Intel Motherboards

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Directly manufactured by Intel itself, the chipset of each and every motherboard for Intel's platform has been specifically designed to take full advantage of their processor family, within the 1150 and 1151 socket types. USB 3.1, M.2 SATA, DDR4 and Thunderbolt – Feature rich with a full range of enhancements – Intel motherboards are ripe for expandability. Along with the industry's finest steering the wheels of manufacturing, whether it's Asus, MSI, AsRock or Gigabyte, there's a motherboard available for every chipset and every consumer.

Intel Chipset Compatibility:

• H Chipset – Home and small office.
• B Chipset – Business users.
• Z Chipset – Mainstream gamers.
• X Chipset – High performance users and enthusiasts.

H Chipset – Socket 1150 & 1151

Delivering a cut-back feature-set for consumers who wish to use their system for general computing, Intel's H class chipset trims the fat on the high-end, providing the basics to get users up and running. While support still remains for standard features such as SATA3, dedicated graphics card support, and DDR3 or DDR4 memory controllers for each respective platform, others such as M2. and SATA3, RAID, and CPU overclocking may be limited or possibly removed.

The main drawback that derives from the H class chipset resides within the quantity of each feature, as opposed to them being dismissed entirely. In an identical fashion to the higher-end Z class chipset, users only need to select the correct processor for their selected Motherboard.

• Socket 1150: Haswell/Devil's Canyon (Pentium, Celeron, i3, i5, i7).
• Socket 1151: Skylake (Pentium, Celeron, i3, i5, i7).

B Chipset – Socket 1150 & 1151

Designed and engineered to meet the needs of business consumers and IT professionals, Intel's B class chipset incorporates a selection of traits available on both the H and Z chipsets. Providing the necessary amount of connections and input options while limiting those which may not be of use, the integrated software utilities that can be found within the BIOS of each respective motherboard are primarily designed around the aspects of security, manageability and data backup protection.

For users looking to piece together a system within the B class chipset they can expect full support for multiple-GPU installation, Crossfire & SLI. M.2 SATA and CPU overclocking may be limited or removed. Given the main strengths of this platform come from it's native software integration of data and security, buyers can expect to take full advantage of the improved onboard LAN chip, integrated graphics chip solutions, as well as Intel's vPro and IPT technologies.

The compact nature of the mATX form-factor that the B class chipset chooses to adopt makes it ideal for home office use and limited-space environments.

• Socket 1150: Haswell/Devil's Canyon (Pentium, Celeron, i3, i5, i7).
• Socket 1151: Skylake (Pentium, Celeron, i3, i5, i7).

Z Chipset – Socket 1150 & 1151

Designed primarily for gamers and productivity users, Intel's Z class chipset provides the necessary features and expansion-set that's ideal for demanding computing requirements. Sporting features such as the latest USB 3.1 transfer speeds, PCIE 3.0 expansion slots for multiple GPU solutions, support for both the faster M.2 and SATA Express storage drive connections as well as the standard SATA3, Thunderbolt connectivity, overclocking on specified processors and native support for the new and improved DDR4 Memory controllers.

Platform 1151 is designed and built from the ground-up to meet the needs of both gamers and power-users alike – providing the most up-to date features and technology. For those looking to built a system on the prior 1150, they need not have to miss out on the entire feature-set offered by the 1151 platform. Retaining support the latest M.2 and SATA3 storage drive connections, multiple GPU support and overclocking on supported processors – for those comfortable with the standard USB 3.0 transfer speeds and the previous DDR3 memory controller, the expanded feature set on the 1151 platform may not be desired.

While the feature-set offered by both motherboard platforms largely differ within their respective generational leaps, additional features can also be found across both varieties depending on each motherboard manufacturer's personal implementation. These may include an integrated LAN chip, on-board audio channels, RAID functionality, additional display output connections, and support for AMD Crossfire and Nvidia SLI graphics adapters. Consumers looking to purchase Z-Series motherboards on the 1150 platform will find compatible processors within the Haswell line-up as well as Devil's Canyon. Compatible motherboard sizes include the standard ATX and the more compact mATX (Micro ATX).

For consumers seeking to take advantage of the the 1151 platform they will require a Skylake processor – varying in sizes from the small form-factor mITX which is ideal for saving on space, mATX, and the standard ATX. While the Z chipset is primarily built around the use of higher-tier performance provided by Intel's i5 and i7 class of processors, compatibility is also given on lower-class CPUs such as the Intel Celeron, Pentium and Core i3.

X Chipset – Socket 2011-V3

Built to provide support for Intel's 5th Generation flagship processors, the X99 class chipset allows owners of Haswell-E CPUs to take full advantage of the features that were previously restricted to 6th Generation Skylake processors. Although being part of the 5th Generation family of processors, the socket type that the X class chipset is designed to use means it is not compatible with socket 1150 CPUs. Labelled as Intel's highest-end product of its generation, the motherboards within this chipset take a no-holds-barred approach to its – providing enthusiasts, gamers and high-performance users with everything they require from the 6th Generation chipset.

Features such as USB 3.1, M.2 & SATA Express, dual Gigabit LAN, and 4-Way multi-GPU support are expanded upon – delivering an increase in quantity while providing the highest level of available speed and bandwidth. In addition to the expected features others such as quad-channel DDR4 Memory, advanced overclocking control, eSATA 6Gb/s controllers, and additional options for RAID support are also provided. Socket 2011-V3: Haswell-E Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition.