Form Factor

Every PC ever built goes somewhere. Maybe its on the floor or on top of a big
desk, but it might be in a rack, on a shelf, share a [small] desk with other
accoutrements of a typical office worker, or be placed somewhere that puts
practical limits on size.

Here are the most common form factors. As you can see, each of them has a
different number of expansion slots, into which cards such as display adapters,
wireless NICs, and tuner cards can be inserted. The EATX form factor is deeper
than ATX, but adds no additional slots. If you know you need a graphics card,
professional-quality sound card, and plan to re-use a wireless NIC, then Mini-ITX
and DTX are not for you. If it needs to fit in an alcove of a desk, then ATX (or
EATX) may not be viable options.
Tabular information

Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
Obsolete, see Industry
Standard Architecture.
The IBM Personal
Computer XT was the
successor to the
original IBM PC, its
8.5 11 in
XT IBM 1983 first home computer.
216 279 mm
As the specifications
were open,
many clone motherboa
rds were produced and
it became a de
facto standard.
Obsolete, see Industry
Standard Architecture.
Created by IBM for
the IBM Personal
12 1113 in Computer/AT, an Intel
AT (Advanced
IBM 1984 305 279 80286machine. Also
Technology)
330 mm known as Full AT, it
was popular during the
era of the Intel
80386 microprocessor.
Superseded by ATX.
IBM's 1985 successor
to the AT motherboard.
8.5 1013 in Functionally equivalent
Baby-AT IBM 1985 216 254 to the AT, it became
330 mm popular due to its
significantly smaller
size.
Created by Intel in
1995. As of 2007, it is
the most popular form
12 9.6 in
ATX Intel 1996 factor for commodity
305 244 mm
motherboards. Typical
size is 9.6 12 in
although some
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
companies extend that
to 10 12 in.
Created by the Server
System
Infrastructure (SSI)
forum. Derived from
the EEB and ATX
12 10.5 in specifications. This
SSI CEB SSI
305 267 mm means that SSI CEB
motherboards have the
same mounting holes
and the same IO
connector area as ATX
motherboards.
Created by the Server
System
Infrastructure (SSI)
forum. Derived from
the EEB and ATX
specifications. This
12 13 in means that SSI CEB
SSI EEB SSI
305 330 mm motherboards have the
same mounting holes
and the same IO
connector area as ATX
motherboards, but SSI
EEB motherboards do
not.
Created by the Server
System
Infrastructure (SSI)
forum. Derived from
the EEB and ATX
16.2 13 in specifications. This
SSI MEB SSI
411 330 mm means that SSI CEB
motherboards have the
same mounting holes
and the same IO
connector area as ATX
motherboards.
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
A smaller variant of the
ATX form factor (about
25% shorter).
Compatible with most
ATX cases, but has
9.6 9.6 in fewer slots than ATX,
microATX 1996
244 244 mm for a smaller power
supply unit. Very
popular for desktop
and small form
factor computers as of
2007.
Mini-ATX is
considerably smaller
than Micro-ATX. Mini-
ATX motherboards
were designed with
5.9 5.9 in MoDT (Mobile on
Mini-ATX AOpen 2005
150 150 mm Desktop Technology)
which adapt mobile
CPUs for lower power
requirement, less heat
generation and better
application capability.
A subset of microATX
developed by Intel in
1999. Allows more
9.0 7.5 in
flexible motherboard
FlexATX Intel 1999 228.6 190.5 m
design, component
m max.
positioning and shape.
Can be smaller than
regular microATX.
A small, highly
integrated form factor,
6.7 6.7 in
designed for small
Mini-ITX VIA 2001 170 170 mm
devices such as thin
max.
clients and set-top
boxes.
4.7 4.7 in Targeted at smart
Nano-ITX VIA 2003
120 120 mm digital entertainment
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
devices such as
PVRs, set-top
boxes, media
centers and Car PCs,
and thin devices.
3.9 2.8 in
Pico-ITX VIA 2007 100 72 mm
max.
2.953 1.772 in
Mobile-ITX VIA 2007
75 45 mm
170 85 35 m Used in the VIA
Neo-ITX VIA 2012
m Android PC
A standard proposed
by Intel as a successor
to ATX in the early
2000s, according to
Intel the layout has
better cooling. BTX
Boards are flipped in
comparison to ATX
BTX (Balanced 12.8 10.5 in Boards, so a BTX or
Technology Intel 2004 325 267 mm MicroBTX Board needs
Extended) max. a BTX case, while an
ATX style board fits in
an ATX case. The
RAM slots and the PCI
slots are parallel to
each other.
Processor is placed
closest to the fan. May
contain a CNR board.
10.4 10.5 in
MicroBTX (or uBT
Intel 2004 264 267 mm
X)
max.
8.0 10.5 in
PicoBTX Intel 2004 203 267 mm
max.
200 244 mm
DTX AMD 2007
max.
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
200 170 mm
Mini-DTX AMD 2007
max.
Used in embedded
systems and single
smartModule Digital-Logic 66 85 mm
board computers.
Requires a baseboard.
Used in embedded
systems and single
ETX Kontron 95 114 mm
board computers.
Requires a baseboard.
Used in embedded
systems and single
board computers.
COM Requires a carrier
PICMG 95 125 mm
ExpressBasic board. Formerly
referred to as
ETXexpress
by Kontron.
Used in embedded
systems and single
board computers.
COM Requires a carrier
PICMG 95 95 mm
ExpressCompact board. Formerly
referred to as
microETXexpress
by Kontron.
A general-purpose
"eco-conscious" mass-
volume standard
based around re-use of
Luke Kenneth legacy PCMCIA. Has
EOMA68 Casson 85.6 54 mm two variants: Type I
Leighton (3.3mm high) and Type
II (5.0mm high). Does
not require a carrier
board if the user-facing
end provides power.
Used in embedded
COM ExpressMini PICMG 55 84 mm
systems and single
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
board computers.
Requires a carrier
board. Formerly
referred to as
nanoETXexpress
by Kontron. Also
known as COM
Express Ultra and
adheres to pin-outs
Type 1 or Type 10[1]
Used in embedded
systems and single
CoreExpress SFF-SIG 58 65 mm board computers.
Requires a carrier
board.
Used
in rackmount server
systems. Typically
used for server-class
type motherboards
with dual processors
Extended 12 13 in
Unknown and too much circuitry
ATX(EATX) 305 330 mm
for a standard ATX
motherboard. The
mounting hole pattern
for the upper portion of
the board matches
ATX.
Used
in rackmount server
systems. Typically
Enhanced used for server-class
13.68 13 in
Extended Supermicro type motherboards
347 330 mm
ATX(EEATX) with dual processors
and too much circuitry
for a standard E.ATX
motherboard.
9 1113 in Based on a design
LPX Unknown 229 279 by Western Digital, it
330 mm allowed smaller cases
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
than the AT standard,
by putting the
expansion card slots
on a Riser card. Used
in slimline retail PCs.
LPX was never
standardized and
generally only used by
large OEMs.
89 1011 in
Used in slimline retail
Mini-LPX Unknown 203229 254
PCs.
279 mm
Used in embedded
systems. AT Bus (ISA)
PC/104
architecture adapted to
PC/104 Consortium19 3.8 3.6 in
vibration-
92
tolerant header
connectors.
Used in embedded
PC/104 systems. PCI Bus
PC/104-Plus Consortium19 3.8 3.6 in architecture adapted to
97 vibration-tolerant
header connectors.
Used in embedded
systems.
PC/104
PCI Express
PCI/104-Express Consortium20 3.8 3.6 in
architecture adapted to
08
vibration-tolerant
header connectors.
Used in embedded
PC/104 systems.
PCIe/104 Consortium20 3.8 3.6 in PCI/104-Express
08 without the legacy PCI
bus.
89 10 A low-profile design
13.6 in released in 1997. It
NLX Intel 1999
203229 254 also incorporated
345 mm a riser for expansion
 Notes
(typical usage,
Form factor Originated Max. size
Market adoption,
etc.)
cards,[2] and never
became popular.
TQ- Used in embedded
UTX Components 88 108 mm systems and IPCs.
2001 Requires a baseboard.
A large design for
14 16.75 in servers and high-end
WTX Intel 1998 355.6 425.4 m workstations featuring
m multiple CPUs and har
d drives.
A proprietary design
for servers and high-
16.48 13 in
SWTX Unknown end workstations
418 330 mm
featuring
multiple CPUs.
A large design
by EVGA currently
featured on two
motherboards; the
13.6 15 in
eVGA SR2 and SRX.
HPTX EVGA 2008 345.44 381 m
Intended for use with
m
multiple CPUs. Cases
require 9 expansion
slots to contain this
form-factor.
Used in embedded
XTX 2005 95 114 mm systems. Requires a
baseboard.
Graphical comparison of physical sizes
Motherboard picture

