Intel products: chipsets. Overview, description, characteristics, series and reviews

In this article, Intel chipsets produced by Intel will be discussed in detail and described For the latest generations of processors of this manufacturer. Also, recommendations will be given regarding the choice of the logic of the motherboard when assembling a new computer system.

What is a "chipset"?

The word "chipset" hides a set of chips, which is installed on the motherboard. It connects the various components of the computer system. The second name is system logic. As a rule, it is attached to a specific socket, that is, a processor socket. In this article, the most relevant solutions from Intel, which can still be found on sale, will be considered.

"Sandy Bridge" and chipsets of the 6th series

The most "ancient" Intel chipsets, which can still be found on the market today, are the 6th series. Announcement of them took place in early 2011, and you can install any CPU of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge families. If you install a second family CPU, you may need to update the BIOS. All these chips were installed in the socket 1155 and were often equipped with an integrated graphics solution. Another important feature of this platform was that it consisted of only one chip - the "South Bridge". But the "north bridge" was integrated into the processor. The most affordable among them was the Intel H61 chipset . He allowed to create inexpensive office systems. Also on its basis it was possible to make a good PC for study. But the bundles "Kor Ai5" or "Kor Ai7" and "H61" look quite ridiculous. It's silly to install a high-performance processor with minimal functionality in the MiniATX motherboard. This chipset made it possible to install only 2 RAM modules, equipped with one PCI-Express 16x v2.0 slot for installing an external graphics accelerator and had 10 USB 3.0 ports and 4 SATA ports for connecting hard drives or an optical disk drive.

The middle segment was occupied by Q65, B65, Q67 (these chipsets did not support Ivy Bridge chips). The difference between them and H61 was the number of slots for RAM (in this case there were 4 instead of 2) and ports for drives (5 vs. 4). Initially, the most productive were H67 and P67. The first one supported the integrated video, but was equipped with only one slot for installing an external graphics accelerator. The second one was aimed only at using external video cards (it had 2 slots for these purposes), but the built-in graphics accelerator on such motherboards did not work. In turn, solutions based on the Z68 combined the best sides of the H67 and P67. This chipset can be considered the best for this platform.

Ivy Bridge and motherboards for them

The new generation of the CPU "Ivi Bridge" came in 2012 to replace the "Sandy Bridge". There were no cardinal differences between these generations of chips. The only thing that has essentially changed is the technological process. The previous generation of processors was manufactured using 32nm technology, and the new generation was manufactured using a 22nm process technology. The socket for these chips was the same - 1155. The entry-level systems in this case were also based on the Intel N61 chipset, which perfectly supported both generations of semiconductor chips. But the average and premium segments in this case have changed significantly. Although the characteristics of Intel chipsets 7 series indicates that they were practically the same as their predecessors. The middle-level solutions in this case included B75, Q75, Q77 and H77. All of them were equipped with 1 slot for a video card and had 4 slots for installing RAM. The most modest parameters for the B75: 5 ports SATA 2.0 and 1 port SATA 3.0 for the organization of the disk subsystem and 8 ports USB 2.0 and 4 ports USB 3.0. By the way, all the chipsets of the 7 series are just such a number of USB 3.0 and could boast. Q75 differed from B75 only by the number of ports of USB 2.0, which in this case was already 10 instead of 8. H77 and Q77, in contrast to Q75 and B75, could boast of having two SATA 3.0 ports. The premium segment in this case was represented by Z75 and Z77. If the previous four chipsets allowed only to overclock the CPU and graphics accelerator, then these two semiconductor chips could still increase the RAM frequency. Also in this case, the number of slots for video cards increased. In solutions based on Z75, there were 2 of them, and in Z77 - 3.

