With the release of the fourth generation of processors (Haswell) and the transition to a new socket (LGA 1150), Intel launched a new line of motherboards (Lynx Point). Now there are five different chipsets Z87, H87, Q87, Q85, B85 (the Z75 did not have a receiver), divided, as always, into two segments: business and consumer. Consumer segment (Z87, H87) with a number of features designed to improve overall performance. The business segment (Q87,Q85,B85), on the one hand, has fewer options, but it contains a lot of useful information for IT departments of large and small companies.

The latest Intel processors (including Haswell) are designed to move more and more functionality from the motherboard to the processor itself. For example, integrated graphics (where they were), RAM controller, PCI-E and DMI bus controllers, as well as processor power management are no longer located on the motherboard. This means that things like onboard video and RAM compatibility now depend more on the CPU than on the specific motherboard's chipset. Based on this, the differences between chipsets will now be small, mainly in options and the number of supported peripherals.

The most important changes in fact in the new chipset are support for up to six SATA 6Gb/s and up to six USB3.0. Thunderbolt is not yet integrated into Haswell-generation chipsets, but can be added with a separate controller on the motherboard.

Consumer segment(Z87,H87)

Z87

The z87 set is the most functionally rich and the only one that offers capabilities for overclocking the processor (K-series processors). The chipset also supports SLI/Crossfire connections with three configurations.

As for other features, the Z87 supports Rapid Storage Technology, Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching), six SATA 6Gb/s and six USB 3.0 ports. Also, when using Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching), it optimizes the operation and power consumption of the SSD.

H87

The H87 chipset is very similar to the Z87, but it lacks some very important features: processor overclocking and support for triple SLI/Crossfire configuration.

The H87, like the Z87, supports Rapid Storage Technology, Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching), six SATA 6Gb/s and the same six USB 3.0. However, unlike the Z87, this chipset has support for Small Business Advantage.

In general, the H87 provides almost all the same functions as the Z87, without overclocking, but most likely you will choose the z87 because motherboard manufacturers are simply pushing for this, cutting down the number of ports and USB outputs.

Business segment (Q87,Q85,B85)

Q87

The Q87 chipset is the most functionally rich among the business line; it supports technologies such as vPro, Active Management, Intel TXT. Plus, six SATA 6gb/s and six USB 3.0 in addition to 14 USB 2.0. This chip will definitely suit you if you use vPro or AMT or TXT or just want a board that supports them.Q87

Q85

The Q85 chipset is very similar to the Q87, but does not support these great business technologies. Also, 85-series chipsets, unlike the others, do not support Rapid Storage technology, which allows you to reduce power consumption and increase operating speed when using multiple disks. If you don't need these technologies, you're looking for a cheaper platform but don't want to buy the weakest one, then this is the choice for you.

B85

The B85 is a budget business solution that not only does not support business technologies, but it also has four USB 3.0 and Serial ATA 600 ports, unlike six ports in other versions of the chipsets. B85 is an excellent option for budget processors (Core i3, Pentium, Celeron).

Conclusion

Note: To be able to use these technologies, your processor must support them.

We can conclude that fragmentation has decreased, there are fewer chipsets, but this does not make the choice any easier, the differences are minimal, and often additional logic on motherboards eliminates them completely.

During CES, Intel revealed that it plans to release 10nm Ice Lake processors by the end of this year. However, rumors began to appear that due to problems with the implementation of PCIe 4.0, the company could not start producing chipsets.

The site kitGuru, citing anonymous sources, reported that Intel is struggling to solve the problem with PCIe 4.0. And if this cannot be done in the near future, the company will again have to delay the 10 nm technology.

And although KitGuru has full confidence in its source, our colleagues note that this information has not been confirmed. Moreover, it is only the beginning of the year, and the company still has time to solve emerging problems.

Now Intel is under unprecedented pressure from AMD. The “green” camp is already ready to start producing 7 nm processors, and their chipsets are ready for the introduction of PCIe 4.0.

Intel is forced to return to the 22 nm process

October 13, 2018

Trying to fulfill all orders for 14 nm production, Intel is forced to make compromises. Considering that the 10 nm process is far from ready, the company simply has no alternative but to transfer some products to outdated technologies.

These products include the H310 chipsets, which will now become larger. This decision is quite understandable. The fact is that H310 is the simplest system logic chip designed to work with 8th and 9th generation Core processors. Motherboards built on these chipsets are used in office machines and simple consumer machines, for which its modest capabilities are sufficient. Considering the low requirements for the chip, Intel decided to produce them using 22 nm technology.

According to Chinese sources, the new chipset is called H310C. Its dimensions are 10x7 mm, while the usual 14 nm H310 chip has dimensions of 8.5x6.5 mm. The heat dissipation of the original chip was 6 W, and due to the change in production technology, its increase is not expected. The chip change is also not expected to affect the design of motherboards.

Intel Z370 gets support for 8-core processors

July 19, 2018

Many motherboard manufacturers based on the Z370 Express chipset have begun releasing BIOS updates that provide support for the new 8-core Intel processors.

For now, these updates are designated as a beta stage. Considering that only the Z370 receives such updates, it is possible that Intel will prohibit the use of these boards with the first 8-core processor for the LGA1151 socket (with the K variant, without multiplier lock and with a higher TDP) due to the fact that it requires more powerful power, and PWM on current boards it may not be able to handle the load.

