Freakishly massive graphics playing cards and super-hot SSDs imply the basics of PC design wants a giant change

In my humble opinion, the ATX commonplace is damaged. The PCs we all know and love have developed a lot during the last 30 years. Small revisions and additions to the usual aren’t assembly the wants and necessities of a 2024 period PC, to say nothing of the calls for of a PC as we transfer in direction of—and into the 2030’s.

ATX (Superior Know-how Prolonged) is a motherboard and energy provide configuration specification launched by Intel in 1995. Its objective is to outline the essential fundamentals of our PCs. Should you take a look at the internals of a PC from the mid 90’s and examine it to at least one at this time, the format is well recognizable.

At its most elementary, ATX exists to make sure compatibility throughout the PC ecosystem. In idea, any ATX motherboard could be put in into any ATX case with any ATX energy provide. The scale, mounting factors, the form and site of the I/O panel and the positioning of the enlargement slots are key to this.

Through the years the ATX commonplace has undergone many revisions and expansions. Essentially the most well-known of those are the addition of the microATX and Mini-ITX requirements, although there are others extra related to workstation and enterprise motherboards. Prolonged ATX is one we regularly see in high-end client motherboards.

PC energy provides are additionally required to fulfill sure specs. That features the bodily connectors and the requirement to produce numerous voltages inside tolerances. These embrace the 12V, 5V and three.3V rails, in order that it ensures compatibility with—hopefully—all motherboards. 

The latest main ATX energy provide revision is ATX 3.0, which was launched in February of 2022. ATX 3.1 is coming this yr. It introduces the 12V-2×6 16-pin connector which may provide 600W of energy to the thirstiest graphics playing cards. It replaces the problem susceptible 12VHPWR connector, which has not precisely gone nicely.

There are a mess of explanation why I imagine there is a want for an ATX alternative. These embrace the rise of M.2, the bodily dimension and calls for of contemporary graphics playing cards, cooling necessities, energy effectivity, cable administration, and the necessity to put together for future applied sciences.

However there are some elements of the usual which might be completely wonderful. The positioning of the rear I/O panel and the motherboard mounting factors are two options which have stood the take a look at of time.

M.2 wasn’t even a twinkle in daddy Intel’s eye 30 years in the past

I am going to start with M.2. I’ve beforehand outlined the explanation why I feel M.2 is a poor resolution. It is received nothing to do with the efficiency of a speedy NVMe M.2 drive, it is all to do with the bodily, electrical, and cooling calls for it locations on a contemporary system. Today, motherboard designs are just about dominated by M.2 slots, and there was nothing like them when ATX was launched in 1995.

Ditching M.2 in favor of an alternate kind issue would take away the need for expansive motherboard mounted heatsinks, it will unlock motherboard PCB house for different elements (or make them cheaper), and so they require inefficient 3.3V energy. 

For some motive, competing cabled requirements together with U.2 and U.3 connections have by no means taken off within the client house. U.3 consists of assist for 12V energy. Eradicating 3.3V assist would repair one of many inefficiencies of contemporary ATX energy provides. However, I am going to get to that shortly.

A U.3 drive may incorporate cooling right into a 2.5-inch SSD chassis. Such a drive would require the *shock* routing of a cable. However, that might be simply solved by placing the connectors on the rear of the motherboard, which brings me to my subsequent level.

Make bottom cable connectors necessary

Mounting all the motherboard connectors and headers on the rear of the motherboard could be one of many simpler modifications to mandate. Motherboard producers are already experimenting on this regard, with MSI’s Challenge Zero and Asus’ BTF ideas being outstanding examples.

Rear mounted motherboard connectors enhance aesthetics and case airflow. It will additionally make the system simpler to entry. M.2 drives are a ache to put in, whereas a SATA (or U.3) SSD might be merely and simply mounted and connected with not one of the fiddliness of M.2 drives.

One other instance many builders have most likely come throughout is the issue of accessing the EPS energy connectors when you’ve got high mounted followers or an AIO cooler put in. Rear mounted connectors utterly take away this subject, and others prefer it, equivalent to cables that connect to headers alongside the underside of the motherboard. They are often troublesome to entry when you’ve got a PSU shroud instantly beneath them, or have enlargement playing cards put in.

So, bottom motherboard connectors make your system look higher, enhance case airflow, are comparatively simple for motherboard producers to implement, and make system modifications simpler. It is a no brainer.

 Graphics playing cards have grow to be bodily dominant 

Altering the discrete graphics card kind issue is far simpler stated than completed. It is nearly laughable how bodily massive a contemporary high-performance graphics card is. Evaluate them to the heatsink-less single slot designs from the 1990’s! Curiously, although, a quad slot RTX 4090 can theoretically be put in into an ATX case from 30 years in the past when single slot, half size passive playing cards have been frequent.

A contemporary graphics card nonetheless must be put in right into a slot that bodily differs little from the AGP slots of the 1990’s. The identical could be stated of a case’s enlargement slots. Anti-sag brackets tackle the burden facet, however the motive they exist in any respect is proof that trendy graphics playing cards are nothing like their 1990’s ancestors. Their dimensions and weight, together with runaway energy and cooling calls for have come too far to be sustainable. What’s subsequent? 600W five-slot playing cards? That is ridiculous.

This brings me to the troublesome half. I would prefer to see a brand new graphics card kind issue. A big graphics card already protrudes above the highest of the I/O bracket. Why not take {that a} step additional? As a substitute of a card that is 140mm tall, why not make it 180mm? Makers may set up larger CFM, decrease RPM followers which might be quieter, whereas permitting the playing cards themselves to be thinner or shorter. You could possibly mount them vertically, away from the motherboard, not in contrast to you are able to do with riser cables now. That method we would not should resort to instances which might be extra like cubes than the oblong towers they’re now.

