Introducing BTF: an easy, clean approach to PC building that hides the cables

Even before the rise of windowed side panels, careful cable management was a cornerstone of gaming PC building. It’s no good to clog up your primary airflow pathway with a rat’s nest of loose cables. And with so many builders opting to put their prized components on display, cable management affects the aesthetics of your PC as much as its basic functionality. With all due respect to the cable combs, zip ties, and custom replacement cable kits of the world, we’d like to offer a better way: hiding the cables and connectors entirely. Our new ecosystem of BTF gaming motherboards, graphics cards, and PC cases from ROG and TUF Gaming make it easy to build an ultra-tidy PC.

For as much as motherboards have changed over the years, one thing has stayed the same: everything plugs in and connects to one side of the board. For our BTF motherboards (Back-to-The-Future — pun very much intended) we’re reversing this decades-old paradigm. Components attach to the front; cables plug into the back.

We think that when you build your first hidden-connector PC, you’ll be as impressed with the change as much as we were. For one, it’s just easier to build: since you’re working from the back side of the motherboard tray, you’re less likely to encounter obstructions and obstacles, and you won’t have to reach as far into the depths of your chassis to plug things in. Cable management will be so much easier that it’ll feel like a revelation. And after you’re done building your PC? You’ll enjoy the clean, perfectly organized look of your BTF build every single day that you use your PC.

BTF vs. Advanced BTF

Our ecosystem of BTF components gives you plenty of options as you’re planning a hidden-connector build. With the combination of a BTF chassis and a BTF motherboard like the TUF Gaming B760M-BTF WiFi D4, you can tuck away all the cables that connect directly to the motherboard, including the cables that supply power to your motherboard, connect 2.5” SATA drives, hook up your case fans, and connect your front-panel buttons and I/O.

Yet that’s not quite all the cables in a modern PC build equipped with a powerful graphics card. GPUs often require more power than the PCIe x16 slot can supply, so they require you to connect a PCIe power cable. For users that would prefer to hide that wire, as well, we offer the Advanced BTF approach. Advanced BTF motherboards include a graphics card high-power slot ready to supply all the power that a BTF graphics card needs. You’ll need a graphics card with a PCIe high-power connector in order to build an Advanced BTF PC.

Your high-end choice with hidden connectors: the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF

We’re debuting two new BTF motherboards for your hidden-connector build, starting with the cutting-edge ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF. In aesthetics and specifications, this premium board takes many cues from the ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero. Like the Dark Hero, it bears shadowy tones, armored panels, and hulking VRM heatsinks. Polymo lighting on the I/O shroud sets it all off with the perfect accent. This microstructural array of light and color features two layers of RGB lighting that work in tandem to display a luminous ROG design.

Despite the similarities between these two boards, they end up looking strikingly different with the connectors and headers tucked out of sight. The armored elements of the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF now extend all the way to the bottom of corners of the build. The edges are cleaner and more distinct. The Q-Code and Q-LED diagnostic features, which give you a quick and easy way to identify the cause of a problem during your build process, are a bit easier to take advantage of in their less-busy surroundings. For any builder who leans toward a less-is-more aesthetic, the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF is a major step forward.

As one of our latest Z790 motherboards, the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF boasts a cutting-edge feature set. A PCIe 5.0 x16 slot stands ready for the best graphics of today and tomorrow, and in line with it is a graphics card high-power slot so that you can install a BTF graphics card — more on those in a moment. Dual Thunderbolt 4 connectors at the rear panel stand ready to support next-generation peripherals at full speed, and ROG SupremeFX audio paired with an ESS® ES9218 Quad-DAC for front-panel connections provides crisp, clear gaming audio no matter what headset or speakers you plug into your PC. A USB 20Gbps connector gives you a high-bandwidth USB Type-C port on your front panel.

With a VRM featuring 20+1+2 power stages, each rated to handle up to 90 amps, the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF is ready for one of Intel’s top-shelf CPUs. Each power stage is rated for up to 90A of output, and they provide the cleanest possible power delivery to the processor, even under the highest loads.

The ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF’s ample M.2 support gives you high-end options for building out a speedy and spacious storage system. The onboard PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot lets you install one of the fastest drives on the market, and 4 additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots let you supplement your storage even further with additional drives.

The ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF gives you high-end networking options. WiFi 7 support will let you access the latest generation of wireless networking when you pair this motherboard with a WiFi 7 router. For those who prefer wired connections, a high-bandwidth 2.5Gb Ethernet port awaits.

Finally, the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF offers one of our latest DIY-friendly innovations: the PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim. With this mechanism, you won’t need to release a fiddly latch or even press a button to release your graphics card from the slot. Simply tilt the card toward the latching mechanism to automatically unlock it from the PCIe slot, making upgrades and maintenance easier than ever before.

A BTF motherboard with bold white accents: the TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi

These days, many PC builders are leaning toward the classy, clean look of a white-themed build. We already offer a lineup of white peripherals, monitors, cases, graphics cards, AIO coolers, and more, but now we’re ready to throw a white-themed BTF motherboard into the mix. Meet the TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi motherboard.

This board’s striking contrast between its premium black PCB and its white shrouds and heatsinks sets it apart from the pack. The hidden connector design freed us to upgrade and expand the M.2 heatsink, ensuring great cooling for your SSDs and a bold look for your build. Even the ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna boasts a white finish, making sure that your build has a cohesive look.

PC builders trust TUF Gaming motherboards to deliver great gaming features, a ruggedized aesthetic, and reliable performance. The TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi charges into the fray with an enhanced power solution with 16+1+1 power stages, a six-layer PCB, ProCool sockets, alloy chokes, and durable capacitors for stable power delivery — it’s more than ready for your 14th Gen Intel Core CPU. Like the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF, the TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi is ready for your Advanced BTF build with its graphics card high-power slot ready to power your BTF graphics card.

