Quick Explanation of Z77, Z87 1155, 2011 sockets

[Radec]

Hey guys I just started building computers and I still have much to learn could any of you explain briefly about Z77, Z87 and sockets? And what they have to do with CPU's

[allthatremains94]

Z77 and Z87 are Chipsets, and are kind of like a secondary processor, but their main use is to channel certain data to and from the CPU, as well as to and from things like the SATA ports, the PCI-E slots, and USB ports.

 

Sockets are just what CPU will fit in there, and it restricts the use of older, non-compatible CPUs from being put in newer sockets.

 

Someone can do better, but this is the meat and potatoes.

[Vitalius]

Alrighty then.

The letters represent the feature set on the motherboard's chipset. The further along in the alphabet it is, the more features it has, with only 1 exception. Example: H chipsets have less features overall than Z chipsets. Z chipsets are more so directed at enthusiast gamers for example. They'll have more PCI-e slots, more USB ports, more SATA ports, usually (not always). Etc.

The first number represent the generation of CPU that the chipset is made for. For example, 77 is for Intel 3XXX series CPU's while 87 is for Intel 4XXX generation CPU's. While the second number is the tier of motherboard within that letter. Example: A Z85 has less features than a Z87. But a Z85 would have many more features than a B87. The Letter takes precedence over the Number but both matter and apply.

The sockets, for Intel, are the number of pins that the CPU has. For example, an 1150 socket has 1,150 gold pins on the CPUs. 1155 has 1,155 pins on the CPU's. More does not always mean better, simply "different". 

So a Z77 1155 motherboard is an enthusiast gaming motherboard for Intel 3XXX series CPU's. Different generations can have different sockets, but sometimes they have the same socket. A H87 1150 motherboard is an either lower tier gaming  or just plain consumer motherboard for the Intel 4XXX series CPU's. A B85M motherboard is a bare bones motherboard that has just enough to make a system run. Nothing fancy. The B represents "lowest tier", the 85 represents (for Haswell/4XXX series CPU's, but cut down) and the M represents that this is a Mobile motherboard, meaning it's small. 

The exception I mentioned about the alphabet thing is the X chipsets. They are for server grade motherboards and the 2011 Socket, so CPU's like the 3960x or 3930k. Intel CPU's with numbers in the hundreds place over 7 are server CPU's. The motherboards for these CPU's often have 8 RAM slots for up to 128GB of RAM. Usually. There are exceptions.

That is a quick explanation as there's more to it for the AMD side, but I hope that helped. 

[Vitalius]

This relatively long article should help you understand what the differences are in chipsets. Be sure to look at the features against the chipset names. For example, a B85M having [insert features] versus a Z87 having [insert features].

Do note I updated the post above this one with more information on the Numbers.