I'm Confused with the latest chipsets

Rexxar

Rexxar

Rexxar

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Please could someone explain the differences between Z170 / X99 / X97 ? I'm completely lost and have tried reading a number of articles but they just discuss which is best.

Anyone care to sum up the differences please? All 3 seem popular right now.

Thanks
 
z170 is the latest chipset, it supports the skylake processors and is the mainstream platform supporting 2core and 4 core CPUs, x97 im guessing you mean z97, its just the lastgen version of the z170 using an older socket.
x99 is the enthusiast platform supporting 6,8 and 10 core CPUs for people doing lots of multi threaded tasks.
 
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Z107 (socket 1151) = Slylake, Supports DDR3 and DDR4
Z97 (Socket 1150) = Devils Canyon & Hasell, Supports DDR3
X99 (Socket 2011-v3) = Enthusiast chipset, DDR4
 
Thanks guys,

Any reason why X99 or Z170 would better than the other? Ruling out Z97 if it's old tech as if i'm upgrading i want it to last...
 
I think you have this all a little around the wrong way. You should look at the processors and decide what you need, then the chipset picks itself as they're only compatible with one! What will you be using the system for?
 
Zefan said:
I think you have this all a little around the wrong way. You should look at the processors and decide what you need, then the chipset picks itself as they're only compatible with one! What will you be using the system for?
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Gaming mostly, coming from an LGA 1156 Board with a 2.8ghz i5
 
Rexxar said:
Gaming mostly, coming from an LGA 1156 Board with a 2.8ghz i5
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Skylake with the 6600k/6700k will be the out and out fastest for gaming. X99 is geared more towards productivity tasks such as encoding, rendering etc. Particularly with programs that can utilise 6 or more cores, (cpu model dependent). Theyre still very good for gaming too though.
 
Z170 is newer than X99. There are a couple of fundamental differences in the chipset. With X99 the CPU has either 28 or 40 PCIE lanes available for devices such as GPUs, sound cards, PCIE storage, etc. With Z170 the CPU has 16 lanes available, however, over 20 lanes (I forget the exact number) of PCIE are available from the chipset itself, unlike X99 where no PCIE is available from the chipset.

Otherwise interconnectivity is pretty similar. Z170 offers up to 4 core CPUs. X99 offers up to 10 core CPUs. Of course, a 10 core i7 costs a lot more than a 4 core i7.

Z97 is the last generation of consumer level board, before Z170. It is similar to Z170 except that it has far less PCIE connectivity coming from the chipset, and has more limited USB connectivity. Also, newer features like full blown M.2/NVME and USB 3.1 type C are not abundant on Z97.

Are you a content creator? Intensive video and photo editing? Intensive 3D modelling? Need to run 3 GPUs along with additional cards? X99 is for you.

Are you an average user? Do you just want to do some simple work, browse the web, do moderate level work (as described above) and play games? Z170 is for you.

There are other chipsets you have not asked about, such as H170. The most significant difference between Z and H boards is that H boards do not offer overclocking while Z boards do. All X boards offer overclocking as all X99 CPUs are unlocked.
 
Rexxar said:
Gaming mostly, coming from an LGA 1156 Board with a 2.8ghz i5
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For gaming, Z170 + i5-6600k offers good price-vs-performance and can be overclocked if you wish.

If you feel you might want to do a bit of productivity work as well as gaming (video editing etc) then Z170 + i7-6700k might be worth the extra cost.

If you aren't too bothered about overclocking you could save some money by going for a H110 or H170 motherboard and the i5-6600 or i7-6700. That said, the i5-6600k is barely any more expensive than the i5-6600 and even at stock speed is significantly faster.

It's probably not worth considering anything less than an i5-6600 because the other Skylake i5 CPUs won't have significantly better performance than your existing i5.
 
I dont plant to Overclock anything, I've always used stock settings...

With that in mind, would a Z board be better in terms of longevity? Thanks for all the replies, think I actually get it now!
 
Rexxar said:
I dont plant to Overclock anything, I've always used stock settings...

