Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
boards using USB 2.0 and SATA 3Gbps, but by the time you add expansion cards to
gain these features, the total cost of upgrading a board lacking these features added to
the original motherboard cost usually makes the board with faster ports a better buy.
Tip
With a never-ending stream of motherboards coming onto the market, finding motherboards
with the features you want can be difficult. Online shopping sites such as NewEgg
(
www.newegg.com
) can be useful for finding out what types of boards are currently avail-
able, but for a more comprehensive search, Motherboard Homeworld's Mobot search engine
helpsyoufindbothcurrentandoldermotherboardsbasedonyourchoiceofformfactor,plat-
form, chipset, CPU type, processor, manufacturer, memory type, slot types, built-on ports,
and more. Check it out at
www.motherboards.org/mobot
.
•
Documentation
—Good technical documentation is important. Documents should be
easy to download from the manufacturer's site and should include information on any
and all jumpers and switches found on the board, connector pinouts for all connect-
ors,specificationsforotherplug-incomponents,andanyotherapplicabletechnicalin-
formation. Most vendors provide this information in electronic form (using the Adobe
Reader PDF format) on their websites, so you can preview the information available
for a given motherboard before you buy.
•
Technical support
—Good online technical support goes beyond documentation. It
includes easily downloadable driver and BIOS updates, FAQs, updated tables of pro-
cessor and memory compatibility, and utility programs to help you monitor the condi-
tion of your system. In addition to these online support features, make sure the vendor
can be contacted through email and by phone.
Most of the time I recommend purchasing boards from better-known motherboard manu-
facturers such as GIGABYTE, Foxconn, and Intel. These boards might cost a little more,
butthereissomesafetyinthemorewell-knownbrands.Thatis,themoreboardstheysell,
the more likely that any problems will have been discovered by others and solved long
before you get yours. Also, if service or support is necessary, the larger vendors are more
likely to be around in the long run.
Chipset Documentation
As mentioned, documentation is an important factor to consider when you're planning to
purchase a motherboard. Most motherboard manufacturers design their boards around a
particularchipset,whichactuallycountsasthebulkofthemotherboardcircuitry.Irecom-
mend downloading the chipset datasheets or other technical documentation directly from
the chipset manufacturer.
