The predominant motherboard form factor since the mid-1990s. It improves on the previous standard, the Baby AT form factor, by rotating the orientation of the board 90 degrees. This allows for a more efficient design, with disk drive cable connectors nearer to the drive bays and the CPU closer to the power supply and cooling fan.
Intel's ATX motherboard specification improved on the old AT spec by rotating the whole arrangement 90 degrees in the case, and moving the CPU and RAM away from the expansion slots so long cards wouldn't foul them. ATX also supports a smarter power supply, which can turn on and off in response to port activity and software control. Computers that can turn themselves off when you tell them to shut down use ATX power supplies. Full size ATX boards are 305mm by 244mm. Mini-ATX boards are 284mm by 208mm. Both should fit in any ATX case.
A standard that defines the number and position of the motherboard mounting holes and offers recommendations as to component, expansion board, and port connector placement. An ATX board must use an ATX Power Supply.
form factor was designed to replace the AT form factor. It improves on the AT design by rotating the board ninety degrees, so that the IDE connectors are closer to the drive bays, and the CPU is closer to the power supply and cooling fan. The keyboard, mouse, serial, USB, and parallel ports are built in.
ATX is a very popular specification for a desktop computer's motherboard. ATX improves the motherboard design by taking the small AT motherboard (sometimes known as the "Baby AT") that was an earlier industry standard and rotating by 90 degrees the layout of the microprocessor and expansion slots. This allows space for more full-length add-in cards. A double-height aperture is specified for the rear of the chassis, allowing more possible I/O arrangements for a variety of devices such as TV input and output, LAN connection, and so forth. The new layout is also intended to be less costly to manufacture. Fewer cables are needed. The power supply has a side-mounted fan, allowing direct cooling of the processor and cards, making a secondary fan unnecessary.
The ATX form factor specification takes the original Baby AT-sized motherboard, rotates it 90 degrees, and calls for a power supply with a side-mounted...
(A PC motherboard specification by Intel.)
Next generation AT. Can be recognized by the PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. Has 20 pin dual row power connectors. Allows software OFF. Comes in several different flavors now. see: form factor
Refer to the shape and size of motherboards.
ATX is a motherboard "form factor," or size. ATX is currently the standard form factor. Another example of a motherboard form factor is microATX. An ATX motherboard usually has 5 to 6 PCI slots and 3 DIMMs, verses 3 PCI and 2 DIMMs on a microATX motherboard.
The most common form factor for PC systems presently in use; originally introduced by Intel in 1995. ATX motherboards and cases make better use of space and resources than did the AT form factor.
A type of power supply for a computer which offers some advanced features. Backbone - A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. The term is relative as a backbone in a small network will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Most widely used form factor for PCs.
The modern-day shape and layout of PC motherboards. It improves on the previous standard, the Baby AT form factor, by rotating the orientation of the board 90 degrees. This allows for a more efficient design, with disk drive cable connectors nearer to the drive bays and the CPU closer to the power supply and cooling fan.
The ATX (for Advanced Technology Extended) form factor was created by Intel in 1995. It was the first big change in computer case and motherboard design in many years. ATX overtook AT completely as the default form factor for new systems.