Explaining Motherboard Chipsets

[Music] welcome to another video from explaining computers this time i'm going to talk about motherboard chipsets specifically i'm going to start out saying a bit about motherboards and why we need a chipset what a chipset actually is and then we're going to move on to give you an overview of current and recent intel and amd chipsets and which processors they support inside every computer is a motherboard in a desktop pc this will have a socket for the processor as well as slots for inserting memory modules also included will be pcie slots for adding graphics and other expansion cards as well as sata ports for connecting drives on a new motherboard today there will typically also be one or more m.2 slots for connecting ssds or other devices such as network adapters along the left edge of a desktop pc motherboard we also find usb ports as well as one or more ethernet ports for connecting to a network usually there are also one or more display connectors audio jacks and possibly other connectors such as a thunderbolt port or a ps2 mouse or keyboard socket to allow the processor to work with things connected to many of these different interfaces a motherboard requires a chipset this functions as a kind of digital glue and needs to be compatible with the motherboard's processor or as intel explained the chipset is a silicon backbone integrated into the motherboard that works with specific cpu generations it relays communications between the cpu and the many connected storage and expansion devices on a modern motherboard the chipset is a single integrated circuit which may also be referred to as the platform controller hub or pch today a chipset is usually fitted with a heatsink to keep it cool which also makes it easy to identify for example here on this motherboard for an intel processor we can see the cpu socket ram and pcie slots and then the chipset over here meanwhile on this motherboard that takes an amd cpu we can spot the chipset under a heatsink down here note that because the motherboard's chipset determines which processors it supports the name of the chipset is included in every motherboard product name so for example this is a gigabyte b450m gaming motherboard which means that it contains an amd b450 chipset whilst the chipset on a modern motherboard is a single integrated circuit until fairly recently the chipset was split across two or more components in particular for many years a motherboard chipset was divided across two chips the north bridge towards the top of the motherboard and the south bridge towards the bottom with these two components together comprising the total chip set in such designs the north bridge also known as the memory controller hub connected the cpu to high-speed components such as the memory display and any high speed pcie expansion slots meanwhile the south bridge also known as the io hub linked the cpu to lower speed pci expansion slots as well as to lower speed interfaces that included sata usb and ethernet ports and onboard audio back in 2008 when intel launched their first desktop core processors they took the memory controller and some other parts of the north bridge and integrated them into the cpu package other northbridge functions were moved to the south bridge so giving us the single chipset configuration but still used on motherboards today here the cpu package communicates directly with the computer's memory and any onboard graphics system in addition it also directly controls some high-speed pcie lanes that can interface with a graphics card or an nvme ssd in intel systems the cpu then communicates over a high-speed direct media interface or dmi with a single component chipset that controls sata usb and ethernet ports onboard audio and any other interfaces and peripherals included on the motherboard this includes the chipset controlling further pcie lanes that may be connected to pcie slots and m.2 ports and if you're wondering what pcie is all about it stands for peripheral component interconnect express and is a high-speed motherboard interface that i explained in detail in my video explaining pcie slots returning to motherboard chipsets what we're looking at here is a generic representation of cpu and chipset configuration in a modern intel pc however things are slightly different in modern amd systems such as those with ryzen processors as amd have integrated some usb 3 and sata ports as well as an audio controller into the cpu package however the general model is the same with the latest amd computers having a single chipset that controls lower speed interfaces whilst the cpu package directly interfaces with memory graphics and higher speed storage devices as you've hopefully now gathered a motherboard's chipset determines many of the interfaces and capabilities that a computer can possess intel's latest 12th generation core processors need to be used with one of its 600 series chipsets and this schematic illustrates a 12th generation intel core processor connected to a top of the range z690 chipset as we can see the cpu package interfaces directly with ddr4 or ddr5 memory along with displayport or hdmi graphics the cpu package also supports a time 16 pcie 5.0 interface and at x4 pcie 4.0 interface and these can be used to connect a graphics card and an nvme ssd however all other connectivity is routed through the chipset which connects to the processor via 8 dmi 4.0 lanes as we can see the chipset provides additional pcie interfaces along with usb and sata ports ethernet wi-fi onboard audio and various other interfaces intel offers several different chipsets in each of its series each of which is named with a four digit code starting with a letter this is a zed for a high-end pc chipset a b or an h for a chipset to be used in a typical desktop pc a queue for a higher security business pc chipset and a w for a workstation targeted chipset the first number then indicates the chipset series whilst the second signals the specification of the chipset with higher numbers indicating more connectivity and other features finally the last number is always zero at the time of making this video in february 2022 four 600 series desktop chipsets b660 h610 h670 and z690 are available for general use with intel's 12th generation core desktop processors here i've listed just a few of the specifications that indicate how they differ with b660 and h610 having half as many dmi lanes as the h670 and z690 chips as you may recall dmi lanes are used for communicating data between the chipset and the cpu so having fewer dmi lanes limits the number of pcie lanes and hence pcie slots and m.2 slots but a motherboard with these chipsets can support the lower specification chipsets also offer fewer usb and setup ports and only the zed chipset supports all forms of cpu overclocking which is always the case this said for most users in most situations a b or h chipset is perfectly sufficient whilst intel's latest desktop core processors are its 12th generation and require a 600 series chipset many 11th and 10th generation intel desktop cpus remain available for sale these need to be used in a motherboard with a 400 or 500 series chipset with the specific chipsets and their processor compatibilities as indicated in this table just like chipsets from intel amd chipsets are named with a four digit code that starts with a letter for typical desktop pc motherboard with an am4 cpu socket this letter is always a b or x so for example amd has desktop chipsets named x570 and b450 desktop chipsets starting with an a have a lowest specification meanwhile those starting with an x have the highest specification meaning that b clearly sits in the middle and it should be noted that only b and x chipsets support overclocking when it comes to the numbers as with intel the first digit indicates for chipset series the second number is then a 0 or a 2 for an a chipset a five for a b chipset or a seven for an x chipset and the final number is always a zero in terms of compatibility first generation amd zen desktop processors or in other words ryzen 1000 and ryzen 2000 cpus need a 300 or 400 series chipset meanwhile zen 2 or ryzen 3000 desktop cpus require a 400 or a 500 series chipset and zen 3 or ryzen 5000 processors require a 500 series chipset or can work with a 400 series chipset if an appropriate bios update is applied note that in the second half of 2022 amd expects to launch its zen 4 or ryzen 7000 desktop processors for which a new chipset will also be released i've often thought that motherboard chipsets are the unsung heroes of modern computing most of the time most of our attention is focused on processors or memory or storage but without a chipset without what intel so nicely described as the silicon backbone that connects the cpu to so many other devices we wouldn't have modern computers but now that's it for another video if you've enjoyed what you've seen here please press that like button if you haven't subscribed please subscribe and i hope to talk to you again very soon [Music] you

Channel: ExplainingComputers

Views: 151,295

Keywords: Intel chipsets, motherboard chipsets, what is a chipset, chipsets explained, Intel 12th Generation, 600 series chipset, Christopher Barnatt, Barnatt, Intel, AMD, chipset compatibility, Ryzen chipsets, Zen chipsets, Zen 2 chipsets, Zen 3 chipsets, Northbridge, Southbridge, Northbridge and Southbridge, platform controller hub, PCH, DMI, DMI lanes

Id: psQa3dSk4JY

Length: 12min 42sec (762 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 27 2022