Which Chipset for Which CPU?

Athlon XP = nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400
offers first rate performance and reliability that cannot be touched by any of the competition. Unlike earlier nForce2 varients that only supported 333MHz FSBs, the Ultra 400 is guaranteed to work with processors riding the 400MHz bus.

Athlon64 = nVidia nForce3 Ultra
the nForce 4 Ultra/SLI offers more features and better benchmark performance, but the technologies used are very new, and largely untested. the nForce3 is a great product, in terms of price, performance and stability.

Pentium4 = Intel 875P and 865PE
The former is slightly faster and the latter is slightly cheaper. Both support all the latest technologies such as 800MHz FSB and Hyper-threading, but more importantly, Intel chipsets have long been the gold standard for reliability and compatibility. If you really want a future proof investment, take a look at the 925xe motherboards, which support newer LGA775 CPUs and PCI Express graphics.

Building Block Number One

Whether you are considering building your own PC, or simply want to understand more about your rig, the motherboard is an excellent place to begin. Since every single component plugs into the motherboard, or plugs into something attached to the motherboard, understanding its connections and how it works with other components will give you a good overview of how a PC does what a PC does!

Don't make the mistake of underestimating the importance of a well-designed, properly configured motherboard. Your PC's motherboard is the technological equivalent of Grand Central Station - virtually everything in the computer connects to it, and in order for your PC to "do" anything the commands always have to be routed through your motherboard.

A MOTHERBOARD DETERMINES ALL FUTURE UPGRADE OPTIONS, LIMITS HOW MUCH PERFORMANCE YOU WILL EVER EXTRACT FROM YOUR PC, AND IS THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR IN YOUR SYSTEM'S OVERAL LEVEL OF STABILITY.

Terms and Lingo Explained

Choosing the right processor involved learning the language. Here is your dictionary.

AGP Slot
Accelerated Graphics Port. AGP is a graphics card interface which provides the controller with direct access to the system's main memory. The AGP interface has been improved over the years and is now denoted as 2x, 4x, and 8x AGP. 8x AGP indicates that the interface provides a theoretical bandwidth eight times higher then that of the original AGP standard.

ATA
Advanced Technology Attachment. This is the parallel interface used to attach hard drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs etc to the majority of PCs on the market today. this term is used interchangeably with IDE.

BIOS
Basic Input-Output System. The BIOS is the first program the computer executes when it is turned on and is typically contained in a ROM chip on the motherboard. It allows the computer to perform basic self-tests and allows access to the hard drives so the operating system can load.

DDR Memory
Double Data Rate Memory. Memory which transfers data on both the rising and falling edge of the clock and therefore is capable of transferring twice the amount of data for any given clock speed. DDR is the most common type of memory used in PCs today.

DIMM
Dual Inline Memory Module. The most commonly used memory modules today are DIMMs. These have electrical contacts arranged in two long lines on both sides of the modules bottom edge. Most conventional SDRAM DIMMS have 164 pins, while DDR DIMMS have 184 pins.

Dual Channel
Dual Channel Memory Interface. An arrangement where the memory controller has two separate pathways by which it can access main memory, giving potentially twice the bandwidth. For dual channel interface to function, memory must be installed in pairs that are identical in both capacity and speed.

Form Factor
The specification for the physical size and layout of the motherboard. Form factors permit the standardization of motherboards so that they will fit in a wide variety of enclosures. the most commonly encountered form factors today are ATX, micro ATX and flex ATX.

Frequency Clock
The quartz timing device that provides precise electrical pulses that drive and synchronize everything in the computer.

Front Side Bus
The connection between the CPU and the main memory (RAM) on the motherboard.

IDE Port
Integrated Drive Electronics port. For all practical purposes, IDE is ATA. Whiles IDE refers to the the interface architecture and ATA is the actual specification, the difference is lost to most users. IDE port and ATA port refer to the same 40 pin connector on the motherboard. ATA drives are commonly called IDE drives.

I/O Controller
Input/Output Controller. In the context of motherboards, the I/O controller is for most intents and purposes, another term for southbridge chip. There are some technical differences in the implementation of southbridge chips and I/O controller hub chips, but both serve the same function.

Memory Controller
The part of the northbridge chip, or the CPU, which controls the exchange of data between the CPU and main memory.

Northbridge
The component of the core logic chipset that primarily functions as a memory controller, allowing the CPU to interface with the main memory and the video card AGP slot (if the PC has one). In some systems, such as those based on the AMD Athlon64 processor, the memory controller is built onto the CPU.

PC2700-PC3200
A labeling on DDR memory that denote bandwidth. PC2700 memory has a theoretical throughput of 2700MB/sec whereas PC3200 memory serves up 3200MB/sec. PC2700 memory is also know as DDR333 because it runs at 333MHz, while PC3200 and DDR400 - which runs at 400MHz - are the same.

PCI Express
The successor to the PCI slot, which over the next year or so will become the new standard for connecting peripheral cards to the PC. Unlike the parallel PCI bus, PCI Express is a serial bus. PCI Express slots and cards are not interchangeable with conventional PCI cards. PCI Express-based motherboards are out now, and your next upgrade should include one.

PCI Slot
Peripheral Component Interconnect Slot. A multipurpose interface that allows the computer to accept all manner of expansion cards. The original PCI slot is 32-bits and operates at 33MHz. Today, there are slots which operate with 32- and 64-bit interfaces, but generally, the slots are backwards compatible with older cards. Over the next year, PCI express will be taking over, not just video card responsibilities, but standard PCI duties too. Even at its slowest, PCI Express is far faster then standard PCI.

POST
Power On Self Test. The diagnostic test that a computer performs on itself prior to booting its operating system. The integrity of RAM and I/O interfaces are usually tested as part of the POST.

SDRAM
The component of the core logic chipset that primarily functions as a memory controller, allowing the CPU to interface with the main memory and the video card AGP slot (if the PC has one). In some systems, such as those based on the AMD Athlon64 processor, the memory controller is built onto the CPU.

Serial ATA
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. This is a serial interface used for connecting storage device to a PC, and it is replacing the ATA interface which is parallel. It uses a seven-pin connector that is much smaller then the 40 pin ATA interface cable. The first generation of SATA is capable of 150MB/s transfer speeds as opposed to 100MB/.s for ATA/100.

Southbridge
The component of the core logic chipset that provides the interface between the northbridge and the slower interfaces in the PC such as the PCI slots, USB, IDE and other I/O interfaces. In other words, everything other then the main memory and AGP is handled by the southbridge chip.