When you’re setting out to build the best PC you can afford, you’ll want to make sure to get the best motherboard possible. Motherboards may not be as exciting as the best graphics cards or processors, but that shouldn’t matter. Your motherboard serves as the backbone of your PC, helping your hardware reach its full potential by pushing it to its limits – utilizing and optimizing every inch of performance. Basically, you can overclock better with the best motherboards.
The best motherboards are one of the most crucial PC components in your new build, so don’t settle for anything less than the best. If you compromise and cheap out on your motherboard, it could die on you, forcing you to rebuild your entire PC from scratch. We’ve been there, and trust us, that’s not a road you want to go down. So, do yourself a favor and avoid disaster by picking up one of the best motherboards on the market .
Bear in mind, however, that there are so many different motherboards these days, and choosing the most ideal one for you can be tricky. That’s why we went ahead and crafted a list of the best motherboards you can buy, motherboards that we’ve tested and reviewed ourselves. So you can rest assured that every single mobo on this list will do everything a motherboard needs to do, not to mention last you for years.
When Coffee Lake Refresh CPUs hit the market, Intel promised that they would be the best processors for gaming, and we knew that meant kitted out motherboards were on the way. And, lo and behold, the Z390 Aorus Gaming Pro Wifi – among the best motherboards from Intel right now. It’s packed with gaming-centric features like reinforced PCIe slots and enough RGB lighting to blind you. It’s hard to find a better motherboard, especially at this price point.
When you’re shopping for PC hardware, inundated with all the different features, components and requirements, you might be tempted to throw your hands in the air and just getting the best your budget can afford. In times like these, you can bet on the Asus ROG Maximus XI Code Z390 Gaming. It’s packed with every feature that Intel’s new Coffee Lake Refresh processors support and then some, with a RGB-lit shroud covering every inch of circuitry on this motherboard, making it one of the best motherboards you don’t have to think hard on to choose.
Now that Coffee Lake Refresh has been on the market for a while, you’ll want to maximize all the power it has to offer. However, high-end motherboards can get really pricey real fast. If you’re looking for a budget option without many compromises, the Gigabyte Z390 should be at the top of your list of best motherboards to consider. It doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles like RGB lighting and built-in Wi-Fi, but it does make up for these compromises by providing excellent value. You get all the essential features that Z390 has to offer for a great price. If you’re looking to build a budget gaming system, the Gigabyte Z390 UD is the best motherboard for you.
If you’re looking to get an edge on the competition, but you don’t have a lot of extra room on your desk, you’re going to want a Micro-ATX motherboard – or to be more specific, the MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC. What you’re getting here is a Micro-ATX motherboard with all the features a full-sized ATX part offers, but a fraction of the price. Despite it’s smaller size, you still get getting dual M.2 slots, SLI and Crossfire support, and all the fiery performance that Intel Coffee Lake Refresh has to offer. If you’re looking for a smaller motherboard, you can’t afford not to get the MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge MC.
If you need the smallest motherboard that you can get, without compromising on key features of your CPU, you should consider the Asus ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming. With this motherboard, you don’t have to compromise on features or power. You don’t even need to settle for a measly 32GB of RAM, thanks to Asus’ double capacity memory compatibility – you can have up to 64GB of memory in the tiniest motherboard you’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, like most Z390 boards, it’s a bit pricey, so prepare yourself to shell out some serious silver if you want the smallest of the best motherboards.
With the X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wi-Fi, Gigabyte further illustrates its mastery of motherboard design. Rocking the new AMD X470 chipset, allowing full support of the new AMD Ryzen 2nd Generation processors, this is the best of the best motherboards if you’re looking to side with Team Red. What’s more, it supports Quad-GPU SLi and super fast RAM (up to 3,600 MHz) for peerless expandability, and thanks to its multi-zone RGB lighting, it looks good while kicking butt.
For the longest time, AMD has been the reigning champion of budget builds, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Marketed exclusively to gamers, the MSI X470 Gaming Plus is loaded front to back with features like two PCIe M.2 slots and quick performance tweaking buttons to make sure you’re on the top of the leaderboard at all times. And, since it’s a gamer-focused motherboard, it comes with flashy RGB lighting that you can even easily customize from your smartphone. Best of all, it’s the best value of all the best motherboards.
These days, small form-factor PCs are all the rage and with best motherboards like the ASRock B450M-HDV, we think they’re going to stay that way. Now, while this one doesn't do SLI and supports only up to 32GB of RAM– it is a B450 unit, after all – it is still compelling due to its low price. Outside of these omissions, you still get a slot for a NVMe SSD and four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports around back. If you’re looking to build a solid budget gaming PC, the ASRock B450M-HDV is your best bet.
Asus aims to prove that big things can come in small packages with the ROG Strix X470-I. Featuring the latest and greatest AMD chipset, everything in this tiny board is designed with excellent performance in mind. Even down to the BIOS, where you can find a stress test for overclocks before you even boot into Windows. This board even elevates beyond the constraints of the Mnii-ITX form factor by including an M.2 Audio Combo riser, so that you can install your M.2 NVMe SSD without getting in the way of other components.
The X-series processors are here, and they're spectacular, so if you want to take advantage of all they have to offer, you need an X-series motherboard. This ASRock X299 is an excellent choice, with support for overclocked memory speeds up to 4400MHz(!!!) and 8 different slots for memory modules. It also supports up to 128GB of RAM, so with an X-series processor and a good graphics card (or 3…), this thing will absolutely tear apart anything you throw at it. If you’re seeking one of the best motherboards money can buy, this is it.
If you have a lot of cash to build and want absolutely every feature you can get, the AsRock X399 Professional Gaming sTR4 may be the most ideal motherboard for you. Not only does this beast of a board support 4-way SLI configurations, but you can also pack this thing with up to 128GB of DDR4 memory. It even features a ton of flashy RGB lighting, so that people won’t be able to look away from your rig. And, keep in mind that this mobo is compatible with Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation chips, you’ll have to update the BIOS first.
Coming to terms
If you’re unfamiliar with the best motherboards, here’s a primer for anyone who might not know that much about them. Motherboards are available in a broad range of different form factors, the most common of which are ATX and Micro ATX. However, there are plenty of more less common form factors including mini ITX and E-ATX. Don’t worry though, most of the best PC cases will support multiple form factors.
Moreover, in our rundown of the best motherboards, we detailed the socket type that each mobo adheres to. The socket, for those not in the know, is the part on the motherboard that the CPU locks into. Typically, newer Intel processors use either LGA 1151 or 2066 while the latest AMD Ryzen architecture is designed for the AM4 chipset.
- Next up, these are the best gaming monitors you can buy this year
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