Motherboards is a set of categories that 99% of the boards fit nicely. Large is large. Small is small, green is green. Etc. As I layed out from my ITX experiences and discussions with Chris: A motherboard requires: CPU socket or soldered cpu A bridge chip (gold corner) An I/o controller or second bridge chip (gold corner) One or more ram sockets One or more card or bus sockets Internal I/o ports External I/o ports
The three category benders are laptop boards, old (pre Pentium), and itx boards.
Laptop boards that are full boards and have a socket or soldered cpu will go as large socket. Some laptops split the motherboard across more than one board and these will usually get peripheral on all the boards. Reason being none of them clear the Motherboard requirements alone. Dell and Asus are notorious for this.
Old motherboards are full of gold sockets. Any board that uses DIP (dual inline pin) sockets for the cpu and/or memory is usually going to get large socket, with all the ICs removed. Many can get telco with all the sockets occupied
Slot processor boards always go as large socket. BTX boards with the gigantic riser/bus socket(s) get large socket for the same reason. The card socket is the equivalent of a large socket in value.
Itx: is the kicker here. Most of us, no matter how new to the industry, can instantly recognise an ATX or its dozen variants as a motherboard without asking. Measure the socket and you know where it goes. Anything with a huge slot in the middle is probably also going in large motherboard. Fairly easy to figure that out.
Itx is the outsider. The only thing standardised on ITX is where the back plate lines up in the case and EVEN THAT tends to be ignored by manufacturers. Itx is generally used for embedded (set top box, cable box, atm, video game systems) and small form factor (cameras, tablets) devices. If it has everything the normal motherboard has, only smaller and with a soldered cpu, it will go as small socket. If it’s missing any of the large/small socket motherboard requirements it goes as peripheral. Tablet boards and digital camera motherboards usually go as telco.
When in doubt post a picture. We’ll figure it out.
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