Best gaming motherboards in 2021

The perfect gaming motherboard could not look like an enormous deal, but it surely'll make an enormous distinction. A superb motherboard will present a basis on which to construct an amazing rig, and energy up your gaming expertise. Selecting the perfect motherboard in your system determines what case measurement will work, what your storage choices are, and the way a lot of a CPU improve you may work as much as. 

There might not be heaps of distinction between motherboards of the identical chipset these days, but it surely's nonetheless vital to get it proper—it's simply extra about options than it’s efficiency. Would you like to have the ability to overclock your CPU? Do you want high-performance RAM assist? Do you want a small server's value of USB ports? I do know you do. These are simply a few of the issues you must take into account when on the point of buy a motherboard.

The perfect gaming motherboards additionally offer you some degree of future-proofing, as a lot as this ever-changing world will enable. Whether or not that's within the type of a socket or chipset that may assist the top-end processors, such because the Intel's Z590 chipset and its Rocket Lake chips, or one that may ship next-gen interconnects, such because the B550's PCIe 4.0 assist.

Greatest gaming motherboard

Greatest Intel Z590 motherboard

It is a gaming motherboard positioned as an entry-level choice for anybody seeking to run Rocket Lake. Asus has all the time positioned its TUF merchandise as dependable choices, with first rate pricing and a extra fundamental characteristic set. Mixed it means it is a good reasonably priced choice for somebody after a no-fuss, stable, and dependable system. And given the pricing of many Z590 motherboards, that makes for a welcome change.

The TUF Z590 Plus incorporates a delicate design with a very good white font. You get a few little splashes of RGB round the appropriate facet too. It’s a pleasant look. There are three M.2 slots with the topmost one supporting PCIe 4.0. The 2 on the backside are contained underneath a single heatsink. Additionally, be aware the vertical SATA ports that sticklers for cable administration may discover objectionable. There are an additional two common horizontal ports adjoining to the heatsink. You get six fan headers and two addressable RGB headers too. 

It is a board for anybody who would favor to allocate cash in the direction of a sooner GPU or bigger SSD as an alternative of paying via the nostril for 10G LAN or costly add-in playing cards. And I can completely get on board with that. Bang for buck and the true necessities are the secret right here. When you’re on a finances, it’s positively one to look out for.

Learn the complete Asus TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WIFI review.

Overclocking centered motherboards have made a correct comeback. This time round all the main producers have Z590 boards particularly designed for severe overclocking. The twin reminiscence slot design, all these buttons and switches, a monstrous VRM, and a singular format are all aimed toward making life simpler for overclockers. Then there’s a complete BIOS with in depth tweaking choices. It’s clear that this isn’t an everyday board with a elaborate sticker slapped on.

The thought behind having solely two reminiscence slots as an alternative of 4 is to reduce hint complexity and convey the slots nearer to the CPU. This helps scale back latency and permits for just a little extra efficiency headroom in comparison with a four-slot design. The first PCIe slot isn’t the topmost one both, it’s the one beneath it. That is one other alternative to assist overclockers who use LN2 cool a GPU by permitting additional room for pots and insulation.

The Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Tachyon gained’t magically add frequency to your CPU and reminiscence. What it’s going to do is assist you to to extract the utmost effectivity out of your system, it doesn’t matter what cooling you’re utilizing. An fanatic who likes to tweak, spending time decreasing latency and tweaking sub-timings, or a gamer devoted to discovering just a few additional FPS will take pleasure in peace of thoughts understanding you’ve acquired a board that’s particularly designed to take no matter punishment you throw at it.

Learn the complete Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Tachyon review.

Greatest Intel Z490 motherboard

In order for you the perfect, most fully-featured Intel Comet Lake motherboard, then I'm afraid you're going to should pay for it. And pay via the nostril if Asus' Z490 Maximus XII Excessive is something to go by. It’s, because the identify suggests, excessive, packing in a wide range of luxurious and handy extras (a frickin' screwdriver with interchangeable heads for one), and it's additionally one of many highest performing Z490 boards we've examined.

