Choosing a Motherboard

It is the first feature you should pay attention to.

The CPU socket of your motherboard must match the socket of your processor. For example, most Intel processors use the LGA 1151 socket, while most AMD processors use the AM4 socket.

When checking the socket, you can make a future-proof selection, not only for the CPU you have selected.

Specific durations on AMD processors make sure to use the same socket throughout. At the time of writing AMD switched to AM5 sockets with the 7000 series. It has promised processors for these sockets for the next few years.

On the other hand, Intel is redesigning the socket every couple of generations. So it can be difficult to make a future-proof choice when buying an Intel processor.

If you want to know about old sockets, you can look at here...

In short, it represents the size of the motherboard. The size of your case should match the form factor of the motherboard you choose.

Form factors in descending order from largest to smallest;¹⁾

• E-ATX
• ATX
• MicroATX
• Mini-ITX
• Mini-ATX
• Nano-ITX
• Pico-ITX

Commonly used for desktop computers are the ATX, MicroATX and Mini-ITX form factors.

The north bridge is one of the most important parts of the motherboard. It is the connection that transfers data between the CPU and RAM.

In addition, it also provides the data transfer between the GPU and the CPU.

In the past, there used to be two chipsets, north and south. Today, these two chipsets are combined.

It is the connection between the north bridge and the CPU.

In general, it is a factor that affects the speed of the motherboard.

Slots where other hardware is connected to the motherboard.

It has different standards: x1, x2, x4, x8, x16 and x32.

The x1 slots have one lane and can carry 1 bit of data per cycle. See the table below for a detailed comparison.

As technology develops, new generations emerge. Today there are five generations. Bandwidth almost doubles with each generation.

When PCIe 4.0 came out in 2017, it was only used for servers. In 2019, the AMD Ryzen 3000 series became the first processor to support PCIe 4.0 x16.

If you're building a future-proof system, you might want to look for cards that support PCIe 5.0.

Things to watch out for;

• Must have at least 1 PCIe x16 slot.
  • If you plan to do SSL/Crossfire by connecting two video cards, there should be 2 of them.
• You should stay away from generations below PCIe 4.0 as they are obsolete.
  • There is no performance difference between PCIe 4 and 5. However, PCIe 5.0 has higher bandwidth.

Slots where RAM is installed on the motherboard.

Things to watch out for;

• If you are building a future-proof system, you should choose a motherboard with RAM slots that meet current standards.
  • The current standard is DDR5. DDR5 supports higher frequencies and is more overclockable.
  • The limiting factor for RAM frequency is the motherboard. For example, if your motherboard supports a maximum frequency of 3200 MHz, there is no point in buying higher frequency RAM. The maximum frequency you can reach is the frequency supported by your motherboard.
  • There is no backward support for DDR3 and DDR4. So you have to install DDR4 RAM in a DDR4 slot. But you can install a DDR4 RAM in a DDR5 slot.
  • AM5 socket motherboards only support DDR5 RAM.
  • On the other hand, cards that support Intel DDR5 also support DDR4.
• RAM Capacity;
  • You should choose RAM according to the number of slots your motherboard has and the maximum capacity it supports.
  • If you want to use dual channel RAM, you should choose a motherboard with 2 RAM slots.
  • Most ATX motherboards have a RAM capacity of 128 GB.

The number of RAM slots is also important.

• Usually motherboards with 2 slots are more affordable.

Sound cards integrated into the motherboard should be sufficient if you are not going to work specifically with sound quality.

If sound quality is your top priority, you should find out the sound card of your chosen motherboard and review the reviews on that sound card.

Of course, you can also buy a quality sound card separately and use it in the PCI slots.

And as always, after making a choice based on the information here;

• Confirm the specifications on the motherboard website.
• Read or watch reviews from reputable and reliable sources for the motherboard in question.²⁾

Taken from UCH Viki. https://wiki.ulascemh.com/doku.php?id=en:cs:pc:build:motherboard