You might not hear the vendors themselves trumpeting the new BTX (Balance Technology eXtended) desktop standard in their new PCs. After all, how much does the average consumer really want to know about a new motherboard layout? We expect that the move to the new layout will be more of a quiet revolution. From what we've seen so far, these first BTX PCs successfully demonstrate all of the new standard's promised features. The most obvious difference, which we expect even non-tech-savvy users will appreciate, is the reduced operating noise. If the two Gateway systems we reviewed are similar to other vendors' forthcoming BTX PCs, you can look forward to a new era of near-silent computing. This is largely thanks to BTX's more heat-efficient layout, which requires fewer rattling fans inside the PC and lets larger fans spin slower. This theoretically also means reduced thermal wear and tear over time, which benefits business customers in particular.