How to Choose PC Parts: The Motherboard

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably here for one reason: you want to build a new PC. Whether it’s your first time building or you’re an experienced builder and just need some extra clarification, this post is for you. With all the options available on the market, it can be overwhelming, but we’re here to help break it down.

If you’re looking for other parts as well, be sure to check out some of our other guides:

How to Choose PC Parts: The Processor

How to Choose PC Parts: The Video Card

How to Choose PC Parts: RAM

How to Choose PC Parts: The Power Supply

How to Choose PC Parts: SSDs and Hard Drives

How to Choose PC Parts: The Case

Motherboards can be a little daunting because there are so many different options out there, but we’ll try and simplify things to make it easier for you to understand. To begin with, we have some questions:

• What kind of processor do you have? You have to pick a motherboard and processor that are compatible with each other.
• What is your budget? Motherboards are an area where you can save cost without sacrificing performance (for the most part), just features, but you still want to avoid extremes. Getting the cheapest board you can find with a super high-end processor isn’t always a great idea, and vice versa. 
• What features do you want? This is directly related to your budget. Your computer’s overall performance won’t be affected much by your motherboard except in specific situations, but the features available on your motherboard will vary a lot depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

Unlike processors and graphics cards, there’s no Great Debate between Intel and AMD. Motherboard quality is determined by the manufacturer and the specific model; there are mediocre and excellent motherboards for both brands. Once you know what CPU you want, you just need to find the board that suits your preferences.

To figure that out, first we need to go over a few things. 

Things to know when picking a motherboard:

What is the Form Factor of a Motherboard?

Your motherboard’s form factor is, essentially, the size and mounting screw configuration. Form factors are standardized and there are only a handful to choose from: ATX, mATX, ITX and eATX. They’re all different sizes to serve different use-cases. ATX is the most common form factor and generally provides a good balance of space and features. mATX and ITX are smaller form factors if you want to go for a more compact build. 

eATX is a little weird. It’s larger than standard ATX, but unlike the other form factors, it’s not as standardized and there are a few variations that are slightly different, but still generally referred to as “eATX.” eATX is mainly useful if you have a lot of PCIe devices and need the space to mount them all without overlapping your PCIe slots. 

The important thing here is to make sure that your motherboard’s form factor is supported by your case. Most full and mid-tower cases will support ATX, mATX and ITX. eATX can be found on both full and mid-tower cases but is less common. There are small cases designed specifically for mATX or ITX boards if you’re going for a small form factor. 

What are CPU Sockets?

The CPU socket is the physical spot on your motherboard that you install the CPU into. AMD’s Ryzen CPUs use what’s called the AM4 socket. Intel currently uses LGA 1200 sockets for their tenth-generation consumer CPUs and LGA1151 sockets for their eighth and ninth-generation CPUs. If the sockets on your board and CPU don’t match, they won’t fit together. If you try to install the CPU on a board with the wrong socket, you could potentially damage your components. 

CPU manufacturers will have cycles where they’ll manufacture several generations of CPUs that all share the same socket, but that doesn’t mean they’re all compatible. Even if the socket is correct, depending on which specific CPU you have you also need to make sure you have a compatible chipset. 

What is a Chipset?

The chipset of a motherboard is a component on the board itself that controls how the other parts and components on your board interact. It controls things like how many PCIe lanes are available, how many USB devices a board can support, and how the CPU, RAM and storage drives communicate. 

Chipsets are designated by a letter-number code. For example, the ASUS X570-E ROG Strix uses the X570 chipset, while the MSI Z690-A PRO is the Z490 chipset. 

How do I make sure my motherboard and CPU are compatible?

Sometimes there can be enough differences between CPU generations that, even if they use the same socket, older chipset motherboards will no longer be compatible. For example, Intel’s sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth generation CPUs all used the LGA1151 socket. But eighth and ninth generation processors only work with the eighth/ninth generation chipsets (e.g. Z370, Z390) due to some design changes that were made. 

For up-to-date chipset compatibility information and specifications, it’s best to refer directly to the manufacturers. 

