The chipset refers to a number of chips that provide an interface to relay communications between all of the components on a computer motherboard.
Higher end, more expensive chipsets can add more features to a motherboard such as more PCIe expansion slots, USB ports and hard drive ports. High end chipsets also offer more benefits like better overclocking support and higher BUS speeds. That’s why we only select the best motherboards and chipset for our trading computers, our customers rely on our computers to operate at the highest speeds possible.
Modern chipsets combine multiple features that at one point in time required separate chips and components to operate. Now, pretty much everything is integrated into the chipset including audio, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB.
The selection of your new Intel processor and the motherboard/CPU have to be decided together. A 13th Gen Intel chip, for example, won’t work in an older ASUS Prime Z490-A motherboard. The chipset is integrated into the motherboard so it can’t be upgraded down the road, so selecting the right combination of components is essential.
Intel releases several different chipset for each new series of processors. Intel Z-series provide the best overclocking support, they work best with “K” series chips. The maximum amount of PCIe lanes are available with Z-series chipsets. H-series and B-series usually have no overclocking support, they have less PCIe lanes and less advanced ports such as the newest USB.
Chipsets used to be defined by two separate chips (hence the works chip-set), the Northbridge and Southbridge. Traditionally, these were responsible for separate communication tasks.
Many of the functions of the Northbridge are now integrated directly into the CPU, this enhances the communication speed between memory (RAM) and the processor (CPU).
To explore the chipset features of your computer, take a look at the device manager in Windows. Just type in “Device Manager” into the Windows search bar.
It’s probably incorrect to say you’ll select the chipset. You end up selecting a motherboard model that’s compatible with the processor you are installing. Are you buying a computer from a system integrator such as us (Blue Aura Computers) or are you building the system yourself? If buying a pre-built system, you’ll rely on the expertise of the system integrator to select the correct combination of components that all play nicely together (motherboard/chipset, CPU, memory).
If you’re building the computer on your own, you’ll need to select a motherboard model that fits your needs. If building a gaming computer, ASUS sells a lot of various models such as their Strix boards that cater to gamers, the aesthetics and features will work well with a high-performance gaming rig.
When buying a trading computer, we prefer the ASUS Prime motherboards or the ProArt Creator boards, these work well in business computers.
As a system integrator, the systems we build need to have the most recent drivers installed. This includes all the motherboard drivers, as well as the video cards drivers and any add on card drivers.
When a system is going through our order fulfillment process, we install all the newest chipset drivers for the motherboard. These drivers include (but are not limited to):
If you ever need to do a fresh installation of Windows, the drivers listed above should be installed. The newest motherboard drivers can be found on the manufacturers website. We primarily use ASUS brand motherboards for our trading computers, gaming computer, home office computers and CAD workstations. If you find yourself needing to do a fresh installation of Windows due to a hard drive upgrade or any other reason, you’ll need to download the drivers.
In google, just type in the name of your motherboard model. You’ll need to go to the link on the ASUS website for your motherboard model. Then on the product info page click on the “support” tab. The drivers will be available to download from there.
If you purchased a computer from us, there is no need to install any of these drivers unless doing a full reinstall of the operating system. Our systems are plug-n-play, Windows has been installed and motherboard drivers installed. Do not upgrade the motherboard BIOS to any newer version unless you contact us first!
The computer chipset is a critical component of any modern computer. It plays a vital role in maintaining a smooth and efficient experience when using a computer. The chipset handles the flow of data between various components, modern chipset functions are integrated directly into the CPU itself. When choosing a chipset, it’s important to consider performance, compatibility, power consumption and the capabilities of the chipset to ensure that it is the best fit for your specific needs.