The best 10 motherboards in comparison

Computer technology has come a long way since the 1980s. Many things have changed about computers over the years, especially on the inside. If you ever wondered what the backbone of a computer was, it is the motherboard.

A motherboard is a printed circuit board (PCB) that connects all the other parts of a computer. It is sort of like the human central nervous system, but for computers. It distributes power to every other component and coordinates the interfaces between them. From the central processing unit (CPU) and memory sticks to the hard drives and graphics cards, the motherboard is the foundation upon which you connect everything else.

When it comes to motherboards, there are some big players out there. Asus motherboards and Gigabyte motherboards are very popular for most desktop computer brands meant for home use. For more intensive applications (such as gaming, graphics designing, and video editing applications), MSI and Asus gaming motherboards are the ones that most people like to have in their chassis, with their sheer amount of power and capabilities.

When you are looking to buy a new motherboard, you frequently come across terms like form factor, chipset, memory, speed, ports and connectors, and many others; these are the defining features of a motherboard.

Form factor

When looking at motherboards from various manufacturers, the first thing you notice is that they come in a variety of rectangular designs, and the components are organized differently. The layout of a motherboard is known as its form factor. Various form factors exist, including ATX, Micro ATX, Flex ATX, DTX, Mini ITX, and Mini ATX. A form factor specifies the dimensions, the number of slots, type of power supply, and many other things that make them suitable for different chassis sizes.

	ATX	Micro ATX	Flex ATX	DTX	Mini ITX
Dimensions	12 x 9.6 inch 305 x 244 mm	9.6 x 9.6 inch 244 x 244 mm	9 x 7.5 inch 229 x 191 mm	8 x 9.6 inch 200 x 244 mm	6.7 x 6.7 inch 170 x 170 mm
Expansion slots (max)	7	4	3	2	2
RAM slots (max)	8	4	4	2	2
Graphics card slots	1 - 4	1 - 3	1 - 3	1 - 2	1
SATA ports	4 - 12	4 - 8	4 - 8	2 - 6	2 - 4

The table above presents the most important features of each form factor. You can decide on the type you want based on the dimensions of your computer case and configuration (memory slots, graphics card, cooling fans). For example, if you are looking to build a gaming computer, you should opt for an ATX motherboard, capable of housing a powerful graphics card. The number of memory card slots and expansion slots may vary depending on how each manufacturer adjusts the layout.

CPU socket and chipset

One of the more challenging parts of finding the right motherboard is determining the corresponding CPU socket to accommodate your CPU of choice. The CPU socket is a receptacle in which you place your central processing unit. If you are looking to buy an Intel microprocessor, then you need to buy a motherboard that supports the Intel Land Grid Array (LGA) socket. Since most Intel CPUs are pinless, these sockets have the pins to securely fasten your CPU when you place it in the socket. If you want to use an AMD microprocessor, you need to buy a motherboard with a Pin Grid Array (PGA) or Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket. AMD CPUs have pins that slide into the holes of the socket. Certain types of CPUs need certain types of CPU sockets, so make sure you match your motherboard with the CPU.

In addition to the CPU socket, the chipset of a motherboard is another critical feature. The CPU goes into the socket, and the chipset connects the motherboard to the CPU, enabling the data transfer between the processor, buses, and memory. The chipset usually determines the features and capabilities of a motherboard. Two chips, Northbridge and Southbridge, comprise the chipset of a motherboard. The Northbridge chip connects the CPU to the RAM and graphics card (the high-speed components), whereas the Southbridge chip connects the CPU to the buses and I/O functions (the low-speed components). Again, make sure your chipset supports the CPU you plan on using. In case you need help finding the right CPU for your computer, you can consult our guide for CPUs.

