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COMPUTER CHASSIS/CASES

Pronounced "CHA-see." Also called case, a metal frame that serves as thestructural support for electronic components. Every computer systemrequires at leastone chassis to house the circuit boards and wiring. The chassis alsocontains slots for expansion boards. If you want to insert more boards than there areslots, you will need an expansion chassis,which provides additional slots. There are two basic flavors of chassis designs-desktop models andtower models -but

there are many variations on these two basic types.

Computer case, also being referred as PC case, computer tower or computer chassis,determines the overall appearance of a PC computer. With evolving of computermotherboard form factor, PC cases have gone through several versions of basicstructures, including AT cases, PS2 cases and finally ATX cases that a vast majority PCcomputer cases belong to in the present time. A PC case laying vertically is calledcomputer tower, in contrary to the desktop case that is no longer popular. Computercases classically use steel as material although aluminum cases became available a

few years ago. Computer cases can be finished in different colors. Black and beige aremost commonly used for business computer cases. Computer silver chassis and othercolorful PC towers with lights are favored by many gamers. All PC computer cases wesupply come power supplies unless otherwise noted.

Call for wholesale prices and volume discounts on full lines of computer tower, CPUcases, business computer cases, computers cases, ATX Cases.

ATX Computer Tower Chassis

PC Cases Computer Tower

ATX Computer Case FX626

Description:

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-Snap-on/off Front Bezel for Quick Release-Internal Drive Bay can support up to 5 of 3.5" HDD

-80 mm Factory-Installed Cooling fan for Better Ventilation-Front-Meets FCC, CE and DOC Requirements 4x 5.25"

PC Cases Computer SilverATX Computer Case FX776

Description:

-Mid Tower ATX computer case-4 x 5.25, 2 x 3.5 external bays-4 x 3.5 internal bays-1 x 90mm rear system cooling fan-Front USB ports audio jacks-Black silver color design-AGI-350w power supply

PC Case Computer ChassisATX Computer Case IC8000

Description:

-Deluxe Mid-tower Computer Case-2 x 12cm PC case cooling Fan- High end 350w PC power supply- Convenient front USB ports- Large front PC case dust filter- PC cases caged vibration proof pads- Available in black and beige PCcase color- Idea computer cases for businessPC

PC Case Computer ChassisComputer ATX Case T05BL

Description:

- Coolermaster Centurion PC tower- CAT-T05 Mid Tower Case- Aluminum bezel- 5 x 5.25, 1 x 3.5 external bays

- 1x 80mm 1x 120mm towercooling fan- Front USB and 1394 firewire ports- Black color with blue accent strips

PC Cases Computer TowerATX Computer Case IC8290

Description:

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- Computer Case Color: silver withblack panel- Power Supply: AGI 350 Watts- Other Features: front USB ports,audio Jacks,

- 2x120mm cooling fans- Classic look mid tower computercase

- Tower dimension: 17.13"H x7.96"W x 18.9"D

- Power supply not included

FORM FACTOR

 The physical size and shape of a device. It is often used to describe the size of circuit boards.

When referring to computer hardware, a form factor is a specification of physicaldimensions, layouts, and other explicit information that helps ensure the hardware workswith products that support that form factor. Form factors help prevent incompatibilitiesbetween multiple hardware manufacturers.

Examples of Motherboard Form Factors

MOTHERBOARD

Also known as the mb, mainboard, mobo, mobd, backplane board, planar board,orsystem board. The Motherboard is a printed circuit that is the foundation of a computerand allows the CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components to function witheach other. Below is a graphic illustration of the ASUS P5AD2-E motherboard and somebasic explanations of each of the major portions of the motherboard.

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As computers advanced, so did motherboards; below is a listing of the variousmotherboard form factors and additional information about each of these form factors.

Full-ATBaby-ATLPXFull-ATXMini-ATX

NLX

Full-AT (12" wide x 13.8" deep) Matches the original IBM AT motherboard design, whichonly fits into full size AT or tower cases only. This type of motherboard is not commonlyfound or used today.

•  This form factor is no longer produced because it cannot be placed into the popularBaby-AT chassis.

Baby-AT (8.57" wide x 13.04" deep) Almost the same as the original IBM XT motherboardwith modifications in the screw hole position to fit into AT style case, with connections

built onto the motherboard to fit the holes in the case.

• Specific placement of the keyboard and the I/O slots.•  This board also cannot be placed into the slimline case.

LPX (9.00" wide x 13.00" deep) Developed by Western Digital when makingmotherboards, which was duplicated by many other manufacturers and is no longermade by Western Digital.

•  The LPX motherboard riser card contains all of the expansion slots.• Placement of the video, parallel, two serial and PS/2 connections have changed

locations.

