Suggestion of a new motherboard size [Idea for discussion]

[ThyRum]

Hello all,

 

i would like to start a conversation about current motherboard standards and how i would suggest a solution. Let me explain how i came to this idea:

I'm planning my next build and got kind of frustrated about the options we (especially we gamers) have with current boards. I have atm a z270 matx setup but only use the one PCIe for the GPU (like most setups around). I would like to go a bit more compact on my next setup but the next step down is ITX and that brings a personal problem with itself. Because of the size manufactures need to sell those at a higher prize than the bigger counterparts and i understand that and also those boards only have 2 Memoryslots. So i tought to myself it would be awsome to have a board that is kind of in between and combines mATX with ITX/DTX.

 

So, ow would a board like that be?

Name: mDTX

Size: height of DTX, width mATX

Memoryslots: 4

PCIe-slots: 1x 16x, maybe 2x 4x

M.2: 2-3 x (at least 2 over PCIe)

 

I think it would be even good for the manufacturers because they would have more room and it would be a viable choice for gaming builds.

 

I do understand that we dont have any cases that support that, but most ITX cases just needed some centimeters in length to accomodate such a board.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Enderman]

1) The price is higher because there is more demand for it.

 

2) Making another form factor takes millions of dollars of r&d and would not be cheaper at all.

 

3) You don't need more than 2 memory slots, 32GB is enough.

[Chiyawa]

Hmm... If you want to include 1 16x PCIe slot and 2 4x PCIe slots, then you need mATX motherboard. I don't think you can shrink the board size further with that many PCIe slots.

[mariushm]

IMHO, no, it's too little of a difference to be worth making another standard.

 

If you want something more modern, go all the way...

change all screw holes distances and all screw sizes to metric 

require a new atx standard for power supplies - replace 24pin connector with something more modern.. ex a 8-12 pin connector, remove 3.3v and 5v, leave just 12v stand-by and 12v for backwards compatibility and 20v for new video cards and processors, maybe add usb communication with power supply to get efficiency information, turn on/off cables or switch some cables between 12v and 20v, set rgb leds, adjust psu fan speeds (with psu overriding for safety if needed)

make cpu and video card connectors for 20v .. this way a 4pin cpu connector would be good for ~ 350-400w, so you don't have to use a 8pin connector for a Ryzen 2200g that uses 60 watts (and we could have boards that power cpu without separate cpu connectors) and you'd be able to have video cards take 100-120w from the slot (make it backwards compatible by adding an extension to the pci-e slots like they did with agp pro)

using 20v would also make it possible to have boards with barrel jack DC In connectors, where you power system with a 18.5v laptop adapter.. so you could make a320 style boards that can run from a 65w laptop adapter just fine, saving you money. 

 

With pci-e 4.0 being a thing I think it may be time to actually consider switching to a maximum of pci-e x8 slots for graphics cards on ITX boards, leaving x16 for bigger formats.... and have video cards made with pci-e x8 slots. This would allow you to put memory slots at a 45 degree under the pci-e slots so you free some space for other things (like an extra m.2 area).

 

 

ITX is more expensive because they have to squeeze the same amount of wires within a smaller area, while staying aware of heat dissipated in the circuit board. So, they may have to use a higher layer count in the circuit board making the circuit board more expensive to manufacture.

 

The sizes we have now were mostly selected to reduce wasted circuit board material... they make the boards on big circuit board panels which were typically 24" by 18" but nowadays you can see panels as big as 32" by 20" or something like that.

 

For example, with the standard 24" by 18" panels, you typically have to leave around 1" around the edges for tooling and other things so you're left with 22" by 16" surface where you could have circuit boards on. Now, if you look at ATX which is 12" x 9.6", you can see 12" fits nicely in the 16" dimension, and 9.6" fits nicely twice in the 22" area you have left, leaving around 1" or so between the individual rectangles ... so you get 4 ATX boards out of a panel :

 

 

mATX is less popular (and sells less) because it's not significantly low enough to squeeze additional boards on a panel... you have more wasted circuit board... also the people simply don't buy them as much because they now have ITX and smaller cases.

ITX at 6.7" x 6.7" makes more sense because you can put 3 x 2 boards on a panel, so you get more boards but board is more expensive because of more layers.

 

 

[ThyRum]

Hey, i just realized by looking around, that there has been for some time that kind of board around. It was the mid 2000s when even AMD tried that format. And now the drumroll ... it's standard DTX format. That is just simply an even shorter Version of mATX.

 

But i'm even more disappointed, because to be honest, most of us PC builders we dont use all the features of ATX. Sure, years ago we did, but now mostt of us only use 2-4 memorysticks, 1-2 Sata, 1-2 M.2 and the one PCIe for the GPU. So for what are we buying those giant boards, i dont even use the full potential of my mATX because most cases for that formfactor dont even have room for 6 SATA Drives.