Liquid cooling
The presence
of a water cooling system indicates the "hot" purpose of the motherboard. This option makes sense only in the most powerful gaming builds, as well as systems with the potential for further "overclocking" — that is, in configurations for which traditional air cooling with coolers is not enough.
Metal backplate
The presence
of a metal backplate in the design of the motherboard.
The backplate is a special plate located on the back side of the board (that is, on the opposite side from the connection slots). This feature is typical mainly for advanced "motherboards" designed for powerful systems: individual components of such systems (especially cooling) can be very heavy, and installing them directly on the board would be fraught with damage to it. And the metal backplate avoids this: it plays the role of an additional support that removes the main load from the motherboard. At the same time, such a plate is usually made thick and elastic enough to transfer even a very significant weight of components without consequences.
LAN (RJ-45)
The type of LAN interface provided in the design of the motherboard. LAN (also known as RJ-45 and Ethernet) — a standard connector for wired connection to computer networks; can be used for both local and Internet. The type of such a connector is indicated by the maximum speed. Note that nowadays, even inexpensive "motherboards" are usually equipped with fairly fast LAN adapters — at least gigabit ones. The meaning of such characteristics is not only (and often not so much) to speed up the transfer of large amounts of data, but also to reduce lags in the network connection. This can be important for tasks that require good responsiveness or precise synchronization, such as online games.
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1 Gbps. The standard used in the vast majority of desktop (non-server) motherboards. On the one hand, it provides more than a decent connection speed, sufficient even for large amounts of information; on the other hand, it is inexpensive and can be installed even in the simplest low-cost motherboards.
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2.5 Gbps. An improved version of the gigabit standard, it is also a simplified and somewhat cheaper version of the 5-gigabit standard. It is found in separate "motherboards" for gaming purposes.
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5 Gbps. A kind of transitional option between a relatively simple gigabit LAN (see above) and an advanced 10-gigabit LAN (see below). Found in some gaming motherboards.
...This standard costs less than the 10-gigabit one, while the communication speed still turns out to be quite decent, and the lags are low.
— 10 Gbps. Such a data transfer rate is indispensable for large volumes of information; in addition, it provides a high speed of passing individual data blocks, which is important for reducing lags in online games. At the same time, this interface appeared relatively recently and is not cheap. Therefore, it is mainly used in top-end "motherboards" for gaming and server purposes (see "In the direction").
— 100 Mbps. A very popular standard in its time, which is now considered obsolete in light of the spread of faster versions of the LAN. It is extremely rare, mainly in separate low-cost boards.LAN controller
Model of the LAN controller installed in the motherboard.
The LAN controller provides data exchange between the card and the network port(s) of the computer. Accordingly, both general characteristics and individual features of the network functionality of the "motherboard" depend on the characteristics of this module: support for special technologies, connection quality in case of unstable communication, etc. Knowing the model of the LAN controller, you can find detailed data on it — including including practical reviews; this information is rarely needed by the average user, but it can be useful for online game enthusiasts and for some specific tasks.
Thus, the LAN controller model is specified mainly in cases where it is a rather advanced solution that is noticeably superior to standard models. Such solutions are currently produced mainly under the brands
Intel(middle level),
Realtek(relatively simple models),
Aquntia and
Killer(mostly advanced solutions).
Fan power connectors
The number of connectors for powering coolers and fans provided in the motherboard. A processor cooler is usually connected to such a connector, and fans of other system components — video cards, cases, etc. can also be powered from the "motherboard"; sometimes it is more convenient than pulling power directly from the PSU (at least you can reduce the number of wires in the case). Many modern boards are equipped with
4 or more connectors of this type.
