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Editorial: AMD Launches DTX Form-Factor Initiative
When we headed down to the AMD portion of CES, they were mainly concerned with announcing their first ever Vista-ready TV tuner with cable card support. And as interesting as that it, it has been rumored, leaked, and otherwise public for some time. What came as a surprise is their new motherboard form factor project. Now, hear me out, this is very relative. AMD doesn't have the mass that Intel does when it comes to establishing a form factor. And why would they need to? Let's ruminate over BTX, so that I can tell you how DTX has nothing in common with it. Intel made BTX so that their OEM partners could put a smoking hot processor in a computer and get the freshest, coolest air possible over its CPU, but AMD didn't have to wrestle with heat issues. BTX had several requirements for CPU and other hardware placement that interfered with ATX mounting; DTX is fully compatible with ATX cases. For high-end Prescots, it was cheaper to re-design cases and motherboards than it was to re-tool and re-brand their Pentium 4 to keep it cool. And companies like Dell were able to deliver, since they make their own cases and motherboards. AMD can't tell Dell to do the same, and also, they haven't had to. The reason for the initiative isn't even to draft requirements for any manufacturer, aside from motherboard construction and size. So knowing that, what's in it for AMD? In a way, nothing. They're trying to make motherboards cheaper. The PCB that motherboards are stamped into can be very expensive, and more importantly, limited in supply. In the past couple of years, there have been several PCB shortages that forced motherboard production bottlenecks. Several motherboards can be cut from a single sheet of PCB, called a "blank". Think of cutting them out like cookies: there's always dough left over around the edges. DTX uses dimensions that allow more motherboards to be cut from the same PCB; they just waste less material.     In that way, motherboard manufacturers will be able to significantly decrease their production costs when making AMD boards, making them wholly more appealing to the largest sectors of the computing market. Since the majority of consumers care little what makes their computer go, but do care what it costs to get one, AMD stands to make real gains by playing up the frugality of DTX. The second standard is limiting the number of layers the PCB has to four, thereby also reducing the cost of making DTX boards; motherboards overlap different circuits with each layer of PCB so that multiple circuits don't short out in case they pass over or under any other circuits. Because only very high-end motherboards require more layers than four, this cements DTX firmly in low-cost arenas. The last and final standard is, of course, using an AMD processor. With DTX, AMD is not limiting anyone, as they will not make it incompatible with ATX, Micro-ATX, or even Mini-ITX. They will not be introducing a new heatsink mount or socket. The motherboard mounts are in the same places, the I/O panel is unmoved, and the expansion slots are not affected. Besides, they can't afford to add any incompatibility; they know they can only change one thing at a time. The DTX form-factor is designed for consumer and business markets in every way, including smaller DTX motherboard sizes comparable to Shuttle or MSI's SFF boards, opening the gate for more competition in the faster-growing lifestyle PC market. And competition is always good. Additionally, their designs will not include legacy connectors, though manufacturers may include them. Again, aside from the PCB, (and requisite AMD processor) the makers are not being forced to or away from any specific features. And for the power-conscious, there are suggested power and thermal ratings (<35W TDP, which is suggestive of Mobile-on-Desktop hardware, if the slimline optical drives and mini-PCI card slots on their mock-ups didn't give it away) though manufacturers are free to use whatever socket and power supply standard they feel appropriate. The only chink in the scheme is that AMD can't tell companies that they have to make these changes, they can only make DTX look attractive and hope that the market runs with it. But Intel inarguably is of a mentality that dictates to manufacturers specifications, so that manufacturers cater to Intel's designs, who then provides coupons and other (some say back-room) incentives in order to subsidize inefficiency and other losses. Here, Intel gave an inch, and AMD is going to try to take a mile. If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the rest of our extensive CES Coverage (over 40 articles with more on the way!). 
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