Full-ATX – (12" wide x 9.6" deep) / Mini-ATX – (11.2" wide x 8.2" deep)  The officialspecifications were released by Intel in 1995 and was revised to version 2.01 in February1997. The ATX form factor is an advancement over previous AT style motherboards. Therefore requires a new case design. ATX is not an abbreviation, it is actually atrademark which belongs to Intel.

•  The ATX motherboard has a stacked I/O connector panel mounted on themotherboard.

• On a socket 7 ATX motherboard, the socket has been placed a further distancefrom the expansion slots, allowing for long boards to be placed in easier.

• Single keyed internal power supply connector. This is the Molex power connector,ATX 2.01. Standby voltage needs to be greater than 720 mA. The connector nowcannot be placed in improperly. While the Molex power connector allows for 5v and3.3v to be connected, it is recommended that only a 3.3v be connected to themotherboard.

• Relocation of the memory and the CPU creating better ventilation and easierupgrade.

• Power management possible with proper BIOS support.

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NLX (Supports motherboards with overall dimensions of 9.0" x 13.6" [maximum] to 8.0" x 10.0" [minimum]) Implemented in 1998 by Intel and is similar to the LPX form factor;however, includes several new improvements.

• Support for the Pentium II• Support for AGP• Support for USB.• Support for DIMM.• Easier Access to internal components• Support for motherboards that can be removed without using tools.

 

• Additional information and help can also be found on our Motherboard page.• A listing of motherboard manufacturers can be found on our motherboard links

page.

AT

Short for Advanced Technology, AT is an IBM computer introduced in 1984. Thebase model AT computer contained an 80286 processor, 256k of RAM and a1.2MB floppy disk drive. The AT was also available with 512k of RAM and a 20Mbyte diskdrive.

ATX

Designed and released in 1995, Intel ATX is a new motherboard form factor with aphysical design like the traditional board (30.5 cm X 19 cm) shifted 90 degrees for better

placing of the units. The I/O connectors COM1, COM2 and LPT, keyboard, mouseand USB are mounted directly on the motherboard. The ATX board requires specificallydesigned chassis with an I/O access opening measuring 1 by 6 inch.

 The ATX motherboard includes advanced control facilities, where the BIOS programcontinually checks the CPU temperature and voltages, the cooling fans RPM, etc. If overheating occurs, the PC will shut down automatically. The PC can also be turned on by, forexample, modem signals, since the power supply is controlled by the main board. Theon/off button will turn the PC "down" without turning it completely off. The computer willalso not be able to be turned off while the computer boots up; however, if the computerfreezes as it is turning on you can turn off the computer by holding the power button for5 seconds.

BAT

Short for Baby AT, Baby-AT is a motherboard form factor. See our motherboarddefinition for additional information about this term.

BAT is also the file extension of a batch file.

BTX

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Short for Balanced Technology Extended, BTX is a motherboard form factor firstannounced by Intel on September 17, 2003 and developed in late 2004 and 2005 thatincluded features such as a low profile, more efficient layout to help with cooling,scalable board to allow for different system sizes, and support mechanisms to helpsupport high-mass motherboard components.

XT

When referring to a computer, XT is short for eXtended Technology and is thename of the IBM 5160 computer introduced on March 8, 1983. The XT was the first IBMcomputer with a a hard disk drive (10MB with the option for a 20MB), a 5 1/4" floppydrive, had up to 640kb of memory, used an Intel 8088 processor, an eight bit ISA slot,a serial port, and ran on .

When referring to any type of communication, XT is an abbreviation for crosstalk.

XT is also a type of bus that was introduced in 1982 and had four DMA channels,was 8-bit, and had a bus speed of 4.77 MHz.

Different form factors

ATX(Abit KT7)

mini-ITX(VIA EPIA 5000A

Pico-ITX(VIA EPIA PX10000G) Pictorial comparison of some common

computer form factors.

Tabular information

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Form factor Originated Max. size

Typicalfeature-

set(compared

to ATX)

TypicalCPU

flexibility

Powerhandling

Notes(typical usage, Market adoption, etc)

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XT IBM 19838.5 × 11 in

216 × 279 mm

Obsolete, see Industry Standard Architecture. TheIBMPersonal Computer XT was the successor to theoriginal IBM PC, its first home computer. As the

specifications were open, many clone motherboardswere produced and it became a de facto standard.

AT (Advanced

Technology)

IBM 198412 × 11–13 in

305 × 279–330

mm

Obsolete, see Industry Standard Architecture. Createdby IBM for the IBM Personal Computer/AT, an Intel

80286 machine. Also known as Full AT, it was popular

during the era of the Intel 80386microprocessor.Superseded by ATX.

Baby-AT IBM 19858.5 × 10–13 in

216 × 254–330mm

IBM's 1985 successor to the AT motherboard.Functionally equivalent to the AT, it became popular due

to its significantly smaller size.

