Over the past few years, AMD and Intel have brought a new range of CPUs and chipsets to the market. We’ve seen two new generations of CPUs from AMD and four from Intel since 2022. This means a massive selection of hardware on the market is available for builders to buy.
But where do you start? This guide to Intel and AMD CPU chipsets breaks down the cumbersome jargon into easy-to-understand information, helping you simplify your choice regarding CPU chipsets. We’ve covered what a chipset is, what each generation provides, and the pros and cons of both brands.
What is a Chipset?
Quite simply, a chipset controls the communication and the information flow between all the components connected to your motherboard. Additionally, a chipset determines the available features on your motherboard, such as overclocking support, PCI Express lanes, IO selection, and more.
The most significant points to note about motherboard chipsets are how they impact the board’s features and price. For example, Intel Z790 motherboards are top-end options, so they’re generally quite expensive. However, ‘Z’ series motherboards are the only boards on Intel’s platforms capable of offering CPU overclocking. B760 motherboards don’t provide CPU overclocking and are generally much cheaper than their ‘Z’ series counterparts.
This means that depending on your use case, you might choose one chipset over another, either because one chipset lacks features or because the price of a motherboard doesn’t quite fit within your budget.
AMD and Intel Chipsets
To break this table down, modern AMD and Intel chipsets can be divided into three distinct sockets: AM5, which supports Ryzen 7000 and 9000; LGA1700, which is for Intel 12th-14th Gen; and LGA1851, which is Core Ultra. AM5 and LGA1700 have been around since 2022, while LGA1851 was released in October 2024. Your socket choice will determine which processors can be installed onto the motherboard, so make sure to pick up a board that can house your CPU of choice.
As shown by the table, chipsets can generally be divided into budgets. The ‘A’ and ‘B’ series of chipsets from AMD are typically cheaper and will be more restricted in terms of features. This means fewer slots, weaker overclocking, fewer USB ports, etc. The same applies to the Intel ‘H’ and ‘B’ chipsets. Generally, you’ll find more expensive motherboards on the X670(E), X870(E), Z690 and Z790 chipsets. These boards are pretty strong regarding features, but the obvious caveat is that they can be quite pricey.
This also means that overclocking support varies between chipsets. AMD is far less restrictive when it comes to RAM overclocking, so all of its modern chipsets, from A620 to X870(E), support overclocking on the RAM. This is similar for Intel, but the older H610 chipset, which arrived with 12th Gen, does not support XMP profiles.
| AM5 | LGA1700 | LGA1851 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPUs Supported | AMD Ryzen 7000 AMD Ryzen 9000 | Intel Core 12th Gen Intel Core 13th Gen Intel Core 14th Gen | Intel Core Ultra 200 |
| Feature Set | Entry Level: A620, B840 Mid-Range: B650(E), B850 High-End: X670(E), X870(E) | Entry Level: H610 Mid-Range: B660, B760 High-End: Z690, Z790 | Entry Level: TBC Mid-Range: TBC High-End: Z890 |
| RAM Overclocking? | A620: Yes B840: Yes B650(E): Yes B850: Yes X670(E): Yes X870(E): Yes | H610: No B660: Yes B760: Yes Z690: Yes Z790: Yes | Z890: Yes |
| CPU Overclocking? | A620: No B840: No B650(E): Yes B850: Yes X670(E): Yes X870(E): Yes | H610: No B660: No B760: No Z690: Yes Z790: Yes | Z890: Yes |
CPU overclocking, however, isn’t as widely supported. The A620 and B840 chipsets for AMD don’t offer CPU overclocking capabilities, so you’ll be restricted to the base boost speed. Despite this, B650(E) to X870(E) supports CPU overclocking, which is great to see. Unfortunately, Intel buyers are limited to the Z690, Z790 and Z890 chipsets. This will be a deal-breaker for some, but considering how high clock speeds can reach on some Intel SKUs, it won’t be a problem for everyone.
Pros & Cons of Intel & AMD Chipsets
Pros – AMD
While AMD and Intel are pretty comparable when it comes to modern motherboard features, some distinct advantages separate the two. For AMD, Gen5 support and rear IO are generally where these boards thrive. Since the release of the Ryzen 7000, AMD’s ‘B’ and ‘X’ boards have offered widespread support for PCI-E 5.0 slots, both for graphics cards and SSDs. This means there’s more space for high-speed storage, and those looking to upgrade to NVIDIA’s rumoured 5000 series likely won’t need a new board.
Regarding the rear IO, AMD boards offer a solid selection of high-speed ports, even on some lower-end chipsets. This includes support for USB4, WiFi 6E and 7, and blazing-fast LAN, with some boards offering dual LAN ports. IO is generally well-refined on AMD motherboards, which makes them a worthwhile consideration for those looking to leverage plenty of ports.
Pros – Intel
Intel motherboards are similar to AMD, but one distinct benefit of an Intel motherboard is its overclocking capability. Across the LGA1700 and LGA1851 sockets, the boards offer an obscene number of VRM power phases, with the Z890 chipset offerings far surpassing the capabilities of Ryzen 9000 options.
Another benefit that is specific to the LGA1700 socket is DDR4 support. Intel LGA1700 motherboards didn’t drop support for DDR4 in favour of DDR5, which means you can build a pretty affordable PC. While DDR5 has fallen in price significantly since 2022, it still isn’t as cheap as DDR4, so there are benefits for those looking to build a budget system.
Cons – AMD
Regarding the cons, AMD’s overclocking support isn’t as strong as Intel’s. While X870(E) motherboards have seen improvements in the VRM power phases, these boards aren’t as capable as Intel.
One of the other significant cons is that some boards on the X870(E) chipset don’t offer much of a substantial upgrade compared to their X670(E) counterparts. This doesn’t apply to all boards, but our reviews have found that some boards are very similar to the previous generation options. This raises questions about the value of the X870(E) chipset, especially when cheaper motherboards are available.
Cons – Intel
Intel suffers from a similar issue to AMD. Quite a few Z890 motherboards are very similar to their Z790 counterparts. However, I think Intel’s biggest weakness is its Gen5 support. Z690 and Z790 boards, especially high-end options, will likely have one Gen5 graphics card slot. However, Gen5 SSD support is essentially unheard of. This has improved with LGA1851, but most boards only offer one or two Gen5 slots, severely limiting enthusiasts. Again, this won’t be a deal-breaker for everyone, but those looking to assemble a high-end system with blazing-fast storage will be more restricted on Intel platforms.
