Computers have gradually become an integral part of the lives of all people. They are now replacing not only televisions and telephones, but also are a means of earning or help brighten up leisure. The heart of the computer is the motherboard, and its maximum performance depends on it. It has many connectors, so that its users can connect a good video card, several memory cards or other drives. Motherboards are made according to a single standard, thanks to which they are able to work in any package and any bundle of other components. In this compilation article you will find out what they are, how they differ, and on which model you should stay in your difficult choice.
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Motherboard which company choose
Currently, the motherboard market is replete with its developers. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the ranking of the best developers of computer peripherals:
1. ASUS
This company is considered one of the largest manufacturers of equipment in the world, and especially gaming motherboards. AsusTek company produces not only these parts, but also many other popular electronic equipment, widespread throughout the world.
2. Gigabyte
The boards of this company received the highest marks from various specialized publications. If it comes to what boards use state-of-the-art technologies, you have come to the address.
3. MSI
The company was founded a long time ago, and during that time managed to establish itself as a company producing some of the best motherboards. Electronics for quality and equipment can compete at the level of ASUS and GIGABYTE, but their models are a bit cheaper.
4. ASRock
This is a subsidiary of ASUS, established in 2002. It produces motherboards and even industrial PCs. The company quite recently entered the race of the largest manufacturers, and is making seven-mile steps in its development.
Top ATX motherboards
ASUS A88X-PRO
This motherboard has passed the harsh test of time. Despite the old age (taking into account technological innovations), this model has very good characteristics.
As many as six USB 3.0 inputs, several PCI Express 3.0 x16, two eSATA, gorgeous eight-channel sound and a unique cooling system that works with heat pipes.
Of the modern interfaces, only M.2 is missing from the board, and there are no latest versions of supported protocols. But this should not be surprising, because at the time of the release of the motherboard ASUS A88X-PRO absorbed all the advanced quality standards, and that is what allowed her to take this place in the ranking.
The opinions of customers who bought ASUS A88X-PRO, were used to highlight these advantages:
- Excellent overclocking capability;
- Effective cooling system;
- Good eight-channel path;
- Diverse interface selection.
Of the minuses:
- There are no significant drawbacks.
GIGABYTE GA-990X-Gaming SLI
Motherboard, which is based on the 990X chipset, is a very interesting proposal. The developers gave the motherboard with an 11-phase power system a very small radiator. It is possible to install SSD, the interface of which is M.2 Socket 3.
PCI Express 2.0 slots can be combined using the SLI format and CrossFireX. A highly versatile system provides the fullest variety of devices to connect. For the sound corresponds to the codec with 8 channels and headphone amplifier.
The opinions of customers who bought the GIGABYTE GA-990X-Gaming SLI were used to highlight these advantages:
- Good network controller;
- High overclocking capability
- SLOT and CrossFireX video slot integration;
- Support M.2.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Small radiators that cool the board.
ASRock Z170 Extreme4
This pre-top board has excellent features. It supports three monitors and has a built-in 7.1 HD audio codec. Of the features - the system BIOS (UEFI) is updated directly via the Internet, without the participation of the operating system or flash-carriers.
It has two USB 3.1 C and A types, eight USB 3.0. It allows you to overclock the processor, RAM and other overclocking. It contains temperature sensors, and through BIOS, you can adjust the rotational speed of the coolers in the computer case. Motherboard ASRock Z170 Extreme4 is quite expensive, but its price / performance ratio is at the same level.
Opinions of customers who bought ASRock Z170 Extreme4, were used to highlight these advantages:
- Beautiful appearance due to the red LEDs flashing during operation;
- Good overclocking;
- A large number of extensions;
- Stable work;
- Excellent equipment.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Sometimes the system hangs the BIOS.
MSI B150 GAMING M3
MSI believes that gamers can recognize a motherboard designed for business-oriented, top-end logistics, but is it? A model that could serve as an example of this idea is the MSI B150 GAMING M3, which is part of the Enthusiast Gaming series. It has enhanced circuit protection against interference, an excellent sound path and a good network controller.
The motherboard is equipped with several interfaces, and among them you can see SATA Express and M.2 supporting NVME drives. In addition, video cards are designed for PCI Express x16 slots and a unique port for mice with high speed. With this system, gamers achieve top results in different genres of games.
