In our review of the best B560 motherboards, we found a number of anomalies in their behaviour. In this article we’ll document what we found, to help you understand the problem and avoid the pitfalls. Some boards can be fixed by paying attention n to their settings in BIOS. Others cannot be saved and should […]
Motherboards
Best Z590 Motherboards for Intel Core i5-11600K Builds
With a MSRP of $275 and currently retailed for less than $260, the Intel Core i5-11600K represents a very good offering from Intel in both gaming and multithreaded scenarios. AMD still has the slight performance advantage with its competitor chip, the 5600X, but at almost $50 more than the 11600K we can say that the […]
Best B560 Motherboards for Intel Rocket Lake Builds
The Intel Rocket Lake i5 CPUs represent some of the best value gaming options on the market right now, particularly the i5-11400. To get the most out of them you need a B560 motherboard, so we thought we should test them out so we can make some recommendations to you. B560 Motherboards under test B560 […]
B560 vs H570 vs Z590 Motherboard Comparison: Which is Best for Rocket Lake CPUs?
In order to compete with AMD’s complete domination of the CPU market after the release of their Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 CPUs, Intel has launched their 11th generation Rocket Lake processors. These models have respectable single core performance, and are excellent choices for gaming builds. Another inherent advantage of these CPUs is their availability, as […]
Which Motherboard Size Should You Choose? ATX vs Micro-ATX vs Mini-ITX
Choosing a motherboard is not an easy task. There are many factors to consider, and many aspects that need to be analyzed. Especially new PC builders can find that choosing a proper motherboard to be a daunting task, as these components are associated with plenty of technical terminology, and excessively over-the-top marketing, overloaded with information […]
4 Best Motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600X in 2021
Even with the release of AMD’s fresh lineup of Ryzen 5000 series CPUs, the previous generation Ryzen 5 3600X is a strong contender for those looking to get strong gaming and workstation performance on a budget. This 6 core 12 thread CPU boasts PCIe 4.0 capabilities as well as clock speeds from 3.8GHz to 4.4GHz […]
6 Best Motherboards for the Intel Core i9-11900K
The Intel Core i9-11900K may not have wowed reviewers – including us – with its launch, but that’s not to deny it’s an impressive CPU in its own right. With high performance, PCIe 4.0 compatibility and a very versatile onboard GPU, this CPU is Intel’s current flagship and it’s no slouch. To get the best […]
6 Best Z590 Motherboards for Intel ‘Rocket Lake’ Builds
Intel’s newest 11th generation CPUs, ‘Rocket Lake’ require motherboards with their latest chipsets to function. The Z590 chipset is top of the line and allows full CPU and memory overclocking on K series CPUs, as well as memory overclocking on non-K CPUs. These motherboards make full use of the Z590 specification to provide 20+4 PCIe […]
5 Best Motherboards for Intel Core i5-10400/F Builds
With supply issues across the spectrum of PC components, it’s wise to consider all options if you’re on a budget. The intel i5-10400 CPU has undergone price cuts, whilst AMD’s competitor the Ryzen 5 3600 is in short supply and prices are rising. In this article, we’ll briefly discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of […]
Z490 vs Z590 Motherboards for Comet Lake S: Which is Best?
After the initial leaks for Intel’s new CPUs were released, Intel has announced that both the 11th generation of Comet Lake S processors, and their new Z590 motherboards, will be releasing in the first quarter of 2021 – with Intel aiming to reaffirm itself as the leader in single-core performance and gaming focused processors Of […]
6 Best Motherboards for Ryzen 9 5950X Builds in 2021
AMD’s Zen 3 CPUs have stormed onto the scene with impressive performance. The top tier offering is the Ryzen 9 5950X – Taking the last generation 3950X’s formula of 16 cores in a consumer CPU and adding Zen3’s state of the art individual core performance to make a CPU that can truly do it all. […]
5 Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 7 5800X
To put things bluntly, Intel should be pretty shook by the upcoming Zen 3 processors from AMD, especially considering the Ryzen 7 5800X. There’s still no telling if Zen 3 will have any worthwhile overclocking headroom to speak of, but even if the eight-core/sixteen thread 5800X is flat out incapable of boosting past 4.7GHz, it […]
5 Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 5 5600X
Based on the newly revealed Zen 3 lineup, mid-range builders have a lot to be excited about thanks to the upcoming Ryzen 5 5600X. If you saw the announcement, you might have noticed the slight price hike across the board for Zen 3 at roughly $50 more for each tier than Zen 2. However, fret […]
5 Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 9 5900X
PC Builders rejoice, the Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 Series CPUs have been revealed, and AMD looks to hit the ground running by early November with impressive improvements across the board. Although pricing may have gone up slightly, 11-30% across Ryzen 5, 8, and 9, it’s looking to be more than worth the price of admission […]
5 Best X570 Motherboards for Ryzen Zen 3 CPUs
The X570 chipset has had about a year to mature with BIOS updates from motherboard manufacturers alongside AMD’s Zen 2 processors. We’ve also recently seen the release of AMD’s B550 chipset, the now the announcement of their upcoming Zen 3 processors. Considering these new developments, we’re going to reexamine our in-depth speculative analysis and comparison […]
5 Best B550 Motherboards for Ryzen Zen 3 Builds
Thanks to the popularity of AMD’s Ryzen over the past few years, motherboard manufacturers continue to develop and design remarkably impressive lineups, and the B550 chipset is no exception, despite the weird price-to-performance limbo in which it may currently find itself. While there are plenty of arguments to make, suggesting you stick with your trusty […]
ASRock B550 Taichi vs X570 Taichi: Which is Best for Ryzen Zen 2?
