At the center of any computer is its motherboard, the circuit board that manages the flow of information between the various parts of your PC by
intelligently connecting each hardware component: processor, memory, video card, hard drive, others. Even though many perceive the processor as the
most vital device in a computer, the motherboard is the single element that determines what hardware a system can or cannot support.
Platform Type
Today's motherboards are engineered for only a handful of architectures, each dictated by the processor. When building a system, the main choices for
processors are AMD and Intel. Each manufacturer offers distinct solutions, though the Athlon and Pentium 4 respectively represent the top products for
each company. Motherboards that work with Athlon processors do not work with Pentium 4 processors, and both architectures have their pros and cons.
AMD Athlon XP
AMD offers a wide array of Athlon processors with varying speeds and capabilities, but happily, the company designed a single motherboard interface
that works with all Athlon XP processors, called Socket A. The Socket A format is based on a 453-pin motherboard interface for installing the
processor. Although the processor socket itself is the same on all Socket A boards, the main difference between each board is the chipset that is used
to drive the motherboard's circuitry. The chipset is made up of the hardware controllers responsible for routing data and other rather mundane tasks,
and each chipset has a different feature set.
Simply put, the nForce2 chipset from nVidia takes top honors is performance, stability, and reliability for the Socket A platform. Sure, other
manufacturers offer Socket A solutions, such as the SiS746 FX and VIA KT-600, but none will deliver the performance of nVidia's dual-channel memory
architecture. A dual-channel configuration simply means that you can install two identical sticks of memory to increase the bit width of the memory
bus, thus doubling the available memory bandwidth to speed up your applications.
All current generation nForce2 chipset motherboards will support any Socket A Athlon processor ever released. The latest series of Athlon processors
are designed to operate with either a 166 or 200 MHz motherboard front side bus speed. Vendors may advertise these boards as 333 or 400 MHz compatible
due to the DDR technologies involved, but this is simply a doubling of the actual front side bus speed. One will also need to take care when selecting
memory for a system, as the memory's rated speed should match or exceed that of the processor's supported front-side bus speed.
Intel Pentium 4
On the flip side of the equation, Intel is a slightly different animal. The current Pentium 4 architecture has undergone two format changes during its
lifespan. On the upside, you will be hard pressed to find systems using the older Socket 423 format. If you are upgrading or replacing the motherboard
in an existing PC, be sure to inspect the processor to determine the socket format (the socket number will be printed on the processor socket itself).
Today's current generation Intel systems have used the Socket 478 format for since late 2001, so any system from mid-2002 and up should rely on the
478 format.
As to a motherboard's front-side bus rate, the Pentium 4 is available in three distinct ratings: 400, 533, and 800 MHz. Various manufacturers produce
Intel-compatible chipsets, though Intel's own chipsets are hard to beat in terms of performance and stability, even if the chip giant does charge a
slight premium over its competition. Given the comparative prices of the various chipsets, a motherboard with 800 MHz bus support is recommended, as
backwards compatibility with the 533 MHz standard insures it can be used for all popular processor speed grades that are currently available.
The Intel i875 and i865 motherboard chipset series are the predominate choices when building a Pentium 4 system. Each supports dual-channel memory,
just as with the nForce2 chipset for AMD Athlon systems. The i875 series will generally hold a slight performance lead when compared to the i865,
usually within 5-10%. However, the i865 represents the best value due to its good performance and highly competitive price point.
Integrated Features
While brand name is often a predominate concern, a motherboard is generally chosen according to its features. Options can vary wildly, but most
quality boards will offer integrated sound and networking capabilities. It won't offer the best quality audio for gaming and multimedia development,
but an integrated sound chipset will suffice for most average daily desktop tasks, such as listening to music or watching streaming video. Some boards
even offer integrated video, however all but the most entry-level of system configurations will be better served with an AGP video card.
Support for external Firewire devices and the latest Serial ATA drives are two popular features on the latest motherboards. If hard drive performance
or data reliability is a concern, then a motherboard offering SCSI or IDE RAID support is highly recommended. RAID allows for multiple identical disks
to be interconnected to increase bandwidth, lower access times, and improve data redundancy.
Overclocking Potential
Overclocking is a popular topic amongst hardware enthusiasts. Many popular retail motherboards allow for the tweaking of the processors multiplier and
the motherboard's front side bus speed values, which together can be used to increase the clock rate of a processor beyond its rated speed. Additional
processors voltages and cooling are often required for a successful overclock, though remember these changes could void warranties for several system
components. If this topic sounds interesting, we recommend purchasing the
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