Motherboard Manufactures are beginning to release the new Skylake models. As always I advise the best way to choose a motherboard in a new platform is to review the specs on the new chipsets. Skylake will use an LGA 1151 socket and it isn’t compatible with the Haswell 1150 CPUs therefore, please don’t try to use an 1150 CPU on a Skylake LGA 1151 motherboard because you could damage the CPU and the motherboard if you try. Skylake will see broader use of DDR4 RAM, however I’d expect to see some models still supporting DDR3 due to budget constraints. Some may support DDR3 & DDR4 sockets to ease conversion however you can’t run both types at the same time it's either DDR3 or DDR4. The truly exciting feature of the new Skylake will be the additional PCI-E 3.0 lanes coming off the Southbridge to enable better implantation of PCI-E Express allowing users to use the next class of SSDs to their full potential without sacrificing GPU performance. This will be a key feature of the higher end Skylake chipsets.
Here is a break down on the chipsets and their features. Please note this is an educated guess from reading the general specs released so far. The board partners will offer variations and additional features from what I list here.
H110 – This is your entry level chipset like the H61 & the H81 before it, it provides a no frills entry to the Skylake platform. Expect most will come with Two RAM sockets with a 16GB max and a 32GB max capacity for DDR3 and DDR4 versions respectively. This may be a model that will have the best chance to continue to offer DDR3 support. It can support up to Six USB 2.0 ports and Four USB 3.0 ports divided up from ports on the back to ports on the motherboard. It supports a max of Four SATA 3 ports on the motherboard. It should have One PCI-E 16x slot and support another 6x 2.0 PCI-E split on the additional expansion slots (e.g. Two PCI-E 1x + One PCI-E 4x, …). For display options it can have up to Three outputs with Two being active at the same time.
B150 – This is your entry level business class chipset and like the B75 & B85 this chipset has what is considered the minimum for small to medium business’ workstations. Expect most to come with Four RAM sockets some may offer Two DDR3 & Two DDR4 combinations or all DDR4. DDR3 models will support 16GB to 32GB max (8GB per socket) depending on the number of DDR3 sockets (2 or 4). The DDR4 versions will support up to 64GB max capacity of RAM, 16GB per socket, so a model with Two DDR4 would sockets max out at 32GB. The B150 supports up to Six USB 2.0 Ports and Eight USB 3.0 ports divided up on the back and on the body of the motherboard. This chipset will support Six SATA3 ports, and some higher end models may offer some RAID support that most others will not. It supports One PCI-E 16x 3.0 slot and additional 8x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge divided up over the additional slots (e.g. One PCI-E 4x + Four PCI-E 1x) board partners may not assign all of these. This chipset will support Three video outputs with all Three having active pipes.
Q150 – This is Intel’s entry level corporate business chipset intro model it has additional features for business that the B150 doesn’t offer. The main feature over the B150 is the Intel SIPP or Stable Image Platform Program designed to ease upgrading from an older platform to a newer platform. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. It supports Six USB 2.0 ports and Eight USB 3.0 ports. How they are divided up between the back and the body of the motherboard is up to the board partner and the model. It supports Six SATA3 ports this version isn’t supposed to have RAID ability, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a board partner adds it. For expansion slots it supports One PCI-E 16x slot and up to 10x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge for the board partner to assign (e.g. Two PCI-E 4x & Two PCI-E 1x). It supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active at the same time.