AMD provides compatibility information for their Ryzen CPUs on their website here: https://www.amd.com/en/chipsets/x570 

Intel provides processor compatibility information on their website here: https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Desktop%20Processors 

Does my motherboard affect performance?

This is a common misconception I want to make sure we clear up. More expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better performance. Provided everything is compatible, performance isn’t really affected by your motherboard except in specific situations. Where this really matters is if you’re planning on overclocking your CPU or you’re using a high-end CPU with high power draw, e.g. an Intel i9-10900k or Ryzen 9 5900X.

If you plan on overclocking or using high-end CPUs, what you need to pay attention to are VRMs (Voltage Regulator Module). The VRM is the part on the board that controls the voltage/power delivery directly to the CPU. If you want to overclock properly or drive high-end processors, you need a board with a VRM that can handle it. While high end boards generally have better VRMs, that’s not always the case, and even budget boards can have good VRMs that are more than adequate for what you need. 

Performance of course can be affected by things like low quality parts or design flaws, but stuff like that is rare and can generally be avoided by going with reputable board manufacturers and products with good reviews.

What Motherboard Features do I need?

The next thing you need to figure out is what kind of features you need/want. Are you somebody who just wants to put it together, then forget about it? Do you like to have a lot of troubleshooting quality-of-life features available? Are you a professional that requires high amounts of high-speed storage and does large data transfers over an internal network? These sorts of questions are the things you want to ask to narrow down your choice.

Depending on what motherboard you go for, the features or slots it has available can vary. For example:

• Wifi (yes, many motherboards, even high-end ones, don’t come with integrated wifi)
• BIOS Flashback that allows you to update your BIOS without the use of a CPU
• Overclocking 
• RGB lighting. Note: There are two different types of RGB headers that can be on motherboards, one three-pin and one four-pin. If you have RGB fans, controllers, or light strips that plug directly into the motherboard, you need to make sure the motherboard has the right type of connection.
• RAM Compatibility.  With the new DDR5, you will need to make sure the motherboard you is compatible with your RAM, as DDR4 and DDR5 are different slots.  

The number of ports and slots available will also differ, e.g. PCIe slots, M.2 slots, SATA ports, case fan headers, USB headers, etc… so it’s important to know what sort of things you want or need. Feature differences are going to be the biggest factor for the cost of a motherboard. It’s important to do your research and figure out what boards fit your needs best. 

Chipset features

Besides processor compatibility, chipsets do have individual differences that will affect some of those other features we mentioned above. There’s a lot of minor differences between chipsets, but most people won’t notice them, so I’ll skip over those and give a basic summary of the biggest ones for both Intel and AMD. 

Features of AMD Chipsets

B450 and B550 chipsets are targeted at the general consumer and will have enough features for most people. They both support overclocking and a modest amount of USB and SATA connections. B550 supports up to PCIe 4.0 through the PCIE x16 GPU slot, as well as one NVMe slot, with the rest being PCIe 3.0. B450 only supports up to PCIe 3.0 for all its slots. 

X570 is targeted at more advanced users. It supports overclocking, full PCIe 4.0, as well as more support for higher numbers of USB, SATA, and PCIe devices overall for people who need more expandability. 

AMDs A320 and A520 chipsets are the super budget focused ones. They do not support overclocking and both only support up to PCIe 3.0. 

3000 and 5000 series Ryzen CPUs officially support up to 3200MHz RAM speeds. All current AMD chipsets can support the same, or higher depending on the specific board. 

Detailed information about the chipset differences can be found here: https://www.amd.com/en/products/chipsets-am4 

Features of Intel Chipsets

The differences between Intel chipsets are a little more pronounced. Most of Intel’s budget chipsets (chipsets starting with B and H) such as B360, B460, H410, and H470 are more stringent on features relative to the higher-end chipsets. None of these chipsets support overclocking the CPU. They are also limited on the speed of the RAM and only go up to what your CPU officially supports. E.g. the i5-10400 only officially supports up to 2666MHz, so you’d be locked at that speed as your maximum for the board if you're using a B460 or H470 motherboard. 

Intel's new B560 and H570 motherboards do support memory overclocking , so you can pair them with higher speed memory, but they still lack CPU overclocking. 