Memory and speed

All motherboards have RAM slots, also known as DIMM slots (Dual Inline Memory Modules), to accommodate RAM sticks. There are various types of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) supported by motherboards – DDR, DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4. Some motherboards support up to 8 GB of RAM, while others support up to 16 GB and even 32 GB of RAM. As we clarify in our detailed explanation of RAM, a higher value translates into better performance. If you want your computer to have plenty of RAM for memory-intensive applications, you should select a motherboard that supports a large amount of RAM and faster memory with multiple DIMM slots. RAM comes in a variety of speeds, as slow as 100 MHz and as fast as 400 MHz. Make sure your motherboard supports your high-speed RAM. Otherwise, your RAM will be limited at the maximum speed your motherboard supports.

A smart technique to enhance performance is attaching multiple RAM modules totaling, say, 8 GB rather than inserting a single 8 GB RAM stick. If you want to take advantage of this feature, then buy a motherboard that supports dual-channel memory. The performance gains are substantial with dual-channel throughput, and in case a RAM module fails, you can always fall back on the rest. A word of advice: use two of the same RAM modules when using dual-channel memory.

If you want to push your RAM speed past its limit, then buy a motherboard capable of overclocking your RAM. In addition to overclocking your CPU, some motherboards allow users to overclock their RAM speed, boosting the read/write performance of your computer. The overclock option can usually be found in the system’s BIOS.

Error Correcting Code Memory (ECC RAM) is something you may want to consider if you are trying to build a server. In such scenarios, you need memory that can detect and correct corruption in data. There are dedicated server motherboards that support this type of memory that standard desktop motherboards might not.

Internal connectors

Two essential types of connectors inside a motherboard determine what you can do with your computer – SATA connectors and the power connector. All motherboards have Serial ATA connectors to hook up your hard drives (HDDs), optical drives, and even solid-state drives (SSDs). Some motherboards have more connectors than others. If you want more hard drive space, then you should buy a motherboard with more SATA ports.

The power connector is necessary to connect your power supply to the motherboard to provide electricity to the rest of the circuitry. If you want your computer to run a high-powered graphics card, processor, and other peripherals, you definitely need a motherboard that supports a large power supply, so check the rating of your power connector before you buy a motherboard.

Rear ports

Motherboards have rear ports that allow you to connect a variety of external components and peripherals to the main computer to complete the system. All motherboards have a VGA, DVI, and/or HDMI ports for connecting a display monitor and USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or Firewire ports for connecting peripherals, such as a mouse, keyboard, external hard drive, and flash drive. Other types of ports are:

• eSATA ports, mostly used for connecting portable hard drives
• Thunderbolt ports, typical for MacBooks
• PS/2 ports for connecting peripherals, which are not USB compatible (in most cases, you have one port for the mouse and one for the keyboard)

A computer is meant to be in a network, and that is made possible with LAN connections, also known as RJ45 or Ethernet ports. Most motherboards have one Ethernet port, but some have two. Motherboards with two LAN connections are useful if you want to build a small network without using a router.

Additional features

You may require some special features from your motherboard, depending on your intended purpose. We have explained some of them below.

Multiple graphics cards

If you want to build a gaming machine, you might need more than one graphics processing unit (GPU). Fortunately, two technologies exist that can help you push your graphical power: SLI (Scalable Link Interface) from Nvidia and Crossfire from AMD (previously ATI). If you want to connect two GeForce cards, then you need a motherboard that supports SLI. If you want to hook up multiple Radeon cards together, then you need a motherboard that supports Crossfire.

Overclocking

We talked about MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte motherboards in this article. There are many reasons why these are the best-selling manufacturers of motherboards, one of them being their native ability to overclock your processing speed. Asus has TurboV, MSI has Genie, and Gigabyte has Easy Boost; all of these technologies let you squeeze out as much processing power as you can. However, overclocking can lead to overheating, so do invest in some extra cooling to mitigate the effects.

Dual BIOS

All motherboards have a binary input-output system (BIOS). Some motherboards now come with two BIOS systems – one acting as the main firmware and the other serving as a backup in case the first one gets corrupted from a virus attack. This feature is known as dual BIOS, and if you want to safeguard your computer, you might want to choose a motherboard with dual BIOS.