Reference Thermal Solution
Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines 26
4.1.2 Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Form Factor
Operating Environment
This section provides operating environment conditions based on what has been
exhibited on the Intel BTX Entertainment PC reference design, refer to the Balanced
Technology Extended (BTX) Entertainment PC Case Study for detail system study. On
a BTX platform, the (G)MCH obtains in-line airflow directly from the processor thermal
module. Since the processor thermal module provides lower inlet temperature airflow
to the processor, reduced inlet ambient temperatures are also often seen at the
(G)MCH as compared to ATX. An example of how airflow is delivered to the (G)MCH
on a BTX platform is shown in
Figure 11.
A set of three system level boundary conditions will be established to determine
(G)MCH thermal solution requirement.
• Low external ambient (23 °C)/ idle power for the components (Case 3). This
covers the system idle acoustic condition
• Low external ambient (23 °C)/ TDP for the components (Case 2). The TMA fan
speed is limited by the thermistor in the fan hub.
• High ambient (35 °C)/ TDP for the components (Case 1). This covers the
maximum TMA fan speed condition.
The values in
Table 4 correspond to the ePC configuration. For more details on the
TMA airflow set points, refer to the Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) System
Design Guide.
Table 4. (G)MCH Heatsink Boundary Condition Summary in BTX Platforms
Case Processor TDP
(TDP)
T
A
into MCH heatsink
(°C)
Airflow into the (G)MCH
heatsink
(LFM)
Case 1
65W 43.0 194
Case 2
65W 38.2 117
Case 3
65W 34.7 29.5
Note: The customer should analyze their system design to verify their applicable boundary
conditions prior to design. The thermal designer must carefully select the location to
measure airflow to get a representative sampling. BTX platforms need to be designed
for the worst-case thermal environment, typically assumed to be 35 °C ambient
temperature external to the system measured at sea level.
Note: The risk of the solder ball fracture can be minimized with good chassis structure
design on a BTX platform, refer to the Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) Chassis
Design Guide (or Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) System Design Guide) for
detail chassis mechanical design.
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