LED lighting
The presence of its own LED
backlight on the motherboard. This feature does not affect the functionality of the "motherboard", but gives it an unusual appearance. Therefore, it hardly makes sense for an ordinary user to specifically look for such a model (a
motherboard without backlighting is enough for him), but for modding lovers, backlighting can be very useful.
LED backlighting can take the form of individual lights or LED strips, come in different colours (sometimes with a choice of colours) and support additional effects — flashing, flickering, synchronization with other components (see "Lightning synchronization"), etc. Specific features depend on the motherboard model.
Lighting sync
Synchronization technology provided in the board with LED backlight (see above).
Synchronization itself allows you to "match" the backlight of the motherboard with the backlight of other system components — cases, video cards, keyboards, mice, etc. Thanks to this matching, all components can change colour synchronously, turn on / off at the same time, etc. Specific features the operation of such backlighting depends on the synchronization technology used, and, usually, each manufacturer has its own (Mystic Light Sync for MSI, RGB Fusion for Gigabyte, etc.). The compatibility of the components also depends on this: they must all support the same technology. So the easiest way to achieve backlight compatibility is to collect components from the same manufacturer.
Chipset
The chipset model installed in the motherboard. AMD's current chipset models are
B450,
A520,
B550,
X570,
A620,
B650,
B650E,
X670,
X670E,
B840,
B850,
X870,
X870E. For Intel, in turn, the list of chipsets looks like this:
X299,
H410,
B460,
H470,
Z490,
H510,
B560,
H570,
Z590,
H610,
B660,
H670,
Z690,
B760,
Z790,
H810,
B860,
Z890.
A chipset is
...a set of chips on the motherboard through which the individual components of the system interact directly: the processor, RAM, drives, audio and video adapters, network controllers, etc. Technically, such a set consists of two parts — the north and south bridges. The key element is the northbridge, it connects the processor, memory, graphics card and the southbridge (together with the devices it controls). Therefore, it is often the name of the north bridge that is indicated as the chipset model, and the south bridge model is specified separately (see below); it is this scheme that is used in traditional layout motherboards, where bridges are made in the form of separate microcircuits. There are also solutions where both bridges are combined in one chip; for them, the name of the entire chipset can be indicated.
Anyway, knowing the chipset model, you can find various additional data on it — from general reviews to special instructions. An ordinary user, usually, does not need such information, but it can be useful for various professional tasks.USB A 5Gbps (3.2 gen1)
The number of
USB 3.2 gen1 connectors provided on the motherboard.
USB connectors (of all versions) are used to connect USB ports located on the external side of the case to the "motherboard" (usually on the front panel, less often on the top or side). Such a port is connected to the connector with a special cable, and usually, one connector works only with one port. In other words, the number of connectors on the motherboard corresponds to the maximum number of USB ports that can be used with it. It should be noted that in this case we are talking about traditional USB A ports; connectors for the newer USB C are mentioned separately in the specifications.
As for the specific version USB 3.2 gen1 (previously known as USB 3.1 gen1 and USB 3.0), it provides a data transfer speed of up to 4.8 Gb/s and higher power delivery than the earlier USB 2.0 standard. At the same time, USB Power Delivery technology, allowing for power delivery up to 100 W, is generally not supported by connectors of this version for USB A (although it may be implemented in connectors for USB C).
Fan power connectors
The number of connectors for powering coolers and fans provided in the motherboard. A processor cooler is usually connected to such a connector, and fans of other system components — video cards, cases, etc. can also be powered from the "motherboard"; sometimes it is more convenient than pulling power directly from the PSU (at least you can reduce the number of wires in the case). Many modern boards are equipped with
4 or more connectors of this type.
Chassis/Water Pump Fan 4-pin
A connector responsible for connecting additional coolers for the benefit of better cooling of components inside the system unit. Most often it is located on the edges of the motherboard — closer to the front side and the ceiling of the "system unit". It is made according to the four-contact scheme.
