Motherboards H410, B460, H470, Z490, Q470 and W480 — how are they different?
Functional differences
H410 is a junior chipset for motherboards with an LGA 1200 socket. In addition to the already released Comet Lake processors, in the future, by updating the BIOS firmware, it will receive support for the upcoming Rocket Lake (11th generation). However, the main advantage of Rocket Lake is the high—speed PCI-E 4.0 bus — the H410 chipset, alas, will not be able to reveal. After all, even now it works with SSD M.2 in slow-motion PCI-E 2.0 x2 (10 Gbit/s).
In addition, motherboards on the H410 are equipped with only two slots for RAM and a small number of power phases (4 – 8). Simply put, the H410 is a good option for building an office PC with a Pentium Gold G6400 processor, but less.
The B460 is a mid—level chipset for LGA 1200 motherboards, favorably differing from the H410 with four RAM slots, two M.2, support for RAID arrays and bundles of two discrete graphics cards in x8+x4 mode. The number of processor power phases has grown to 5-10. This is already enough for an initial gaming PC with a quad-core-eight-thread Core i3-10100.
In addition, Intel has provided manufacturers with the opportunity to optionally implement on non-flagship chipsets a new auto-acceleration of the processor across all Velocity Boost cores, by increasing the thermal and energy limit. Whereas the old Turbo Boost strongly accelerates only a part of the cores to meet the TDP. Theoretically, Velocity is also supported by motherboards on the H410, but practically due to the small number of phases, this technology is often disabled.
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H470 — the pre-flagship LGA 1200 chipset received support for external USB 3.2 Gen 2 drives (10 Gbps) and Wi-Fi 6 wireless network adapters (another name is 802.11AX). The number of power phases can reach 12 pcs. However, manual overclocking of the processor and RAM is still limited (only automatic overclocking of Turbo Boost and Velocity Boost is available). Motherboards with H470 are a good partner for the Core i5-10400 processor with six cores, twelve threads, but a locked multiplier.
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Z490 is a senior chipset for consumer LGA 1200 motherboards with support for three M.2 SSDs, bundles of three discrete graphics cards (x8+x8+x4) and full overclocking functionality. Moreover, unlike the flagship AMD X570 chipset, the Intel Z490 does not need active cooling (heating is only 6 watts). The power supply phase of the processor has as many as 16 pcs. And this is not superfluous at all, considering that the power consumption of the Core i9-10900K processor overclocked to 5.3 GHz is 330 watts.
Q470 is a corporate analogue of Z490 without overclocking capability, but with the support of Trusted Execution security certificates.
W480 is a chipset for workstations and small servers, compatible with Xeon W1200 series processors and RAM with ECC error correction.
We will tell you more about the capabilities of Intel LGA 1200 motherboards with 400-series chipsets using the example of the model range of the Taiwanese company Biostar. You can compare the technical characteristics of the mothers in this table.
Biostar H410MH is one of the most affordable motherboards for Intel processors of the 10th and 11th generation in advance. It is made in a medium-sized Micro-ATX format, thanks to which it will fit even in relatively compact Mini-Tower type enclosures. The power subsystem is made 5-phase: three for CPU cores and two for a memory controller and a built-in graphics accelerator. At least the power connector is reinforced 4+4-pin. Processors no higher than Core i3 are recommended for installation.
The Biostar H410MH has two slots for DIMM DDR4 RAM — with a total volume of up to 64 GB and with a frequency of up to 2933 MHz (in the case of younger Intel Comet Lake processors, RAM will only work at 2666 MHz). There is one M.2 slot, but with support for both types of SSD: PCI-E 3.0 x2 and SATA3. In addition, there are four classic SATA3 connectors for 2.5-inch solid-state drives or 3.5-inch hard drives.
For the PCI-E 3.0 x16 graphics card, the Biostar H410MH has only one, and the PCI-E x1 for the functionality expansion cards (discrete audio, network or video recording) — two pieces. However, one of them will be overlapped by a two—slot graphics card, and a three-slot one — two at once. The integrated 7.1-channel audio and gigabit network controller are presented by Realtek ALC887 and Realtek RTL8111H, respectively.
On the rear interface panel of the Biostar H410MH, there was a place for a pair of old-school PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard, a digital video output of HDMI and analogue VGA, an Ethernet socket, a trio of 3.5mm audio jacks and six USB ports (four versions 2.0 and two 3.0). In general, the Biostar H410MH is a good inexpensive LGA 1200 motherboard without overpayments for optional functionality. Similar solutions are available in the Biostar range for other sockets: for example, H310MHP for LGA 1151-v2 or B450MH for AM4.