To support future CPUs, the new BIOS must include the latest microcode version - 06EC. Manufacturers such as ASUS, ASRock and MSI have already presented firmware with this microcode, as confirmed by screenshots of the AMI Aptio test. This microcode makes it more difficult to attack using new variants of the Specter vulnerability.

The Z390 chipset may be relabeled Z370

June 27, 2018

It looks like the new 8-core Coffee Lake processors will be able to run on the Z370 chipset, since the new Z390 chipset may actually be a rebranded Z370.

Recently, Intel's website published a block diagram of the new chipset, which is practically no different from the Z370. Moreover, according to recent rumors, Intel recommends that all components missing from the Z370, but declared in the Z390, such as the AC wireless module, be implemented with third-party chips.

As for the Z390, it is now known that it will work with 8-core Coffee Lake processors. It will work with the LGA1151 socket, and the interconnect will be implemented by the DMI 3.0 bus (which actually takes up 4 PCIe lanes). Just like in the younger version, the Z390 will receive 24 PCI-Express lanes. It will also receive 6 SATA 6 Gb/s ports with support for AHCI and RAID and up to three 32 Gb/s M.2/U.2 connectors. Gigabit network support will also remain.

Intel Z390 chipset featured in SiSoft Sandra

November 20, 2017

For the first time, a motherboard based on the future Z390 chipset has appeared in the database of the SiSoft Sandra information utility. This means that the company’s partners have already begun testing these boards.

Of course, everyone knew that Intel would release the Z390 chipset, so the appearance of motherboards on this platform was not surprising.

The board that appeared was manufactured by SuperMicro. Its model is C7Z390-PGW. Testing was carried out on an unknown processor, but most likely we are talking about the 8th generation Core Coffee Lake-S processor.

According to the previously leaked roadmap, motherboards based on the Z390 chipset should appear in the second half of next year, however, given the information about the tests, the release may be postponed to the first half of the year.

Most likely, we will learn new information during CES 2018.

Intel is preparing a powerful Z390 Express chipset for 2018

September 12, 2017

Information about the future of the Coffee Lake platform has appeared on the Internet. It turned out that the Z370 chipset will not be the most productive.

For the mainstream Intel 8th generation Core platform, Coffee Lake, the company is preparing the Z370 Express chipset, but the company plans to prepare the Z390 Express chipset for the second half of 2018. This is evidenced by Intel's roadmap for the 300 series of chipsets.

Coffee Lake CPUs will be released in October alongside the Z370 Express chipsets. The mid-range chipsets, B360 Express and H370 Express, as well as the entry-level, H310 Express, should appear in the first quarter of 2018. During the same time period, the company will release Q370 and Q360 chipsets intended for the corporate desktop PC market.

Details about the Coffee Lake platform have appeared

August 9, 2017

Intel is preparing to release the first Core i7 and Core i5 Coffee Lake models, as well as motherboards based on the Intel Z370 Express chipset, later this year. It turned out that the new chipset will receive 24 PCI-Express gen 3.0 lanes. And this is not counting the 16 lines intended by the processor for PEG (PCI -Express Graphics) slots.

The new chipset will offer a huge breakthrough in the number of PCIe lanes, as traditionally chipsets had 12 general purpose lanes. Increasing the number of lanes to 24 will allow motherboard manufacturers to increase the number of supported M.2 and U.2 devices, as well as the number of USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt controllers. In addition, the chipset contains a 10-port USB 3.1 controller, of which 6 ports operate at 10 Gb/s, and 4 ports operate at 5 Gb/s.

The chipset also provides 6 SATA 6 Gbps ports. The platform provides connection of PCIe drives directly to the processor, just like AMD does. In addition, the chipset will receive integrated WLAN 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities, but most likely we are talking only about the controller, since physical layer chips require good isolation.

In addition, Intel is making the biggest change to the audio system since the Azalia (HD Audio) specification released 15 years ago. New Intel SmartSound Technology integrates the quad-core DSP directly into the chipset, and CODEC, with reduced functionality, will be located separately on the board. It is likely that the I2S bus will be used for communication instead of PCIe. However, it will still be a software-accelerated technology, and the CPU will have to handle all the AD/DA conversions.

Top 8th generation Core processors and the Z370 chipset will be presented in the third quarter of this year, and mainstream CPU options will appear only in 2018.

Intel Coffee Lake will require new motherboards

August 8, 2017

As you know, Intel is preparing new Coffee Lake processors that will be available in 2018, but it seems that those who wanted to upgrade processors using current motherboards will be disappointed.

Intel introduced the LGA1151 socket about two years ago along with the Skylake processors. This socket was used with Z170 and Z270 chipsets and 14 nm processors. Since Coffee Lake will also be a 14 nm chip, many would logically expect support from at least the 200 series chipset.

However, someone on Twitter asked ASRock directly whether the Z270 Supercarrier motherboard will support the upcoming Coffee Lake CPUs. To which the company responded: "No, CPU Coffee Lake is not compatible with 200 series motherboards". This tweet has already been deleted, but a screenshot of it remains.

Previously, Intel promised to increase the performance of Coffee Lake by 30%, as well as offer 6-core solutions in the mainstream segment.

