Building or Upgrading Systems - Upgrading and Repairing PCs - page 1178

or AMD directly and the company will replace the chip. OEM processors have no war-
rantywiththemanufacturer(IntelorAMD);however,thecompanyyoupurchaseditfrom
will likely offer a 30- or 90-day warranty. The warranty length and the way in which it is
administered are entirely up to the dealer that you purchased the chip from, which could
be a problem if, for example, that dealer has gone out of business.
Because the motherboard you choose dictates or limits your choice in processor, you
should choose your processor first, which will then dictate the type of CPU socket (or
slot) that must be present on the motherboard. For more information on processors, refer
to Chapter 3 , “ Processor Types and Specifications .”
See “ Processor Socket and Slot Types ,” p. 74 ( Chapter 3 ) .
Tip
Checkthe Newegg.com siteforinformationonmotherboardsandprocessorsthatareforsale.
The site serves as a useful research tool for checking to see what components are currently
available, what they cost, and what the specifications and compatibility requirements are.
The user reviews are also useful in determining product reliability and ease of installation.
Motherboard
Several compatible form factors are used for motherboards. The form factor refers to the
physical dimensions and size of the board and dictates into which type of case the board
will fit.
In general, you are safest sticking with the ATX or microATX form factors, as those are
the most popular, and with that you will have the widest choices in cases, motherboards,
and power supplies.
Note
For more information on all the motherboard form factors, refer to Chapter 4 . You can also
findthereferencestandarddocumentsdetailingthemodernformfactorsattheDesktopForm
Factors website ( www.formfactors.org ) .
In addition to processor support and form factor, you should consider several other fea-
tures when selecting a motherboard. The following sections examine each feature.
Chipsets
Asidefromtheprocessor,themaincomponentonamotherboardiscalledthe chipset .This
usuallyisasetofoneortwochipsthatcontainsthemainmotherboardcircuits.Wheretwo
chips are used, they are often called the North Bridge, MCH (Memory Controller Hub),