Intel Chipsets

[Brado78]

Is there a huge difference between the Intel 100 and 200 series chip sets. I was looking at a H170 board but would i be better off with a H270 board?

Thanks Guys

 

[VirtualLarry]

Depends. If you want to use a Kaby Lake CPU, then the 200-series boards should support them out of the box, whereas most 100-series boards require a BIOS flash using a Skylake CPU first.

Also, most of the higher-end (higher than H110, not sure if an H210 exists) 200-series boards will have two M.2 sockets, and support for Optane Memory cache SSDs. 100-series boards don't support Optane.

OTOH, I expect 100-series boards to sell at a discount, at this point, except for the H110 boards.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you're buying new, and DONT already have a Skylake CPU, then go with a 200-series board.

 

[Bouowmx]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#LGA_1151

200 series chipsets get more PCI Express lanes and Optane support. [BQ]250 gains support for 1 PCIe M.2.

 

[Brado78]

will a skylake cpu work in a 200 series board?>

 

[VirtualLarry]

Should work fine.

Btw, there was a Hot Deal on some admittedly severely entry-level B150 mobos, check my thread in Hot Deals. I picked up several for ~$27 ea. (No HDMI, no M.2.)

 

[piasabird]

You can look up the specs on most Sky Lake motherboards on the manufacturer's website and they should list the BIOS version you need for the Kaby Lake CPU'S. It is possible some motherboards will come out with newer version numbers for Kaby Lake support. I would compare prices and see how much of difference there is between the two chip sets. There are some newer features for Kaby Lake but most people may never use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hR7NXTLs1k

They tested two motherboards with a 1070 video card an SSD and there were not that many differences.

There may be a slight difference if the newer motherboards can overclock more and handle performance RAM better.

If you dont have a 1070 video card that might be a better upgrade. It seems with the higher end video card there is not much difference.

Most of the reviews I looked at there was at best a 10% or less improvement.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Personally, I build these systems for the love of it in context of a personal IT "asset management" plan. I take my time. I will begin to study certain model lineups for motherboards to match the processor. I may settle on a particular make and model, and the wait some more to see that additional BIOS revisions have been released.

I think I'd incline to the 200-series board. If you already have the prior chipset and board, then you only need to upgrade the processor.

 

[Brado78]

ok, will a Kaby lake cpu fit into a H170 skylake board? since both chips are LGA 1151 or no?

 

[UsandThem]

ok, will a Kaby lake cpu fit into a H170 skylake board? since both chips are LGA 1151 or no?

Yes*

*It will only work if you have a BIOS update that supports Kaby Lake. However, unless it comes already installed, you will need a Skylake CPU to allow the PC to start and update BIOS.

Unless you are positive the z170 has the newer BiOS already installed, you are better of to get a z270 or h2** motherboard.

 

[Brado78]

Bonzai
All I bought so far was the case and psu, I haven't bought any boards yet , maybe i will wait for other people to use the 200 series boards before getting one ...

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wish I had more spare money at the time, because I could have "invested" in a greater qty of those Biostar B150 boards I posted in Hot Deals about, with the 50% off promo code.

Then, I could have flashed them with updated UEFI, using my SKL CPUs. Then I could have re-sold them.

Ah well, they don't have M.2 sockets, although the BIOS has specific provisions for NVMe PCI-E devices.

 

[Brado78]

Virtual Larry, H170 -H270 boards with a Kaby Lake Pentium with a WD Black nvme drive I think is the way i am gonna go . Right now I am using an old 2011 lga 775 system

 

[BonzaiDuck]

LGA--775 was superceded a year before that. You are definitely due for something new.

 

[Brado78]

Bonzai- Hey.....at least i am using a SSD