New Intel chipsets will negatively affect the business of Realtek, ASMedia and Broadcom

June 23, 2017

Next year, Intel plans to release 300-series chipsets with integrated Wi-Fi and USB 3.1 modules, which will have a negative impact on chipmakers such as Realtek Semiconductor, ASMedia and Broadcom.

The Z370 chipset for Coffee Lake processors was planned for release along with the CPU in early 2018 and was supposed to contain Wi-Fi modules (802.11ac R2 and Bluetooth 5.0) and USB 3.1 Gen2. However, amid pressure from AMD, Intel accelerated work and moved the release to August, forcing them to abandon these interfaces.

Having released the Z390 and H370 chipsets in early 2018, the company is moving forward with its plans to integrate Wi-Fi and USB 3.1. In addition, Intel plans to release the Gemini Lake platform later this year, which will replace the entry-level Apollo Lake SoC, and this platform will also receive built-in Wi-Fi support.

Thus, as observers note, Coffee Lake’s influence on third-party chip manufacturers will begin to increase gradually.

Given this prospect, ASMedia has already prepared its own alternative solution, which will hit the market in the second half of 2017. The company has also begun developing products based on USB 3.2, which will allow it to gain an advantage over Intel.

The situation is worse for Realtek, since sales of its computer chips account for the majority of the company's revenue.

On the other hand, integrated solutions created by Intel will simplify the design of motherboards and reduce their cost.

Intel Z270 chipset block diagram leaked

December 23, 2016

As you know, Intel is preparing to release desktop versions of Kaby Lake processors, which have few advantages over Skylake. However, there is not much information about the Z270 chipset yet. It is known that it will be backward compatible with the Z170 chipsets, which means that these chipsets must be compared with each other.

The first change will concern the supported DDR4 memory. If now the chipset supports chips with a frequency of 2133 MHz, then in the future the frequency will increase to 2400 MHz. Fortunately, it will still be possible to overclock the memory, and the maximum frequency will also be increased. The chipset will feature 24 PCIe lanes, 4 more than the Z170. The remaining configurations remain, including 16x 3.0 PCIe in various variants, and the DMI 3.0 connection remains unchanged. There will also be 10 USB 3.0 ports and 14 USB 2.0 ports, 6 SATA ports available.

The new chipset will be the same in size as the previous generation. As AMD prepares its Ryzen chip, Intel may find itself in close competition, but the specifications of the X370 chipset are not yet known, it is too early to say.

Each user has their own opinion about where a computer starts. Some people prefer to build a system “around” the monitor, selecting components in such a way that they provide comfortable performance at the desired screen resolution. Some people prioritize the performance of a video card, choosing first the desired model of graphics accelerator, and then a power supply of suitable power and a case with sufficient cooling. Finally, for some, the highest speed of data processing is most important, and the computer is essentially assembled around a central processor and a pair of RAID arrays of SSDs and hard drives.

But when the user has already decided on the model of the most priority devices, he has to choose something that will allow them to be assembled into a single system that corresponds to the user’s initial ideas about the appearance and characteristics of the PC.

And, as you may have guessed, today we will talk about choosing a motherboard.

What you shouldn't pay attention to when choosing.

Board manufacturer.

A very large number of companies are engaged in the design and production of motherboards, and not all of them are represented in the DNS assortment. Moreover, the most famous vendors are already familiar to you from video cards and other computer components. ASUS, Gigabyte And MSI- the “big three”, from whose products users most often have to choose.

The paradox is that system performance in games does not depend on the motherboard. At all. The effectiveness of overclocking the central processor may depend on it, if such a function is available - this is a separate conversation. But if we exclude overclocking from attention, the same set of processor, video card and two to four memory sticks will produce the same performance when installed in a top-end motherboard or in one of the lower-end models.

Why? Because they determine gaming performance.

Recommendation #2: If you are planning to overclock a processor, pay attention to the number of phases in the board's power supply system, its cooling efficiency, voltage stability during overclocking, and BIOS capabilities. Yes, you cannot do without thoughtful and lengthy reading of reviews, but the result of your choice can also please you a lot. Again, these characteristics have nothing to do with the board’s positioning as “gaming/non-gaming” or even its price tag.

If overclocking is not planned at all, choose a board based on the characteristics that are more important to you: the number and type of peripheral connectors, the number of slots for memory modules, form factor, connectors for connecting case fans, and so on.

What is REALLY important for you to keep in mind.

Board form factor

It would seem that this is not the most serious aspect, but it is better to start with it. Agree, it’s not much fun if you choose the most suitable board, but it simply won’t fit into the case?

In addition, thanks to various motherboard standards, a personal computer today can be built in anything. There is no need to buy a bulky midi-tower case if you need a compact system that will fit in a desk niche. And it’s not at all necessary to place such a “box” next to the TV, if compact motherboards of mini-ITX or mini-STX formats can be “housed” in a small low-profile case, stylized as a multimedia player!

And don’t think that small systems always mean limited performance. Today, you can assemble a powerful gaming system in a compact case, and thanks to modern cases, coolers and the energy efficiency of current processors, it is not even in danger of overheating.

But let's get back to the point. So, what form factors of motherboards are presented in the DNS catalog?

