With Intel's next generation processors firmly on the horizon, we should also turn to what motherboards will be on offer when we have the opportunity to root around in our pockets to invest in an next generation system. With appropriate vendor support, 6-series motherboards will support these new processors with little more than a BIOS update, however to get the most out of the new processor, we have to look at the new range of motherboards about to hit the market. This brief look at some of them is by no means an exhaustive list, however we would like to know what you find most interesting and would like to be reviewed over the next few months.

7-Series Chipsets

As with all of Intel’s major chipset releases, we have the opportunity to pick from a wide range of models to suit different needs, price points, or even business models. With Sandy Bridge, we also had distinct segregation – H67 had IGP but no overclocking, P67 did not have IGP but overclocked, and Z68 had both. Thankfully this time all the new chipsets have IGP outputs to take advantage of the IGP, and the main differences lie in PCIe configuration limitations and use of Intel’s Smart Response Technology:

Chipset Comparison Z77 Z75 H77 Z68 P67 H67 CPU Support IVB

LGA-1155 IVB

LGA-1155 IVB

LGA-1155 SNB/IVB

LGA-1155 SNB/IVB

LGA-1155 SNB/IVB

LGA-1155 CPU Overclocking Yes Yes No Yes Yes No CPU PCIe Config 1 x16 or

2 x8 or

1 x8 + 2 x4

PCIe 3.0 1 x16 or

2 x8 PCIe 3.0 1 x16 PCIe 3.0 1 x16 or

2 x8 or

1 x8 + 2 x4

PCIe 3.0 1 x16 or

2 x8 PCIe 3.0 1 x16 PCIe 3.0 Processor Graphics Support Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Intel SRT (SSD caching) Yes No Yes Yes No No RAID Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes USB 2.0 Ports (3.0) 14 (4) 14 (4) 14 (4) 14 14 14 SATA Total (Max Number of 6Gbps Ports) 6 (2) 6 (2) 6 (2) 6 (2) 6 (2) 6 (2)

The beauty of Ivy Bridge predominantly comes in the form of PCIe 3.0, which should alleviate many of the PCIe bus bandwidth bottlenecks in multi-GPU setups, and native USB 3.0 on board. Some vendors may expand these features – PCIe lanes may be increased through a PCIe 3.0 PLX chip (similar to NF200 on X58), or third-party USB 3.0 controllers will be added to the boards. In this brief look over some of the 7-series motherboards, we will see both in action. However that PLX chip looks fairly expensive.