The Biostar Racing B460GTQ is still a fairly compact Micro—ATX, but surprisingly richly equipped LGA 1200 motherboard. Nine phases of power supply, eight of which directly feed the processor cores, allow the user to use the new technology of auto-overclocking on all cores on non—overclocker chipsets — Velocity Boost. Theoretically, any Intel processor of the 10th or 11th generation can be installed here, with the exception of models with the index K or KF (this practically makes no sense).
In addition, the mosfets of the power phases of the Biostar Racing B460GTQ are cooled by a large aluminium radiator, and even decorated with a customizable LED backlight Vivid LED DJ. Additionally, connectors are implemented for connecting RGB tapes and other luminous PC components (both 5-volt and 12) to synchronize the colour and flicker mode. There are four RAM slots (the total volume is up to 128 GB), and the PCI-E x16 graphics card is one, but reinforced with metal.
Biostar Racing B460GTQ has two M.2 slots for solid-state drives at once: one omnivorous (PCI-E 3.0 x4 + SATA3), the second only with NVMe SSD support (up to 32 Gbit/s). Both are covered with cooling radiators. There are six classic SATA3 connectors. The rear interface panel is densely dotted with all kinds of ports: two PS/2, four USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 and a trinity of video outputs, all digital HDMI, DisplayPort and DVI-D (without the possibility of converting to analogue VGA).
The Biostar Racing B460GTQ has a premium Realtek ALC1150 audio chip with an improved signal-to-noise ratio, and gigabit Ethernet is represented by Intel i219V with reduced delays. The Biostar Racing B460GTQ motherboard also has an older sister — a full-size Full-ATX model B460GTA with the ability to connect two discrete Radeon graphics cards in a bundle of CrossFire x8+x4, a large number and convenient placement of PCI-E x1 slots and a large radiator on the chipset (the latter is done with obviously excessive reinsurance).
Biostar Racing Z490GTA is the flagship ATX LGA 1200 motherboard with 14 power phases (12 for CPU cores and 2 for RAM controller and integrated graphics). The Intel Z490 chipset allows you to manually overclock RAM to a frequency of 4400+ MHz and Comet Lake and Rocket Lake processors with an index of K or KF, that is, an unlocked multiplier, including top-end Core i7-10700K and i9-10900K.
At first glance, the layout of the flagship Biostar Racing Z490GTA repeats the mid-price B460GTA, but in fact there are plenty of differences. First, both slots are M.2 both NVMe (including Intel Optane) and SATA SSD are supported. And with the release of Intel processors of the 11th generation, support for ultra-high-speed PCI-E 4.0 disks (64 Gbit/s) will be added. Secondly, two reinforced PCI-E x16 graphics card slots allow you to create bundles of Radeon CrossFire and GeForce NVLink video cards in x8+x8 mode.
Thirdly, in addition to two digital video outputs (HDMI + DP), the Biostar Racing Z490GTA has an analogue VGA. And finally, fourthly, another M.2 Key-E slot is provided for installing a Wi-Fi+Bluetooth adapter, and antennas for it are immediately displayed on the rear interface panel. Otherwise, the Z490GTA repeats the functionality of the B460GTA: the Realtek ALC1150 sound box, the Intel i219V network box and the Vivid LED DJ RGB backlight.
You can scold the Biostar Racing Z490GTA, perhaps, only for the lack of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (10 Gbit / s). But it is possible to output one Thunderbolt 3 port (40 Gbit/s) compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2. By the way, Biostar has an even more stuffed motherboard — the Z490GTA Evo with 16 power phases, a POST-code indicator, power and reboot buttons directly on the printed circuit board, and a couple of USB 3.2 Gen 2, including one Type-C. Fans of ultra-compact PC assemblies, on the contrary, should take a closer look at the Mini-ITX boardBiostar Z490GTN.
Conclusions
So which motherboard with an LGA 1200 socket should I choose? On the one hand, even the junior H410 chipset will receive full support for the upcoming Rocket Lake processors. On the other hand, on the simplest motherboards with this chipset, there are enough power phases only for Core i3 processors. Whereas for i5 or i7, the B460 chipset is already desirable. For older Core i9 processors with a locked multiplier, the H470 is optimal. Well, for i5, i7 or i9 with the K/KF index, an overclocking Z490 motherboard is required.
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