The opinions of customers who bought MSI B150 GAMING M3, were used to highlight these advantages:
- Gaming platform TOP level;
- High-quality assembly and sound;
- Great opportunities for players.
Of the minuses stand out:
- No overclocking
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING
This motherboard is recommended for gamers who wish to minimize their costs for the purchase of good components. Despite the fact that the ASRock Z170 Extreme4 is based on the latest chipset, the model is designed for medium-level systems.
It does not have some cult lotions from the ROG series, but most users don’t need them. ASRock Z170 Extreme4 has all the latest graphics interfaces, and the PCI Express 3.0 connectors make it possible to connect accelerators in a single video subsystem to SLI mode.
The board expands to 3400 MHz frequency memory modules, it is also possible to install various M.2 Socket 3 drives into it.
The opinions of customers who bought ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING, were used to highlight these advantages:
- All features that allow you to safely overclock the system;
- Great audio track;
- High-quality assembly;
- Extensive features for gamers.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Not all USB drivers are installed automatically.
Top mATX motherboards
MSI H110M PRO-VD
The H110 logic system set is a very popular platform for creating gaming stations or office computers.
Motherboards based on this chipset are an excellent option for mediocre Intel Core i3 processors. The power subsystem of the budget motherboard MSI H110M PRO-VD is characterized by the progressive potential of the makeup system, built on a six-phase scheme.
The developer saved a little on the radiator that cools the system, but she can cope with the loads she claims. Memory Type - DDR4 DIMM, 2133 MHz, the model has four USB 3.1 and four SATA 6Gb / s. There is the ability to output USB connectors forward.
The opinions of customers who bought MSI H110M PRO-VD were used to highlight these advantages:
- Stable work with all types of processors and memory;
- Effective power system;
- DDR4 support;
- Small price.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Few memory slots - only two;
- No ability for any overclocking.
GIGABYTE GA-B150M-D3V DDR3
Motherboards working with DDR3 RAM make it possible to switch to the LGA1151 platform quite simply. The Intel B150 Logic Kit is designed for business solutions and is powered by Small Business Advantage technology.
A characteristic feature of GIGABYTE GA-B150M-D3V DDR3 is the interface M.2 Socket 3, which works directly with three solid-state drives, in addition, it has high-quality capacitors from Japan.
Unfortunately, the motherboard has only two slots for RAM memory. UEFI BIOS tries to adjust the voltage of all nodes, but since the power supply system does not have a radiator, this has a heavy load on the MOSFETs. The sound of the model 7.1CH, HAD, and six USB 3.0, of which four are on the cover at the back.
The opinions of customers who bought GIGABYTE GA-B150M-D3V DDR3, were used to highlight these advantages:
- M.2 support;
- A large number of different connectors;
- Small price.
Of the minuses stand out:
- 2 slots for RAM;
- There is no heat sink that cools the VRM transistors.
MSI B85M-G43
MSI, producing this board, has used all the latest developments. They fit a maximum of slots on this small device. Four slots of RAM contribute to the increase of this indicator to 32 GB.
Six activated SATA slots allow you to connect multiple hard drives. But with a speed of 6 Gb / s only four of them can work. But the most surprising thing is that MSI B85M-G43 has CrossFire technology, which is capable of accommodating two ATI Radeon video cards inside a computer case. This board is based on the LGA1150 socket.
The opinions of customers who bought MSI B85M-G43 were used to highlight these strengths:
- A good number of SATA-connectors;
- Present technology CrossFire;
- A whole four slots for RAM;
- There is an HDMI connector.
Of the minuses stand out:
- For the price they are completely insignificant.
ASRock 960GM-VGS3 FX
For those users who seek to build an inexpensive assembly, this board is a great option. Quite cheaply, you will get a motherboard, which has two RAM slots, with a frequency of 1866 MHz and four SATA slots, with a speed of 3 Gb / s.
This power is enough to use the computer in the office. The socket AM3 +, on which the ASRock 960GM-VGS3 FX is based, is also suitable for assembling a PC at home. From the oddities - there are no USB 3.0 slots and a small number of high-speed ports.
The opinions of customers who bought ASRock 960GM-VGS3 FX were used to highlight these advantages:
- Low cost in total with good reliability;
- Nice sound.
