Intel Chipset Buying Guide

[AlTech]

There comes a time when newcomers to PC building and even more experienced builders spend more or spend less on motherboards because they don't know any better.

 

Well today, I aim to fix that. Today I'll help you find the chipset series right for you.

 

First off let's be clear. This post is about Intel CPU chipsets not AMD.  And as such if you have an AMD processesor you may want to leave this post now.

 

Depending on what chipset lists features you need and want. Buy the one appropriate for you and your needs based on the below.

 

To start off with, we're going to take a look at Chipsets, their pros, cons and target market (who it was designed for).

 

Here we'll talk about Skylake and Haswell as well as Haswell refresh.

 

 

1. Intel B85 and B150 chipset (B series) (LGA 115x)

 

Don't get me wrong this chipset is a great chipset. It's just not suitable for gaming. If you want to overclock, you can't. If you want to go Multi GPU, you won't take full advantage of both.. If you want some modern USB ports then it also fails.

 

Pros: Somewhat cheap, Offers enough for basic office PCs

Cons: Sata and USB are older than we'd like, lacks OK Multi GPU support, Lacks Intel vPRO support

Target market - To be used in Office PCs, meant for Businesses

 

Conclusion for B series - Cheap Business motherboards which are meant to get the job done.

 

2. Intel Q85, Q87 and Q170 chipset (Q series) (LGA 115x)

 

The Q series is also a great chipset and is the luxury business chipset. That is of course, with the exception of Q85. Q85 is identical to the rest except it has no intel vPRO either and has a shortage of Sata 6Gb/s ports.

 

Pros: Suitable for most business machines, offers Sata 6Gb/s, iSIPP and far more USB3 ports

Cons: Lack of Sata 6Gb/s,

Target Market - Businesses

 

3.  Intel H81,H87,H97, H110 and H170. (H Series) (LGA 115x)

To the untrained eye, a H110 motherboard looks just as good and promising as a H170 motherboard. However intel is at it again, decieving us. The H series chipset is unable to overclock and the H110 and H81 suffer from lack of Intel rapid storage technology and fewer Sata 6Gb/s ports.

 

Pros: Good for gaming

Cons: No overclocking, Lack of Sata 6Gb/s ports (only 2, the rest are 3Gb/s).

 

Target Market - HTPCs, Home computers, Basic build PCs, mid range gaming PCs

 

4. Intel Z87, Z97, Z170 (Z Series) (LGA-115x)

In terms of consumer grade mother boards, this is for the high end PCs. Think of it as the Porshe of Mobos. Really attractive with all the features you probably need but at a price which probably isn't so attractive. That summarises the Z series very well. It's ability to overclock is the major selling point along with proper multi GPU support.

 

Pros: Can Overclock Unlocked CPUs, Allows for Multi GPU gaming, Plethora of Sata Gb/s.

Cons: Price, Only supports dual and quad core CPUs

Target Market: High End Gaming PCs and PC enthusaists

 

5. Intel X99 (LGA 2011-3)

Intel's X99 platform is the Ferrari or Lambourghini of Mobos. It's the cream of the crop. They very best in the world. All the features you need and more.

The big differentiator is the amount of CPU cores it can support ( a maximum of 8 instead of 4 on Z series) and the PCI-E 3.0 lanes. Traditionally Intel always put 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes for Graphics cards. But now, They've put a maximum of 40 lanes.

 

If you buy a i7-x820K you'll only be able to use 28 of the 40 which should be better than 16 for having 2 GPUs only. For the full 40 you'll have to go for the i7-x930K or the i7-x960X. The 40 lanes are a dream when it comes to triple GPU solutions although it still makes for a bad experience with 4 GPUs.

Pros: Supports more CPU cores, Supports more PCI-E lanes, Better multi GPU performance, Can overlclock CPUs,

Cons: Price

Target market - PC Enthusiasts and PC elitists as well as Video Editors and Contetn Creators

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

I'm AluminiumTech and until next time, Happy buying and reading! 

 

Got any thoughts,questions or comments? Leave a comment below!

[Samppa221]

My MSI B85m-G43 supports CrossFire so it can multi gpu.

 

1. Intel B85 and B150 chipset (B series) (LGA 115x)

 

Don't get me wrong this chipset is a great chipset. It's just not suitable for gaming. If you want to overclock, you can't. If you want to go Multi GPU, you can't. If you want some modern USB ports then it also fails.

 

 

 

[AlTech]

My MSI B85m-G43 supports CrossFire so it can multi gpu.

I'll fix that.

[Samppa221]

I'll fix that.

H97 boards also support CrossFire.

[johnny5c]

3.  Intel H81,H87,H97, H110 and H170. (H Series) (LGA 115x)

To the untrained eye, a H110 motherboard looks just as good and promising as a H170 motherboard. However intel is at it again, decieving us. The H series chipset is unable to overclock, unable to support Multi GPUs in SLI or crossfire and the H110 and H81 suffer from lack of Intel rapid storage technology and fewer Sata 6Gb/s ports.