Planning to build a new PC with one of AMD’s new Ryzen 3000 XT series CPUs, but also want to make sure that you’ll have room to upgrade down the line when AMD releases their 4th generation Ryzen processors? Well then, a B550 or X570 motherboard is the safest bet you can make, since both […]
5 Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 7 3800XT
Starting July 7th, builders will be able to get their hands on the upcoming Zen 2 Ryzen 3000XT Matisse Refresh CPUs. In addition to AMD’s new B550 chipset, we’ll also have successors to the massively popular Ryzen 3600X, 3800X, and 3900X processors, with 100-200MHz higher single-core boost clocks providing, roughly, a 5% performance uplift overall. […]
5 Best Motherboards for the Ryzen 9 3900XT
The next notable release to expect from AMD, after the launch of the new B550 chipset, is their upcoming Zen 2+ 3000XT Matisse Refresh CPUs. Recently, AMD has had nearly all of its Zen 2 processors on offer for deep discounts. It’s almost as if they’re rubbing their drastic surge in performance, popularity, and price-to-performance […]
5 Best Motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600XT Builds
Since the release of AMD’s new B550 chipset, builders are now looking forward to the upcoming launch of their new Zen 2 3000XT Matisse Refresh CPUs, Ryzen 4000 Renoir APUs, and Zen 3 4000 CPUs. With AMD, there’s more opportunity and choice in the CPU market than ever thanks to their stellar price-to-performance and intense […]
X570 vs. B550 vs B450 – Which is Best for Ryzen?
AMD’s B550 chipset is now available for purchase, pending retailer stock, of course, and we’re left with a very intriguing dynamic in the Ryzen motherboard market between it, its predecessor, the B450, and the X570. While the B450 chipset was very successful and the better options are still capable of adequately driving Zen 2 and […]
5 Best Motherboards for Intel Core i9-10900K Builds
Intel’s recent launch of their 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs has reinforced their place at the peak of the gaming CPU market and has even proved to compete admirably in workstation tasks down to the new Core-i5. While they won’t be able to hold out forever as developers learn how to build games that utilize […]
5 Best Z490 Motherboards for the Intel Core i5-10600K
With Intel’s recent launch of their 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs comes a compelling mid-range offering: The Core i5-10600K. With an MSRP of ~$300, the 10600K is an excellent option for gaming, makes a perfect pairing for either the Radeon 5700XT or RTX 2070 Super, and (when overclocked) performs respectably in workstation tasks against even […]
5 Best Z490 Motherboards for i7-10700K Builds
Intel’s 10th Gen consumer desktop processors are here, including the upper-mid-range Core i7-10700K. We also have a new socket and chipset, the LGA 1200, and the Z490, which are a requirement if you plan on upgrading to Comet Lake. If you’re already on an LGA 115X platform, then you’re in luck, as all CPU cooler […]
B550 Motherboard List, Spec Comparison & Release Date
AMD has announced its new successor to the B450 chipset with the new B550 motherboards – released in tandem with the newly-released AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and 3100. The new B550 chipset improves on the B450 motherboards by now supporting the new PCIe 4.0 standard – great for blazing fast PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs – […]
8 Best Z490 Motherboards for 2020 – 55+ Models Compared
With Intels new ‘Comet Lake’ CPUs comes a move to the LGA1200 CPU socket and a new chipset – the Z490. This top-end Intel chipset allows a high degree of behind the scenes tweakability and some very nice overclocking features. In this article we’ll take you through some of those features and make some recommendations […]
3 Best B450 Motherboards for Ryzen 3 3300X & 3100
What’s great about AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, is the fact that you can buy their newest 3000 series CPUs, and plug them into an inexpensive motherboard and they’ll work just fine. The diversity of the AM4 chipset’s motherboards allow you to make some amazing value-for-money builds, and now, with the release of AMD’s newest Ryzen 3 […]
4 Best TRX40 Motherboards for Threadripper 3960X & 3970X
