Other areas to consider include onboard audio, which usually
comes with different inputs and outputs depending on the grade
of audio codec that each model is using. More premium codecs,
such as the Realtek ALC1220, feature five 3.5mm audio jacks
and a single S/PDIF optical output, while lesser codecs like the
Realtek ALC892/887 can consist of just three 3.5 mm audio jacks.
This is something to factor in when purchasing, or you could use a
PCIe lane or USB port and opt for a higher quality audio interface
altogether at an additional cost. Some models also include PS/2
ports, which allow the use of older and more legacy peripherals,
including keyboards and mice.
PCI EXPRESS X16, X4, X1, AND PCIE 3.0/4.0
The term PCIe stands for PCI Express, with PCI itself abbreviated
from peripheral component interconnect, which is an interface
standard. This enables users to connect extra components to a
system, including graphics cards. This also includes aftermarket
sound cards, additional networking controllers, and even RAID
cards for storage-savvy power users.
At present, there are two primary interface standards for this
type of connector: PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0. The maximum theoretical
bandwidth of PCIe 3.0 equates to 32GB/s, with a frequency of 8.0GHz,
while PCIe 4.0 doubles these figures to 64GBps and 16.0GHz. The
benefits of PCIe 4.0 at the current time are limited, not by the
technology itself, but by the shortage of devices that are PCIe 4.0
enabled to make use of this extra bandwidth.
One important point to note is that in multi graphics card
configurations, such as AMD CrossFire and Nvidia SLI setups, to
run more than one Nvidia GeForce graphics card in SLI, a full-
length PCIe 3.0 slot that operates at a minimum of x8 is required,
and even some chipsets such as AMD’s B550 just don’t have the
capability to do this. For AMD CrossFire setups, a PCIe 3.0 x4 full-
length slot is needed, which is usually operated from the chipset.
In regards to size, PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 x16, x8, and x4 slots
are generally always either full-length or half-length on some
models, with x1 slots the smallest of all. The type of slot needed
for the type of expansion card usually comes down to what
interface the card supports.
The only area that currently shows a real-world benefit comes
through storage, and even genuine PCIe 4.0 drives are hard to
source. One example is M.2 SSDs with PCIe Gen4 controllers and
one of the most commonly used NVMe controllers from Phison,
the E16 to be exact. This is identical to the Phison E13 controller
bar PCIe 4.0 supports, which does give it an advantage over PCIe
3.0 M.2 SSDs, but not enough to saturate the bandwidth to its
fullest capabilities. Phison has announced and previewed its E18
controller based on a 12 nm FFC process, which looks to further
enhance the PCIe 4.0 interface.STORAGE
M.2 TO U.2, WITH SOME SATA ON THE SIDE
Storage is an equally important part when considering your new
motherboard, whether that’s a gaming system, something more
for conventional office use, or even a megalithic rendering PC for
content creation. For consumer desktop motherboards, there
are three main types to consider, which boils down to two things:
support from the CPU, and support from the chipset. The SATA or
Serial ATA connector has been the standard interface for storage
for many years, which is a rectangle-shaped connector that is
usually found in two flavors: right-angled and straight-angled
format. This is the most commonly used storage interface, with
support in regards to RAID arrays dependent on the motherboard
chipset used. Intel typically supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays,
while AMD only offers support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 officially on
its desktop models.
The most common type of premium storage found on
motherboards is M.2, with different types, such as the conventional
SATA-based M.2 SSDs, or the intergalactic NVMe super-speed
drives that operate from PCIe 3.0/4.0 x4/x2 slots. When upgrading a
PC, one of the areas where users can see the biggest possible gain
in real-world scenarios is going from a SATA 3.5-inch hard drive to a
SATA 2.5-inch SSD; the difference in loading times is mind-blowing.
The M.2 interface further improves on this, but with a little
bit of diminishing returns due to bandwidth. But in regards to
transfer speeds, PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives do it best, with crazy
speeds, bearing in mind the limitation is the read and write
speeds on the slowest drive in the transfer itself.
Another PCIe-based storage interface is U.2, which is similar
to M.2 in many ways and shares similar support for PCIe,
meaning more bandwidth and ultimately more performance. The
biggest difference between M.2 and U.2—aside from the shape of
the connector, U.2 being a square shape and M.2 being small and
flat—is that U.2 simply supports higher capacities of SSD, which
is typically found on more professional-focused motherboards.
That being said, M.2 drive capacities are starting to increase,
and U.2 doesn’t seem to have the buzz it once had. The M.2 form
fac tor dr ives are al so consider ably cheaper, so it makes selec ting
one of the many M.2 drives on the market a no-brainer.NOW YOU’VE MET THE MOTHER(BOARD)
WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
Despite there being various differences in Intel and AMD’s CPU
architecture and design, each corresponding socket release
yields a new chipset, and thus offers a completely different
feature set. The current generation of motherboards
include a variety of different characteristics, including
USB 3.2 G2 connectivity, with Thunderbolt 3 offering the
most comprehensive and exclusive of all the connectors,
though this is usually found on more premium models.
Finishing off our little biopic is a table of current
motherboard chipsets from Intel and AMD (within the
last two years), which CPU architectures are supported,
and what market they are aimed at. This journalist
regularly over views chipsets at launch, as well as in-depthU.2 may have been quick, but M.2’s
compatibilit y proved king in the end.
maximumpc.com SEP 2020 MAXIMUM PC 39