Recommendation #5: The chipset does not affect performance, but as a rule, it allows you to clearly determine the positioning and functionality of the board. If you are not considering overclocking the processor, there is no point in chasing top models. Moreover, we are talking here not only about Intel platforms - for normal operation of AMD Ryzen processors and Bristol Ridge/Raven Ridge APUs, boards based on the budget AMD A320 chipset are sufficient.

However, if you plan to overclock the processor, connect a lot of high-speed peripherals, or build SLI/Crossfire systems, you should pay attention to older chipset models. In addition, since top-end motherboards are traditionally characterized by the best equipment, there is a chance that you will find among them models with built-in wi-fi and bluetooth modules, as well as other things useful to you.

CPU compatibility

Generally, if the motherboard and processor share the same socket, it means they are compatible. However, there are exceptions to every rule. So, not every LGA 775 board supports Wolfdale and Yorkfield processors, not every AM3+ socket board supports Piledriver processors, and not every LGA 1155 board supports Ivy Bridge processors without additional manipulations, and so on.

Recommendation #6: Before you go to the store to buy a new motherboard, visit the page for this model on the manufacturer's website and look at the list of compatible processors. It's completely easy and doesn't even take much time. But returning the board to the store or updating the BIOS at the service center will take time. Moreover, the BIOS update service at the service center is paid. And does it make sense to pay for it if the same money could simply be added to the budget and bought a more suitable motherboard?

Number of memory slots

RAM is an element of the PC that you can ignore for a long time, until one fine moment it is no longer enough. And it’s very good if at this moment you have the opportunity to increase the amount of memory. After all, if your PC has free slots, you just need to purchase the appropriate number of modules and continue to use the computer.

But if all the slots are occupied, you will have to sell the existing memory sticks, losing in price, and then buy larger capacity sticks, which in total will cost much more money, and will also take a lot of time... but you must admit, time can be spent with much more more benefit!

Recommendation #7: Save money by buying the entire motherboard with two RAM slots, it’s worth it only when you are firmly convinced that the PC should survive as long as possible without an upgrade and be replaced entirely. Otherwise, you will end up in the situation described above and make a hole in the family budget.

The "gold standard" in this regard is board with 4 memory slots. So, if you build a PC with two memory sticks of 8 gigabytes each, then in the future, if there is a lack of memory, it will be enough to just add two more sticks of 8 gigabytes each, which will be quite affordable.

8-slot boards Memory, as expected, belongs to the LGA 2011 and LGA 2011-3 platforms. With them everything is simpler: there the amount of memory is determined by the tasks for which the system is assembled, and is used immediately and completely.

Number of interface connectors

Since, when assembling a PC, you already have a rough idea of ​​what components and how many peripherals you will use, it is worth ensuring that the board allows you to connect everything you need without a clutter of adapters and splitters. It only seems at first that you can save money here, but in reality all sorts of USB hubs, external adapters and other extraneous parts make life very difficult.

So, what is desirable to provide?

Number and type of USB connectors on the rear panel. You shouldn’t get carried away here, especially since these ports are used primarily to connect a keyboard, mouse, graphics tablet and other stationary peripherals. Nevertheless, it is advisable to have at least four, and preferably six, connectors of the appropriate type on the back of the PC.

It is also advisable that at least two of which belonged to the 3.0 standard - high-speed peripherals such as portable hard drives will thank you.

Not necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt to availability of USB 3.1 ports. Today this is exotic, but in the foreseeable future the standard has every chance of becoming ubiquitous, so why not provide for it right away?

Having chosen a board that seems suitable at first glance, ask on the manufacturer’s website or in the “” service on the DNS website whether it has the ability to output USB ports to the front panel of the case. This doesn’t seem to be the most important thing to you now, but believe me, you will get tired of moving the system unit from place to place to connect a flash drive or cable from a camera/smartphone to the port on the back very quickly. And extension cords are just extra clutter on the desk. And besides, they love to fall at this very table.

It is also important to pay attention to the number and type of SATA connectors. You should pay attention to boards that support the currently fastest version - SATA 6 Gb/s. This will not require overpayment - connectors of this type are found even on completely budget devices. But one or two This type of connector will have a very good effect on the speed of the SSD.

Availability of type connectors SATA Express not necessary today, but it will be a good start for the future, when high-speed SSDs with such a connector become more common.

In some cases, a good bonus will be the presence built-in wi-fi adapter. For multimedia PCs living in the living room under the TV, this is practically a necessity, and for a large drawer with a separate table it may not be superfluous. Still, with the spread of smartphones and tablets, local networks in houses and apartments are most often implemented via wi-fi: it is more convenient to install one router / access point to which all devices will connect at once, than to make holes in the walls by laying a cable.

Most owners are satisfied with a very simple audio system, but if you have something other than the “two speakers, one subwoofer” setup in your home, pay attention to this point as well. Boards that allow you to connect surround sound systems like 5.1 or 7.1 , can seriously improve the sound in movies and games. Although the most demanding audiophiles, of course, cannot do without a discrete sound card.

If we are talking about discrete adapters, immediately evaluate the number, type and location of PCI-express slots. There is no secret here - everything is visible in the photographs of the product. Sufficient for a gaming PC in most cases one x16 connector, since one top-end video card is more than enough for games at current resolutions. Boards with two x16 slots are needed if you plan to build SLI/Crossfire, but here you need to make sure that the slots can operate in the “8+8” or “16+16 lines” mode. In the "16+4" mode, SLI simply will not work, and the gameplay when using the "inferior" Crossfire will be far from comfortable.