If you’re looking to buy AMD’s third-generation Ryzen 3960-or-3970X Threadripper for content-creating, SLI 4k 120fps gaming, or perhaps to build a solid workstation, then you’re going to need an sTR4-socket and TRX40-chipset compatible motherboard. TRX40 motherboards come at ATX, EATX, and XLATX sizes, as no micro-ATX or mini-ITX boards are yet (and unlikely) to be […]
5 Best Budget B450 Motherboards for Ryzen Zen 2
Despite the inclusion of features like PCIe 4.0 with the latest X570 chipsets for the AM4 socket, many builders are still choosing astonishingly strong value motherboards based on the B450 chipset. X570 is great for those looking for the newest tech, but even the least expensive X570 is difficult to call a ‘budget’ board as […]
Best Motherboard Brands Compared – ASRock vs Asus, MSI, Gigabyte
In this guide, we’re going to continue with our high-level reviews like we did with five major GPU manufacturers and talk generally about the major motherboard manufacturers putting products into the market today. We won’t cover every single one, such as BIOSTAR that still produces a few motherboards, but the market is overwhelmingly controlled by […]
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 9 3950X Builds
The 3950x has landed from AMD, and it takes Ryzen Zen2 to its peak. With a massive 16 core / 32 thread design and advertised boost speeds up to 4.7GHz, the 3950x is a beast of a mainstream processor that challenges HEDT processors in terms of pure core count and computing performance. Early tests show […]
X299X vs X299 motherboards: What are the key differences?
For HEDT users out there, now is a great time to be alive. Threadripper 3000 is on the (near) horizon, and Intel just released Cascade Lake-X (CL-X) CPUs that may not be a revolution in terms of performance, but if early indicators are correct, may be a revolution in terms of pricing. HEDT stands for […]
4 Best CPU Motherboard Combos for 2021
Here are our recommendations for the current best in class CPU’s and motherboards that will get the most out of them. Best CPU + Motherboard Combos – My Recommendations Best Value CPU + Motherboard Combo – Ryzen 2600 + ASRock Steel Legend mATX B450 Processor: AMD Ryzen 2600 The release of the Ryzen 3000 series has rightly cemented AMD’s place […]
The best ways to upgrade to the latest Zen 2 CPUs. A motherboard ecosystem analysis.
Upgrading to the latest and greatest Zen 2 processors doesn’t need to be an expensive option. As many are already aware, the new Ryzen CPUs are backwards supported on every one of the AM4 chipsets: B350, B450, X370, X470 and A320 in some cases. Manufacturers continue their support for the AM4 platform by releasing updated […]
Best Budget X570 Motherboards for Ryzen Zen 2 Builds
With the new Ryzen 3000 series processors, AMD and its partners introduced the X570 chipset with motherboards ranging from the super high-end water-cooled ASRock Aqua priced at a cool $1000, all the way to the entry-level ASUS X570 Prime-P coming in at around $170. Even the lower end motherboards are still quite expensive for a […]
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 9 3900X Builds
Ryzen 3000 processors, including the Ryzen 9 3900X, are starting to be widely available from retailers across the country, and PC builders can finally begin to build their highly anticipated Zen 2 builds. The Ryzen 9 3900X is poised to be their high-end, enthusiast grade offering, showing on paper very impressive performance and benchmarks, and […]
List of AM4 Motherboards with USB BIOS Flashback for Ryzen 3000
AMD have confirmed that along with their newly announced X570 motherboards for Ryzen Zen 2 / 3000 CPUs, their previous generation chipset motherboards will support the new Ryzen 3000 processors, such as the Ryzen 5 3600, Ryzen 7 3700X / 3800X and Ryzen 9 3900X. The chipsets that will support these new Ryzen 3000 processors […]
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 5 3600 Builds
The Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs can still offer competitive performance for the budget-conscious builder. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6 core 12 thread processor that boasts clock speeds ranging from 3.6GHz all of the way up to 4.2GHz with some tweaking and simple overclocking. With a rock-bottom TDP of 65W, this fast CPU […]
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 7 3700X & 3800X Builds (B450, X470, X570)
