If you have expected plans of making a new PC, you must have now started watching for hardware parts. While people normally pay consideration to parts similar to CPU, GPU, etc. Spending your money on a high-quality motherboard is one of the most important parts of building a PC.
Including a good motherboard selection, you will not only be able to appropriate the true potential of all appliance parts but there will also be room for future grades if the motherboard has more ports available. Therefore, if you are studying for a guide to know how you can determine a perfect motherboard for your PC, this article is really concerning you.
What is a Motherboard?
it’s the backbone of any PC. It’s a PCB(printed circuit board) Printed circuit board – Wikipedia where all the electronic ic’s are attached that allows you to connect all the machine parts of a PC and function them as a whole system.
If you want to choose the best motherboard here are few you can choose from the list Best motherboards with wifi.
What is the function of Motherboard?
A motherboard contains many ports such as a dedicated socket for the CPU, various DIMM slots for RAM, and further ports for additional hardware like GPU, Storage, and development cards. Aside from that, a motherboard is a very complicated circuit board consisting of lots of openings, headers, transistors, capacitors, heat sinks, etc. that finally connects all the hardware of a computer and performs the PC performance.
Best Motherboard for mining?
if you are looking for a motherboard that has many PCIe slots because for mining you will require more cards.
for instance, we will update a new post regarding mining as so currently we are using Asus B250 Mining Expert (The world’s first 19 GPU mining motherboard) which works and supports all types of cards.
How to choose a Motherboard
to choose the best motherboard for you We have distributed the process of choosing a motherboard into different aspects and circumstances that you can control and pick a motherboard for your PC carefully and intelligently. Therefore, let’s exercise a look at them one by one.
Platform
Before you begin studying for a motherboard, have you selected which CPU you are going to practice? If no, then you must select the CPU first, as it represents a major role in the process of determining the right motherboard it is also known as the heart of the motherboard. Although there are so several great benefits offered by both AMD and Intel, that too in every cost range. They both have completely different designs, and a motherboard should be chosen according to that entirely.
In case your work demands need a processor with good multi-core execution, the AMD processors Processor Specifications | AMD are a good choice to pick but if you have a good ventilation system. Whereas, if single-core performance is what you inquire, Intel has overall better single-core performance. So, once you have determined the right CPU for your PC, you can continue to find a motherboard with the right sockets and chipsets to cooperate with it.
Sockets and Chipsets to know
While the socket is just a connector that you will be utilizing to connect your CPU to the motherboard (source). The chipset is the motherboard’s hardware chip that enables the CPU to correspond additional with the motherboard and other hardware connected to that. Therefore, there are a few most generally used sockets and chipsets that you will see beyond motherboards such as:
| Socket | Chipsets | Supported Processors |
|---|---|---|
| LGA 1200 | Comet Lake (10th-gen): Z490 | 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs |
| LGA 1151 | Coffee Lake 8th Gen: H310, B360, H370, Q370, Z370 | 8th and 9th Gen Intel Core CPUs |
| Coffee Lake 9th Gen: Z390, B365, B360 | ||
| LGA 2066 | X299 | Skylake-X / Kaby-Lake X |
| sTRX4 | TRX40 | 3rd-generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper |
| sTR4 | X399 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper |
| AM4 | A300, A320, B350, B450, X370, X470, X570 | AMD Ryzen, 7th-generation A-Series, and Athlon |
It’s totally fine if you don’t own any extensive knowledge about the sockets and chipsets. The main objective of checking is only to discover if the CPU is compatible with the motherboard. If the motherboard holds your CPU, you can simply choose it, that’s all.
Form factor
Since motherboards appear in a variation of sizes, you get limited freedom to determine the one that you like and obtain a PC according to it. No matter if you are designing to develop a small PC or a full-tower, you will be capable to find the right size of a motherboard large smoothly.
The reality is that the higher the motherboard you choose, the more ports you will receive to practice. That’s likewise the reason why the more extended motherboards normally cost more than the smaller ones. If you wish to have a multi-GPU organization, you will require to keep a larger measurement that suggests various expansion slots ideal for video cards.
