Intel Finishes BTX Standard

Intel has decided not to release a single BTX motherboard. Current BTX and picoBTX motherboards will be replaced with ATX and µATX form factors. The Bearlake chipset will be introduced in the second quarter of 2007, and Intel has reserved a grand total of four products for Q2'07 with two more products in Q3 2007. Dragontail Peak (Bearlake-P NorthBridge with ICH9DH SouthBridge chips) and Frostburg (BearLake-G and ICH9) are utilizing the ATX form factor, while Johannesburg/Montpelier (BearLake-Q and ICH9DO) and Buffalo Creek (BearLake-G and ICH9) come in the µATX form factor, according to The Inquirer.

Somewhere next year, Intel will introduce Bonetrail, a successor to the high-end D975XBX motherboard. Based on the BearLake-X chipset, it brings support for 1.33 GHz FSB and DDR3 memory at 1.06 Ghz. A final BearLake motherboard is targeted for LXIV and desktop platforms: Apache Lake is based on a refreshed BearLake-G+ chipset with ICH9DH SouthBridge chip. It will bring support for DirectX 10 graphics through unified shaders.

And I can see what Intel said in 2004: “Intel has collaborated with the desktop computing industry to create an evolutionary step in the desktop computer form factor. BTX integrates cost-effective engineering and design strategies for power dissipation, structural integrity, acoustic performance, and motherboard design into a scalable form factor.” Evolutionary indeed.

BTX is the 2nd victim, as Intel has decided not to accept orders for 910- and 915-series chipsets starting from March 2007, according to some Taiwan motherboard makers. In the meantime, rumors about Intel buying nVidia seem to be quiet these days.