Size (HxW)
Motherboard dimensions in height and width. It is assumed that the traditional placement of motherboards is vertical, so in this case one of the dimensions is called not the length, but the height.
Motherboard sizes are largely determined by their form factors (see above), however, the size of a particular motherboard may differ slightly from the standard adopted for this form factor. In addition, it is usually easier to clarify the dimensions according to the characteristics of a particular motherboard than to look for or remember general information on the form factor. Therefore, size data can be given even for models that fully comply with the standard.
The third dimension — thickness — is considered less important for a number of reasons, so it is often omitted.
DDR4
The number of slots for DDR4 memory sticks provided in the motherboard.
DDR4 is a further (after the third version) development of the DDR standard, released in 2014. Improvements compared to DDR3 are traditional — an increase in operating speed and a decrease in power consumption; The volume of one module can be from 2 to 128 GB. It is this RAM standard that most modern motherboards are designed for; the number of slots for DDR4 is usually
2 or
4, less often —
6 or more.
Max. memory
The maximum amount of RAM that can be installed on the motherboard.
When choosing according to this parameter, it is important to take into account the planned use of the PC and the real needs of the user. So, volumes
up to 32 GB inclusive are quite enough to solve any basic problems and run games comfortably, but without a significant reserve for an upgrade.
64 GB is the optimal option for many professional use cases, and for the most resource-intensive tasks like 3D rendering,
96 GB or even
128 GB of memory will not be a limit. The most “capacious” motherboards are compatible with volumes of
192 GB or
more - they are mainly top-end solutions for servers and HEDT (see “In the direction”).
You can choose this parameter with a reserve – taking into account a potential RAM upgrade, because installing additional RAM sticks is the simplest way to increase system performance. Taking this factor into account, many relatively simple motherboards support very significant amounts of RAM.
M.2 SSD cooling
Motherboard-integrated
cooling for M.2 SSD drives.
This connector allows you to achieve high speed, however, for the same reason, many M.2 SSDs have high heat dissipation, and additional cooling may be required to avoid overheating. Most often, the simplest radiator in the form of a metal plate is responsible for such cooling — in the case of an SSD, this is quite enough.
1x PCI-E slots
Number of PCI-E (PCI-Express) 1x slots installed on the motherboard. There are
motherboards for 1 PCI-E 1x slot,
2 PCI-E 1x slots,
3 PCI-E 1x ports and even more.
The PCI Express bus is used to connect various expansion cards — network and sound cards, video adapters, TV tuners and even SSD drives. The number in the name indicates the number of PCI-E lines (data transfer channels) supported by this slot; the more lines, the higher the throughput. Accordingly, PCI-E 1x is the basic, slowest version of this interface. The data transfer rate for such slots depends on the PCI-E version (see "PCI Express Support"): in particular, it is slightly less than 1 GB / s for version 3.0 and slightly less than 2 GB / s for 4.0.
Separately, we note that the general rule for PCI-E is as follows: the board must be connected to a slot with the same or more lines. Thus, only single-lane boards will be guaranteed to be compatible with PCI-E 1x.
USB C 5Gbps (3.2 gen1)
The number of
USB-C version 3.2 gen1 connectors provided on the back of the motherboard.
USB-C is a relatively new type of connector used in both portable and desktop PCs. It has a small size and a convenient double-sided design, thanks to which the plug can be inserted into the connector in either direction. And version 3.2 gen1 connectivity (formerly known as USB 3.1 gen1 and USB 3.0) allows you to work at speeds up to 4.8 Gbps. In addition, when using this version with a USB-C connector, this port can implement USB Power Delivery technology, which allows you to supply power up to 100 W to external devices (although not every USB-C 3.2 gen1 port on motherboards supports Power Delivery).
As for the quantity, modern motherboards almost never have more than one USB-C 3.2 gen1 connector. This is related to two things. Firstly, not many peripherals with a USB-C plug are available for desktop PCs — full-sized USB A are still more popular; secondly, many manufacturers prefer USB-C ports of more advanced versions — 3.2 gen2 and 3.2 gen2x2 (see below). Also note that in addition to the connectors on the rear panel, connectors on the board itself (more precisely, ports on the case connected to such connectors) can also provide a USB connection. See below for more on this.
USB C 10Gbps (3.2 gen2)
Number of
USB C 3.2 gen2 ports provided on the rear panel of the motherboard.
USB C is a relatively new type of connector used in both portable devices and desktop PCs. It is compact in size and features a convenient reversible design, allowing the plug to be inserted into the port either way. The 3.2 gen2 connection version (previously known as USB 3.1 gen2 and USB 3.1) can operate at speeds up to 10 Gbps and supports USB Power Delivery technology, which enables power delivery to external devices up to 100W. However, the presence of Power Delivery should be confirmed separately, as this function is not mandatory.
As for the number, most commonly there is one such port, and only a few "motherboards" have two USB C 3.2 gen2 ports. This is because there is not much USB C peripheral released for desktop PCs, with full-sized USB A being more popular. Additionally, it's worth noting that apart from ports on the rear panel, USB connectivity can also be provided by connectors on the motherboard itself (more precisely, ports on the case connected to such connectors). For more details, see below.
