How to Choose a Motherboard

A motherboard does not make games run faster on its own. What it decides is which processor and memory you can use, how many drives you can fit, which ports you get and how much room there is to upgrade later. So the right board is the cheapest one that does everything you need, plus a little room to grow.

The Socket spec must match your processor. Within a socket, the Chipset spec sets the tier, and the letter at the start tells you roughly where a board sits.

• AMD: A is the basic tier, B is the mainstream tier and X is the top tier. On AM5, an E at the end (such as B650E or X870E) usually means more PCIe 5.0 support.
• Intel: H is the basic tier, B is the mainstream tier and Z is the top tier. Z boards are the ones that let you overclock an unlocked K processor.
• Most AMD B and X boards allow processor overclocking; the basic A tier usually does not.

A chipset belongs to one socket only. A B850 board is always AM5 and a B860 board is always Intel LGA1851, despite the similar names, so check the socket rather than guessing from the chipset.

The Form Factor spec gives the board's size. Your case lists the sizes it takes under Motherboard Support, and a bigger case takes smaller boards, so an ATX case fits all three common sizes but a Mini-ITX case fits only Mini-ITX.

• ATX: full size, with the most slots and ports. The default for a mid tower case.
• Micro-ATX: shorter, with fewer expansion slots. Often cheaper, and plenty for a PC with one graphics card.
• Mini-ITX: small, for compact cases. Usually two memory slots and one expansion slot, and often more expensive than a larger board with the same chipset.
• E-ATX: larger than ATX, for big cases only. Check the case lists it before buying one.

The Memory spec says whether the board takes DDR4 or DDR5. Current AMD boards are DDR5 only, while Intel LGA1700 boards come in both versions, so check this one carefully. Memory Slots is usually two or four, and Max Memory is the most the board supports in total.

The board also sets which memory speeds it supports. Our RAM guide explains speeds, timings and why a kit of two usually runs better than four sticks.

M.2 Slots is how many NVMe drives you can fit directly on the board. If you plan to add drives over the years, a board with spare slots saves trouble later. Our SSD guide covers the drives themselves.

The PCIe spec gives the generation of the board's main slots. A graphics card works in any generation of full-length slot, and for most current cards the difference between PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 is small. Where PCIe 5.0 makes more difference is for the fastest SSDs.

The power delivery circuitry around the socket (often called the VRM) feeds the processor. A modest processor runs happily on almost any board. A high-end processor under heavy, sustained load needs a board with solid power delivery and good heatsinks over it, or the board can run hot and slow the processor down.

Spec tables rarely say enough to judge this. If you are pairing a top processor with a cheaper board, look for independent reviews that test that board under load.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: often shown by WiFi in the board's name. Without it you need a cable to the router or a network card.
• Wired network: most boards have 1 or 2.5 gigabit Ethernet, which is more than most home connections need.
• Rear USB: count the ports against what you plug in. A USB-C port on the back is useful for phones and fast external drives.
• Front USB-C: your case's front USB-C port only works if the board has the matching internal header.
• Fan headers: one per fan or hub, plus a pump header if you use a liquid cooler.
• Video outputs on the board only work with a processor that has built-in graphics.

A board built before a processor came out may need a BIOS update to recognise it, even when the socket matches. The board maker's website has a processor support list that says which BIOS version each processor needs.

Many boards have a BIOS Flashback button, which updates the BIOS from a USB stick without a processor fitted. That is worth having if you are buying a newer processor for an older board. Our first boot guide covers updating the BIOS.

• Entry level: a basic-tier board is fine for a modest processor you will not overclock, as long as it has the slots and ports you need.
• Mid-range: a mainstream B board with Wi-Fi and two or more M.2 slots suits most gaming PCs.
• High end: a top-tier board is worth it for overclocking, several fast drives, the fastest USB and networking, or a top processor under heavy load.

We do not rank motherboards against each other, because nothing in a spec table ranks one board above another honestly. Choose on features and fit, then compare prices for that board.

• The motherboards category can be filtered by Socket, Chipset, Form Factor, Memory and Memory Slots.
• The PC builder only offers boards that match your processor's socket and your memory type.
• Will it fit? checks a board's size against a case, where the case lists what it takes.
• Compare puts two boards side by side, spec by spec.

Each product page shows the board's price at the shops we track and its price history, with a bell to set a price alert.