Having decided on self-assembly of a new computer from separate components, a person should be well versed in how to choose a motherboard ("motherboard", mainboard).
Despite the fact that this element of the computing system directly affects performance rather slightly, errors in the selection may cause certain difficulties in the future. Each collector has his own point of view on the order of selection of components. Some believe that you need to start with the
central processor, and “tie” the motherboard and other components to the computing core. Others, on the contrary, are convinced that the assembly of the platform begins with the motherboard. Accordingly, you need to understand well how to choose a motherboard, because the characteristics of the future system depend on this. In fact, both points of view have a right to exist. Well, to understand
how to choose a motherboard is necessary in any case. Since this is, in fact, the basis, which although not directly involved in the calculations, but serves to link all the components together.
Choose a motherboard
On the mainstream market, the central processors are supplied by two companies - Intel and AMD. Although they are compatible with each other according to the main commands, structural and logical differences do not allow creating a universal motherboard that makes it possible to work with any processor. Thus, before you buy a "motherboard", you need to understand that it actually means the subsequent
choice of the processor of a particular company. Some boards only work with AMD, while others only work with Intel. It is also necessary to pay attention to the type of processor socket, which is far from universal.
RAM
Since the manufacturers of central processors moved the memory controller inside the microcircuit, buyers have been practically deprived of the opportunity to choose an arbitrary type of RAM. So, if previously there were boards supporting DDR2 and DDR3 standard modules, then in modern solutions the type is determined only by the processor.
Therefore, if for some reason you need support for the outdated type of DDR2 chips, you need to choose a board designed to work with this particular kind of memory. In general, we can recommend paying attention to the number of slots for modules - the more they are, the better (and do not listen to the consultants, that 2 is enough !!!).
Expansion Slots and Ports
Newcomers asking the question “how to choose a motherboard” on the forums are often interested in which connectors should be present on the motherboard. Although most modern models are equipped with only one or two PCI-E 16 slots and a couple of PCI-E 1, it is recommended to choose solutions with at least one slot of the classic PCI bus. This allows you to connect almost any expansion card if necessary. It is very important that the slots for expansion cards are located at a sufficient distance from PCI-E 16. Otherwise, the dimensional discrete video adapter connected to such a board can completely block access to the PCI slot with its cooling system.
The number of USB ports should be sufficient to connect all planned devices. If support for LPT or COM is required, then you should definitely focus on this when choosing.
For demanding customers, it makes sense to dwell on motherboards with USB support of the third version and PCI-E 16 of the latest revision.