it were me though, i probably would just wait til pci-e comes out for amd since costs of the cpu's and boards and etc will become cheaper then. also, faster cpu's will be out then too. IMO, the wait's not a bad one, but if you'd like to get the upgrade now, then go for it.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

Its simple - I WAIT
I would still like ppl other thn Mik3y to put forward thr decisions...after all i m gonan wait until pci-e becomes a standard issue for AMD!

 

[darkswordsman17]

Well, there's no telling for sure when PCI Express will even matter much. Right now it actually offers worse performance than AGP. Also there is the overpriced stuff you have to get. New 775 mobo, new 775 P4, DDR2 memory, all of which offers no performance advantage yet. Also, you'll need to make sure and have a power supply that has a 24 pin connector instead of the 20 pin that most have now.

The Coolermaster Stacker case can handle pretty much any configuration. You can use current ATX boards in it, but can also change-over to BTX.

You'll have to wait a good bit for a nice PCI Express graphics card.

I would personally suggest you wait at least until this fall.

 

[Falloutboy]

well I have a feeling AMD will not go BTX unless they absolutly have too and if they do I doubt they will follow the specidfication closely due to the way thier chipset needs to be layed out on the board

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Falloutboy
well I have a feeling AMD will not go BTX unless they absolutly have too and if they do I doubt they will follow the specidfication closely due to the way thier chipset needs to be layed out on the board

same here

 

[Gamingphreek]

Also if you wait on AMD Nforce 4 is right around the corner. That is gonna kill everything on the market. Also BTX on AMD is debatable because the specs call for a straight line which AMD cannot do because of the southbridges placement.

-Kevin

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Intel's BTX is worthless to AMD due to their on-die memory controller trace lines. Conspiracy? LOL. The BTX is hated by case makers and AMD is laughing at it and sticking to the current standards because their chips are "cool n quiet". Their spin, I know but they don't need BTX and doesn't look like they will need BTX. PCI-ex offers no performance boost but when the Nforce4 comes out dual video cards will come out and for those with 50000 watt power supplies will have gaming fun! Just joking. DDR-2's latency is so high that it would be slower on the AMD 64's then PC3200 so don't expect that until it hits DDR2 800 late next year. Incidentally the next gen video cards will have a AGP variant so unless you plan on SLI then an AGP motherboard is still fine.

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Here's my prediction:

AMD will skip DDR-2 and go straight from DDR1 to DDR3. They will do this because they don't require extremely high memory bandwidth and can therefore wait for DDR3 to become mainstream.

BTX is a tougher call. I personally don't see a need for the spec change for Mid Tower Cases, since ATX mid tower cases can be setup to give pretty much the same benefits that BTX gives without requiring a MB or case standards change. For SFF systems, BTX seems to offer some marginal benefits, but once again I wonder if the same benefits could be obtained from a well designed ATX case. I would like to see the whole BTX idea dropped, and therefore hope that AMD does not adopt the standard and that Intel will go back to ATX when they get their next gen, chips out (I'm thinkng their next gen chips will be based off the Pentium M and will therefore be much cooler than the P4's). If Intel continues to push BTX for a couple generations, it WILL eventually become the standard, but I hope that does not happen and therefore will predict that AMD will not adopt the standard and that Intel will drop their push for BTX in the next year or so.

I'm probably wrong on the BTX thing, but I guess we'll find out.

Either way, I will most likely be purchasing a 939 A64 in December, hopefully with an NF4 MB with PCIe and Soundstorm.

-D'oh!

 

[ZobarStyl]

BTX is another example of Intel cramming something down the consumers' throats at their expense to make up for Intel's own shortcomings. No one likes BTX, period. If we have to we'll deal with it, but not a single person on these forums I can tell you is looking forward to throwing out their perfectly good ATX towers because Prescott is too hot to stick in crappy Dell cases that don't even have fans. BTX should be saved for those cases and SFF only, whereas there is not a single thing wrong with ATX for well-built towers right now. Computex this year showed exactly how excited mobo and case makers are about BTX...exactly nil. Don't expect AMD to jump on the bandwagon until Intel has thrown enough weight around and finally gotten BTX to be over 50% of cases sold, at which point it becomes a detriment to AMD to not use the major standard.

Overall, there's zero reasons to buy Intel for the highend right now...DDR-II and PCI-E are more expensive and no faster, the new chipsets can't overclock past 15%, Prescott is too hot and the latest round of benchies showed the Athlon64's beating the P4 at encoding, the last bastion of Intel supremacy. Don't plan around Intel when they've had nothing positive to show for the last 8 months, and all the tech they have slated to lead them through the next year is subpar at best.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

if i worked for intel and read this thread, i would just cry.

 

[Tiamat]

Play the waiting game as long as you can. Right now is a tough time to make a purchase because every week, new stuff is coming out. In the past few weeks, we have had socket 939, and the new Intels get more available. The required motherbaords are still being pumped out. New chipsets are being made, DDR-II and PCI-E are still immature, new Graphics card tech is out and its a tough call whether or not you want ATI or Nvidea. Heck, new Heatsinks have been coming out, and its somewhat tough to call which HS the better cooler.

I say, let the dust settle a little bit so you can see some hard facts, then you will be able to call a good shot and buy a very kick-ass solid system without the "oh sh1t, i should have waited 2 weeks!"