 

Pros: Great for single GPU gaming

Cons: No overclocking, No multi GPU gaming possible, Lack of Sata 6Gb/s ports (only 2, the rest are 3Gb/s).

 

Target Market - HTPCs, Home computers, Basic build PCs, etc

 

 

There's a few boards that break those rules, for instance my wife's Asrock H97M Pro4 has full multiplier and voltage control and has no problem running her 4770K at 4.3GHz.  It also has six full Sata3 6GB ports. 

[AlTech]

There's a few boards that break those rules, for instance my wife's Asrock H97M Pro4 has full multiplier and voltage control and has no problem running her 4770K at 4.3GHz.  It also has six full Sata3 6GB ports. 

Oh wow. An anomaly?

[johnny5c]

Oh wow. An anomaly?

 

Actually having 4 or 6 SATA3 ports is pretty common on H87/H97 boards.  As far as overclocking goes, a couple from Asus and Asrock will work with the unlocked i5/i7 CPU's.  Asrock actually locked out all the overclocking options in the latest BIOS version for my wife's mobo but rolling back to the previous version enable everything again and I've gotten her 4770k as high as 4.6GHz.

[Wind]

one question, if i buy like a 4460, what chipset should i buy? B85,H81, or H97? should i go with B85 for saving money or go with the H81/H97?

[AlTech]

one question, if i buy like a 4460, what chipset should i buy? B85,H81, or H97? should i go with B85 for saving money or go with the H81/H97?

I would go for H97

[Wind]

I would go for H97

any particular reason? and i'm talking on what chipset has the most features for the buck.

[AlTech]

any particular reason? and i'm talking on what chipset has the most features for the buck.

H97 is bang for the buck

[MageTank]

I see far too much misinformation in this post for me to consider it a " concrete guide". Especially when it claims to be clarifying things people do not know. 

 

First of all, Intel has never been deceptive in what the H series was. They even list their respective features on their website: 

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/90591/Intel-GL82Z170-PCH

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/90595/Intel-GL82H170-PCH

 

How can it be deception when it is clearly listed that the H170 does not support overclocking, and Z170 clearly says it does? 

 

Now, on to the next piece of misinformation. H chipsets lacking Crossfire support. Plenty of H boards support crossfire. Even as low as H81. Here is a pcpartpicker list with crossfire toggled, and every board listed supports crossfire: 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/motherboard/#l=2,3,4,1000&sort=a8&page=1&s=24,30,14,15,16,20016,21,20021,28,29,20028,13&c=113,111,32,33,34,35,36,92,90,100

 

As you can see, there is even a socket 1156 board on there, as old as it is, supporting crossfire as an H55 board. Even the B series boards have crossfire support. Also, H97 can support up to 6 SATA 6Gb/s ports, with H170 supporting 4. This is much more than the 2 that you say they support. 

 

To simplify this guide, i can sum it up fairly easy. 

 

The Q and B series is for business class hardware. The H series is for average consumer (be it general browsing, or gaming). The Z series is pro-sumer, offering SLI and broader overclocking support. High-end gaming hardware. The X platforms are for enthusiasts and content creators (as you stated). The C series (such as C612) is for heavy workstation loads. 

 

For people that ask if they should go H or Z series? Simply ask them if they are comfortable overclocking, and if they feel the price difference will be worth the extra performance. Remember, Z series means buying an already more costly platform, a more expensive unlocked CPU, and exotic cooling solutions. You must factor in these three prices, then factor in the performance gained from overclocked memory and CPU (And SLI if it applies) and see if the performance gained was worth the time and price involved. For most average gamers, it won't be. If they say they do not want to overclock, then the decision becomes very easy. H series. If they say they are unsure, i would try to push the Z series at least for the XMP support (Read my sig for information on memory speed impacting gaming performance) and the ability to overclock in the future, had they decided later on they want to do it. If they are comfortable overclocking, then the Z series is the obvious choice.

 

If they feel they are being limited by the amount of cores/threads they have, only then would i recommend they invest in X99. I see people trying to convince others to get the 5820k over the 6700k, and it makes me a little sad. I know prices might be similar, and the 5820k might be better on paper, but Z170 has much greater support for the average consumer. Stronger IMC is another boon, and lower TDP means people can get away using cheaper air cooled solutions for similar performance. For gaming, X99 just is not a compelling buy over Z170. 

 

I do appreciate your intent, but this guide seriously needs to be redone with valid information, and links for people to look this up themselves. Linking them to each chipset's Ark page would be a good start, followed by showing them how they can figure out how many PCIE lanes their CPU supports (Listed on each CPU's individual Ark page) and how to determine if a board supports crossfire or SLI (Printed on the board PCB, and listed on the manufacturers webpage). I know this is just a "chipset buying guide" but when you use these points against each chipset, it is your job to clarify that information.

 

Aside from that, good job.

[Teemo4Life]

I didn't know this. I just bought the cheapest motherboard that fits the socket and done. No need to spend more money.

I was going to buy h81 but it was out of stock and bought a b85 motherboard. You can OC with b85 and some h81 motherboards. The h81m plus, h81-HDS. I have the b85 pro4 and can OC my pentium