A motherboard is the most important part of a gaming PC. It’s the central hub that connects your CPU, graphics card, RAM and other components to the rest of your computer. Here are some things you should know before buying one for yourself.
The how to choose motherboard according to processor is a guide that will teach you what you need to know before buying a motherboard.
I’ve used Intel and AMD motherboards in a variety of configurations. I’ve used motherboards that cost as little as $50 and as much as $200. I’ve gathered some sensible and useful things from various features and form factors after using each one for many months that should be considered by anybody who wants to construct a gaming PC but doesn’t know much about motherboards.
Although most PC hardware enthusiasts are familiar with motherboards and their specs, practical application is an area where only expertise counts. I’ve compiled a list of six key points that are relevant to every player, and these pointers will help you save money.
Micro-ATX motherboards are a good investment.
Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and full ATX are the three most common form factors for motherboards. Each form factor has its own dimensions and characteristics. Mini-ITX motherboards are the smallest, ATX motherboards are the biggest, and Micro-ATX motherboards are in the middle. A Micro ATX motherboard is worth your money since it has all of the functions that you will need. It’s extremely simple while still providing excellent upgrade possibilities.
A Micro-ATX motherboard is considerably less expensive than an ATX motherboard, and its characteristics will satisfy those who are constructing a gaming PC. I’ve used both Micro-ATX and ATX motherboards, and the only reason to purchase an ATX motherboard is to fill the space in your PC case and make it seem nicer visually. However, it is not feasible to use all of the capabilities of an ATX motherboard. An ATX motherboard, on the other hand, is more capable of overclocking and adding graphics cards, but it would be useless to someone who has a certain budget in mind, such as $500 or even $1000. Only a few gamers or enthusiasts make use of these features, and those who do don’t have a set budget. They’ll easily spend over $2000 on their setup. So, without a question, a Micro-ATX motherboard is the champion for a budget or even a high-end gaming PC.
As you can see in the picture above, a decent Micro-ATX motherboard offers all of the fundamental characteristics of a full ATX motherboard for less than half the price of an ATX motherboard. Some Micro-ATX motherboards have some of the finest features, such as an M.2 SSD port, making them an excellent option for gamers and enthusiasts. In terms of ATX motherboards, many boards enable CrossfireX and SLI, and many gamers purchase them in the hopes of using multiple GPU configurations in the future, only to discover that they don’t need another GPU or that the necessary GPU is unavailable when they need it.
Assume you purchased a motherboard capable of supporting two Nvidia GTX 1070 SLI graphics cards. You presently have one GTX 1070 that meets your requirements, but you purchased the motherboard with an additional PCI-Ex 16 slot in case you wish to game at a higher resolution or if the GTX 1070 becomes incapable of maxing out games in the future. You’ll be sad to learn that the GTX 1070 has been phased off of the market and replaced by new GPUs after just two years. It’s also a truth that no graphics card lasts more than two years on the market. New technology appears and disappears. That’s how it’s done. So, if you want to do SLI, do it the first time you construct your PC or don’t worry about it in the future.
It’s worth it to have more RAM slots.
The only component that may be upgraded is RAM. Any board may be upgraded with a 4GB or 8GB module at any time. However, it is a fact that the demand for Ram increases every two years. I recall having a conversation with someone who was constructing a high-end gaming PC only two years ago; he was investing a lot of money, but everyone suggested 8GB of RAM, and everyone said it would be sufficient for 3-4 years. However, you can now see that games may easily use more than 10GB of RAM, with higher resolutions requiring about 12GB.
Clearly, RAM upgrades were available when I purchased my first computer in 2004, are still available in 2017, and will undoubtedly be in the future. So, if you want to update your RAM, you’ll need at least four DIMM slots rather than two, since if you put one 8GB stick in one slot today and require another 8GB stick a year later, you’ll only be able to do so up to 16GB. However, after two years, you will need 32GB of RAM, and you will be trapped there. Either purchase two 16GB sticks or upgrade to a newer board. Clearly, purchasing a newer board will cost the same as purchasing two 16GB RAM sticks.
So, you’ve got yourself a problem. However, the issue does not end there. Because we all know that Intel releases newer chipsets every year, it will be difficult to locate a motherboard compatible with your CPU in 2 years. Yes, AMD is an exception, but who knows whether they will follow Intel’s lead or not. As a result, the ideal way to increase your RAM is to purchase a motherboard with at least four DIMM slots and start with a high-capacity RAM. Instead of two 4GB sticks, I suggest opting with an 8GB or 16GB RAM stick.
Headers for fans are crucial.
Cooling your computer is crucial, and you’ll need additional fans to do so. A minimum of two fans is recommended for cooling, and two fans means two fan headers will be installed on your motherboard. A cheap motherboard will usually have two Fan Headers, and a cheap case would have at least two cooling fan slots, one in the back and one in the front. However, one of the two Fan headers on a low-cost motherboard is utilized for CPU cooling. As a result, you’ll only have one Fan header to use for putting a fan in the back or front, making cooling ineffective.
And if you ever attempt to use liquid cooling or add additional fans to your case, here is where the issue with a simple motherboard arises. At least 5-6 Fan headers are required to install two-thirds of the fans at the top and front. Although not all Micro-ATX or ATX motherboards come with as many fan headers as others, having at least three Fan headers may help.
The center and middle right fan headers may be used for rear and front fans, while the 3rd Fan header, which can be found at the top or bottom of the board, can be used for liquid cooling. Let’s say you want to add 5-6 fans in total, and the only way to do so is to purchase a Fan Splitter Hub, which will raise the overall cost. Although this is a fantastic option, you will need to locate a suitable place in your case for the splitter hub, which is not always simple.