Boards with three or more PCI-e x16 slots are necessary only if you use any rare and highly specialized expansion cards. Installing more than two video cards into the system makes no sense. In addition, in the latest generations (GeForce 1000) of video cards, even Nvidia officially abandoned support for SLI from more than two accelerators (or rather, support for 3-way SLI is in benchmarks, and in several games it is enabled unofficially...).

It would be more useful to have it on the board PCI-e x1 slots: if you need an alternative sound or network card, or a discrete controller for any interfaces that are not on the motherboard, most likely these devices will use the x1 interface.

Legacy support PCI interface Today it is not necessary for an ordinary PC, but if you use some rare controllers or expansion cards in your work, it is worth considering it.

In addition, you should evaluate the number of connectors for connecting case fans. Of course, today's hardware has a predominantly calm disposition; you will no longer find real stoves among video cards and processors. And yet, it would be nice if the board allowed you to connect all cabinet turntables and control their speed without unnecessary adapters and reo-bass.

Recommendation #8: Of course, sometimes savings are at the forefront, and at many points you have to turn a blind eye just to assemble a PC faster and stay within the budget. And yet, the better equipped your motherboard is, the more convenient it will be to operate your PC. Moreover, again, it is not necessary to take exactly the top versions - sometimes even budget models can offer an interesting set of interfaces and connectors, you just need to carefully choose.

Overclocking options

If you are considering a motherboard for a platform that allows you to overclock central processors, you will agree that it would be nice to choose one that will allow you to achieve higher values ​​and, as a result, get O better performance. A little careful analysis in this case can pay off many times over, but neglect of information can, on the contrary, lead to useless expenses.

Recommendation #9: When choosing an “overclocking” motherboard, focus primarily on reviews on reputable resources. Of course, you should remember that in overclocking everything depends on the capabilities of a particular processor instance, but if several authors on several sources have one board that allows you to achieve a higher frequency than its analogues, this is a clear signal to buy.

Criteria and selection options:

According to the above, motherboards from the DNS directory can be ranked as follows:

For a nettop in a custom case, a home file server, a CarPC or an entry-level multimedia PC, mini-ITX motherboards are suitable for socket AM1, or options with soldered on the board AMD or Intel processors. You shouldn't expect enormous computing performance from these platforms, but they solve simple tasks easily and without wasting energy.

For a home multimedia PC that lives in the living room and masquerades as a VCR or stereo system, these are best suited compact boards for AM4 socket, having digital interfaces for video output. APUs are much more preferable for these tasks than a combination of a CPU and a discrete video card: when the processor and video live under the same cover, the computer can be made smaller and the heating will be lower. The latter is even more important for a compact system than for a gaming machine.

Whether your PC will become an office tool, a universal home assistant, a top-end gaming machine or a workstation for a reasonable price depends primarily on the processor you choose. But you need to choose from two options: either socket AM4, or LGA 1151_v2. At the same time, for a gaming machine you should pay attention first of all to boards that support processor overclocking- the opportunity to add speed to the system will not be superfluous.

For a purely office PC, probably a more suitable choice would be budget boards based on LGA 1151_v2, which do not support overclocking, but have video outputs for the graphics built into the processor. For obvious reasons, discrete video cards are not needed in most office workstations, and the graphics in the APU for the AM4 socket are too powerful for these purposes.

For a top-end workstation you will have to choose a motherboard either socket TR4, or under LGA 2066. The choice in this case will be determined only by which of the platforms will perform better in professional tasks, while the functionality and equipment of the boards themselves belonging to the top segment are at an approximately comparable level.

More recently, the development of the motherboard industry, determined mainly by the rivalry between the two processor giants AMD and Intel, slowly followed an evolutionary path. Evolution, if anyone doesn’t know, is a process where the vast majority of computer enthusiasts, usually not burdened with ultra-high incomes, not only remember what the term “upgrade” of a computer means, but also have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice. Alas, these “blessed” times seem to be relegated to the realm of computer legends...

Today, technological revolutions, breaking out one after another almost without interruption, have significantly shaken the foundations of modern computer platforms. Thus, the “Intel revolution of 2004” brought us fundamentally new basic technologies - the PCI Express system bus and DDR2 memory. In addition, in the past year, the serial interface of Serial ATA disk drives has made itself known with more or less loudness; in the field of network solutions, the Gigabit Ethernet interface and various wireless Wi-Fi options have come to the fore; the good old integrated sound AC"97 fell under the pressure of the aggressive newcomer HDA (High Definition Audio). Only the most naive can believe that the revolution in the field of graphic interfaces will be limited to just replacing AGP8X with PCI Express x16. No - NVIDIA has successfully revived a fairly forgotten technology SLI (Scalable Link Interface), very popular during the reign of 3Dfx Voodoo 2 3D video accelerators. And this year has brought no less shocks - here is the introduction of the 64-bit EM64T architecture, and the inclusion of support for the XD bit, which, paired with Windows XP Service Pack 2, allows you to prevent some virus attacks (all this is implemented in Pentium 4 processors with numbers from 5x1), support for Enhanced SpeedStep energy saving technology, previously available only in mobile processors, has now reached desktop processors (Pentium 4 600 series) But the most important event in the processor market in 2005, undoubtedly, was the emergence of CPUs with dual-core architecture... These include the Pentium 4 800 series processors (Smithfield core), in which two equivalent processor cores are located on one semiconductor chip (by the way, regular Prescott cores manufactured using a 90nm process technology), i.e. it turns out to be a kind of dual-processor system in one package.