H170 – The H170 is designated for the Home user with more features than the H110 entry level and the B150 and Q150 business models without the business add-ons. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM, but don’t be surprised if there are some models offering the two DDR3 sockets and two DDR4 sockets. It has the same USB offerings as the Q150 it supports Six USB 2.0 ports and 8 USB 3.0 ports, perhaps some will offer USB 3.1. Again how they are divided up between the back and the body of the motherboard is up to the board partner and the model. It supports Six SATA 3 ports this is the 1st version to officially supports RAID ability offering 0/1/5/10. It supports One PCI-E 16x 3.0 slot and additional 16x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge divided up on the additional PCI-E slots (e.g. One PCI-E 8x + One PCI-E 4x + Four PCI-E 1x ) as always board partners may not assign all of these. It supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
Q170 – The Q170 is Intel’s higher level corporate business chipset for the power workstation at work. It has the extra security features like vPro in addition to SIPP. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely all DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. It supports Four USB 2.0 ports for legacy and Ten USB 3.0 ports. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some models with USB 3.1 in place of some of the normal 3.0 ports. For storage it supports Six SATA 3 ports this version supports RAID ability 0/1/5/10. For video it supports One PCI-E×16, or Two PCI-E 16x running at ×8, or One PCI-E 16x running at ×8 and two running at ×4 for multi-GPU setups. Where this chipset shines it supports additional lanes off the Southbridge so it supports 20 more PCI-E Express lanes for faster SSDs breaking the SATA3 barrier. Now you can mount SSD using the PCI-E express bus without sacrificing high-end GPU support. This can be a game changer in your PCs performance. Of course it supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
Z170 – The Z170 is the PC enthusiast and Hard Core Gamer chipset. Expect these models to go from what options I list to having everything including the kitchen sink added for your pleasure. I’m sure there will be models that will enable you to spend obscene amounts of money on this motherboard class getting close if not equal to the 2011 v3 motherboard offerings. This model is designed to allow for easy overclocking of CPUs, RAM and GPUs. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely all DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. If a manufacturer makes a version that supports DDR3 I have to question if their IQ is higher than their shoe size. Like the Q170 it supports Four USB 2.0 ports for legacy and Ten USB 3.0 ports. I would be greatly surprised and disappointed not to see some models with USB 3.1 in place or addition to some of the normal USB 3.0 ports. For storage like the Q170 it supports Six SATA 3 ports this version supports RAID ability 0/1/5/10. For video it supports One PCI-E×16, or Two PCI-E 16x running at ×8, or One PCI-E 16x running at ×8 and Two running at ×4 for multi-GPU setups. Like the Q170 where this chipset truly shines like the Holy Grail is in the additional 20 PCI-E 3.0 lanes off the Southbridge. Of course it supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
This platform may finally make it more popular to transition from hard drives and go more with SSDs running at PCI-E Express speeds offering better performance than SATA3 can ever hope to achieve. Will this make the SATA bus an obsolete relic of the past like the Parallel and Serial ports? Time and consumers will decide that. I’m sure SATA3 will still be around for optical drives for the foreseeable future. After all there are still power supply manufacturers putting floppy power ports on power supplies.
Expect to see motherboards on shelves by the end of August, you should be seeing advertising on the new boards on the internet very soon, if you haven’t already. Please keep in mind just because a chipset may have these features available doesn’t mean they will be fully utilized on all models bearing them. Board partners will vary the specs on motherboards with the same chipset as we have seen in the past.
Here is a break down on the chipsets and their features. Please note this is an educated guess from reading the general specs released so far. The board partners will offer variations and additional features from what I list here.
H110 – This is your entry level chipset like the H61 & the H81 before it, it provides a no frills entry to the Skylake platform. Expect most will come with Two RAM sockets with a 16GB max and a 32GB max capacity for DDR3 and DDR4 versions respectively. This may be a model that will have the best chance to continue to offer DDR3 support. It can support up to Six USB 2.0 ports and Four USB 3.0 ports divided up from ports on the back to ports on the motherboard. It supports a max of Four SATA 3 ports on the motherboard. It should have One PCI-E 16x slot and support another 6x 2.0 PCI-E split on the additional expansion slots (e.g. Two PCI-E 1x + One PCI-E 4x, …). For display options it can have up to Three outputs with Two being active at the same time.
B150 – This is your entry level business class chipset and like the B75 & B85 this chipset has what is considered the minimum for small to medium business’ workstations. Expect most to come with Four RAM sockets some may offer Two DDR3 & Two DDR4 combinations or all DDR4. DDR3 models will support 16GB to 32GB max (8GB per socket) depending on the number of DDR3 sockets (2 or 4). The DDR4 versions will support up to 64GB max capacity of RAM, 16GB per socket, so a model with Two DDR4 would sockets max out at 32GB. The B150 supports up to Six USB 2.0 Ports and Eight USB 3.0 ports divided up on the back and on the body of the motherboard. This chipset will support Six SATA3 ports, and some higher end models may offer some RAID support that most others will not. It supports One PCI-E 16x 3.0 slot and additional 8x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge divided up over the additional slots (e.g. One PCI-E 4x + Four PCI-E 1x) board partners may not assign all of these. This chipset will support Three video outputs with all Three having active pipes.