For those looking to build a Ryzen 7 3700X or Ryzen 7 3800X system, you’ll likely have two main questions: 1) Do I go for an X570 motherboard that’s specifically designed for the new Ryzen 3000 series chips, and supports PCIe 4.0? Or, 2) Do I decide to use a previous generation X470 or B450 […]
X570 Mini ITX Motherboard Comparison
We hope this is useful for those looking at doing an X570 ITX build in the near future. Let us know if information in this table is incorrect and we will do our best to update it! (Due to the time of this post, some of the information is not officially confirmed, but we are […]
Best B450 Motherboards for AMD Ryzen Zen 2 Builds in 2021
If you’re building a Ryzen Zen 2 system, you will need a suitable chipset motherboard for your CPU, i.e. a board with the AM4 socket and more specifically, X470, X570 or B450-chipset motherboard. There is a vast variety of chipsets that do support these processors, so you may be wondering what the differences are and […]
Best Motherboards for i7-9700K in 2021
Launched just a few weeks ago in early October, the Core i7-9700K is Intel’s latest entry into the high-end desktop processor market. While the genuinely 8-core 9700K is a serious step up from the quad-core 7700K from a few years back, Intel’s decision to forego hyperthreading and limit the 9700K to the same 8 threads […]
Best Motherboards for Ryzen 7 2700X
With the new generation of Intel processors, some may be ready to write off AMD’s processors. That would be a big mistake. Ryzen 7 processors provide much greater price to performance ratio, especially considering the inclusion of the perfectly adequate Wraith line of coolers that comes with them. They also offer more cores/threads than Intel […]
Best motherboards for Ryzen 5 2600 CPUs
The Ryzen 5 2600 is one of the most popular Zen 2 CPUs for mid-range AMD builds – and when building a system that is capable of overclocking the Ryzen 5 2600 and getting the most out of this fantastic and capable CPU, it is important to pair this CPU with an equally good motherboard. […]
Will Z370 Motherboards work with Coffee Lake S (i7-9700K, i9-9900K) CPUs?
With the new Coffee-Lake S CPUs from Intel – the i5-9600k, i7-9700k and i9-9900k – having been released recently, you may wonder if you also need the newly released Z390 motherboards to run one of them. The short answer to that is no, the new processors are also on the LGA1151v2 socket, meaning they will […]
Best Motherboards for Core i7-8700k Builds
Intel’s 8th generation of processors, also known as ‘Coffee Lake’, has brewed up a highly-capable and versatile processor that is great for any high-end system in 2018 and beyond. Although not as fast as the i9 offerings from intel, the i7-8700K definitely offers far better value than the Core i9 and should exceed your expectations on anything […]
Best X470 Motherboards for Ryzen 3000 Builds (3600, 3700X, 3800X, 3900X)
If you want to build a system using the AMD Ryzen CPUs, their latest consumer-grade processors, you will need a motherboard supporting the AM4 socket. But many people are a little bit confused as to what motherboard is the right one for them between all the different chipsets and manufacturers. In this article I’ll go […]
Best X399 Motherboards for Threadripper 2 (2990WX/2950X)
The X399 chipset is featured on motherboards that support the socket TR4 from AMD which is their HEDT (high-end desktop) Ryzen part, also known as Threadripper. Just like their Ryzen desktop CPUs, AMD’s Threadripper has two different generations with the first featuring the 1900x, 1920x and 1950x with up to 16 cores on the Zen […]
Best motherboards for i9-9900K builds
The i9-9900K processor is designed for the most extreme builds in 2020, with mind bending performance in gaming and threaded applications – this is the processor to go for if you want to build the best enthusiast system in 2020. The i9-9900K is the king of processors at the moment -but you likely already know […]
Best motherboards for i5-9600K builds
Intel’s Core i5 offering of 2019, the i5-9600K, is a very popular option for mid-range builds and offers impressive performance for a respectable price tag – looking to top the Ryzen 5 2600X as the king of value chipsets for 2019 CPUs. Many new builders have often decided between a previous generation i7-8700K or the […]