Nevertheless it solely actually is smart in the event you're shopping for a Ok-series Core i9 and genuinely intend to overclock the nuts off it. The Maximus XII will let you get the best clock velocity out of your 10900K and gained't flip it right into a pile of molten slag when you're at it. The MSI Z490 Godlike is definitely the quickest Z490 outright at inventory speeds, however I'd quite have the ROG board in my camp if I'm taking place the OC route.

Clearly, it's just for the very highest of high-end PC builds; nevertheless, the $750 price ticket means you can truly construct a decent full gaming PC for the worth of this single motherboard. It's an aspirational Z490 motherboard and arguably the perfect gaming motherboard for Comet Lake overclocking, however I'll concede it's not a very life like buy for many of us.

The sparse again panel and lacking OLED shows will inform you we're again into regular motherboard territory with this MSI providing. The rarified air of the ultra-enthusiast ROG board up high may make one giddy, however the Z490 Gaming Carbon will deliver us again right down to earth and not using a bump. Positive, you're by no means going to get the identical degree of luxurious characteristic record as you'll discover with both the Maximus XII or MSI's personal Godlike boards, however in the case of the nuts and bolts of pure efficiency, it's proper up there. 

The place it issues, within the gaming efficiency stakes, there's virtually nothing between any of the Z490 boards we've examined, and it's solely ever just a little behind in the case of the precise CPU efficiency in productiveness apps. Nonetheless, in the case of overclocking, the MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi inevitably can't evaluate to the massive boys, with our 10900K working at its peak.

The ability componentry and cooling aren't sufficient to cease the thirsty CPU from throttling when it's pushed to its 5.3GHz all-core most. However, whereas which may imply it's not the board you'd select for an overclocked Core i9 machine, that's a tiny area of interest of avid gamers, and for both i5 or i7 CPUs, the MSI Gaming Carbon remains to be a top quality residence in your Comet Lake CPU.

Greatest Intel B460 motherboard

Grabbing one of many best Z490 motherboards could be interesting to your interior elitist, however the sticker worth shock is certainly an issue. Positive, it might be good to have 10Gb LAN, seven M.2 slots, or quad GPU assist, however who actually wants all that stuff? Most of us can be completely pleased with a top quality B460 motherboard, such because the MSI MAG B460M Mortar WiFi. 

When you can put up with the reminiscence velocity limitation and haven’t any intention of overclocking (properly, with a Ok-series CPU anyway), then that is the type of board that ought to be in your PC constructing wishlist. It ticks many of the vital bins, and at $125, it’s properly priced, although the competitors is hard with many premium B460 motherboards priced on this vary.

It’s acquired a robust VRM configuration, 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi 6, and enough, if not significantly excellent, I/O. Pairing it with a 65W non-Ok processor and having a crack at pseudo overclocking is certainly well worth the minimal efforts too. When you can reside with the utmost DDR4-2666 velocity, one thing like an Intel Core i5 10600 and B460M Mortar, paired with a good mid-range GPU, would ship a top quality, reasonably priced gaming combo.

Learn the complete MSI MAG B460M Mortar WiFi review.

The ASRock B460 Metal Legend is an awesomely named mid-range B460 entry. At USD 120, it’s what we’d name a mid-range B460 board. A glance over the specs signifies that your $120 is properly spent on some vital areas. You get a pair of heatsink-covered M.2 slots, an e-key M.2 slot for an optionally available Wi-Fi card, a entrance USB Sort-C header, and a great serving to of RGB onboard.

The elevated energy calls for of tenth era CPUs imply motherboards usually have to incorporate improved VRM designs, and on that entrance, the B460 Metal Legend is properly geared up. It features a 9+1 section VRM powered by a single 8-Pin EPS connector. Every stage can ship as much as 60A. Keep in mind that overclocking isn’t allowed on B460 motherboards, so the VRM won’t see excessive masses as you may get with an all-core overclocked Intel Core i9 10900K. 

The ASRock B460 Metal legend will enchantment to patrons who aren’t so curious about bells and whistles however desire a stable ATX board able to powering any tenth Gen CPU with out bursting into flames. Built-in Wi-Fi would have been a pleasant cherry on high for the worth, and that's arguably one of many causes we desire the MSI B460M Mortar. However the ASRock B460 Metal legend remains to be a extremely aggressive providing and comes extremely beneficial by us. It exhibits its metal, one may say. If it had Wi-Fi, we would even have mentioned it was legendary.

