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What to look for when shopping for a motherboard

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Nazim
What to look for when shopping for a motherboard

A motherboard is the most important component for your computer, which means it's also one of the most expensive. But don't worry, this post will walk you through all of the things to look for when deciding on a motherboard so that you can make sure you're getting a quality board at a great price. If you're looking for a best motherboard for rtx 3090, here is what to look out for:

1. The chipset It's important that your board comes with an Intel chipset or an AMD chipset (also known as the southbridge), which will determine what socket type it uses for processors and other components. Chipset differences are explained in greater detail below. If a board doesn't have a chipset, it probably isn't going to be worth buying.

2. PCI-Express slots: If you're building a new system, whatever components you plan on using must be compatible with the motherboard's chipset and socket type - so make sure to double-check before buying. If your board has PCIe x 16 slots (which is required for graphics cards), it will also require the chipset to support Crossfire or SLI, depending on how many video cards you want to run in tandem. If your board only supports two PCIe x 16 cards, don't worry about this too much — just know that Crossfire and SLI are achieved by pairing multiple video cards together and rendering some of the workload across both cards for better performance.

3. CPU sockets: Choosing a motherboard with an Intel chipset will give you three socket types to choose from: LGA 775, 1155/6, and 1366. You can pick any of these chipsets as long as it fits your budget, but the motherboard's specification sheet should list which CPUs are compatible with which socket type. The first two socket types support both Core 2 Duo and Quad processors. All three socket types support newer Sandy Bridge-based CPUs, including the latest 3rd generation i7s that have just recently been released by Intel . Newer Haswell-based 4th generation i7s aren't backwards compatible with these older motherboards unless you use a BIOS update - so keep that in mind when shopping for a board.

4. RAM compatibility: All motherboards support DDR2 RAM, which is still the most commonly used type of memory. If you want to use newer and faster DDR3 memory, make sure your board supports it before buying. However , if you intend on using an AMD CPU (which doesn't support DDR3), then any motherboard can be paired with either RAM type.

5. Additional features: Graphics card support & USB 3.0 Many boards also come packed with extra features such as built-in WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity for wireless devices like keyboards and mice, Firewire interfaces, sound chip processing for better quality sound, HDMI outputs for HD TVs and dedicated video cards made specifically for rendering graphics outside of a system's onboard GPU

5. Onboard audio, video, LAN ports If your motherboard doesn't have onboard video you will need to buy a PCIe video card that matches the chipset type of your motherboard - otherwise you won't be able to connect it to your monitor or install an operating system on it. Make sure the motherboard has at least one HDMI port if you plan on using any of Intel's modern integrated graphics processors (also known as "onboard" graphics). The majority of boards support VGA output too if you're still stuck in the stone age with CRT monitors . Most motherboards over $100 come with some sort of built-in audio solution, though this may not always be the best option. If you're building a high-end system, get a motherboard that supports 6+ SATA ports so that you have enough room for additional hard drives or SSDs.

6. Number of USB ports : USB 2.0 is still the most common type used on motherboards today, but some boards include USB 3.0 connectivity which is backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices . Avoid boards without at least 6 to 8 available USB ports unless you have more than one video card . You can buy expansion cards if your board doesn't have enough built-in - but it's cheaper to get a board with more built-in ports in the first place.

5. Additional features: Graphics card support & USB 3.0 Many boards also come packed with extra features such as built-in WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity for wireless devices like keyboards and mice, Firewire interfaces, sound chip processing for better quality sound, HDMI outputs for HD TVs and dedicated video cards made specifically for rendering graphics outside of a system's onboard GPU .

7. Power connectors: Most motherboards require a 24-pin ATX power connector for them to boot up and run properly, but some of Intel's Z68 and X79 boards require an 8-pin connector instead . Make sure your power supply has the necessary power output (or buy a new one if it doesn't) before buying one of these boards so you don't fry either your board or CPU during installation!

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