An alternative choice could be to go in the wrong way, so, for example a card takes up 5 or 6 slots. In idea, a GPU cooler may incorporate a single 120mm or 140mm fan to direct cool air from the entrance of the case over an enormous heatsink floor space and straight out the rear of the case. That concept might be a bit foolish, although.

That is only a spitballing of concepts, however with graphics playing cards trending upwards in energy consumption, which implies ever steeper cooling necessities, the PCIe graphics card kind issue we all know and love is trending in an unsustainable route.

The case for ATX12VO 

Firstly, the 20-pin and now commonplace 24-pin energy connectors are relics. It would not be onerous to make them bodily smaller, together with the 8-pin EPS connectors. However, there’s an present commonplace that addresses that, amongst different issues. It is referred to as ATX12VO, developed by Intel in 2019. Its primary declare to fame is that it provides 12V DC energy solely.

The issue with ATX (and SFX) energy provides is that they carry the legacies of prior a long time. Today, PCs rely way more closely on the 12V rail of the ability provide. System elements that require 3.3V (equivalent to M.2 drives) or 5V (USB) may use motherboard mounted step-down circuitry to produce the ability these units require. The motherboard is already required to route these voltages anyway.

The upside is that ATX12VO energy provides could be a lot less complicated in design with higher effectivity. Which means a mix of much less waste warmth and decrease energy consumption, an extended lifespan and cheaper buy worth.

One of many potential obstacles I see is the rise of USB Energy Supply. ATX12VO PCs with a number of USB-PD supporting ports could be difficult for motherboard makers to implement. 

ATX12VO might be the change I would award the bottom precedence to. I would like to see higher effectivity and hundreds of thousands of ATX12VO energy provides combining to decrease world vitality consumption, however the ongoing growth of ATX energy provides, with ATX 3.0 and three.1 being the most recent examples, means ATX12VO has a steep—however not insurmountable climb forward of it, if it is to ever see widespread adoption.

As we transfer in direction of the 2030’s there might be new issues 

It is somewhat onerous to see into the crystal ball and predict a few of the modifications to come back. One instance that involves thoughts is that if or when optical interconnects grow to be viable. System energy consumption continues to rise, and there is a want for higher effectivity that is sooner, with decrease latency. Optical interconnects are one thing we’ll certainly hear extra about within the years forward. What should you may get by with out the necessity for PCIe slots?

Because the mid 1990’s PCs have required SDRAM, DDR1, DDR2 and so forth. Their bodily dimensions stay primarily the identical, even when they aren’t suitable. A few weeks in the past, I wrote a narrative after recognizing an Asus ROG motherboard with SO-DIMM slots, and it received me eager about how desktop PC reminiscence may do with a bodily change, if solely to create somewhat bit of additional PCB house for an additional M.2 slot.

Would possibly we see one thing much like CAMM reminiscence within the years forward? How about optical RAM? It is good to consider, however actually, we’re way more more likely to have the identical RGB outfitted DDR7 in 10 years from now. Regardless of the case, a smaller RAM footprint wouldn’t go astray, if the business may get on board with it.

Lastly, simply how excessive will CPU TDP’s go? Lengthy gone are the times of flagship 65W CPUs that might get by with a easy air cooler. The ATX commonplace does not particularly tackle the topic of cooling, but when CPU TDPs begin reaching ludicrous 500W ranges, it’s one thing that must be thought-about. The world required for monstrous VRM options and heatsinks to tame them should be factored right into a future commonplace.

Bear in mind BTX?

Ahh, do you keep in mind BTX? That was Intel’s try to interchange the ATX motherboard kind issue within the mid-2000’s with one thing extra related within the twenty first century. Other than just a few ideas and OEM programs, BTX got here and went with a whimper.

It did have some fascinating properties, one in every of which was swapping the positioning of the I/O panel and enlargement slots. It additionally gave the CPU ‘first dibs’ on incoming case airflow. Some programs had the power to vertically mount the graphics card, and even have it positioned reverse the motherboard, permitting airflow to maneuver extra freely although the case.

BTX was a novel thought, and one which had some actual benefits. It was developed to deal with the extreme warmth points affecting Intel’s Pentium 4 period CPUs. Historical past is repeating…

The issue was its lack of business assist. Motherboard distributors did exhibit merchandise round 2004, however BTX shortly fell by the wayside. And therein lies the issue with any effort to interchange the ATX commonplace.

Some closing ideas 

Any alternative of the ATX commonplace would require close to common business assist. Intel cannot come excessive and say: ‘Let’s do it this manner’ because it may in years previous. One thing like an IEEE group or another business physique made up of all the important thing gamers is the one sensible method ahead.

Such modifications have an effect on each space of not simply the PC, however the whole lot else to some extent. From a easy motherboard to laptops to information facilities overlaying soccer fields: all could be affected in not less than a way.

I say let the enterprise of us do their factor. These of us can chuck a billion {dollars} at an issue and clear up it. However the humble PC wants a redesign that introduces higher energy effectivity, improved cooling, and improved cable administration. Add a touch of simplicity and extra enticing aesthetics, and we have a bunch of issues all players would profit from.

Sadly, if I needed to put a wager on it, I would say the possibilities of main kind issue modifications are just about zero within the quick time period. The business is simply too large as of late, there’s an excessive amount of time and cash invested within the present ecosystem. A change of momentum of this scale when so many corporations have their fingers within the ATX pie makes imminent change unlikely.