Learn the complete ASRock B460 Steel Legend review.

Greatest Intel Z390 motherboard

The Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Extremely competes with the MSI Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and the Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi), cheaper price tag, and extra options. It has triple M.2 slots in your super-speedy NVMe SSD wants, Intel Wi-Fi Wave2 and ethernet, a full RGB remedy with a number of headers, and ALC1220 audio. You'd should climb proper to the highest of the product stack to get the identical from MSI and ASUS, each of whom provide just a little extra polish but additionally cost a lot for the privilege. Although there's quite a bit to be mentioned for extreme motherboards, it is a nice worth Intel board.

The one actual draw back for us is that this mobo is probably just a little too flashy and will not go well with extra restrained gaming builds. Fortunately, you may disable all of the RGB bling throughout the BIOS if you would like, although different components should still conflict. However that's a small criticism of an in any other case high board.

As the worth drops and the earlier Z370-based mannequin disappears from distributors, ASUS's Strix Z390-I Gaming strikes into the boutique ITX phase's high spot. Regardless of its diminutive measurement and paucity of improve choices, the ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming supplies wonderful efficiency and worth. Boasting steady 5GHz overclocks utilizing a number of reminiscence speeds, together with 3,600MHz with tweaking, its single PCIe x16 slot pushed top-shelf graphics playing cards to speeds that matched or exceeded most Z390 ATX boards throughout testing.

The smallest Strix has a prolonged options record, with no shortcomings regardless of the tiny type issue, together with twin PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 slots, Intel v219 ethernet, upgraded Intel 9560 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and an ALC1220A audio codec supported by remoted circuitry and headphone amps. Regardless of the dense set of options, the Strix Z390-I's clear design makes fast system meeting and configuration an vital consideration for ITX rig constructing. 

It's value noting that this board might be laborious to seek out, however the earlier era ROG Strix Z370-I mannequin, with its slimmer design, stays a superb different, particularly at clearance costs.

Greatest AMD X570 motherboard

Asus' ROG Crosshair VIII Darkish Hero desires to be the final AM4 motherboard you'll ever want. However what’s it that makes an amazing motherboard? Options are vital, as is a steady and refined BIOS, worth for cash, a great design, however typically intangible. Typically it's that the rattling factor works. 

Motherboard testing is usually one of the vital painful issues a tech journalist has to do. With some boards, you need to combat it to get it to do what you need, or count on it to, or should or crank up some voltage setting to a degree you don’t actually wish to, however the Darkish Hero simply boots the primary time, whilst we performed with the reminiscence clocks and timings and the Infinity Material. 

The Crosshair VIII Darkish Hero may not be the perfect AM4 motherboard ever made, we’d should overview just a few hundred others to make that declare, but it surely’s a simple declare to make that the Darkish Hero is definitely among the finest AM4 motherboards we've ever used. Time and months of person suggestions will decide if the Darkish Hero assumes a place as one of many actually legendary ROG motherboards, however we wouldn’t guess in opposition to that occuring.

Learn the complete Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero review.

The MSI MPG X570 represents an amalgamation of bleeding-edge motherboard tech constructed to get probably the most out of AMD's 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs. It has 4 DIMM slots that may deal with speeds as much as 4,400Mhz and two M.2 slots sporting PCIe 4.0.

The rear I/O panel options seven USB Sort-A ports for peripherals and a single USB Sort-C port for connectivity and high-speed knowledge switch. There are headers for the included Wi-Fi antenna to assist with wi-fi connectivity, in addition to a gigabit ethernet port. The MPG X570 helps Wi-Fi 6, and whereas that does necessitate a Wi-Fi 6 appropriate router, it's backward appropriate with different Wi-Fi requirements and provides the potential for a velocity increase down the road. Additionally of be aware is the HDMI port, which many X570 boards omit (not that we'd actually suggest utilizing an AMD APU with built-in graphics in a high-end board like this).

The MPG X570 options sufficient compatibility to get probably the most out of your {hardware} now and sooner or later, offered you're prepared to pay a premium for it. Whereas it's definitely a superb mobo, in the event you aren't already dedicated to a buying record of top-of-the-line parts now or shortly, you could wish to take into account a barely cheaper board in your wants. 

