Why put connectors from the front of the motherboard when they can be from the back? This is what Asus and other manufacturers are thinking with boards with, say, an inverted connector layout. The TUF B760M-BTF WiFi (D4) model has all connectors moved from front to back. This, with the current trend of glass side panels, mainly contributes to a nicer look. But we’ll also be interested in other, measurable things as part of our analysis.
The Computex tradeshow this year seems to involve various anniversaries for many companies. In the case of Asus, the company is celebrating 20 years of its “premium” gaming brand, ROG. We visited the booth Asus has at the trade show as well and will show you some of the new hardware the company brought to its booth—because of this anniversary, much of it is quite extraordinary and forms a celebratory lineup called ROG Edition 20. Read more “The most interesting (and craziest) Asus hardware at Computex”
Failures of the 12V‑2×6 power cable (formerly 12VHPWR) have become the scourge of recent GPU generations. Especially for Nvidia cards pushing this power standard, but also for a few Radeon models using these connectors. Various attempts to work around or mitigate the risks have popped up; this time, Asus is introducing the Equalizer special‑purpose cable for its power supplies, that aim to prevent connector melting in several ways. Read more “Asus ROG Equalizer: Robust 12+4pin connectors that don’t burn?”
It wants to go head‑to‑head with the Phanteks T30-120 fan, while also having a slight edge in every respect. That’s Asus’s marketing—and now comes reality in HWCooling’s in‑depth analysis. The ProArt PF120 fans are truly something exceptional and worth paying attention to. High cooling efficiency and elegant daisy‑chaining are just the beginning. The overall design of Asus’s fans is impressive. Read more “Asus ProArt PF120: The most efficient fan at low noise level”
One small note on supported cases. Asus BTF motherboards are also supported by Corsair’s now available 6500 and 2500 series cases. The 2500D Airflow, 2500X, and 2500X RGB models also fit nicely with the TUF B760M-BTF WiFi D4 in terms of form factor, as the combination of a mATX motherboard with a midi-tower case is mentioned.
I’ve been following the “hidden connector” trend for a bit, but this deep dive into the TUF B760M-BTF really highlights some functional pros I hadn’t considered. It’s not just about the “fish tank” aesthetic with the glass panels. The article mentions how moving the CPU power connectors to the back actually allows for larger VRM heatsinks because they can encroach into space that usually has to stay clear for plugs.
Coming from a background of messing with older Dell PowerEdge servers https://serverorbit.com/power-supplies/server-power/poweredge, I’m used to those highly optimized layouts where every millimeter of airflow matters and cables are tucked into specific channels. Seeing consumer boards adopt this “backside” approach feels like a nod to enterprise-level cable management, even if the primary goal here is style. In my experience with high-wattage server PSUs, cable routing is usually very rigid, so I’m curious how this translates to home builds. You’re bending those thick 24-pin cables in a much tighter space behind the tray now.
Do you think we’ll start seeing PSU manufacturers releasing specific “short-head” or ultra-flexible cable kits for these BTF boards, or will standard modular cables be enough to clear the back side panels?
Thank you for the very thoughtful idea. As for your question: personally, I don’t know and wouldn’t want to speculate whether motherboard designs with rear connectors will prompt PSU manufacturers to respond with shorter connectors or similar adjustments.
We don’t have any information in this area, and as always, time will show what actually makes it to end users. That said, your idea definitely makes sense—now it just needs someone in a position to act on it and actually produce such cables. 🙂