WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 B550, X370, Z690, F150. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:09.080 If you're shopping for a motherboard, if you're shopping for a motherboard 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 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.920 and tons of RGB, you should pay close attention to these names because they tell you 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, 00:00:23.720 --> 00:00:26.760 how many ports and PCI express slots your system supports, 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:31.360 and whether you can overclock. Vroom vroom, you know what I mean? 00:00:31.360 --> 00:00:35.080 But Intel and AMD each use their own cryptic series 00:00:35.080 --> 00:00:39.040 of letters and numbers to designate what kind of chip set a board has, 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 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:47.640 for consumer motherboards starting on the Intel side. 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:51.420 Intel chip set names consist of a letter followed by three numbers. 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:55.080 Let's start with that letter. Currently, Intel uses one of four letters 00:00:55.080 --> 00:01:00.080 for normal desktop chip sets, H, B, Q, and Z, Habakuzu. 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:04.040 If you wanna overclock, make sure to get yourself a Z chip set. 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.840 These are the only ones that allow multiplier overclocking on your CPU. 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. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:17.120 Z chip sets also usually feature more connectivity 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:20.580 than cheaper options. So you get the most PCI express lanes 00:01:20.580 --> 00:01:25.440 that Intel platforms offer, as well as more and or faster USB ports 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 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:34.560 of budget or mainstream SKUs. They don't support multiplier overclocking, 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. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.360 Q chip sets support remote management and have enhanced security for businesses, 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, 00:01:49.440 --> 00:01:53.440 which are virtually the same thing these days, which is why differentiating them requires us 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. 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:04.040 Alder Lake CPUs use 600 series chip sets, 500 series is for Rocket Lake, 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:09.240 and 400 series is for Comet Lake, with lower numbers corresponding to older generations. 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. 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 00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:22.640 important information about the chip sets features compared to others within that generation. 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, 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:31.600 such as the H510 or the H610. You get no RAM overclocking, 00:02:31.600 --> 00:02:35.240 only two memory slots, fewer USB and SATA ports, 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:37.520 and no support for Optane or RAID. 00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:41.600 It sucks. Higher numbers like a six or seven 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:45.800 mean it's a mid-range chip set with RAM overclocking, four memory slots, 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.440 extra USB and SATA ports, and Optane and RAID support. 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:51.040 I mean Optane, guys. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:56.360 We love it. So AMD motherboards use a similar letter 00:02:56.360 --> 00:03:00.040 followed by three numbers scheme, though the way they're named is different. 00:03:00.040 --> 00:03:04.520 AMD only uses three letters, A, B, and X, Apex. 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:08.840 If you want CPU multiplier overclocking, go for a B or an X chip set, 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.280 as the cheaper A chip sets are the only ones that don't support it. 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:16.640 X chip sets also give you the most and the fastest USB and SATA ports, 00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:19.880 with B giving you fewer and A the least. 00:03:19.880 --> 00:03:24.880 If for some reason you're still using Crossfire or SLI, 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:29.280 A series chipsets also don't support Crossfire, and if you want SLI, 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 00:03:33.480 --> 00:03:37.680 that if you're using the newer NVLink, you don't need a specific chip set. 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:43.760 Just two PCIe X16 slots, which you can find on most ATX or micro ATX motherboards. 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:47.560 Fortunately, AMD's numbering scheme is a bit simpler than Intel's, 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:50.560 but it can be a little confusing in its own way. 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 00:03:55.140 --> 00:04:00.520 is compatible with the chip set. First generation Zen, so your Ryzen 1000 and 2000 chips, 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:05.400 used 300 and 400 series chipsets. Second gen or Ryzen 3000, 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:12.920 used 400 and 500 series chipsets, and Zen 3000 or Ryzen 5000 used 500 series only. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:16.960 Though Zen 3 can use an older chip set too, with an appropriate BIOS update. 00:04:16.960 --> 00:04:20.520 The other two numbers currently don't really mean anything. 00:04:20.520 --> 00:04:26.520 A series chipsets always end in 20, B series in 50, and X series in 70. 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. 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:35.120 Why would they do that? But with Zen 4 coming out later this year, 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.440 and a whole new CPU socket to boot, we'll do a follow up episode 00:04:38.440 --> 00:04:41.600 if AMD decides to change its naming schemes. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:46.320 So there you go. Hopefully we've demystified the alphabet soup of chipset names for you. 00:04:46.320 --> 00:04:51.680 Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden hankering for some Campbell's. 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. 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. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.680 We almost missed it. Good thing I caught you.