Choose the best Motherboard for your computer

If you want to build your custom PC or purchase a pre-built one, make sure to thoroughly check its motherboard and its capabilities. But, why focus too much on the motherboard? Well, it’s because a board serves as a foundation for any PC holding all the necessary components including the processor, graphics card, memory modules, and several others. All these elements work together to give users their true potential, and the mother circuit is the one that lets them do so.

Therefore, we have spent countless hours with GamingDairy researching and discussing different topics to make the board’s selections as precise as possible. We have sculpted a short list of various factors that help you shortlist a best-matching product as per your needs. All you have is to read this post until the end to choose the best motherboard for your computer and get the most out of it. So, without any further due, let’s jump straight into our short guide!

What factors to consider for a motherboard?

There is a long list of factors that a person must consider while differentiating between different motherboards or purchasing one for their computer. Each one matters in its own way—some are on the following list to help you decide the compatibility while few ensure a good-quality performance. But all are important to consider especially if you’re a gamer, content creator, or someone who doesn’t want to compromise on the PC’s overall performance. Those include:

Platform or processor:

A processor isn’t directly a board’s factor but quite important to discuss to support the overall PC performance. If you’re a gamer or content creator, you must go for the latest editions like AMD Ryzen 9 5000X series or Intel i7 11th+ generation processors. But you have to consider mobo’s socket and chipset which are given below.

Socket:

A socket is a circuit on top of the motherboard which is used to accommodate the processor. The latest AMD processors come with an AM4 socket. But Intel follows a different ‘LGA’ configuration together with a certain pin-count that varies from processor to processor and socket to socket. In short, ensure to match the board’s socket with the chip. 

Chipset:

A chipset is like a dedicated brain that allows a motherboard to perform its duties and let the connected components perform certain operations. For your information, the latest processors are good to pair with the 400-series or 500-series chipset. But you have to use your processor and make sure to buy a motherboard with a compatible chipset. 

Form factor:

The form factor is the physical size of the motherboard that defines its compatibility in terms of size and utility. Most of the board comes with ATX form factor or default size. But you can buy a smaller board with micro ATX and a bigger board with full ATX size. In short, check your PC case and purchase a motherboard accordingly. 

GPU support:

A graphics card is one of the foremost important PC elements, especially for gaming and other productive tasks like graphic design. First of all, make sure what graphics card you need as per your usage. After doing so, ensure to check whether the motherboard you’re purchasing supports that GPU or not. If not, you either go for a different card or board. 

RAM support:

Each motherboard comes with a limited volatile memory accommodation. So when purchasing a board, ensure to check whether it lets you put at least 8GB of memory together with a facility to expand it in the future if you wanted to. A board with dual-channel memory architecture, two/four DDR4 DIMMs, and up to 64/128GB memory is a perfect fit. 

Connectivity:

Another factor to consider while buying a motherboard is the connectivity, including both wired and wireless. First of all, make sure to check the PCIe connections, USB ports, and SATA connections together with WiFi and Bluetooth to wirelessly connect different devices. In short, ensure that your board offers all the necessary connections. 

VRM and Thermals:

In the end, you must check the VRM or voltage regulation module and the thermal management structure of the board. As per the limits matters, a board with at least 6 power phases is fine if it’s paired with enough heat sinks and other thermal features. But if you want to take everything up to the next level, you can go for a board with a 12-phase structure.   

Conclusion

A motherboard is one of the foremost important components of a computer since it supervises other elements like CPU, GPU, memory, and several others. You must consider a bunch of must-have factors to choose the best motherboard for your computer and get the most out of it. You must start by checking the form factor of the board, socket, and chipset so you won’t face any type of compatibility issue. After that, move towards checking the RAM support, CPU, graphics card utility, connectivity, VRM design, and thermal design.