ATX Intel 199612 × 9.6 in

305 × 244 mm

Created by Intel in 1995. As of 2007, it is the mostpopular form factor for commodity motherboards.

 Typical size is 9.6 × 12 in although some companiesextend that to 10 × 12 in.

SSI CEB SSI12 × 10.5 in

305 × 267 mm

Created by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) forumDerived from the EEB and ATX specifications. Thismeans that SSI CEB motherboards have the same

mounting holes and the same IO connector area as ATXmotherboards.

microATX 19969.6 × 9.6 in

244 × 244 mm

A smaller variant of the ATX form factor (about 25%shorter). Compatible with most ATX cases, but has fewe

slots than ATX, for a smaller power supply unit. Verypopular for desktop and small form factorcomputers as

of 2007.

Mini-ATX AOpen 20055.9 × 5.9 in

150 × 150 mm

Mini-ATX is slightly smaller than Mini-ITX. Mini-ATXmotherboards were design with MoDT (Mobile on

Desktop Technology) which adapt mobile CPU for lowerpower requirement, less heat generation and better

application capability.

FlexATX Intel 19999.0 × 7.5 in

228.6 × 190.5 mm max.

A subset of microATX developed by Intel in 1999. Allowmore flexible motherboard design, component

positioning and shape. Can be smaller than regularmicroATX.

Mini-ITX VIA 2001

6.7 × 6.7 in

170 × 170 mmmax.

A small, highly-integrated form factor, designed for smadevices such as thin clients and set-top boxes.

Nano-ITX VIA 20034.7 × 4.7 in

120 × 120 mm

 Targeted at smart digital entertainment devices such asPVRs, set-top boxes, media centers and Car PCs, and

thin devices.

Pico-ITX VIA 2007100 × 72 mm

max.

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Mobile-ITX VIA 20072.953 × 1.772 in

75 × 45 mm

BTX (BalancedTechnologyExtended)

Intel 200412.8 × 10.5 in325 × 267 mm

max.

A standard proposed by Intel as a successor to ATX inthe early 2000s, according to Intel the layout has bette

cooling. BTX Boards are flipped in comparison to ATXBoards, so a BTX or MicroBTX Board needs a BTX case,

while an ATX style board fits in an ATX case.

MicroBTX (oruBTX)

Intel 200410.4 × 10.5 in264 × 267 mm

max.

PicoBTX Intel 20048.0 × 10.5 in

203 × 267 mmmax.

DTX AMD 2007200 × 244 mm

max.

Mini-DTX AMD 2007200 × 170 mm

max.

smartModule Digital-Logic 66 × 85 mmUsed in embedded systems and single board computers

Requires a baseboard.

ETX Kontron 95 × 114 mmUsed in embedded systems and single board computers

Requires a baseboard.

nanoETXexpress Kontron 55 × 84 mmUsed in embedded systems and single board computers

Requires a carrier board. Also known as Nano COMExpress™ Type 1[1]

ExtendedATX(EATX)

Unknown12 × 13 in

305 × 330 mm

Used in rackmount server systems. Typically used forserver-class type motherboards with dual processors

and too much circuitry for a standard ATX motherboard The mounting hole pattern for the upper portion of the

board matches ATX.

LPX Unknown9 × 11–13 in

229 × 279–330mm

Based on a design by Western Digital, it allowed smalle

cases than the AT standard, by putting the expansioncard slots on a Riser card.[2] Used in slimline retail PCs.LPX was never standardized and generally only used by

large OEMs.

Mini-LPX Unknown8–9 × 10–11 in

203–229 × 254–279 mm

Used in slimline retail PCs.

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PC/104PC/104

Consortium1992

3.8 × 3.6 inUsed in embedded systems

AT Bus architecture adapted to vibration-tolerant headeconnectors.

PC104plusPC/104

Consortium1997

3.8 × 3.6 inUsed in embedded systems.

PCI Bus architecture adapted to vibration-tolerantheader connectors.

PCI/104ExpressPC/104

Consortium2008

3.8 × 3.6 inUsed in embedded systems

PCI Express architecture adapted to vibration-tolerantheader connectors.

NLX Intel 19998–9 × 10–13.6 in203–229 × 254–

345 mm

A low-profile design released in 1997. It alsoincorporated a riser for expansion cards, and never

became popular.

UTX TQ-

Components2001

88 × 108 mmUsed in embedded systems and IPCs. Requires a

baseboard.

WTX Intel 199814 × 16.75 in

355.6 × 425.4 mm

A large design for servers and high-end workstationsfeaturing multiple CPUs and hard drives.

XTX 2005 95 × 114 mm Used in embedded systems. Requires a baseboard.