Motherboard form factors to know
| Form Factor | Max Size (inches) | RAM Slots | RAM Type | Expansion Slots | Graphics Card Slots | SATA Ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EATX | 12 x 13 | 2 to 8 | DIMM | 4 to 8 | 1 to 4 | 4 to 12 |
| ATX | 12 x 9.6 | 2 to 8 | DIMM | 4 to 7 | 1 to 4 | 4 to 12 |
| Micro-ATX | 9.6 x 9.6 | 2 to 4 | DIMM | 2 to 4 | 1 to 3 | 4 to 8 |
| Mini-ITX | 6.7 x 6.7 | 2 | DIMM, SODIMM | 1 | 0 to 1 | 2 to 6 |
As you have noticed from the above table, the EATX motherboards have an extremely larger size and a few extra ports. While most people usually prefer using ATX motherboards, as they have a good enough number of ports as well as they come for a value for money pricing too. Though, if you have plans to build a smaller PC, you can consider choosing an mATX approximately mini-ITX motherboard.
Motherboard Expansion Options
Development options on a motherboard are too much important to check before buying, and they are more one big reason for how they have generally priced. A motherboard with more expandability choices will usually cost more than a basic motherboard. Generally, when you are thinking expansion slots, you frequently have to pay consideration to the PCIe slots on the motherboard.
Although most PCIe 3.0 is what you will discover on most motherboards, the latest PCIe 4.0 ports are now also available on some of the most developed motherboards. Overall, there are 4 kinds of PCIe slots, and their name tells you about their functionality and capacity. The various PCIe slots available on motherboards are x1, x4, x8, and x16, out of which x4 and x16 are the most common unities. These slots can be used to calculate a video card, network card, etc. to your PC as a development.
GPU support
No focus whether you use your PC for professional work or just playing games, a GPU can significantly help to accelerate your PC’s performance to the next level Presently, the thing to check is whether the motherboard holds the GPU that you are thinking to purchase or not.
In most circumstances, both Intel and AMD CPUs already have an integrated CPU that could help you do amazing basic jobs. Though, for doing complex tasks like video editing and gaming, using a strong GPU is a necessity! If you have strategies to build a PC and load it with various GPUs, you should pick a motherboard that allows you various compatible ports for it.
How to connect GPU?
When it appears to correlate GPUs to the motherboard, you will most suitable be using the PCIe x16 slot for one. In common, a PCIe slot can accommodate up to 75W power to the GPU. But, if the GPU has more increased power demands, you will need to attach it with the PSU using a 6-pin or 8-pin connector depending on the GPU model. Furthermore, most high-end motherboards come with appropriate shielding crossed the PCIe slots to store the GPU connector from influencing, as most GPUs manage to bend a little because of their weight.
Aside from that, some motherboards normally have connectors installed so approaching each other. Therefore, a thick GPU card can quickly block off additional connectors and make them unusable. Consequently, you have to hold in mind that also while relating a GPU to the motherboard.
How many Ram supports your Motherboard?
For memory, motherboards normally have 2 to 4 DIMM slots which you can utilize. Most people frequently ask how much RAM should we require on our PC for gaming or mining or whatever they want? Well, the most reliable answer would be 8GB RAM as it is not too less neither too much, to be accurate. However, you should know that the more RAM you install on your PC, the more immeasurable it will perform while multitasking as well as while performing complicated tasks like gaming or video editing.
Since most maximum motherboards these days support dual-channel memory, you should perpetually install RAM in pairs. For occurrence, if your goal is to connect 16 GB RAM to your PC, you should be practicing two same RAM sticks of 8GB each and applying them in a dual-channel configuration to attain the best appearance.
Which Storage device you need?
For storage, motherboards frequently offer you choices for both SSDs and HDDs. That stated, for attaching storage devices with the motherboard, you should look at how many SATA ports the motherboard allows. While the SATA 3.0 ports can accommodate you with reading activities up to six gigabits per second and writing speeds up to 150MB/s.
