The motherboard is the backbone of your computer build. It determines what you can do and what you can’t. With the right knowledge about motherboards, building your PC is easier and future frustrations will be avoided. So, what factors and features should you consider when buying a motherboard?
CPU Socket
Before you buy a motherboard, you should determine first the use of the PC you are building. Is it for gaming, workstation, or just an office PC. Then you can now choose the processor whether it is Intel or AMD, that suits the purpose of your PC. We suggest you select the latest model of the processor available as it will dictate what type of motherboard is compatible for your selected processor.
Chipset
After you have selected what platform you will build and the processor you will buy, one of the most important thing to consider is the chipset. Chipset dictates what processors are compatible, and what you can do with it. CPU socket can have different versions of chipset, for example AMD socket AM4 has B450, A520, B550, X570 chipset, and so on. The AM5 chipsets range from the high-end X670 and mainstream B650 to the budget A620. Their features vary accordingly:
There are also chipsets that are designed for specific type of processors. For example the Intel Z890 chipset allows overclocking for Intel unlocked processors, or the K version of the processor, Intel Core Ultra 9 285K for example. You can still put an Ultra 9 285K processor in an H810 motherboard but you will not be able to overclock it since the H810 chipset does not support overclocking.
Chipsets also determines the maximum PCIe lanes can your system use as well as SATA and USB ports. The more PCIe lanes, the more PCIe and M.2 slots can be placed in the motherboard. This is why motherboards with lower end chipset comes in micro-ATX form factor, putting it in an ATX form factor would be impractical as you wouldn’t be able to put as many PCIe and M.2 slots in the motherboard.
Some PCIe and M.2 slots are connected directly to the CPU and are not counted to the maximum PCIe lanes of the chipset. Those slots are dependent to the CPU model.
Form Factor
Motherboard size, or form factor, also determines what you can do and put into your PC. There are four common form factors of the motherboard for desktop PC, these are Extended ATX (E-ATX), ATX, micro-ATX, and mini-ITX. E-ATX is the largest, usually has four RAM slots, more SATA and USB ports, and more m.2, PCI, and PCI-E slots.
Micro-ATX is the middle ground, usually has 2 to 4 RAM slots, less PCI-E slots, less SATA and USB ports than ATX. Mini-ITX has the least slots and ports out of the four. This is designed to compact and portable.
The form factor also determines the size of the case you can use. You can put a mini-ITX motherboard in a micro-ATX case, but not an ATX motherboard.
RAM Slots
Having two RAM slots is not really a big deal nowadays as latest motherboards can support up to 32 GB of RAM per RAM slot, and that’s more than enough for day-to-day computing tasks and games. If you are on a budget, you can put a single 8 GB RAM stick, then add another 8 GB later. However, if you are building a desktop workstation, 32 GB is borderline minimum, so you would want more RAM slots for future upgrades.
Build Quality
Having durability features like locking bracket for PCI-E and RAM slots, anti-moist, and ESD protection makes the motherboard last longer than those that doesn’t have these features. Heatsinks on chipsets and VRMs also helps for the stability and longevity of the motherboard especially when overclocking. These additional components and features add to the cost of the motherboard, and don’t expect all of these on budget motherboards.
Ports
Another thing to consider when buying a motherboard are the ports. Look for the ports that most likely you would use most often, or specific port for the kind of PC you will build. This might be USB Type-C, Thunderbolt, wi-fi, digital or 7.1 audio, or dual-LAN port.
