Your motherboard is one of the most important components of your entire PC. A lot of people look to try to save money on their motherboard purchase purely because it is never listed on the ‘spec’ sheet. However, the quality of your motherboard will dictate not only the kind of performance you are able to get out of your most important components like your CPU and GPU but also the lifespan of these components, as well. In this article, we will talk about some of the top tips for finding the best motherboards for gaming PCs.
Finding The Best Motherboards For Gaming PCs:
1. Compatibility.
The main thing that you want to do is figure out what kind of CPU you are intending on using along with the motherboard. Finding the motherboards that are compatible with the CPU that you want to use is key. Otherwise, you will be left with an incompatible CPU that you cannot use with your motherboard. Your compatibility will vary from AMD to Intel and even within the same brand. Intel and AMD are constantly innovating and releasing newer CPU’s. Therefore, you have to make sure that the motherboard is compatible with the CPU that you are using prior to purchasing one.
2. Budget.
The total amount that you are willing and able to pay is another important thing that you want to factor into your decision. Finding the motherboard that is going to provide you with the right value for your money is key. While you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on your motherboard for the best performance, you do want to allocate a decent portion of your budget to your motherboard as it will directly impact your overclocking performance by providing you with more overclocking headroom. When building a gaming PC, you are likely going to be overclocking at some point to get the most out of your components.
3. Features.
You want to find the motherboard that is going to be able to offer you all of the features that you are looking for in your PC. For a gaming PC, you want to focus on cooling features more than anything. The cooler your components are capable of running, the more overclocking headroom you have. Another feature that you are likely going to be looking for nowadays would be M.2 slots for faster storage and possibly even RGB lighting. Along with all of this, you want to be certain that the board has all of the necessary ports that you are looking to use.
4. Size.
The motherboards size is key when shopping for a gaming PC. A lot of people nowadays are building smaller form factor (SFF) PCs. If you are looking to build one, you will need to find a compatible motherboard with the case you are looking to use. Thus, you want to look for the right motherboard based on its size ranging from mini-ITX to ATX.
5. Brand.
The brand that you end up choosing is another big consideration to make because some are much more known for producing the highest quality motherboards. One manufacturer that really stands out for gaming motherboards is Asus and their “ROG” line. Along with this, you should be looking at the warranty each brand provides with their motherboards.
There are plenty of things that you need to identify when you are shopping for the best motherboard for a gaming PC. The size and form factor is important and you want to find one that offers all of the features that you will be looking to use to ensure maximum satisfaction.