Q150 – This is Intel’s entry level corporate business chipset intro model it has additional features for business that the B150 doesn’t offer. The main feature over the B150 is the Intel SIPP or Stable Image Platform Program designed to ease upgrading from an older platform to a newer platform. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. It supports Six USB 2.0 ports and Eight USB 3.0 ports. How they are divided up between the back and the body of the motherboard is up to the board partner and the model. It supports Six SATA3 ports this version isn’t supposed to have RAID ability, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a board partner adds it. For expansion slots it supports One PCI-E 16x slot and up to 10x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge for the board partner to assign (e.g. Two PCI-E 4x & Two PCI-E 1x). It supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active at the same time.
H170 – The H170 is designated for the Home user with more features than the H110 entry level and the B150 and Q150 business models without the business add-ons. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM, but don’t be surprised if there are some models offering the two DDR3 sockets and two DDR4 sockets. It has the same USB offerings as the Q150 it supports Six USB 2.0 ports and 8 USB 3.0 ports, perhaps some will offer USB 3.1. Again how they are divided up between the back and the body of the motherboard is up to the board partner and the model. It supports Six SATA 3 ports this is the 1st version to officially supports RAID ability offering 0/1/5/10. It supports One PCI-E 16x 3.0 slot and additional 16x PCI-E lanes off the Southbridge divided up on the additional PCI-E slots (e.g. One PCI-E 8x + One PCI-E 4x + Four PCI-E 1x ) as always board partners may not assign all of these. It supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
Q170 – The Q170 is Intel’s higher level corporate business chipset for the power workstation at work. It has the extra security features like vPro in addition to SIPP. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely all DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. It supports Four USB 2.0 ports for legacy and Ten USB 3.0 ports. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some models with USB 3.1 in place of some of the normal 3.0 ports. For storage it supports Six SATA 3 ports this version supports RAID ability 0/1/5/10. For video it supports One PCI-E×16, or Two PCI-E 16x running at ×8, or One PCI-E 16x running at ×8 and two running at ×4 for multi-GPU setups. Where this chipset shines it supports additional lanes off the Southbridge so it supports 20 more PCI-E Express lanes for faster SSDs breaking the SATA3 barrier. Now you can mount SSD using the PCI-E express bus without sacrificing high-end GPU support. This can be a game changer in your PCs performance. Of course it supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
Z170 – The Z170 is the PC enthusiast and Hard Core Gamer chipset. Expect these models to go from what options I list to having everything including the kitchen sink added for your pleasure. I’m sure there will be models that will enable you to spend obscene amounts of money on this motherboard class getting close if not equal to the 2011 v3 motherboard offerings. This model is designed to allow for easy overclocking of CPUs, RAM and GPUs. This chipset supports Four DIMM sockets most likely all DDR4 with a max of 64GB of RAM. If a manufacturer makes a version that supports DDR3 I have to question if their IQ is higher than their shoe size. Like the Q170 it supports Four USB 2.0 ports for legacy and Ten USB 3.0 ports. I would be greatly surprised and disappointed not to see some models with USB 3.1 in place or addition to some of the normal USB 3.0 ports. For storage like the Q170 it supports Six SATA 3 ports this version supports RAID ability 0/1/5/10. For video it supports One PCI-E×16, or Two PCI-E 16x running at ×8, or One PCI-E 16x running at ×8 and Two running at ×4 for multi-GPU setups. Like the Q170 where this chipset truly shines like the Holy Grail is in the additional 20 PCI-E 3.0 lanes off the Southbridge. Of course it supports Three video output options all Three have the ability to be active.
This platform may finally make it more popular to transition from hard drives and go more with SSDs running at PCI-E Express speeds offering better performance than SATA3 can ever hope to achieve. Will this make the SATA bus an obsolete relic of the past like the Parallel and Serial ports? Time and consumers will decide that. I’m sure SATA3 will still be around for optical drives for the foreseeable future. After all there are still power supply manufacturers putting floppy power ports on power supplies.
Expect to see motherboards on shelves by the end of August, you should be seeing advertising on the new boards on the internet very soon, if you haven’t already. Please keep in mind just because a chipset may have these features available doesn’t mean they will be fully utilized on all models bearing them. Board partners will vary the specs on motherboards with the same chipset as we have seen in the past.
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