With that in mind, would a Z board be better in terms of longevity? Thanks for all the replies, think I actually get it now!
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Even if you don't overclock, a Z170 board is still a better investment than a H170 or H110 because it offers other advantages such as more PCI lanes, more memory slots, more USB slots, Crossfire / SLI support (depending on the board) etc. So a Z170 board has more upgrade options which will help with longevity a bit.

Same with the i5-6600k, even if you don't overclock it, it's still significantly faster than the other Skylake i5 CPUs and will give you longer service than the non-k CPUs. Personally I think it's worth spending the extra.

And you always have the option to overclock if you wish.

As for X99 + i7-5820k, that takes things into a whole different price bracket, which it's probably not worth jumping into if you are mostly gaming and don't wish to overclock (most of the advocates for the i7-5820k around here make the assumption you'll be overclocking it).
 
mistersprinkles said:
Z170 is newer than X99. There are a couple of fundamental differences in the chipset. With X99 the CPU has either 28 or 40 PCIE lanes available for devices such as GPUs, sound cards, PCIE storage, etc. With Z170 the CPU has 16 lanes available, however, over 20 lanes (I forget the exact number) of PCIE are available from the chipset itself, unlike X99 where no PCIE is available from the chipset.

Otherwise interconnectivity is pretty similar. Z170 offers up to 4 core CPUs. X99 offers up to 10 core CPUs. Of course, a 10 core i7 costs a lot more than a 4 core i7.

Z97 is the last generation of consumer level board, before Z170. It is similar to Z170 except that it has far less PCIE connectivity coming from the chipset, and has more limited USB connectivity. Also, newer features like full blown M.2/NVME and USB 3.1 type C are not abundant on Z97.

Are you a content creator? Intensive video and photo editing? Intensive 3D modelling? Need to run 3 GPUs along with additional cards? X99 is for you.

Are you an average user? Do you just want to do some simple work, browse the web, do moderate level work (as described above) and play games? Z170 is for you.

There are other chipsets you have not asked about, such as H170. The most significant difference between Z and H boards is that H boards do not offer overclocking while Z boards do. All X boards offer overclocking as all X99 CPUs are unlocked.
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Mostly correct however the X99 chipset does actually have some PCIe lanes to play with, 8 x Gen 2.0 lanes which is mostly irrelevant in most cases, but still there for peripherals that do not need Gen 3.0 lanes from the main CPU.

Z170 has 20 Gen 3.0 PCIe lanes and then it lowers as you go down the list, so H170 has 16 Gen 3.0 then H110 has 6 Gen 2.0 lanes. The H boards do not support SLI either.

OP from your needs sounds like Skylake is ideal. I would opt for a solid z170 board as the price delta between a Z170 and H170 is fairly small but Z170 affords more options such as SLI and overclocking if down the line you elect to pick up a new CPU as the board should be good for the next generation of CPU's coming out towards the end of the year also.
 
This is a great thread, a 'basic' thread like this every other generation or so would be really useful I think.

I use a computer daily but I only tend to get into the details, i.e. X99 Vs. Z170 when I'm about to replace my own computer. So in my case it can be 5 years if not more without reading anything about the new boards and CPUs and suddenly I realise I don't know anything. (The last time I built a computer and read anything was my current Z97 i5-2500K and have been struggling with X99 Vs. Z170 myself for my next build).
 
Kiyoshi said:
This is a great thread, a 'basic' thread like this every other generation or so would be really useful I think.

I use a computer daily but I only tend to get into the details, i.e. X99 Vs. Z170 when I'm about to replace my own computer. So in my case it can be 5 years if not more without reading anything about the new boards and CPUs and suddenly I realise I don't know anything. (The last time I built a computer and read anything was my current Z97 i5-2500K and have been struggling with X99 Vs. Z170 myself for my next build).
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This!

Thanks , that makes a lot more sense now. Now just to decide which Z170 board i like the look of. Anything i should stay away from?
 
Rexxar said:
This!

Thanks , that makes a lot more sense now. Now just to decide which Z170 board i like the look of. Anything i should stay away from?
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Stay away from RGB motherboards :p

But honestly, stay away from the z170n wifi from gigabyte if you run anything like an i7 because it has issues with cpu throttling due to inadequate vrm cooling and power design. Apart from that I haven't heard many horror stories, just read a few reviews to get a good idea of common issues when you pick one that fits your price range and taste
 
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