Regardless of the X570 chipset displaying its age, Gigabyte's X570S Aorus Grasp appears like an outdated canine that's realized some new methods. The truth that it comes with 4 M.2 slots alone is spectacular together with first rate heatsink. Actually the cooling throughout will get a thumbs up from us. The finned VRM heatsinks add a ton of floor space. 

Our solely actual knock in opposition to the Aorus Grasp solely provides single 2.5G LAN and lacks 5G which is a bit a bummer. That being mentioned it's nonetheless one of many higher AMD motherboards on the market. I'm a sucker for a motherboard with a ton of USB ports this mobo has SO many. 

The Aorus Grasp remains to be maintaining AM4 and X570 related because of its many USB ports and storage choices. Even at $400, it's acquired sufficient options (and appears good as well) to justify the upper worth level. 

Learn the complete Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master review. 

Greatest AMD B550 motherboard

Positive, the Asus ROG Strix B550-E is similar worth as different X570 motherboards; in truth, it just about matches our favourite of AMD's top-end boards, the MSI MPG X570 Gaming Professional Carbon. Nevertheless it's a premium motherboard, with all the trimmings you'd count on from Asus' Republic of Avid gamers stables, akin to 14+2 energy stage, M.2 heatsinks, and pre-installed backplates. You additionally get Wi-Fi 6 wi-fi networking in addition to Intel 2.5Gb ethernet too. And RGB LEDs, in fact. When you're constructing a Zen 3 system, then the required BIOS updates ought to drop in January for this motherboard.

Efficiency is often good for a high-end Asus board, matching X570 motherboards for gaming efficiency with out subject. That mentioned, of the B550 boards we've examined, it's the way more reasonably priced MSI board that really comes out high in our straight efficiency testing. However the Asus can overclock much better, even when it does chew up extra uncooked energy from the plug on the entire.

The Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming is the entire package deal then, and proper now’s our all-around choose for the perfect B550 motherboard. Although that also appears like a troublesome advice when X570 boards are the identical worth…

Learn the complete Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming review.

Relating to gaming efficiency above all else, MSI's micro-ATX MAG B550M Mortar is your finest guess for an reasonably priced next-gen Ryzen machine. It is available in across the $160 mark, making it cheaper than an amazing many X570 and different B550 motherboards in the marketplace proper now. 

The gaming body charges of the MSI B550 Mortar put it above the remainder of the B550 crew we've examined to this point, and certainly its straight CPU efficiency places it up there with a few of the finest X570s. That bodes properly in the event you're in search of an reasonably priced residence in your AMD Zen 3 CPU of the long run (BIOS updates to assist Ryzen 5000 chips are as a result of begin rolling out in January); this B550 has an amazing likelihood to make sure it performs to its fullest stock-clocked potential with out breaking the financial institution.

However you may be lacking out on additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 and x16 graphics slots if these extras imply quite a bit to you. It’s also possible to choose to ditch wi-fi networking, relying on whether or not you choose the straight Mortar or the dearer Mortar Wi-Fi model. The 8+2+1 energy section design is arguably a extra unwelcome miss, nevertheless, as that leads to a board that won’t spark any overclocking pleasure in your coronary heart. However, as an reasonably priced gaming board with out OC pretensions, it's an amazing shout.

Learn the complete MSI MAG B550M Mortar review.

Greatest AMD A520 motherboard

AMD's finances Ryzen motherboard chipset, the A520, has largely slipped underneath the radar. Whereas B350 and B450 motherboards have been principally considered entry-level, A320 was strictly seen because the resolutely low finish. 

The introduction of B550 motherboards, and their related transfer upward in worth, left an enormous gap within the sub-$100 market. Enter A520. When you’re on a tighter finances and don’t care about PCIe 4.0 or the overclocking assist provided by B550, then the A520 motherboards could be precisely what you want. There’s low cost, and there’s actually low cost, however a good A520 board can roughly do the whole lot aboard at double the worth can. 