Motherboard Style Form Factor Description

ATX Motherboard ATX was developed as an

evolution of the Baby AT form
factor and was defined to address
four areas of improvement:
enhanced ease of use, better
support for current and future I/O,
better support for current and
future processor technology, and
reduced total system cost.

Probably the most common form

factor for a motherboard is the
ATX form factor. The board is
approximately 12 x 9.6 (30cm x
24cm).

MICRO ATX MOTHERBOARD This form factor was developed as

a natural evolution of the ATX form
factor to address new market
trends and PC technologies. Micro
ATX supports:
Current processor technologies
The transition to newer processor
technologies
AGP high performance graphics
solutions
Smaller motherboard size
Smaller power supply form factor

MINI ATX MOTHERBOARD MINI ATX motherboard is a slightly

smaller variation that measures
11.2 x 8.2 (28cm x 21cm).
Difference between ATX and MINI
ATX is the number of buses and
possibly memory slots on the
motherboard. Mounting holes for
both are located in the same
 place, making them
interchangeable in most cases.

The size of Flex ATX is 9 x 7.5

(22, 9 cm x 19, 1 cm). It is derived
from Micro ATX and is used in
small computer cases.

FLEX ATX MOTHERBOARD

NANO ITX
Measures of Nano ITX are 4.7 x
4.7 (12 cm x 12 cm). It is used
with smaller devices like set-top
boxes, car PCs, media centers,
and other embedded devices.

NLX FORM FACTOR The NLX is an older style form

factor that is not used very often
anymore. We might see it in some
older motherboards but its not
likely to encounter it with newer
motherboards.

NLX is an older form factor used

for slim line desktop-style
computers. NLX is an
improvement over an even earlier
LPX form factor