Naturally, new processors also require new sets of system logic - and manufacturers were not forced to wait. We have been hit with a real avalanche of announcements of new chipsets, sometimes simply duplicating each other, and sometimes downright “paper”, so that even many experts’ heads are spinning. What can we say about us, inexperienced users! Let's try, without delving too deeply into the jungle of high technology, to slightly organize all the information available today about the most popular modern chipsets for Intel desktop processors.

Intel chipsets

By definition, the best chipsets for Intel processors can only be chipsets from Intel itself. And they are truly the best today.

915/925 Express Chipset Family

The birthday of a fundamentally new platform should be considered June 19, 2004, when Intel officially announced the 925X, 915P and integrated 915G discrete chipsets for Pentium 4 processors in FC-PGA2 and LGA775 packages, as well as the new ICH6 “south bridge” included in them . All of them support a 200-MHz system bus (the term "FSB 800 MHz" arose due to the fact that four data signals are transmitted per clock cycle), equipped with a dual-channel universal memory controller (working with both DDR2-533 and conventional memory DDR400) and PCI Express interface not only for graphics adapters, but also for expansion cards.

In the new memory controller, the most serious attention was paid to the convenience of organizing a dual-channel mode for users. The so-called Flex Memory technology allows you to install three modules while maintaining dual-channel functionality - only the same total amount of memory is required in both channels. Of course, the system will easily tolerate asymmetrical filling of slots in different channels, but then the operating speed, like the 865/875 chipsets, will drop noticeably.

In addition to compatibility with a new type of memory and the PCI Express serial interface, the 91x series chipsets feature many technical innovations, the most interesting of which is the GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) 900 graphics core. The GMA 900 differs from its predecessor Extreme Graphics 2 in increased frequency cores (333 MHz versus 266), an increased number of pipelines (4 versus 1), hardware support for DirectX 9 (versus 7.1) and OpenGL 1.4 (versus 1.3). All these improvements allow it, with some reservations, to cope with games like Far Cry, even at low resolutions and at not the highest level of detail.

There are no special architectural differences between the base 915P and top-end 925X chipsets, but the latter, justifying its “top-end” status, does not support outdated models of Pentium 4 processors with a 533 MHz bus (and, even more so, the budget Celeron, including its latest version with index "D") and memory - only DDR2 is supported. In terms of performance, the 925X is slightly superior to the 915 due to the new incarnation of the good old PAT technology, the current version of which, by the way, no longer has a special name, as before.

In the improved version of the flagship of the 900 family - the 925XE chipset, Intel went even further, increasing the system bus frequency to 1066 MHz and introducing support for the most powerful DDR2-667 memory today. In addition, it is implicitly implied that all top chipsets will only work with processors for Socket 775.

Quite unexpectedly, in the 900 series, more than ever before, a wide variety of budget chipset options, having certain functional limitations, received greater representation. Firstly, these are the 915PL and 915GL, which differ from the 915P and 915G only in the lack of support for DDR2 memory. Secondly, the 915GV, which differs from the 915G in the absence of a PCI-E xl6 graphics port, and, finally, the extremely simplified 910GL, which not only does not have an external graphical interface, but also whose system bus frequency is reduced to 533 MHz. In addition, the 910GL memory controller, which is only compatible with DDR400, does not support DDR2 memory.

The ICH6/ICH6R south bridge is connected to the north bridge via a bidirectional full-duplex DMI (Direct Media Interface) bus, which is an electrically modified version of PCI Express x4 and provides a throughput of up to 2048 Mbit/s. Among other technical innovations, the ICH6 south bridge now includes support for 4 PCI Express x1 ports designed to work with traditional peripherals and a new generation Intel HDA audio controller that supports 24-bit 8-channel audio (at a sampling rate of 192 kHz). An interesting feature of the HDA standard is the Jack Retasking function - automatic detection of a device connected to an audio jack and reconfiguration of inputs/outputs depending on its type.

The Intel Matrix Storage Technology disk subsystem, activated in the "south bridges" with the "R" index, allows you to create a two-disk RAID array that combines the advantages of RAID 0 and RAID 1.

Intel has always been distinguished by a certain conservatism when including support for new functions (unless, of course, they are promoted by Intel itself) in its chipsets. Only this can explain the lack of support in ICH6 for the rapidly gaining popularity of the Gigabit Ethernet network interface, which is replacing the good old Fast Ethernet.

945/955 Express Chipset Family

Intel 945/955 Express chipsets, represented by three products: the basic 945P, the integrated 945G and the top-end 955X, are an evolutionary development of the 915/925 Express line. Small improvements affected, in fact, only support for higher-speed buses; the main task of the new products is to provide support for the latest dual-core Intel processors.

