WE COULD GO on for days about BTF. It’s a unique design choice that the vast majority of the industry does seem to be getting behind. The big three—Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI—all have products correlating to the form factor, or are about to release them, including some budget picks as well (both MSI and Gigabyte’s BTF boards are B650 products, as an example), and we’re hearing rumors from case manufacturers and other partners that they’re backing it as well (albeit just by adding compatibility to existing product lines) to test the water.
It’s a form factor that’s going to live and die on that ecosystem compatibility. As a whole, the tech industry has been relatively good at co-operating with one another over the years—to a degree, at least. There are still significant barriers and competitiveness out there, of course, but sometimes, companies do come together for the greater good to better protect sales and improve the quality of life for us mere mortals. This makes sense; it’s hard to introduce a product with a radical new ethos behind it and have it gain market share if no one else supports it with their own components, and that’s exactly what we can see here with this build.
The thing is, it needs to be clearly beneficial to all parties. In the case of removing visible cables from the front of your build, that’s a win for everyone, as each manufacturer looks for ways to make their systems look more aesthetically pleasing. BTF certainly represents a way of achieving that.