LGA775 (motherboard): specifications and reviews. Connector for installing processors

Many users have managed to draw attention to the fact that in the computer market most of the components have a unique marking, which indicates the belonging of components to different classes and price categories. Great interest of buyers is shown to the LGA775 interface (motherboard). In this article, the reader is given the opportunity to get to know not only the connector for installing the processor, but also to know the technical specifications of the motherboards for it. Reviews of owners and recommendations of experts will not be superfluous.

No oddities

It is not necessary to carry out complex mathematical calculations and to connect the date of the appearance of the Intel LGA775 chip on the computer market. Everything is much simpler. The number 775 is the number of contacts between the processor and the motherboard. Any user can see for himself. For reliable contact of the two elements, the manufacturer provided the motherboard socket with copper contacts in the form of millimeter feet, and on the processor for them there is a corresponding contact pad for them.

It is worth noting that on the basis of LGA775, Intel has created a server platform for Xeon processors. To limit users from powerful crystals, the manufacturer went on the trick, creating a new platform LGA771. However, many enthusiasts guessed how the company's technologists modified the socket, and quickly provided the world with a ready-made solution in the form of an adapter.

Form factor of the system unit

Any user should know that before connecting the motherboard and installing all the necessary components, you need to solve the issue of compatibility with the PC case. The fact is that all baseboards, whether it's a home PC or an office solution, have a form factor, to which almost all the elements of the system unit are attached.

So, office computers have the form factor micro-ATX or mini-ATX. Accordingly, this format has both the case of the system unit and the motherboard of reduced size. Along with an affordable price, such systems have a number of limitations: the number of slots for mounting memory modules is reduced and there is no room for expansion cards.

Form factor ATX, EATX and BTX in the computer market are considered elite, because they are full size and allow the user to install many additional components and expansion cards inside the system unit. Naturally, motherboards of this format have a high cost, but this does not prevent most buyers from building a system using this form factor.

About expansion cards

Many users are wondering what interfaces should have a decent motherboard. The connectors for installing the RAM play a decisive role not only for the gaming computer, but also for the system, which, according to the owners, should work for many years.

The fact is that to improve the performance of the platform it is enough to increase the amount of memory by installing additional modules. For LGA775 system boards there are a number of limitations: the maximum number of DDR2 slots can not exceed four, and the modules of the corresponding form factor can not be more than 2 GB. Accordingly, the user will not be able to install more than eight gigabytes into the system.

PCI slots also play an important role, in which you can install expansion cards, such as network adapter, tuner, sound card, RAID controller and similar multimedia devices. Naturally, the smaller the form factor of the motherboard, the fewer components it will be possible to introduce into the system.

Additional interfaces

Do not forget that there are restrictions on connecting peripherals to the device based on the LGA775 socket. The motherboard, depending on the form factor, has a fixed number of USB ports, interfaces for connecting office equipment and controllers for optional installation of additional elements. Before buying, the future owner must decide which specialized equipment will be connected to the personal computer.

Also on the market, the user can meet motherboards equipped with an integrated video adapter. The built-in graphics accelerator is difficult to call gaming because of its limited capabilities, but its performance is sufficient to transfer images to the monitor's screen in high resolution and to play video in FullHD format. Mainly integrated video cards are supplied with office motherboards, 775 of which only low-power processors with one core support.

Base chip

For belonging to a certain segment of the market and pricing, the main controller of the motherboard, which is called a chip, answers. So, in the market there are chips for gaming solutions, office computers, multimedia and home users. All chips have different form factor and differ in additional features that the motherboard can provide: PCIex16 connectors, USB interfaces, built-in cooling system, installed BIOS, presence of auxiliary power contacts and much more.

The chips are graded in the order of the Latin alphabet and are often tied to encrypted terms that govern the hardware of the motherboard with additional functionality. So, the office solution has the marking "G", the home platform - "P", and for fans of games chips "X" and "Z" are created. The numbers following the marking are the numbers of successful modifications that have been tested in Intel's laboratories.

Workstation potential

Strangely enough, the performance of the entire computer as a whole depends directly on the installed processor, and that, in turn, is dependent on the specification of the motherboard. Such an interesting bail-out and led to the fact that the world market formed a whole zoo of the basic components created for the socket 775.

It's better to start with the fact that there is no universal motherboard in the world that supports all processors known under the LGA775 interface . This is the price policy of Intel, which forces a potential buyer who wants to increase the platform's performance, go to the store and purchase a new motherboard and crystal for it. Accordingly, in the world market there is a segmentation of motherboards according to the specification:

• Office single-core systems;
• 1-2 nuclear platforms for home use;
• 2-4 nuclear systems for gaming solutions;
• Extreme platforms for enthusiasts.

