Motherboards

Before You Buy PC Motherboards

Motherboards are the backbone of all PC computer systems. The choice of a motherboard determines things such as what type of processor you can user, how much memory it can have, what peripherals can be attached and what features it can support. Because of all this, it is important to know what you need when selecting the right motherboard.

Processor (CPU) Support

A motherboard typically has on it a specific processor socket type. This socket will determine the physical packaging of the AMD or Intel processor that can be installed on it. In addition to this, the motherboards chipset will determine what specific model processors can be used with the motherboard. It is important therefore to determine the processor that you wish to use at the same time you are selecting the motherboard. After all, two boards with the same socket may not support the same processor speeds.

• Best Desktop CPUs
• Understanding Desktop CPUs

Memory

As mentioned above, the chipset plays a direct role in selecting what processor can be used with a motherboard. The chipset also determines what type and speed of memory that can be installed. With the new memory formats coming out and the various price and performance questions they bring up, it is important to select a chipset considering all of these factors.

• Understanding Desktop Memory
• DDR3 Memory

Expansions Slots and Connectors

The number and type of expansion slots and connectors is important for what will be placed in the computer. If you have peripherals that require a specific connector or slot type, such as USB 2.0, FireWire or PCI-Express, you want to make sure that you get a motherboard that supports that type of connection. It is always possible to get an expansion card to add some connectors, but not all.

• PCI Express
• FireWire
• USB 2.0

Features

Features are extras added to the motherboard that are not required for operation but are useful to have. They can include things such as an on-board Ethernet, audio, RAID controller or even graphics. If the board has more features than you need it is not a problem since many can be turned off in the motherboards BIOS. These features can save money by not requiring additional expansion cards.

• BIOS Settings
• What is RAID?

Overclocking

If you plan on overclocking your processor, you want to make sure the board will support it. Look for a motherboard that has a wide range of adjustments to CPU settings. Settings to look at are cpu voltage and bus speeds. Smaller steps when adjusting the bus speeds are better. Also look for boards that have clock adjustments for the separate components such as processor, memory, graphics in order to improve stability. Extra cooling elements on the chipset and solid capacities can also improve stability.