Then there’s the cherry on high, which helps AMD Ryzen 5000 sequence CPUs and, virtually as importantly, Ryzen 4000 sequence APUs. Mix a Zen 3 CPU with a motherboard akin to this ASRock A520M ITX/ac, and also you’ll be capable to construct an reasonably priced and compact system that may beat any Intel chip in any workload.

The ASRock A520M's audio is a little bit of a letdown, however that’s one thing that finances boards usually compromise on. A gamer listening to compressed audio property in-game in all probability gained’t be any much less immersed. The little ASRock A520M ITX/ac has it the place it counts and can serve you properly on the coronary heart of a finances gaming system. It advantages from the strengths of the Ryzen platform and provides some future-proofing into the combo. ITX followers in search of a succesful finances AMD Ryzen choice ought to positively have this one on their shortlist.

Learn the complete ASRock A520M ITX/ac review.

AMD's A520 motherboard chipset may not make for the sexiest of PC parts, that’s for certain. You in all probability wouldn’t purchase one to happen on the coronary heart of your water-cooled construct or Nvidia RTX 3090 gaming system. Whenever you take a look at the chipset itself, it doesn’t actually miss out by way of real-world important options. There’s no PCIe 4.0, however no Intel methods have it both, not till Rocket Lake next year.

The Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite is a high-end A520 board, which could appear oxymoronic, however in the event you didn’t know what it was, you’d be forgiven for assuming it was extra of a mid-range board and never a $90 discount. It’s even acquired two RGB headers and an additional two ARGB headers. About the one factor it actually lacks is Wi-Fi, however then do you actually count on to have Wi-Fi at this worth? 

Gigabyte deserves credit score for together with audio constructed across the ALC1200 codec. Normally, that is reserved to be used with dearer motherboards. When you’re on a finances, this Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite is properly value a glance. It leaves Intel's finances B460 boards trying weak as compared, plus you get the good thing about next-generation Ryzen compatibility. Is it for everybody? No, however the Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite, in contrast to virtually all previous A320 boards, positively doesn’t imply low cost and nasty.

Learn the complete Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite review.

Gaming motherboard FAQ

Jargon buster – motherboard terminology

ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX

The commonest type elements/sizes of a motherboard from largest to smallest, which past bodily dimensions determines which circumstances it'll match into and (broadly) what number of enlargement slots can be found. There are different, much less frequent type elements (XL-ATX, HPTX, and many others.), however these three are probably the most ubiquitous shopper type elements.

USB Header

A connector on the motherboard that means that you can run a cable to the case so as to add extra USB ports, sometimes on the entrance panel (although some circumstances present high or rear panel slots as properly). 

BIOS/UEFI

Primary Enter/Output System/Unified Extensible Firmware Interface connects the {hardware} and software program that lives on the board (the firmware) to the working system (OS, akin to Home windows or Linux). They let you alter system-level settings, akin to fan velocity or RAM frequency. UEFI has largely changed the older BIOS normal.

Enlargement Slots (PCIe Slots)

Peripheral Element Interconnect Categorical slots on the motherboard are designed to accommodate add-in playing cards like graphics playing cards, SSD playing cards, devoted sound playing cards, and many others. PCIe slots are measured in each size (x16, x8, x4, x1) in addition to by the variety of knowledge transmission lanes they supply (x16, x8, x4, x1). It's attainable for an x16 slot to solely present 8 lanes of information, as an example, which suggests the utmost attainable knowledge switch fee is halved (although in lots of circumstances, as a result of PCIe supplies such a excessive ceiling for switch speeds, a decrease variety of lanes doesn't make an incredible distinction).

DIMM Slots

Twin In-Line Reminiscence Module slots, the slots on a motherboard the place your RAM lives. The variety of complete slots contributes to the utmost quantity of RAM your system can deal with, paired with the chipset and OS. 

Chipset

The logic permits the varied elements of a motherboard to speak to one another. The chipset determines which processor generations a motherboard is appropriate with and what add-in playing cards can be utilized.

SATA Ports

Serial Superior Expertise Attachment ports, an interface for connecting storage units/drives to a motherboard (HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, and many others.). The variety of bodily ports in your board, mixed with ports for NVMe storage, will decide the overall variety of storage drives you may have linked to your PC at any time.