A Perfect Guide on How to Choose a Gaming Motherboard
The motherboard is the most important part of your computer according to experts, it can be considered as the central nervous system of your PC.
With so many different models available in the market, it seems overwhelming when you try to find one for your system. But you don’t have to worry as we have done all of our key research on most of the motherboards.
It will definitely help you understand better what things to look for when you choose a motherboard for yourself.
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How to choose a motherboard for your gaming PC
When you make up your mind to buy a motherboard for your gaming PC, always consider these factors before making a final decision.
Price of the Motherboard
When you are building a PC, the motherboard is most important. When choosing a motherboard for your gaming PC, it’s best to avoid cheap models as you will probably miss some key features you need for your gaming PC if you focus on low prices.
If you are building a mid-level gaming PC, prices ranging from 100$ to 150$ should be enough but this range keeps increasing when you look for systems like intel i9 or RYZEN 9. These systems are very powerful and worth the money you spend on them.
It totally depends on what you need. The higher the specs, the more would be the price.
Size of the Motherboard
A motherboard comes in four sizes:
- ATX Motherboard
The ATX is the standard size of the motherboard. It is mostly used in mid-tower and full tower cases.
- Micro ATX Motherboard
The micro ATX motherboard is slightly smaller than ATX. This size fits more budget-oriented builds or smaller computers. Merely because of its smaller size, it has fewer RAM slots and expansion possibilities but most boards can handle modern games perfectly fine.
- Mini ATX Motherboard
Mini ITX motherboards are the smallest available and have limited compatibility, so it is not recommended to use them for first-time builds.
- Extended ATX Motherboard
The largest size motherboard is known as an extended ATX motherboard. It is not recommended for a typical build due to its big size.
CPU and Motherboard Compatibility
Before buying, make sure that your motherboard is compatible with the components you are planning to use. For example, AMD usually uses AM4 sockets with their CPUs while Intel uses LGA 1151 and LGA 1200.
Let’s talk about the latest compatible chipsets for AMD and Intel CPUs, which are mostly used when building a new PC.
Compatible Motherboard Chipsets for Different CPUs
| 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs
Socket AM4 | 2nd Gen Ryzen CPUs
Socket AM4 | Intel 10th Gen CPUs
Socket LGA 1200 | Intel 9th Gen CPUs
Socket LGA 1151 |
| X570 | X470 | Z490 | Z390 |
| B550 | X570 | H470 | B365 |
| A520 | B450 | B460 | Z370 |
| X470 | H410 | B360 |
This is an overview of some of the compatible chipsets but, It’s good to research this kind of thing in advance so everything can work together smoothly and you don’t regret it after buying the motherboard.
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RAM and Motherboard Compatibility
It is important to know the type of RAM that your motherboard supports. The standard RAM type nowadays is DDR4, which is going to be replaced by DDR 5 in the coming months. Also, there are DDR3 RAMs still used by a lot of people.
Motherboards only support one type of RAM. If you are looking for DDR 4, make sure that your motherboard supports DDR4 RAM. Otherwise, your money may waste.
Moreover, before purchasing a motherboard for your gaming PC, make sure to check the maximum capacity of RAM that it can support. You should also consider whether you would need 2 RAM slots or 4, it is better to buy a motherboard with 4 RAM slots so that you can use them when required.
Brand to Choose For a Motherboard
The four most reliable motherboard manufacturers are Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock. It’s important to consider any of these brands of your motherboard when building a computer if you don’t have enough knowledge about the components of the motherboard.
At least, you will get satisfying quality because these brands are reliable and have millions of satisfied buyers.
