ECS does DTX Atom board

fri2219 · Post by **fri2219** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:55 pm

Well, I was dead wrong when I opined that no one would ever come out with a DTX form factor board.

Just nine short months later, a manufacturer has released finally a DTX mobo, with an Intel, not an AMD CPU.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:07 pm

Isn't the real question whether anyone will actually release a DTX case?

CountTyro · Post by **CountTyro** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:07 pm

Until that happens, it can live happily in a mATX case..

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:00 pm

Nice to know that DTX isn't dead. Now we just need some cases.

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:26 am

Some cases accept DTX.

IIRC InWin has some cases designed for DTX.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:34 pm

CountTyro wrote:Until that happens, it can live happily in a mATX case..

??? To me the point is to get the case smaller. The only advantage of a smaller MB is that it allows for a smaller case. Given that MB go obsolete pretty damn fast (at least in terms of things like integrated graphics), I'd never want to buy one and hold on to it until that right case comes along. Also, it seems that decent small cases at reasonable prices are a lot rarer than similar MB, so I'd rather get a case first and than find a MB that works with it than the other way around. My perspective is that I'd rather recycle the case over several MB than the other way around.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:51 pm

AuraAllan wrote:Some cases accept DTX.

Yes, but I have no interest in a DTX board with a ÂµATX case -- if I can live with a ÂµATX case, why wouldn't I use a ÂµATX board?

AuraAllan wrote:IIRC InWin has some cases designed for DTX.

Good find! A nice looking case too. I wonder why they made it low profile PCI only when it appears there is room for full height slots? I guess tin snips could cure that problem. Sadly my quick googling revealed no place to actually buy it. I guess I have to change my question to when will someone sell a DTX case? Since Newegg seemingly sells every other In-Win case, perhaps that will soon be answered, as well.

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 12:55 am

jessekopelman wrote:Yes, but I have no interest in a DTX board with a ÂµATX case -- if I can live with a ÂµATX case, why wouldn't I use a ÂµATX board?

I know. I feel exactly the same way.

jessekopelman wrote:Good find! A nice looking case too.

My buddy AndrewD found it some time ago.

frank2003 · Post by **frank2003** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:27 am

The Silverstone ML-02 case is compatible with DTX. When I got the case last year I was wondering about the opposite - whether anyone was ever going to make a DTX board.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:55 am

frank2003 wrote:The Silverstone ML-02 case is compatible with DTX. When I got the case last year I was wondering about the opposite - whether anyone was ever going to make a DTX board.

Yes, but it's also compatible with ÂµATX. So, why seek out a DTX board to use with it? If you look at the In-Win case AuraAllan brought up, you will see it is too small to accommodate a ÂµATX board, yet able to use the extra PCI slot mini-DTX provides beyond mini-ITX -- thus a true mini-DTX case!

croddie · Post by **croddie** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:46 am

jessekopelman wrote:if I can live with a ÂµATX case, why wouldn't I use a ÂµATX board?

I would expect that sff motherboard would be designed for lower power operation than a micro-ATX one: lower power operation and higher vrm efficiency at low power cpu usage. Because of the different usage patterns for these boards. That's just what I would expect; it would be nice to have actual data.

m^2 · Post by **m^2** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:33 pm

jessekopelman wrote:
AuraAllan wrote:Some cases accept DTX.
Yes, but I have no interest in a DTX board with a ÂµATX case -- if I can live with a ÂµATX case, why wouldn't I use a ÂµATX board?

AuraAllan wrote:IIRC InWin has some cases designed for DTX.
Good find! A nice looking case too. I wonder why they made it low profile PCI only when it appears there is room for full height slots? I guess tin snips could cure that problem. Sadly my quick googling revealed no place to actually buy it. I guess I have to change my question to when will someone sell a DTX case? Since Newegg seemingly sells every other In-Win case, perhaps that will soon be answered, as well.

I see no reason NOT to use DTX MB in uATX case unless you need (or expect too need one day) more expansion. If you can have it for right price then it's perfectly ok.

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:27 pm

I don't know if this will be the case for DTX, but generally smaller boards are more pricey. It'd kind of be like going out and spending $200 to get a Via mini-ITX board for a uATX case when you can get a uATX board and CPU for the same price that will have many more features and much better performance. It just doesn't make sense to me.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:19 am

croddie wrote:
jessekopelman wrote:if I can live with a ÂµATX case, why wouldn't I use a ÂµATX board?
I would expect that sff motherboard would be designed for lower power operation than a micro-ATX one: lower power operation and higher vrm efficiency at low power cpu usage. Because of the different usage patterns for these boards. That's just what I would expect; it would be nice to have actual data.

I used to think that myself, but every review I've ever seen of a SFF barebones or MoDT motherboard revealed very disappointing power consumption figures. I have a 1.7 GHz Dothan based Thinkpad that idles at 12W. Search for threads about the Shuttle SD11G5 (a SFF barebones that accepts Pentium M) -- I don't think any one beat 25W at idle . . . The truth is that by and large SFF, even those for use with mobile CPUs, use a desktop chipset. Even the new Eee Box, which uses a mobile Atom processor, is using the desktop chipset. My long winded point -- SFF is no reason to expect superior efficiency. At the moment, you are likely to do just as well with a good uATX as you will with a mini-ITX and there is as yet no reason to expect mini-DTX will be any better.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:26 am

m^2 wrote:I see no reason NOT to use DTX MB in uATX case unless you need (or expect too need one day) more expansion. If you can have it for right price then it's perfectly ok.

Sure it's ok, but it's no reason to be excited that there are finally DTX boards. At the moment there is no DTX board that has features you couldn't otherwise get in a uATX (for less money, likely). If not for the smaller case, what is its raison d'etre?

m^2 · Post by **m^2** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:06 am

jessekopelman wrote:
m^2 wrote:I see no reason NOT to use DTX MB in uATX case unless you need (or expect too need one day) more expansion. If you can have it for right price then it's perfectly ok.
Sure it's ok, but it's no reason to be excited that there are finally DTX boards. At the moment there is no DTX board that has features you couldn't otherwise get in a uATX (for less money, likely). If not for the smaller case, what is its raison d'etre?

W/out DTX case, it's just another case with possible future case downsize.
Some people ( me

) don't buy whole computers but endlessly upgrade one. Then "It's likely that later I will be able to" means something.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:28 pm

Sadly not much point to me without more choices and some actual good quiet cases. At this point it feels like the choices are really mini-itx, microatx, and full atx for standard sizes. Nothing else gives us enough mobos/cases/etc. I agree that a dtx in a microatx case is totally pointless for most users.