News Asus Z890 motherboard launch lineup lacked a back-connector model, but firm commits to 'design, development, and production of BTF solutions

[Admin]

Asus doesn't have a Z890 BTF motherboard available at launch, but it promises that it's working on

Asus Z890 motherboard launch lineup lacked a back-connector model, but firm commits to 'design, development, and production of BTF solutions : Read more

 

[jlake3]

I'd be curious to know how many people are actually daily driving fully "BTF" builds. They do make pretty showcases, but at a premium price and the cost of being locked into a very limited selection of parts.

Searching the motherboard section of Newegg for "BTF" turned up only four listings, one of which is just an open-box of one of the others, and all of which are Asus. Then you need a compatible case. Then for graphics cards Asus only gives you two options: a Strix 4090 or a TUF white edition 4070Ti Super, which you can't cycle down to a non-BTF system when you upgrade or sell to a non-BTF system owner.

 

[dwd999]

I'm more worried about the front connectors. Looking at the new Strix E that I'll be buying in January I see that they stopped having a pwm fan connector close to where the rear case fan will be. They probably dropped that to provide more room for the m.2 drives. I'll have to use the connector in the upper right corner for the rear fan. And it would be an improvement to have more fan connectors along the front edge. I'll have 8 fans in my new build so I'll have to either add a hub or use some splitters. And I hope their new m.2 heatsink is enough since it will be tough to find a place to plug in a T-FORCE Dark m.2 cooler as well.

 

[thestryker]

MSI and Gigabyte both have motherboards with backside connectors (just not the proprietary GPU connector) and many new cases from this year have appropriate cutouts. While they're obviously not a priority for any of the big 3 manufacturers as I don't believe there are any X870/Z890 boards launching the basis for them is there. I understand what Asus is doing with the GPU power connector, but that seems to be the thing least likely to continue.