Motherboard Buying guide


Motherboard is the backbone of your PC. It is the physical board that stands a base for computer’s basic circuitry and components like CPU, RAM, Graphics Card or Network Card.
from: Motherboard guide

The compatibility of the motherboard with the components will also influence your buying decision to a great extent. Moreover, you should go for the right motherboard that supports your functional and performance requirements.

Components of the mother board

There are many parts that make up the entire mother board.

Processor

The main factor that you should consider while buying a mother board is the type of processor it supports.
It may be Pentium, AMD Athlon, Celeron and so on.
Different chips have connectors that differ in physical configuration. The CPU socket varies depending on which processor will exactly fit in that socket.
Each motherboard has a different CPU socket.
For example AM2 Athlon/Sempron - MSI K9VGM-V M/board - VIA K8M890, HT2000, Dual DDR2- 400/533/667/800, 1x PCI-X1 and Pentium 4 (LGA 775-pin) - Asrock ConRoe865PE M/board - i865PE, 1066MHz FSB, Dual Channel DDR-400, AG

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Depending on the type of socket that suits the CPU, you can choose many versions of Pentium 4, Celeron and Athlon XP.
Sockets are arranged in the Pin Grid Array (PGA) and the latest Land Grid Array (LGA) that is part of socket and not CPU.
For example Pentium 4 (LGA 775-pin) MSI 649 Neo-V ATX M/board - SiS 649 Chipset, 800/533MHz FSB, Dual Channel.

Chipset

This is very important part of the mother board. The main communication between the CPU and the other components happens through this chipset.
The chipset steers data CPU through the hard drive and the memory.
It is the specific chipset according to which the mother board is configured.
So you should always know specifications such as CPU and memory support, sound and graphics integration. For example MSI 649 Neo-V ATX Motherboard.

RAM

You should use a mother board that can store more RAM data than required. This is because there may be cases when more memory needs to be saved in future.
If the board supports newer chips then you should consider buying it.
This feature enhances upgradation of the PC at frequent intervals.
There is DDR (double data rate) SDRAM memory that comes with a low speed or fast speed where the later is preferably selected.
Rambus (RDRAM) memory is high priced but is being commonly used due to the exclusive high-bandwidth features it offers.
For example AM2 Athlon/Sempron - MSI K9N-DIAMOND M/board - nForce 590 SLI, HT2000, Dual DDR2-533/667/800, 2x PCI and Intel SE7221BK1 Motherboard - E7221 FSB 800MHz Dual DDR2 400/533

Form Factor

This determines the standard for a mother board’s total physical configuration. It is used to know the exact setting of mounting holes, slots, ports and power supply connectors. ATX form factor is presently in use.
This factor type specifies the exact location of the connectors and gives information about the power supply.
For example ASUS Mb; M2N, nForce 430 MCP, ATX.

Connections

Depending on the capacity and speed, mother boards offer many connections.
Ethernet, USB 2.0, and FireWire ports are a few to be mentioned.
You can select a USB 2.0 version as it is faster and supports higher-bandwidth devices to a large extent.
This version is mostly seen in video-conference cameras and next-generation scanners.
For example MSI K9N-NEO-F Motherboard.

Sound & Graphics

You can see that recent mother boards have improved sound, both onboard and integrated.
You always have an option of avoiding integrated sound and putting a sound card to enhance performance levels. For example Asus P5LD2 Motherboard LGA 775.

Storage

Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives provide more storage facility.
The recent mother boards also have IDE connectors.
For example Pentium 4 (478-pin) - Asrock P4I65G M/board - Intel 865G, 800MHz FSB, Dual DDR400, Int. VGA, SATA 15.

PCI Slots

They are present in most ATX mother boards. Each slot has different number of links or lanes that they support. For example Asus M2NPV-MX AM2, A64X4, NF6150, DDR2800, PCIe, Audio, Gigabit Lan, Micro ATX

Uses of the mother board to your computer .

The importance of mother board comes from the name because your PC will not function without it.

Proper Plan and Organisation: It has a network of well-connected components that helps in the proper functioning of your computer.

Control: The data flow is controlled because of the chips present in the socket or the CPU.

Proper Communication: Any communication within the PC and among other PCs has to go through the mother board.

Apt Processor: The motherboard functions as per the processor selected by you.

Peripheral connections: It is the motherboard that determines the type of peripheral to be adopted in your PC.

Performance and Upgradation: The capacity and the upgrading benefits available with many motherboards improve the overall performance of your computer.
For example Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard Socket 939.

Cost: The features available with every type of mother board will determine the life of a computer and so the price varies accordingly.

A careful co-relation of the points above with what you are looking for in your mother board will help you make the right pick at Getprice!
Become a Getprice Member TODAY!