Check out: – The Best PC Cooling Fans
You don’t need a large number of SATA ports.
As a gamer, my first concern is to store games, and now we need at least 1TB of hard drive space if we want to install a reasonable number of games, but that 1TB of HDD space may become insufficient in a year or two. As a result, it’s time to upgrade. A low-cost motherboard would almost always have four SATA ports, which are sufficient for connecting up to four hard drives or SSDs. However, some motherboards have six SATA ports. The most SATA ports are on ATX motherboards, however the questions are, “Are you going to put 6 HDDs or SSDs in your case?” and “Do you have that much room in your case?”
If you have a mid tower or, more specifically, a cheap case, the answer is clearly no. Only if you use a full ATX tower like the Corsair 780T and if you have a large number of gaming and video files would the answer be yes. But why on earth would someone purchase six 1TB hard drives? Why not use a 3-4TB hard drive in the first place if you know you’ll be filling up your hard drives with a lot of games and videos?
Yes, a 3-4TB hard disk is large and will remove the need for further hard drives; nevertheless, anybody who utilizes such a large hard drive should have a backup hard drive since losing such a large quantity of data is disastrous. Someone with a low-budget gaming PC, on the other hand, is unlikely to spend that much money on hard drives. A 1TB hard drive will enough, but if he wants more, he can add another 1 or 2TB hard drive, which is when the SATA ports come in useful, but your case should be capable of supporting two or more hard drives.
In general, a decent budget case will have room for two hard drives, but if you’re buying a hard drive for the second time and there’s just one slot available, purchase a larger one. So, even for an enthusiast, four SATA ports are more than plenty, and for someone with one SSD and two hard drives, four SATA ports will enough. So, the next time you purchase a motherboard, don’t concentrate on having a lot of SATA ports on your motherboard; it may save you a lot of money.
Save money by ignoring overclocking, audio, RGB, and dual bios.
Overclocking support, audio technologies, Steel armour, Intel Optane compatibility, RGB headers, onboard troubleshooting buttons, and other features are common on high-end motherboards. These features aren’t terrible and may be extremely useful for aficionados, but for a gamer, nearly all of them are a waste of time and worthless. A gamer should not anticipate anything else useful except overclocking, and the benefits of overclocking are limited.
You can expect a slight performance boost in games if you have an unlocked motherboard, such as an Intel Z270/X99/X299 chipset or an AMD X370/B350 chipset, unlocked CPUs, such as Intel Core i5 7600K/i7 7700K/i7 6900K or AMD FX 6300/Ryzen 1600/Ryzen 1700X, overclockable memories, and an overclockable graphics card. And by “Little,” I mean “a few frames per second,” which may or may not be visible. Because with an Intel Core i5 7600K and a GTX 1070, you can achieve about 80-120 frames per second in virtually any game at 1080p maxed out. Adding 4-5 frames per second won’t make a difference. Your experience will remain unchanged. However, many individuals fall into the trap of overclocking and pay an additional $200-$300 for an extra 4-5 frames per second. It’s a pity, but it’s the truth. Yes, I suggest going with an unlocked CPU and unlocked motherboards if you don’t have a budget constraint and want the best gear available. Although I don’t perform any overclocking, I utilize unlocked processors, RAM, and motherboards. It’s a built-in function in a gamer’s head to get the greatest results. However, if you just have $500-$800 to spend on your PC, you should skip the unlocked CPU and motherboard and instead invest in a better GPU.
Other features like as RGB headers and steel protection are nice, but how many of us use RGB headers on our motherboards? or how many of us have had our PCI slot torn out because we don’t have steel armour? You already have the solution. Similarly, if you don’t have a jumper, onboard troubleshooting may be useful, but paying $50-$100 more on these extra capabilities when you aren’t going to utilize them is not a good idea. These will only be used if you screw up your motherboard too much, but you will quickly forget about them. So why spend so much time thinking about these things if you’re not going to utilize them?
Other capabilities, like as audio technologies, are nearly universally available, and no motherboard produces a sound that is unique. Everything is in good working order. Although installing a sound card may improve sound quality, many motherboard manufacturers promote this feature as being worthwhile of your money. However, this is not the case.
All motherboards function in the same way.
This is due to the fact that motherboards serve as the interface between all of the components. Its primary goal is to ensure that all of the components function together. Even though each chipset has its own set of features, the motherboards function in the same way. RAM, storage, CPU, GPU, and cooling are the most essential components that influence performance. If you believe that an Intel H110 chipset motherboard is unsuitable for installing an i7 7700, you are right only if you have no plans to upgrade. Otherwise, if overclocking is not used, an i5 or i7 on a cheap motherboard costing as little as $50 or as much as $300 would offer you the same performance.
So, how do you feel about spending a lot of money on a motherboard? Do you have any reservations about any of the points? Please let me know in the comments section.
The asus motherboard is a popular brand of motherboards. It offers a wide range of features and has been around for quite some time now. There are many things to consider before purchasing one, especially if you’re new to the market.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is important when choosing a motherboard?
The motherboard is the most important part of any computer. Its what tells your computer how to connect all the different parts, and it also houses the central processing unit (CPU) which is where everything happens in a computer.
How do I choose a motherboard?
When buying a motherboard, make sure that it has the features you need. For example, if you are going to use a lot of RAM and have a large number of hard drives attached, you might want to buy one that supports both of these things. If you are just looking for something cheap to run your computer with, then there is no need to worry about this as much.
What should I look for in a 2021 motherboard?
In 2021, you should look for a motherboard that has a Thunderbolt 3 port and support for DDR4-2666 RAM.
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