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First Looks At PCI-X, BTX, New Chipsets, And More

Posted by timothy on from the first-blush-followed-by-unveiling-and-then-more dept.

rsrsharma writes "AnandTech has some early bird Computex 2004 coverage up its sleeve. Included are the first pictures and partial specs of nVidia's NV45, the PCI-X (PCI-eXpress) successor to the 6800 Ultra, and ATI's PCI-X cards. Also shown are Intel's new 9xx line of chipsets and LGA-755 motherboards, BTX form factor (the successor to ATX) motherboards, and much more. I'm definitely looking forward to this stuff." Update: 06/01 01:08 GMT by T : Several readers have pointed out that PCI-X properly stands for "PCI Extended" rather than "PCI Express."

4 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. BTX you say? by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is actually the first I heard of BTX, so I immediately flipped to the last page and had a look at the board. I have to say that the thing that bothers me the most about it, is the apparent lack of expansion slots. I only saw one slot, which was probably PCI-X?

    I sincerely hope that this does not mean the end of expansion cards. Because if it DOES, I am just going to say goodbye to Windows, and get a Mac. It defeats the main advantage of a PC if I can't upgrade whenever I see fit.

    1. Re:BTX you say? by aliens · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I believe the boards are all "pico"BTX meaning they're built for Small FormFactor (SFF) PC's. Such as the one's Shuttle Makes

      Hence the lack of expansion slots.

      And if you read through it, BTX is an Intel design not adopted by AMD yet. So I wouldn't worry about moving to Mac right now.

      --
      -- taking over the world, we are.
  2. You got it. (1st one!) by r00t · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The key PCI-X feature is "protocol tricks".
    Some wait states are eliminated from the
    protocol, providing a nice speed increase
    for cheap.

    Typically a PCI-X slot is also 64-bit and
    can go to 66, 100, or even 133 MHz. The key
    feature is the protocol change though.

    PCI Express is indeed serial, with 1 to 32
    serial links working together. (like RAID)

  3. Re:PCI-X != PCI express by Graff · · Score: 4, Insightful
    It's unlikely PCI-X will make it onto the average consumer level motherboard, but PCI-Express certainly will.

    The PowerMac G5s have 3 PCI-X slots on their motherboards. So there are at least some consumer-level motherboards being produced with them, even if PCI-X isn't being adopted wholesale by the computer industry.
    --
    Sapere aude!