Motherboard Forms

AT & Baby AT
measures 12" X 13.8" - baby measures 13" X 8.7"
only has a keyboard connector
2 power cables connect to the system board P8 & P9 connectors
power supply provides 5 volts dc, and 12 volts dc to the system board
cpu sits in front of expansion slots, long cards don't fit

ATX & Mini-ATX
measures 12"X9.6" - mini-ATX measures 11.2"X8.2"
most common form factor
cpu and memory slots sit beside expansion slots
power supply blows air into case to processor
soft switch or soft power available (An OS can turn off the computer)

LPX
designed for slimline desktop style computers
uses a riser card in the middle of the system board, which holds expansion slots
riser card does not have built-in ports for audio, joystick, usb, network, and modem

NLX
designed for slimline desktop style computers
uses a riser card on the edge of the system board
riser card may have built-in ports for audio, joystick, usb, network, and modem

Back to the A+ Preparation - Cases

Learning about PC Cases -

Full Tower - This is a monster, I don't know how it was ever viable.
Half Tower - Still huge, looks like the old ACES-Thunder
Mini-Tower - These are the standard larger cases now
Desktop - Takes up horizontal space instead of verticle
Small Form Factor - This isn't listed in the training but I know they exist.
Micro Form Factor - This is also not listed in the training, but I know they exist.

AT cases -
measure 12" X 13.8
are not compatible with ATX
CPU sits in front of the expansion slots
power cable runs directly to the power supply

ATX cases -
measure 12" X 9.6"
CPU and memory slots are alongside expansion slots
power cable runs from switch to motherboard