VOGONS

Why are some old graphics card boards shaped like this?

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First post, by FXing Serious

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Hello,

The question is pretty much in the title. I have never seen cards shaped like this until I got into this hobby. I tried Googling for more information but couldn't find anything. For some time, I avoided these cards because I assumed they were made for OEM's because of the odd shape. As in, they are made to fit a certain type of setup/case. But there are instances, at least from my research, where you can only get an AGP version of a card with this shape. Like the Matrox Millenium II for instance. Looking forward to reading some of your responses on regards to this topic. Cheers!

Screenshot-2025-02-07-133213.jpg

Reply 1 of 7, by PcBytes

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Likely to acommodate some NLX systems (I think IBM had those as well as Compaq) with specific brackets. I recall there were even Voodoos that allowed installing in a NLX system like IBM 300PL type 6862.

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Reply 2 of 7, by FXing Serious

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PcBytes wrote on 2025-02-07, 21:46:

Likely to acommodate some NLX systems (I think IBM had those as well as Compaq) with specific brackets. I recall there were even Voodoos that allowed installing in a NLX system like IBM 300PL type 6862.

Thank you for your reply. I think this is it. I googled NLX Form Factor and yes... I can see why this design would make sense.

Reply 3 of 7, by Spark

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I understood it was to save a few cents on the PCB material, in the case of high volume manufacturers like ATI.

Reply 4 of 7, by analog_programmer

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Spark wrote on 2025-02-08, 09:26:

I understood it was to save a few cents on the PCB material, in the case of high volume manufacturers like ATI.

Nope. This PCB shape is due to the mount specific compatibility when used in some OEM machines. For example the corner of the Voodoo3 2000/3000 AGP card's PCB can be broken, so the card take this shape.

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Reply 5 of 7, by Spark

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Ah I see. All this time I thought it was penny pinching.

Reply 6 of 7, by dionb

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NLX was a thing for a few years, an attempt to update LPX for ATX PSU for low-profile systems that wouldn't fit a regular ATX board.

Just as with LPX, the problem was lack of interoperability - the boards were standard, the cases they were supposed to fit in were not, which meant the added value over 100% custom designs was minimal. Moreover Via successfully pushed the mITX form factor and after Intel joined in it was the final nail in the coffin of NLX.

Reply 7 of 7, by FXing Serious

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dionb wrote on 2025-02-08, 15:16:

NLX was a thing for a few years, an attempt to update LPX for ATX PSU for low-profile systems that wouldn't fit a regular ATX board.

Just as with LPX, the problem was lack of interoperability - the boards were standard, the cases they were supposed to fit in were not, which meant the added value over 100% custom designs was minimal. Moreover Via successfully pushed the mITX form factor and after Intel joined in it was the final nail in the coffin of NLX.

Very informative. Learned something new. Thank you!

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