Help understanding M/B terminology

Twirlywoos · 25 Apr 2012 at 23:48

I'll be upgrading from a Q9550 Asus P5Q motherboard and I have no idea what to look for in a motherboard. From watching reviews they all pretty much say that it is logical moving to an Ivy Bridge now instead of the Sandy Bridge Intel Chip.

But when looking at Boards they have these numbers:

Products Category
Intel Socket 2011
Intel Socket 1366
Intel Socket 1156

Intel 3450
Intel H55
Intel H57
Intel P55
Intel Q57

Intel Socket 1155

Intel B75
Intel H61
Intel H67
Intel H77
Intel P67
Intel Q67
Intel C206
Intel Z68
Intel Z77

Intel Socket 775

Which one do I need? Or if you could point me to a place which can help me understand these that would be fantastic. All very confusing :confused:

beejjacobs · 25 Apr 2012 at 23:59

For Ivy Bridge and sandy bridge you want a socket 1155 board.

For overclocking you need a K series CPU [e.g. i5 2500K or i5 3750K] and a Z77/H77/Z68 motherboard - I'd suggest a Z77 out of those.

If you're going for a single GPU set up, this Gigabyte Z77-D3H is a great choice, and it's on offer at the moment.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask any more questions

King Damager · 26 Apr 2012 at 00:54

You can also overclock on p67, but now a days I'd go with a z77 board to be honest. Just makes sense if you're buying today.

kd

Twirlywoos · 26 Apr 2012 at 01:39

thanks z77 it is, now the fun part is choosing which one as there are loads to choose from

beejjacobs · 26 Apr 2012 at 01:43

majnu said:
thanks z77 it is, now the fun part is choosing which one as there are loads to choose from

Single GPU:
Gigabyte Z77-D3H
For SLI/Crossfire:
Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H

Gigabyte have a UK RMA base, and make solid motherboards

Twirlywoos · 26 Apr 2012 at 03:09

I don't think those boards support SSD Caching.

edit - nvm it does as it's a z77 feature

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i7-3770k-and-3750-review-with-z77/6

MonsterMoshi · 26 Apr 2012 at 22:12

The socket numbers are basically the amount of pins on each chip so it determines which chip will physically fit in the board.
The Intel numbers, Z77, P67, Z68 ect. Are the chipsets used in the boards. This pretty much determins the features that the board has, such as overclocking functionality, expansion slot support among many others. Each chipset is only available on a board with one type of socket. So Z77, P67, Z68 as you listed only come with that 1155 socket.
As previously mentioned, you will be best with a Z77 board and a socket LGA 1155 processor. If your not massively fussed about keeping up to date, I would have the Z77 board and the Intel 2500k CPU. You could get the 3550K ivybridge CPU which will give slightly better performance but it will likely be more expensive so that is up to you.

thedoc46 · 27 Apr 2012 at 02:07

So what are the main differences between the Gigabyte Z77 boards.

I'm getting an IB 3770k and a GTX680 GPU when i can get my hands on one.

Will NOT be going SLI, so do i need to go for anything more than the most basic of the Gigabyte Z77 boards? What exactly will i be missing out on? Apart from the ability to go SLI?

As for OC'ing, I will PROVIDING, i can do it without increasing any fan noise from my case. TBH, I don't really play anywhere as many games as I use too. I'm definitely not hardcore, but i want decent enough hardware to play COD MW3 with all the eye candy on.