As an industry-leading technology provider of chipsets, CPUs and networking solutions, it’s probably obvious Intel motherboards have a clear focus on quality. Intel motherboards are mostly used for integration and for early adopters of high performance components. There are basically four motherboard series for PC integration, plus two series that either come with Atom processors on board or the legacy Socket 775 for Core 2 and Pentium CPU series.
All “Core i” CPUs have the memory controller integrated, as most Core i3, i5 and second generation i7 have graphics built into the processor already. This requires mainboards supporting CPUs with or without Intel HD Graphics inside, mainly defined by the chipset used.
Intel Desktop Motherboards
Socket 1156, also known as socket “H” or “H1” supports first generation of Core i3/5/7 CPUs, as well as G6xx Pentium and Celeron G1xx Series. This was the first socket to support CPU-integrated graphics, but also works with Core i7/i5 CPUs without.
Chipset | P55 | H55 | H57 | Q57 |
Works with built-in GPU | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Socket 1155 replaced the socket 1156, and was built for “second generation” Core CPUs. Supported chipset and according features are:
Chipset | B65 | H61 | Q67 | H67 | P67 | Z68 |
Works with built-in GPU | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Maximum DIMMs | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Overclocking possible for | GPU | GPU | GPU | GPU | CPU + RAM | CPU + GPU + RAM |
RAID capability | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Socket 1366 was the first socket for high performing Core i7 8xx and 9xx CPUs. It had to have more pins for the three memory channels and all new QPI interconnect. There is just one chipset coming along with this socket, the Intel X58, more or less a QPI to PCI Express bridge.
Socket 2011, also known as “Socket R” replaces the LGA 1366 for current Core i7 2xxx series, which have integrated HD graphics now. There is one exception, the Core i7 3000 series processors, which come without a graphics core. Even more components went into these CPUs, so there is only a southbridge attached to the socket. Servers for Romley architecture will use the same socket in near future, so the desktop SKUs share the advantage of having 4 memory channels and increased bandwidth now.
Extreme Series Motherboards
Only available in ATX formfactor for expandability with Crossfire or SLi, PCI Express SSD cards or RAID controller, these boards were designed to provide extreme power for workstation, hardcore gaming, media editing and headroom for future needs.
Intel® Desktop Board | Intel® Express Chipset | Socket | Form Factor |
Extreme Series | |||
Intel® X79 | LGA2011 | ATX | |
Intel® X79 | LGA2011 | ATX | |
Intel® Z68 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® Z68 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® P67 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® X58 | LGA1366 | ATX | |
Intel® X58 | LGA1366 | ATX | |
Intel® X58 | LGA1366 | ATX | |
Intel® P55 | LGA1156 | ATX | |
Multimedia Series
Designed for the complete range of Core i3/i5 and i7 CPUs, including newer Celeron and Pentium “G” CPUs, these boards provide the performance needed to enable you to create, share, and enjoy digital entertainment.
Intel® Desktop Board | Intel® Express Chipset | Socket | Form Factor |
Media Series | |||
Intel® H67 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® Z68 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® P67 | LGA1155 | ATX | |
Intel® P67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H67 | LGA1155 | Mini-ITX | |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | Thin Mini-ITX | |
Intel® H55 | LGA1156 | ATX | |
Intel® P55 | LGA1156 | ATX | |
Intel® P55 | LGA1156 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H55 | LGA1156 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H57 | LGA1156 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H57 | LGA1156 | Mini-ITX | |
Executive Series
Designed for business PCs, these SKUs offer new levels of manageability, security, and power-efficient performance.
Intel® Desktop Board | Intel® Express Chipset | Socket | Form Factor |
Executive Series | |||
Intel® Q67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® Q67 | LGA1155 | Mini-ITX | |
Intel® Q67 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® Q57 | LGA1156 | MicroATX | |
Intel® Q57 | LGA1156 | MicroATX | |
Intel® Q45 | LGA775 | Mini-ITX | |
Intel® Q45 | LGA775 | MicroATX | |
Intel® Q43 | LGA775 | MicroATX | |
Intel® B43 | LGA775 | MicroATX | |
Classic Series
Designed to deliver exactly what you expect – stability, reliability, affordability and expandability.
Intel® Desktop Board | Intel® Express Chipset | Socket | Form Factor |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | Mini-ITX | |
Intel® H61 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® B65 | LGA1155 | MicroATX | |
Intel® G41 | LGA775 | Mini-ITX | |
Intel® H55 | LGA1156 | MicroATX |