Northbridge 945P provides support for Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, Pentium D processors with a system bus frequency of 533/800/1066 MHz; its dual-channel memory controller can work with DDR2-400/533/667 with a total capacity of up to 4 GB. True to its traditions of “accelerating” technical progress in every possible way, in its new line Intel has completely abandoned support for DDR memory, which has lost its relevance (in its opinion). But support for DDR2-667 memory will increase the peak performance of the memory subsystem from 8.5 Gbit/s for DDR2-533 to 10.8 Gbit/s. And taking into account the support for FSB 1066 MHz, which is gradually moving from the field of computer exotics into the category of mass solutions, we can finally talk about a significant increase in the performance of the new platform. However, at present there can be no talk of any mass distribution of Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors, as well as the still quite expensive DDR2-667 memory - their cost exceeds all reasonable limits.

The integrated 945G chipset has a GMA 950 graphics core, which is a slightly overclocked GMA 900 core from the previous generation.

The “top” 955X, unlike the “mass” 945P, lacks support for “low-speed” processors (with a 533 MHz bus) and memory (DDR2-400), while it can work with a large amount of memory (up to 8 GB) (it is possible to use modules with ECC) and is equipped with a proprietary system for increasing the performance of the Memory Pipeline memory subsystem.

In order to maximize the popularization of dual-core architecture in the budget sector, Intel plans to soon expand the 945 series with entry-level chipsets. This should be an integrated (without a PCI Express x16 graphics port) 945GZ chipset with a single-channel DDR2-533/400 memory controller and a discrete 945PL. As the name suggests, the latest chipset will be a "light" version of the 945P, in which the maximum FSB frequency is limited to 800 MHz, and the dual-channel memory controller will only support DDR2-533/400. Thus, the new 945PL will differ from the regular 915P only in its official support for dual-core Pentium D processors (if you do not take into account the refusal of DDR).

The new line of south bridges ICH7 also does not differ much from ICH6: they implement a new, faster (300 MB/s) version of the Serial ATA interface, almost completely compliant with the SATA-II standard, but without AHCI. The ICH7R version adds RAID support for SATA hard drives, and, compared to the ICH6R, this support is expanded: now, in addition to RAID 0 and RAID 1, levels 0+1 (10) and 5 are also available. In addition, the ICH7R has a larger number of ports PCI-E x1 has been increased to 6, which may be useful if two PCI-E video cards are combined in SLI mode.

NVIDIA chipsets

One of the most high-profile events of the past year was the news of the “admission” of NVIDIA, one of the leading players in the system logic market for AMD processors, to the much more “tasty” market of Intel processors. Thus, for the first time in history, another player has appeared in the niche of chipsets for uncompromisingly fast solutions, previously controlled exclusively by Intel itself, and not just “number two,” but immediately claiming leadership. And judging by NVIDIA's success on the "front" of solutions for the AMD64 platform, the claims are far from groundless. After all, the nForce4 SLI Intel Edition chipset, despite not the most apt name, to put it mildly - it is terribly bulky and difficult to distinguish from the ordinary nForce4 SLI, is essentially the same well-proven nForce4 SLI, in which only the processor bus has been changed and a memory controller has been added . Let me remind you that in AMD64 the memory controller is integrated into the processor, so it is not needed in the chipset, which, naturally, significantly simplifies its north bridge. That is why chipsets of the nForce3/4 family, unlike the "Intel Edition", are single-chip.

So, the north bridge SPP (System Platform Processor) nForce4 SLI Intel Edition combines a memory controller, a processor interface and a PCI Express bus controller. It supports any Intel Pentium 4/Celeron D processors with a system bus frequency of 400/533/800/1066 MHz, including dual-core ones. The dual-channel DDR2-400/533/667 memory controller is capable of operating asynchronously relative to the FSB (QuickSync technology), which allows nForce4 SLI Intel Edition to be distinguished as the first truly high-quality overclocking product. Its architecture remains unchanged since the nForce2, it is essentially two independent 64-bit controllers with cross-connection between them and a dedicated data and address bus for each of the installed DIMMs. This solution allows the processor to speed up access to data in memory, which, along with the use of an improved data prefetch and caching unit DASP (Dynamic Adaptive Speculative Preprocessor), allows nForce4 SLI Intel Edition to compete on equal terms with top solutions from Intel.

Of particular note is the PCI Express interface, which includes 20 arbitrarily combinable PCI-E x1 lanes, various combinations of which allow you to implement either a single PCI-E x16 graphics bus or “split” it into two separate PCI-E x8 channels necessary for organizing SLI . In normal mode, nForce4 SLI Intel Edition has one PCI-E x16 bus and four PCI-E x1 buses. When SLI mode is enabled, the chipset supports two PCI-E x8 and three PCI-E x1 graphics buses for additional peripherals. It is known that most modern games that are highly demanding on system resources greatly benefit from using a second accelerator. Therefore, there is no doubt that a Hi-End gaming system, based on nForce4 SLI Intel Edition and two powerful video cards (from NVIDIA, of course), will easily leave behind even the Intel 955X, not to mention any other currently existing one. on the market solution.

The south bridge MCP (Media and Communication Processor) is connected to the north 800 MHz bidirectional HyperTransport bus and has the maximum functionality among all modern devices of this kind. In addition to the standard dual-channel ATA133 controller, it supports up to 4 full-fledged Serial ATA II ports, while it is possible to organize a RAID array of levels 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 from disks connected to any of the built-in ATA controllers (even those of different types interfaces), and the number of High-Speed ​​USB 2.0 ports has been increased to 10. In addition, the MAC controller for the 10/100/1000 Mbit/s network (Gigabit Ethernet) supports the ActiveArmor software and hardware firewall function, which is very important nowadays time.