Intel's Z series boards (Z390, Z490, Z590, Z690) support CPU overclocking, as well as memory overclocking beyond what the processor "officially" supports. E.g. the i7-10700k officially supports up to 2933Mhz, but with a Z-series board, you can push higher speeds if your RAM is able to (e.g. 3200, 3600, etc...). 

All Intel chipsets currently support up to PCIe 3.0. Z590 will support up to PCIe 4.0 when it is released along with the 11th gen Intel CPUs.

Intel provides detailed information about chipset differences here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/chipsets/desktop-chipsets.html 

What motherboard should I buy?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to give for what board you should buy, because it’s heavily based on your personal preferences and needs. It’s even difficult to categorize them into specific price ranges because there are so many options. That said, I’ll try to give a few recommendations. There are many more options than just the ones I’m listing here, so make sure you do your research! This is just a starting point. 

And, as a friendly reminder, double-check compatibility for your socket and chipset before making a choice. 

Budget motherboards for the average user:

These boards would be for the budget-conscious users out there. Boards down here are generally limited on troubleshooting features and don’t feature a lot of connectivity beyond the necessities.

AMD Budget Boards

AMD budget boards are best paired with Ryzen 3, 5, and 7 processors. Some are capable of handling the higher-end Ryzen 9 CPUs, just make sure you do your research on that first! 

• ASRock: ASRock B450M Pro4, B550 Pro4
• ASUS: B450-PLUS TUF GAMING, B550M-A Prime
• Gigabyte: Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro-P
• MSI: MSI B450-A Pro Max, MSI B550-A Pro, MSI B450 Tomahawk Max - The Tomahawk Max is widely considered one of the best all around B450 options.

Intel Budget Boards

Intel budget boards should generally be paired with the i3, i5, and non-k series processors since they don’t support CPU overclocking, and don't support memory overclocking unless you get B560 or H570 chipsets. 

• ASRock: B365 Pro4, B560M Pro4, H570M Pro4
• ASUS: B365-A PRIME, ASUS PRIME B460-PLUS, H570-PLUS Prime
• Gigabyte: H470M DS3H
• MSI: B460 MAG Tomahawk

Mid-range Motherboards

These boards tend to have a few more features, maybe integrate some troubleshooting tools, and can have a wider range of connectivity. They’ll generally have improved overclocking capabilities and pair well even with the high-end CPUs. 

AMD Mid-Range boards

• ASRock: X570 PRO4, B550 Steel Legend
• ASUS: X570 TUF Gaming Plus,  B550-F ROG Strix, X570-P Prime
• Gigabyte: B550 Aorus Pro, X570 Aorus Elite; X570 Aorus Pro
• MSI: B550 MPG Gaming Carbon, X570 MAG Tomahawk, 

Intel Mid-Range boards

• ASRock: Z590M Phantom Gaming 4/ac, Z590 Pro4
• ASUS: Z490-A ROG Strix, TUF Gaming Z590-Plus, Z590-A ROG Strix
• Gigabyte: Z590 AORUS Elite, Z590 AORUS PRO
• MSI: Z490-A PRO, Z490 MPG Gaming Carbon WiFi, Z590-A PRO, Z590 MAG TOMAHAWK

High-End Motherboards

High-end boards are generous with troubleshooting features, connectivity, and tend to have good VRMs and overclocking capabilities. For most users out there, these are overkill, but if you want/need a lot of features and have the budget for it, these should do the trick. 

AMD High-end boards

• ASUS: X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero; X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
• Gigabyte: X570 Aorus Master, X570 AORUS Xtreme
• MSI: X570 MEG Unify, X570 MEG Godlike

Intel High-end boards

• ASRock: Z590 Taichi, 
• ASUS: Z590 MAXIMUS XIII HERO, Z690 ROG MAXIMUS DDR5
• Gigabyte: Z490 AORUS Master, Z590 AORUS MASTER, Z590 AORUS Xxtreme
•  MSI: Z490 MEG ACE, Z590 MEG ACE

If you have follow-up questions feel free to comment below, and if you’re still looking for part recommendations, we have guides for Processors, Video Cards, RAM, Power Supplies, Hard Drives, and Cases.