# Can a motherboard be “slow”? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407 "2023-08-31T16:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/1 "2023-08-31T16:42:03Z")
I am buying a new media center screen thing for my wrangler. The guy in the shop said of the cheaper of the option “this one has slow motherboard” as one of the reasons why it is cheaper. I thought it sounded strange because normally it would the cpu that is a bottleneck, but I didn’t question him since English is not his first language. Anyway, is a literal interpretation of his words reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/2 "2023-08-31T16:46:02Z")
Motherboards have a bus speed, which sets how fast various components on the board can communicate. Important things like the CPU and RAM. So, yes, he could be communicating something meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/3 "2023-08-31T17:14:42Z")
Since the CPU is on the motherboard, I consider the CPU to be part of the motherboard; a slow CPU would cause a slow motherboard. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/4 "2023-08-31T17:30:57Z")
“Slowness” of a mainboard might come down to: - Clock rate - Communcation bandwidth (fewer PCIE lanes for instance) - Slow or outdated mainboard chips - Bad thermal design meaning that your CPU won’t run full speed - Outdated or downspec memory architecture - Slow I/O design And that’s just the obvious categories. The question is not really “is this motherboard slow?” It’s actually “is it fast enough for my needs” and “is it compatible with my other chosen components running at their rated speed?” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/5 "2023-08-31T19:37:05Z")
Aside from a bus speed, the motherboard of _a computer_ can support more or less CPU, so there’s not strictly a bottleneck so much as upgradability limits. But we’re talking about a vehicle infotainment system here. I don’t know how COB or swappable the CPU is _technically_, but the use case is that this is some degree of embedded and probably not intended to be user upgradeable except as a whole unit. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/6 "2023-09-01T03:52:16Z")
While I agree with the previous technical answers, I suspect the non-technical answer is that the person to whom you are speaking is a relatively non-technical person who uses “motherboard” to mean “the overall assembly that I sell/install in your vehicle” which in fact includes a particular motherboard, processor, memory etc. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/7 "2023-09-01T04:02:57Z")
I think this may be the case. I have two TVs. One is very nice and no complaints. One is “cheap” and, while it has a good picture it is frustrating to use because the operations (navigating menus, changing channels or volume and so on) are very noticeable slow. That’s where they went cheap (the electronics that operate control of the TV). ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-motherboard-be-slow/989407/8 "2023-09-01T04:04:02Z")
Probably the key determinant is the IO/memory controller “chipset” on the motherboard. They come in a range of capabilities and prices, and determine a range of performance characteristics of the system. You will often see the chipset model ie: W790, B760, writ large in the motherboard spec or even name. For instance here is the Intel family of current chipsets. > **[Intel Desktop Chipsets - Latest Motherboard Desktop and PC Chipsets](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/chipsets/desktop-chipsets/products.html)** > > Intel Desktop PC Chipsets deliver superior audio and digital video, ultimate power for content creation, advanced applications, and high-end gaming.