Of the minuses stand out:
- SATA slow slots;
- Just a couple of connectors for RAM.
ASUS B85M-G
The developers from ASUS wanted the owner of even the smallest case to put a video card in itself, thanks to which the user could play the latest toys. This explains the appearance of ASUS B85M-G.
The model has four slots for RAM memory, and in total its volume can be 32 GB. This number will allow the user to edit the video or work professionally in a graphic editor.
A video card has a PCI-E x16 slot. In order to connect devices with USB, you can use as many as six ports, which are not difficult to find - they are located on the rear wall of the panel. Only two of them work in speed mode 3.0.
In addition, six more USB ports are connected from the front panel, which is a record for microATX. ASUS B85M-G has at its disposal a LGA1150 socket, which is perfectly combined with Intel processors.
The opinions of customers who bought ASUS B85M-G were used to highlight these advantages:
- Sound 7.1;
- A huge number of USB ports;
- High stability;
- Four slots for RAM.
Of the minuses stand out:
- A small number of SATA slots;
- There are no latest BIOS versions.
Top Thin Mini-ITX motherboards
Intel DN2800MT
Modern chipsets can allow the creation of gaming systems on Mini-ITX motherboards. According to this standard, the dimensions of this board are limited to 25 mm in all projections. The Intel DN2800MT device is listed in the Executive Series, which is distinguished by its broad management and security settings.
It uses the Intel Q77 chipset that supports vPro and other technologies. Maximum performance is limited by size, because they are dictated by the desired body. The Intel DN2800MT has 1 PCI-E x1 expansion slot for a video card, 8 USB outputs, and it works on the Intel NM10 chipset.
Opinions of customers who bought Intel DN2800MT, were used to highlight these advantages:
- Small size;
- No noise;
- Low power consumption;
- Wide incoming voltage range.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Truncated functions;
- Lack of drivers.
ASUS J1800I-C
This motherboard - the smallest among all created in recent years. Its work is based on the Intel Celeron J1800 chipset. It differs in low power consumption and low heat.
As a result, it doesn’t need a cooler, as it lacks a unique cooling system that works passively. ASUS J1800I-C has two DDR3L SO-DIMM slots, 2 SATA connectors operating at 3 Gb / s. They are enough to install good components on such a board.
The opinions of customers who bought ASUS J1800I-C were used to highlight these advantages:
- Good performance with small size;
- Passive cooling system.
Of the minuses stand out:
- It is necessary to use low-voltage RAM.
ASRock H110TM-ITX
ASRock has released this motherboard specifically for all-in-one PCs. It is equipped with Intel H110 chipset and works in processors LGA1151. In this novelty there is a four-channel power system, ASRock H110TM-ITX allows you to install up to 32 GB of RAM.
In addition, it can detect two SATA slots, at speeds up to 6 Gb / s and mSata. The device contains external and internal power connectors, USB 3.0 connectors. A nice LVDS interface will allow you to connect the LCD matrix. Limit the edges of the board reaches 20 mm.
The opinions of customers who bought ASRock H110TM-ITX, were used to highlight these advantages:
- High speed SATA;
- LVDS interface support;
- Nice price.
Of the minuses stand out:
- Low performance.
What motherboard to buy
1. For advanced gamers who like to get maximum pleasure from full immersion in the game, ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING is perfect. However, it is necessary to take into account the cost of this device, since it is not one of the cheapest.
2. People working in the environment of Photoshop and other visualization, it is better to stay on ASRock Z170 Extreme4, since at a sufficiently high cost, its characteristics are revealed at a very high level.
3. ASRock Z170 Extreme4 is a pre-top motherboard with excellent features that can be overclocked even more. An option for experienced users who want to get the most from everything.
4. A small and cheap MSI H110M PRO-VD is a great option for schoolchildren and students, who will use it not only at work, but also brighten up the weekday with good settings in the game.
5. ASUS J1800I-C with a passive cooling system will fit perfectly in small devices. In addition, it consumes quite a bit of electricity.
6. A bit old, but still the same battle ASUS A88X-PRO will please with eight-channel sound and a wide choice of interface.
7. ASRock H110TM-ITX, with good SATA speed, is perfect for users who have purchased a candy bar.
8. The little Intel DN2800MT with excellent security settings supports the latest vPro technology and is not very expensive.
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