You can use these ports for utilizing the HDDs. On the other hand, for SSDs, you can view the NVMe PCIe connection ports, which offer much faster transferal rates in other words it can improve your Pc Performance.
A small SSD and large HDD
The various optimal way to load your PC with storage media is by utilizing a mixture of both SSDs and HDDs. As you might know, SSDs operate much more durable than traditional HDDs, but at the identical time, they allow less storage space.
Well, when your motherboard is empowering you to connect both, we should take benefit of that. Frequently, using a small SSD like a 256GB or 512GB one with a mixture of 1TB or 2TB of HDD storage is an exceptional opportunity to install on a PC. While you can utilize the SSD for commonly used files and connecting your operating system, comprehensive files that are not used that often can rest in the HDD for the meantime.
What about the Connectivity of External Devices?
Thus indeed, we have explained what are all the hardware ports available on the motherboard which you can utilize to connect your GPU, CPU, storage, memory, etc But, when it comes to attaching external peripherals, you will become to take a more intimate look at the I/O panel of the motherboard On the additional support, if you have determined to buy a PC case that also comes with connectivity ports at the leading panel
Motherboards normally have separate front panel headers that enable you to accept the cabinet’s front-panel I/O ports. There are several connectivity ports possible on a motherboard that we will be reviewing in the subsequent section.
Motherboard connections to know
We are listing down all the connectivity options that a motherboard typically appears with. The availability of several ports might differ from model to model just for your info we will explain down below for more info you can comment below.
- Audio for the rear panel: If the PC case has an audio jack at the back of the case, you can attach it utilizing the rear panel audio header.
- Audio for the front panel: For the head panel audio jack, most motherboards have a front panel header also.
- Digital audio header: It enables you to join a digital audio jack with the PC.
- Front panel header: The front board header connection supplies power to the head panel buttons such as the Power-button, lights, etc.
- 8-pin CPU power connector: This connector carries power from the power supply to the CPU via the motherboard.
- 24-pin main power connector: The 24-pin connector is responsible to power up the entire motherboard and supply power to all the connected hardware via the connection ports.
- USB ports: USB ports are normally present at the back I/O panel of the motherboard. There can be a variety of USB ports such as USB2.0, USB3.0, USB3.1, USB Thunderbolt (Type-C) ports, etc.
- SATA ports: SATA ports on the motherboard are used to combine storage devices such as SSDs and HDDs.
- Display Ports: Display anchorages are also a part of the back I/O panel. There can be various ports for display, such as VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI ports.
- Audio Jacks: Most utmost motherboards come with built-in audio, hence, obtaining a 3.5mm jack for audio in the I/O panel is quite simple.
- Ethernet port: For connecting your PC to the internet via a wired connection, you will forever find an Ethernet port in the I/O panel of the motherboard.
- Wi-Fi antenna jack: Some excellent motherboards now also develop with a separate Wi-Fi antenna jack that supports you to connect an external antenna and use Wi-Fi on the PC.
Motherboard Manufacturers
Considering there are so many brand alternatives available out there, we realize that you want to know which is the best. We cannot say that an appropriate brand is the most beneficial as no one is! Various good brands have a really good and strong competition, such as Asus (Source), ASRock (Source), MSI, and Gigabyte.
Determining the motherboard is your personal choice as some people might favor MSI over ASRock, while some have an entirely different opinion. What we prefer is that you should be studying for features more rather than the name. At the time you purchase, just compare the contribution from these few top brands, and discover what fits your specifications and budget. This way, you will be able to make an extremely wiser decision and pick a good motherboard for yourself.
Conclusion
In this pattern, we have decided to teach every piece in the simplest way possible so that new PC builders can get it easily. We believe this guide encourages you to pick the right motherboard for your future PC build. If you believe that this model helped you to receive a thing or two about motherboards, don’t neglect to leave your feedback in the comments under. Moreover, in case of any additional queries, or you wish to explain something about your upcoming PC build, feel free to discuss down and let us acknowledge what you believe.