The most interesting thing here is that many manufacturers, trying to attract customers, managed to combine several specifications (not all) and provide the user, albeit an expensive, but very interesting solution.

Lower segment of the computer market

The cheapest motherboard (socket 775) is represented by the manufacturer of Intel. The American manufacturer offered the customers an office solution that supports only low-power single-core Pentium and Celeron processors. And in such systems there are limitations on the operating frequency with heat dissipation (up to 3 GHz and 65 watts).

Yes, such a platform has a micro-ATX form factor and is very limited in functionality, but there are a number of advantages that many prospective buyers should look at. First, an inexpensive solution is equipped with an integrated video card supporting DirectX 9, which allows the future owner to play simple games and work with 3D objects and multimedia. The second aspect is the low demand for resources - this PC is able to consume no more than 200 watts in peak loads (100 watts in normal mode).

The first step to productivity

Many users have already heard about the LGA775 Intel Core Dual processors, but not everyone knows that this is not a full-fledged dual-core chip, but a pseudo platform that the manufacturer created to attract the buyer. On the basis of a single physical core there is a chip that divides all the characteristics of the crystal into two equal parts at the hardware level.

From the outside it resembles Hyper-Threading technology, only slightly improved, where virtual cores are interconnected and can be interchangeable. If we talk about the merits, then it's worth noting that all Core Dual processors created for socket 775 have low power consumption. Do not forget about the affordable price, because it allows you to determine the choice of a potential buyer.

The best choice

It's no secret that the best-selling component for a computer is the processor with two physical cores for the LGA775 socket. The motherboard supporting this specification is also considered the leader in sales. Core 2 Duo crystals are in demand not only in the personal computer segment, but also in demand on the mobile devices market.

Two physical cores, which work independently of each other, attracted the attention of millions of users. Along with high performance, such platforms have an affordable cost. However, there are drawbacks, which many users pay attention to in their reviews. Two cores working at high frequencies (more than 2.4 GHz), get very hot, and the standard LGA775 - the cooler that comes with the processor - often can not cope with the heat removal. Therefore, the buyer should think about a more efficient cooling system.

Game segment

The most productive processors for socket 775 is considered to be 4-core Intel Core 2 Quad. True, this statement applies only to home users who wish to run resource-intensive dynamic toys. It should be noted that, along with high performance, motherboards for the LGA775 socket, processors and memory modules have a high cost, which stops many buyers in the computer market.

However, the potential of this platform is excellent. For many years, the player can improve the computer, making only the replacement of the video card. All other components are guaranteed to cope with the task. Users do not have the sense to switch to the updated platform, unless he decides to purchase an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 chip.

Favorite toy of enthusiasts

There are not many motherboards on the market that have the label "Extreme". Many buyers, judging by their feedback, are sure that such boards are designed to overclock the installed components, but this opinion is erroneous. These systems have in their specification support for crystals that operate at high frequencies in the factory version.

First, it concerns the data bus. Instead of the usual frequency of 800 MHz, the processor (775 socket) can communicate with the motherboard at a speed of 1033-133 MHz. Secondly, we are talking about the clock frequency of the nuclei themselves - over 3 GHz. In addition, such processors are equipped with a large amount of cache memory and support server technologies (encryption, virtualization, environment variables).

The best motherboard for such processors is the Asus LGA775 Stiker II Extreme. This is the only device in the world, on the basis of which the Taiwanese manufacturer managed to combine all existing technologies at the time of production.

Server solution for home user service

In their responses, many users share their experience in installing server Xeon processors on the 775 socket platform. Naturally, the specification for the motherboard does not say anything about support and all activities enthusiasts produce at their own peril and risk. Before connecting the motherboard and installing such a powerful crystal, it is recommended to solve the problem with cooling the socket itself and the batteries located near the processor socket. The fact is that these processors have a large dissipated power.

In most cases, an improved cooling system and the installation of a copper plate on the back of the motherboard for better heat dissipation help. It is necessary to think about the adapter (from 771 to 775 socket), which can only be purchased at Chinese auctions.

Naturally, a decent motherboard will not be enough to mount such a powerful processor. The user will have to purchase faster memory and a powerful graphics accelerator, which will fully open the potential of the crystal in resource-intensive dynamic toys.

Finally

As practice shows, for the LGA775 interface, the motherboard plays a major role in the assembly of any platform, regardless of the application. However, the processor is responsible for the performance, which determines the purpose of the computer. Accordingly, any user before the purchase has to solve two problems: determine the crystal and find a decent motherboard for it, which supports the main component of the system at the hardware level. All other elements are already selected at the discretion of the user.