Motherboard ($200-400) for i5-13600K PC?

JBW

Planning to build a new i5-13600K PC, but I can’t decide which motherboard to choose. I’ve heard there have been problems with certain DDR5 motherboards.

1)     Which brands / models of Z690/Z790 motherboards are most reliable?

2)     DDR4 or DDR5 for best reliability and performance?

Thanks in advance!

Rye_Bread

Hey, JBW!

A couple of our favorite motherboards to recommend are the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite (https://www.microcenter.com/product/659678/gigabyte-z790-aorus-elite-ax-intel-lga-1700-atx-motherboard)

and the MSI Z790 MPG Edge (https://www.microcenter.com/product/661312/msi-z790-mpg-edge-wifi-intel-lga-1700-atx-motherboard).

I've personally managed to get my 13900K running perfectly on this Z690 MSI MPG Edge (https://productstation.microcenter.com/psproduct/644628/msi-z690-mpg-edge-wifi-ddr5-intel-lga-1700-atx-motherboard) which I chose almost purely for looks. If you go with this option, you will have to flash the newest BIOS onto the board from MSI's website. I'm a little biased toward this option, but the other two will serve you well :)

As for whether to go for DDR4 and DDR5, I would say to go with DDR5 for the sake of better performance and futureproofing. Ideally, pick a kit that is marked as supporting Intel XMP as that will reduce the chance of any stability issues.

Hope this helps!