What makes a good chipset

To do so, visit the motherboard manufacturer's web site and look for the "supported processors" page for the exact motherboard you plan to use. Note that motherboard makers often "slipstream" revised models with the same model number, and the list of supported processors almost always assumes you are using the current motherboard revision. Quite often, an earlier revision does not support all of the processor models or speeds supported by a later revision.

When you buy a motherboard, make sure to get the latest available revision. Choose a motherboard that supports at least the settings you need now and that you expect to need for the life of the board. Boards that offer a full range of host bus speeds, ideally in small increments, give you the most flexibility if you later decide to upgrade the processor. Do not make assumptions about how much memory a motherboard supports.

A motherboard has a certain number of memory slots and the literature may state that it accepts memory modules up to a specific size, but that doesn't mean you can necessarily install the largest supported module in all of the memory slots. Memory speed may also come into play. For example, a particular motherboard may support three or four PC modules, but only two PC modules. For a system that will be used for memory-intensive tasks, such as professional graphics, database management, or complex scientific calculations, make sure the motherboard supports at least 2 GB of RAM.

Don't assume that you can use all available memory slots. For example, many early Socket Athlon 64 motherboards provided three or even four DIMM slots, but could actually support only two memory modules reliably, regardless of the size or speed of those modules. Nor do all motherboards necessarily support the full amount of memory that the chipset itself supports, even if there are sufficient memory sockets to do so.

Always determine exactly what combinations of memory sizes, types, and speeds are supported by a particular motherboard. Although you may be able to find a new motherboard that allows you to migrate existing memory from your old motherboard, it's usually not a good idea to do so unless that older memory is current i. Memory is cheap, and it makes little sense to base a new motherboard purchase decision on the ability to salvage a relatively small amount of old, slow, cheap memory.

Motherboards differ in the provisions they make for video. Some motherboards provide an embedded video adapter and make no provision for installing a separate video adapter card. Other motherboards provide embedded video, but also provide a special expansion slot that accepts a standalone AGP or PCI Express video adapter card. Still other motherboards do not provide embedded video, but only an AGP or PCI Express slot that accepts a separate video adapter card. We recommend avoiding the first type of motherboard, even if you think embedded video is sufficient for your needs.

Before you choose a motherboard, check the documentation and support that's available for it, as well as the BIOS and driver updates available. Some people think that a motherboard that has many patches and updates available must be a bad motherboard. Not true. Frequent patch and update releases indicate that the manufacturer takes support seriously. We recommend to friends and clients that they give great weight to and perhaps even base their buying decisions on the quality of the web site that supports the motherboard.

Manufacturers differ greatly in the quality of the motherboards they produce. Other manufacturers produce motherboards of varying quality; some good and some not so good. Still other manufacturers produce only junk. The preceding issues are always important in choosing a motherboard.

But there are many other motherboard characteristics to keep in mind. Some of them may be critical for some users and of little concern to others. These characteristics include:. Any motherboard provides expansion slots, but motherboards differ in how many slots they provide, and of what types:. PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect slots have been the standard type of expansion slot for more than a decade. PCI slots accept expansion cards such as LAN adapters, sound cards, and so on that add various features to a system.

PCI slots are available in bit and bit versions, although bit PCI slots are commonly found only on server motherboards. A motherboard may have zero, one, or two dedicated video card slots. The type of video slot determines the type of video card you can install. AGP video adapters are still popular and widely available, but PCI Express is fast becoming the dominant video adapter slot standard.

Otherwise, buy a motherboard, with or without embedded video, that provides a PCI Express x16 video slot. Do not buy any motherboard that provides embedded video but no separate video slot. Many motherboards with a PCI Express x16 video slot also provide one or more PCI Express x1 general-purpose expansion slots, usually in place of one or two of the PCI expansion slots, but sometimes in addition to them.

For the immediate future, PCI Express x1 slots are relatively useless, because there are few expansion cards that fit them. Years ago, many PCs had all or nearly all of their slots occupied. Nowadays, with so many functions integrated on motherboards, it's common to see PCs with at most one or two slots occupied, so the number of slots available is much less important than it used to be. It's still important to get the types of slots you want, though.

The same motherboard is often available as an OEM product and a retail-boxed product. In fact, both forms of packaging are sold in retail channels. The motherboard is identical or closely similar in either case, but there are differences.

For example, the OEM version might have only a one-year warranty, while the retail-boxed version of the same motherboard has a three-year warranty. Also, the retail-boxed version often includes cables, adapters, a case label, a setup CD, and similar small parts that are not included with the OEM product.

Otherwise, buy the OEM version. There may be variations in the actual product between OEM and retail-boxed motherboards. But the costs rises appreciably as well. It may mention certain overclocking features, but you should also dig into reviews and do a little googling to ensure it can handle overclocking.

Remember, when considering any components, motherboard or otherwise, make sure you do your due diligence. What you get, however, is going to depend on the motherboard itself and the features the manufacturer decided to include. But hopefully this gives you a clearer picture of what a chipset is, why it is important, and some of the considerations you need to take into account when choosing a motherboard and components for a new system. Browse All iPhone Articles Browse All Mac Articles Do I need one?

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Smart TVs Ads. Team Comes to Workplace by Meta. Block People Spotify. Verizon Selling PS5. His work has appeared on dozens of sites, including Komando. Updated on July 07, Ryan Perian. Lifewire Technology Review Board Member. Article reviewed on Aug 22, Tweet Share Email. What are chipset drivers? What motherboard do I have? How do I choose a motherboard? Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know!

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