How to choose a motherboard
Today’s topic is a motherboard for a computer, or rather, “How to choose a motherboard for a computer”. The possibility of a further upgrade of your computer will depend on how you learn the material of this topic.You just have to know all the main specs of the motherboard. After all, it is not for nothing that the motherboard is called the most important board in a computer.
If we compare a computer with a person, then the motherboard is the heart of a person, which is responsible for the integration of all internal organs (components) and the brain (CPU). Although, of course, it is foolish to compare a computer and a person. In humans, everything is much more complicated and confusing. So we continue with our plan:
- How to build a computer for beginners (overall)
- How to choose a PC case
- How to choose power supply for PC
- How to choose a motherboard [you are here now]
- How to choose a CPU
- What is RAM?
- How to choose a graphics card for PC
How to choose a motherboard for a computer correctly and for a long period?
In order to make the right choice, you need to consider the main characteristics of the motherboard. There are a lot of them, and some are even critical. What you should pay attention to when choosing a motherboard:
- Socket;
- Motherboard brand;
- Number and type of supported RAM slots;
- Number of PCI slots.
These are not all the characteristics of the motherboard, but for a start, this will be enough. Now let’s go over these points in more detail.
First choose the CPU, and then the motherboard for it, and not vice versa
The first step is to choose the CPU: Intel or AMD. Because the sockets are different for them. This parameter must be specified in the description of the processor or in its instructions.
For Intel processors, the socket name begins with the letters LGA, and for AMD processors – with the letters AM, FM and S.
For example, Intel processors of the Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X families have an LGA-2066 socket. This means that processors with a different socket marking will not get into such a socket. Therefore, be careful when selecting components so that you do not have to change them later.
Number and type of RAM slots on the motherboard
Everything is extremely simple here. The more slots, the better. Motherboards come with 2, 4, 6 and even 8 slots. The types of slots (more precisely, the types of RAM) at the moment (middle of 2022) are DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5. They differ in the speed of data processing.
Why is 4x4GB RAM bars better than 2x8GB? Because each bar has a limit on the speed of data exchange through the bus. And, accordingly, the more RAM bars, the higher the speed of your computer. It’s as simple as 2×2!
When choosing a motherboard, you need to think ahead, because computer performance requirements are constantly growing and you will eventually need more RAM to process large amounts of data. In order not to change the motherboard to another one later make sure that there are enough slots in it in order to increase RAM in the future.
The number of PCI slots in the computer motherboard
PCI slots (or rather, we are now talking about PCI-Ex16) are designed to connect a graphics card. If you plan to build a top-end powerful gaming computer, then you might need 2 such slots to use 2 graphics cards at the same time. If you need a computer for simple office programs, then this slot will not be useful to you at all, since an integrated graphics card will be enough for you. Although I doubt very much that it is now possible to find a motherboard without this slot.
This parameter will also be extremely important for those who plan to buy a computer to engage in mining (find out what mining and cryptocurrency are). Because to do this, you will have to use as many graphics cards as possible to plug into the motherboard.
To summarize
The characteristics of the motherboard are not too difficult to understand, even if you are new to it. The main thing is to compare the specs. Almost always, the larger the figure, the better. Then compare the characteristics with the prices.
I think this is the end of talking about how to choose a motherboard for a computer. If you have any questions, ask me in comments below.