WiFi 7 support preps you to take advantage of the next generation of wireless networking with a compatible router, while an Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet port provides a high-speed wired connection. You’ll find an onboard USB 20Gbps Type-C port on the rear I/O panel ready to deliver blistering file transfer speeds to your external storage, and a total of four PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots let you install a spacious and speedy storage array for your gaming library.

Two ASUS chassis options for your BTF gaming PC build

For the most part, standard PC DIY components will work with a BTF motherboard. You won’t need specialized CPU coolers, power supplies, SSDs, or RAM. But you will need a compatible chassis. Standard motherboard trays — at least, ones that haven’t been turned into Swiss cheese with a Dremel — won’t let you access the connectors on a BTF motherboard.

For out-of-the-box compatibility, we have two options for you. First, we have the ROG Hyperion GR701 BTF Edition. A special edition of our award-winning chassis, the ROG Hyperion GR701 BTF Edition takes the original’s premium feature set and adds motherboard tray cutouts perfectly positioned for you to access the connectors of your BTF motherboard. Like the original, it boasts outstanding cooling performance with its dual 420mm radiator support, four 140mm fans, and a built-in fan hub. It offers plenty of elbow room for even the beefiest of graphics cards, and it aids your build process with a 34mm-deep cable management chamber with a 46mm-wide routing channel.

To give your TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi a perfect home, we’re debuting an all-new TUF Gaming chassis: the TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB. This dazzling white mid-tower chassis is ready for your BTF motherboard, and it offers a host of cooling upgrades and innovative features ready to simplify your build process.

For great out-of-the-box airflow, the TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB includes four 140mm ARGB fans. We selected exceptionally thick spinners — they’re 28mm thick — to ensure top-tier airflow and static pressure. Since so many builders opt for AIO liquid CPU coolers these days, the GT302 features a detachable top panel that makes it easy to install and clean the radiator.

Finally, we gave the GT302 a compelling balance of size and component compatibility. As a mid-size tower, it doesn’t demand as much desk space as does the ROG Hyperion BTF. Yet it can still comfortably accommodate ATX motherboards and high-end graphics cards with substantial cooling solutions, including the mighty TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090.

BTF graphics cards ready to join the party

Let’s take a moment to talk graphics cards. You can use a traditional graphics card or a BTF graphics card for a BTF motherboard — their PCIe 5.0 x16 slots are ready for whatever GPU you care to install. But a standard graphics card will require its usual power cable to be connected in the usual place — and that cable may stick out like a sore thumb in your hidden connector build.

That’s why we’ve developed two BTF graphics cards: the ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 4090 BTF Edition and the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER BTF White Edition. Rather than using traditional 16-pin external power connectors, these cards have a PCIe high-power connector on the bottom for power transmission, a mechanism not unlike what we use in our GPU servers. (Note that while you don’t need a BTF graphics card when using a BTF motherboard, if you purchase a BTF graphics card you will need to install it in a BTF motherboard.)

Beyond the aesthetic appeal of a hidden connector build, the PCIe high-power connector offers a few advantages. For one, you won’t have to worry about whether your case has enough horizontal space to keep your GPU power cable from pressing against the side panel. Second, it serves as an additional attachment point to the motherboard, so it aids in the fight against GPU sag. And since it slots into place right as you’re installing the graphics card, it completely obviates the secondary step of connecting a power cable — along with the follow-up worries about whether you’ve firmly and completely inserted that connector.

Since the PCIe high-power connector can deliver 600W, we’re able to use it for the most powerful graphics card in our lineup — and that’s exactly what we did. Say hello to the ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 4090 BTF Edition. We didn’t reinvent the wheel for this beastly GPU. It offers the same ultra-competitive performance, 24GB of GDDR6X, NVIDIA RTX 40 Series AI-accelerated features, powerful and quiet cooling solution, and diecast shroud as the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 that you already know and love. But it looks better than ever without a 16-pin external power connector hanging off the side.

For your white-themed hidden connector build, we offer the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti BTF. White. Once again, it retains the performance, cooling, and pristine style of the original TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. But with its PCIe high-power connector, it’s a great choice for your BTF build, and it features a snowy white style that perfectly complements the TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi and TUF Gaming GT302.

Many more BTF chassis options from the BTF Alliance

As proud as we are of the look and feel of the ROG Hyperion BTF and TUF Gaming GT302, we know that builders like to have a full menu of options as they’re picking out a chassis for their next PC. That’s why we’ve partnered with many of the biggest names in the PC case industry to create the BTF Alliance. Through this partnership, you’ll have your choice from a wide range of PC cases that are fully compatible with our BTF motherboards.

You’ll start to see these chassis options launch in the first quarter of 2024. Aerocool, be quiet!, Cooler Master, Corsair, Inwin, Lian Li, Phanteks, Silverstone, and Thermaltake all have BTF chassis designs in the works. Look for their announcements in the weeks to come.

The new standard for showcase builds

The familiar everything-faces-one-way design of motherboards has served us well for decades. But it’s time for a new approach. For too long, gaming PC builders have resorted to every trick in the book to keep their cables neat and tidy. It’s time to hide those cables entirely.

With the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF and TUF Gaming Z790-BTF WiFi motherboards, you have two high-performance hidden connector options ready to simplify your building process and leave you with a clean, professional-looking PC. The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 BTF and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti offer complementary style and outstanding gaming performance, while the ROG Hyperion BTF and TUF Gaming GT302 provide the compatibility you need in two distinct colorways.

For more information on the pricing and availability of these products, please contact your local ASUS representative.