1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 B550, X370, Z690, F150. 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,080 If you're shopping for a motherboard, if you're shopping for a motherboard 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,320 and you wanna make sure it has features that are a bit more substantial than the tacky heat sink 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:17,920 and tons of RGB, you should pay close attention to these names because they tell you 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:23,720 what chip set the motherboard has, which is a chip that determines which CPUs you can use, 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,760 how many ports and PCI express slots your system supports, 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,360 and whether you can overclock. Vroom vroom, you know what I mean? 8 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:35,080 But Intel and AMD each use their own cryptic series 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,040 of letters and numbers to designate what kind of chip set a board has, 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:44,200 kind of like they do with their CPUs. So today, let's decode what these chip set names mean 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,640 for consumer motherboards starting on the Intel side. 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,420 Intel chip set names consist of a letter followed by three numbers. 13 00:00:51,420 --> 00:00:55,080 Let's start with that letter. Currently, Intel uses one of four letters 14 00:00:55,080 --> 00:01:00,080 for normal desktop chip sets, H, B, Q, and Z, Habakuzu. 15 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,040 If you wanna overclock, make sure to get yourself a Z chip set. 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,840 These are the only ones that allow multiplier overclocking on your CPU. 17 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:13,760 Other chip sets will limit you to only adjusting the base clock, even if you buy an unlocked K series CPU. 18 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,120 Z chip sets also usually feature more connectivity 19 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,580 than cheaper options. So you get the most PCI express lanes 20 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:25,440 that Intel platforms offer, as well as more and or faster USB ports 21 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,400 than you do down the product stack. H, B, and Q chip sets are all different varieties 22 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,560 of budget or mainstream SKUs. They don't support multiplier overclocking, 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:40,200 but mid-range options often allow you to at least overclock your RAM, at the very least. 24 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,360 Q chip sets support remote management and have enhanced security for businesses, 25 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:49,440 but if you're just a home user looking to save some money, you'll probably end up with an H or B chip set, 26 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,440 which are virtually the same thing these days, which is why differentiating them requires us 27 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:59,400 to explain what those numbers mean. The first number tells you what generation the chip set is. 28 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,040 Alder Lake CPUs use 600 series chip sets, 500 series is for Rocket Lake, 29 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:09,240 and 400 series is for Comet Lake, with lower numbers corresponding to older generations. 30 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:14,400 Remember though, that a BIOS update can sometimes make a newer CPU work with an older chip set. 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,440 The third number is always a zero, but the second number is what's going to tell you 32 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,640 important information about the chip sets features compared to others within that generation. 33 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:26,680 If the second number is a one, you're getting the lowest end chip set in that generation, 34 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,600 such as the H510 or the H610. You get no RAM overclocking, 35 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,240 only two memory slots, fewer USB and SATA ports, 36 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,520 and no support for Optane or RAID. 37 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,600 It sucks. Higher numbers like a six or seven 38 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,800 mean it's a mid-range chip set with RAM overclocking, four memory slots, 39 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,440 extra USB and SATA ports, and Optane and RAID support. 40 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,040 I mean Optane, guys. 41 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,360 We love it. So AMD motherboards use a similar letter 42 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,040 followed by three numbers scheme, though the way they're named is different. 43 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,520 AMD only uses three letters, A, B, and X, Apex. 44 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,840 If you want CPU multiplier overclocking, go for a B or an X chip set, 45 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,280 as the cheaper A chip sets are the only ones that don't support it. 46 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,640 X chip sets also give you the most and the fastest USB and SATA ports, 47 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,880 with B giving you fewer and A the least. 48 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:24,880 If for some reason you're still using Crossfire or SLI, 49 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,280 A series chipsets also don't support Crossfire, and if you want SLI, 50 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,480 you'll need to specifically buy an X chip set. This is also a good time to mention 51 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,680 that if you're using the newer NVLink, you don't need a specific chip set. 52 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:43,760 Just two PCIe X16 slots, which you can find on most ATX or micro ATX motherboards. 53 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,560 Fortunately, AMD's numbering scheme is a bit simpler than Intel's, 54 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,560 but it can be a little confusing in its own way. 55 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:55,140 The only number that really matters here is the first, as this tells you which generation of processor 56 00:03:55,140 --> 00:04:00,520 is compatible with the chip set. First generation Zen, so your Ryzen 1000 and 2000 chips, 57 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:05,400 used 300 and 400 series chipsets. Second gen or Ryzen 3000, 58 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:12,920 used 400 and 500 series chipsets, and Zen 3000 or Ryzen 5000 used 500 series only. 59 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,960 Though Zen 3 can use an older chip set too, with an appropriate BIOS update. 60 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,520 The other two numbers currently don't really mean anything. 61 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:26,520 A series chipsets always end in 20, B series in 50, and X series in 70. 62 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,640 It's almost like they just added these numbers in to make the names closer to Intel's. 63 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,120 Why would they do that? But with Zen 4 coming out later this year, 64 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,440 and a whole new CPU socket to boot, we'll do a follow up episode 65 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,600 if AMD decides to change its naming schemes. 66 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,320 So there you go. Hopefully we've demystified the alphabet soup of chipset names for you. 67 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:51,680 Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden hankering for some Campbell's. 68 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,840 That's it for this video guys. Thanks for watching. Like the video if you liked it. Dislike it if you disliked it. 69 00:04:55,840 --> 00:05:02,800 Check out our other videos and comment below with video suggestions. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe and follow. 70 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,680 We almost missed it. Good thing I caught you.