"Haswell", "Haswell Refresh" and its system logic

In 2013, the 1150 socket was replaced by 1150. The processors did not introduce any revolutionary changes. An exception in this respect was only the energy consumption of chips, which in this family of CPUs was substantially reworked and this allowed to significantly reduce the thermal package of semiconductor crystals without changing the technological process. Under the new socket, new sets of system logic were released. Their parameters have much in common with the previous generation of the 7th series. There were 6 chipsets: H81, B85, Q85, Q87, P87 and Z87. The most modest in terms of parameters was H81. It has only 2 slots for RAM, 2 SATA 3.0 ports, 2 SATA 2.0 ports and 1 slot for a video card. Also, the number of ports USB 2.0 and 3.0, respectively, was equal to 8 and 2. Motherboards based on this set of system logic, as a rule, installed chips "Celeron" and "Pentium". The Intel B85 chipset from the H81 was distinguished by the increased number of RAM slots (there were already 4 of them), the USB 3.0 ports and SATA 3.0 ports (4 in both cases vs. 2). Q85 could, in comparison with the B85, boast only 10 USB ports version 2.0. These two chipsets are most often used in conjunction with chips "Kor Ai3". The characteristics of Q87, P87 and Z87 are identical. They have 4 memory slots, 8 USB 2.0 ports, 6 USB 3.0 ports and 6 SATA 3.0 ports. Chipsets Q87 and R87 were excellent for "Kor Ai5" and "Kor Ai7" with blocked multipliers. But the Z87 was focused on chips with the index "K", that is, on its basis computer systems were built for overclocking the CPU.

"Broadwell" and chipsets for it

In 2014, the generation of "Haswell" was replaced by new chips, code-named "Broadwell". They are manufactured according to the new technological process of 14 nm and are not fully compatible with the 8-series logic sets. The processors themselves were released a little and as a result, there was no specific update of the chipsets. They were released only 2 - H97 and Z97. The first one was intended for a CPU with a locked multiplier and completely repeated the parameters of P87. Well, the Intel Z97 chipset was an exact copy of the Z87, but it supported the processors "Kor" of the 5th generation. By the way, in the same motherboards you can install and chips of the 4th generation, that is, "Haswell".

System logic for "Skylight"

A total of 5 sets of system logic was submitted for the latest generation of the CPU, code-named "Skylayk": H110, B150, H170, Q170 Z170. Comparison of the chipsets of the eighth and the 100th series clearly indicates the positioning of the latter. At the same time, technical parameters are almost identical. The first of these - H110 - is designed for use in budget and office computer systems, along with "Celerons" and "Pentiums". B170 and H170 are oriented to "Cor Ai3", "Cor Ai5" and "Cor Ay7" with blocked multipliers. Well with the unlocked multipliers "Kor Ai5" and "Kor Ai7" (that is, the CPU with the "K" index) it is most correct to install in motherboards based on Z170. There is one important difference in this family of chipsets, which is to support a new type of RAM - DDR4. But all earlier versions of the system logics of this manufacturer supported only DDR3.

And what's next?

The life cycle of the 100th series of Intel chipsets Just beginning. These decisions will be relevant for exactly 2 more years. And the process of replacement in the future will not be so fast. But, in any case, its receivers will have a similar division into niches. Even the designations for them will be similar.

Solutions for enthusiasts

Separately, it is necessary to consider sets of system logic for enthusiasts from Intel. Chipset platforms 2011 differed from all previously described. The first of these was X79. He allowed to install the most productive chips of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge families. He was replaced in 2014 by X99, which was intended for the installation of solutions "Haswell". Among other differences, it is necessary to allocate the latter support for RAM of the DDR 4 standard, while the X79 could only work with DDR 3. Also these processors, in comparison with the previously described chips, could boast of an improved memory controller (4 channels) and an increased number of computational modules (The most productive solutions included 8 such units).

Recommendations for choosing a motherboard

Intel's motherboard chipsets are clearly distributed among niches. It is recommended to build the least productive solutions based on H81 and H110. The most productive PC for computer enthusiasts is better to collect on the basis of Z87, Z97 and Z170. The remaining chipsets are aimed at medium-level computer systems. Their performance is just enough for the next 2-3 years with the head, but the possibility of overclocking is minimized. Well, the latest BIOS updates generally indicate that such an opportunity will not be available soon. Its manufacturer of chipsets is blocking itself. From the position of novelty it is better to choose the solutions of the hundredth series, which now begin to appear only actively on the shelves of stores. But in the case of budget savings will have to purchase more affordable 80 series motherboards.

Results

In this article, the sets of system logic released since 2011 by Intel Corporation were examined in detail. Chipsets, this semiconductor giant updates almost every year. As a result, each new generation of CPUs requires the purchase of an updated motherboard. On the one hand, it increases the cost of the PC, and on the other hand it allows to constantly improve its characteristics.