The only thing that can be blamed for MCP is the lack of a modern HDA audio controller. The existing AC"97, although 7.1-channel, its quality characteristics are hopelessly outdated.

Unlike previous years, when manufacturers of “alternative” chipsets for Pentium 4 released their new products almost immediately after Intel (and sometimes even ahead of it), with the introduction of new PCI Express/DDR2 standards, the Taiwanese “triumvirate” VIA, SiS and ALi/ ULi and ATI, which has “joined them”, are in no particular hurry, limiting themselves only to announcements of fairly decent, but, unfortunately, either completely undemanded by the market, or simply “paper” chipsets. This “disregard” for progress is caused either by all sorts of obstacles Intel has in licensing new buses, coupled with the marketing power of its main competitor, or by second-tier manufacturers realistically assessing their very limited capabilities in competition with truly advanced Intel chipsets. But such a simple scenario cannot be ruled out, when the “alternatives” simply wait for the final recognition of DDR2/PCI Express, and only after that they will seriously take up the development of this market. However, judging by the information available on the Internet about the plans of Intel's competitors, most of their solutions will be aimed at Mainstream or, more likely, Low-End sectors.

The chipset of a computer or laptop motherboard is a whole set of chips that are responsible for the coordinated operation of all connected components, including the processor, video card, RAM, hard drives and any other peripherals. Knowing the chipset model, you can set the maximum capabilities and set of functions of the motherboard. Most often, this information is needed when upgrading, for example, to select a new, more powerful processor. But how can you find out the markings of the installed chipset?

Conventionally, the chipset is divided into two components:

• north bridge;
• south bridge.

The first is responsible for the proper and coordinated operation of the processor, video card, RAM (conventionally this set is called “logic”), the second is responsible for all other connected devices and peripherals.

On a note! More modern motherboards, and especially laptops, use combined bridges called multicontrollers (or “hubs”).

Knowing the chipset model, you can find out which processors the motherboard supports, the maximum amount of RAM, as well as the allowed number of USB ports and drives. Today, the most famous chipset manufacturers are Intel and AMD (a few years ago Nvidia was also in this field, but later the company focused on video adapters).

If you want to know in more detail, you can read an article about it on our portal.

How to find out the chipset model?

The surest way to find out the chipset model is to visually inspect the motherboard. But for this you will need to disassemble your PC or laptop (which many people may have problems with). The name of the chipset is indicated on both the north and south bridges. As a rule, the chips themselves are soldered (BGA socket) and covered with a small heatsink (the chipset in most motherboard models does not heat up as much as the processor or GPU).

An easier option is to use specialized programs. The best in this regard are AIDA64 (or an older version of the Everest utility), as well as CPU-Z.

AIDA64

You can download the program on the official website https://www.aida64.com/downloads (trial version, working for 30 days, then you need to buy a license key). You should download the Extreme, Engineer or Business edition (their functionality is identical, the only difference is in the form of customer service support).

1. Go to the official website, select the program version, click on the “Download” button.

   

2. Click the mouse to launch the downloaded file.

   

3. In the Setup Wizard window, click Next.

   

4. Accept the terms of the agreement, click “Next”.

   

5. Check the appropriate options and click “Next”.

   

6. Click Install.

   

7. Check the box so that the program starts after installation, click “Finish”.

   

8. To find out the chipset model, just go to the side menu in the “Motherboard” - “Chipset” section. The marking is indicated in the description of the south or north bridge device (one or two letters followed by 2 - 4 numbers, for example - HM76).

   

On a note! This instruction is also suitable for the Everest program (visually they also look the same).

CPU-Z

CPU-Z can be downloaded from the official project page https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html.

After installing and launching the program, the chipset model can be found in the “Mainboard” section, the “Chipset” or “Sourthbridge” item (depending on whether the board has bridges or a combined multicontroller).

Where can I get drivers for the chipset?

In 99% of cases, there is no need to install drivers for the chipset - they are already integrated into Windows. If something is not working correctly (USB is running at minimum speed, the processor frequency is too low, the video card is not recognized properly), then only then should the drivers be installed. But be sure to download from the manufacturer’s website (or laptop), and not from the AMD or Intel websites!

For example, for an Asus X55C laptop with an HM76 chipset, the driver can be obtained as follows:

Step 1. Go to the official ASUS website (asus.com).

Step 2. Enter “Asus x55c” into the search form.

Step 3. Click on the required model and go to the review section for this model. Next, select “Support” - “Drivers”.

Step 4. Select the required version of the operating system.

Step 5. Find the item with “Chipset” and download the required file.

How to find out the capabilities of the chipset?

Data on the specifications of certain chipsets can be found on the official websites of AMD or Intel. For example, to get information about the HM76 (Intel) chipset you need to:

Step 1. Go to Google, enter “Intel HM76” in the search bar.

In total, you can find out the brand of the installed chipset without disassembling your PC or laptop.

Important! But it’s worth considering that not all chipset capabilities are always used by manufacturers. Detailed specifications must be clarified with the company that produced it.

Video - Motherboard chipset