How to shop for motherboards

I would also like to know this. When I built my machine I built it around the gtx 1080, that's all I cared about. Would like to know where I messed up.

the answer is that it literally doesnt't matter, motherboards are a meme product.
just get the cheapest one that has all the features/slots you need

I just look for what I need. What kind of ram it can take, how many slots, how many ports, what socket, etc

bump for interest

front side bus speed and good heatsinks

>>58560742
-form
-socket
-ram type/max-ram/max-speed
-ports
-overclock*
*only some intel mobo models allow you to OC locked CPU

>>58560742

I basically do this

>>58560827

and

>>58560835

The more reviews you read the more you realize how many idiots are building systems out there. I've used almost every MB manufacture and never had a problem posting.

I really feel like all these boards that get bad reviews are because of incompetent builders.

>>58560742
God Tier:
EVGA

Good Tier:
GIGABYTE
ASUS

Mid Tier:
AsRock (they've improved a lot over the last 2 years or so)
MSI
Intel

Meh Tier:
SuperMicro

Bad Tier:
Biostar
Jetway
ECS Elitegroup

>>58560742
Unless you are doing extreme overclocking and running 2-3 graphics cards it doesn't really matter that much.

Just make sure the board has the features that you need.

>>58560889
>ASUS
>AsRock
This is something weird I noticed when I'm shopping for motherboards. Aren't they the same company, or am I missing something here? Is one made as a lesser brand for market segmentation or what?

>>58560742

How many video cards are you going to install?

And other expansion slot requirements. Right there this will greatly narrow down your options.

You will want the ability to install at least 32 GB DDR4 RAM, and you'll want to run it at 4000 MHz or more. Will you do those things immediately? Maybe not, but you'll want the upgrade capability if you intend to use your rig for more than three years.

You want 6 SATA III connectors internally, and best if you have RAID capability.

Don't worry about m.2 SSD connection on board. They are no faster than a normal SATA III SSD. However, if you really want top SSD speed, you'll consider a PCIe SSD, in which case you'll want a PCIe x4 slot available that isn't blocked. Maybe if you only install 2 video cards you'll have a leftover x8 slot for that option.

You've now narrowed the options down to about 10 or 15 boards ... and I've assumed you're going with a modern Intel CPU.

Will you overclock? Make sure the board does that, and does it without problems.

At least four fan headers, 2 for CPU and 2 for case, all 4-pin if possible. You can add splitters to those, especially 4-pin headers, if needed.

Maybe you want eSATA ports, so look for a board that has 2 of those, if possible. These are nice since you can use a SATA III external case with an SSD in it and use it as a native boot drive, freeing up your internal SATA connections for RAID, id you want mass storage that's fast.

Extra internal USB headers are always useful. Should have 3 x USB 2 and one or two USB.

MSI, Gigabyte or ASUS. I doubt you'll have to choose between more than 8-10 boards once you answer those questions.

Come back after you've answered those questions with a list of models that look most interesting to you. Now you're down to budget and the most reliable model to sort the short list.

>>58560974
ASrock is the lower segment brand owned by Asus yes.

>>58561061

Also, missed EVGA boards. they're fucking great if you get the right one. THIS: >>58560889 ... although, MSI does make some great boards, so I'd have put them at Good Tier.

ASRock is 4th slot choice, at best, but usually they will treat you OKay if you research what you're getting into beforehand. Arguably, Intel is at least as good as ASRock, so Intel generally would more likely be 4th choice.

Importantly, specific models by each brand are more important than the brand name only.

On newegg, most boards display their ram capabilities like so:

4000(O.C), 3600(O.C), (3200) (*)

Does the asterik still mean I'm overclocking, or does it really just mean the board now can support that speed?

I don't want a board that will require me to Overclock my ram right?

> running proprietary boot firmware
Just asking to be locked down eh?

Choose one of these instead:
https://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/

>>58560742
You just need to look for one that has all the slots and connections that you want.
Remember to look for chipsets that allow you to overclock if you plan to overclock your cpu.
Cheaper boards have 2 ram slots instead of 4, but that's usually enough. (It allows for 16gb)
You need a PCIe x16 for your graphics card, almost all boards have that.
You need connections to your hard drive and to your dvd drive (usually sata). Most even have enough of them for more than one hard drive.
If you have anything else, like a pci soundcard, make sure that the board has a slot that fits. Keep in mind that a big graphics card might block the slot right next to it.
You might want to check if the board has enough USB connections and additional connections that you might need (like Firewire or something, idk).
Otherwise just get the cheapest one that fits these conditions. If you want to be safe, pick a known company, like Asus, evga, msi, gigabyte, asrock or intel.

>>58561212
>Does the asterik still mean I'm overclocking, or does it really just mean the board now can support that speed?

Yes and no.

Yes, as in you will have to go into your BIOS and make some setting adjustments.

No, as in you will still need to buy RAM that runs at those speeds, so you're not really overclocking the RAM, but you are taking advantage of BIOS settings on the mobo that take advantage of the native capabilities of the RAM.

Then, Yes again, as in you might try to buy 3200 RAM and change those settings to see if it can take 3600. Possibly (probably) with a slight voltage bump. So, if you buy slower RAM but want the higher speed, you then are truly overclocking the RAM ... but if you buy 4000 RAM and want to run it at 4000, you're not really overclocking the ram so much as you are unlocking mobo capabilities.

Then, watch for BIOS updates. If you flash the BIOS in the future, it may then natively support those speeds without having to unlock them. Gigabyte & EVGA (that I know from personal experience) are pretty good about that.

Another feature to look for is being able to store multiple "profiles" in your BIOS. Meaning, you can make a bunch of settings, then save them so you don't have to figure them out again later. For example, when you first setup, get everything running at native capacity, save the profile as a safe default. then try overclock settings and save them as other profiles so you can switch between them until you eventually find an optimized, stable group of settings.

You'll lose these if/when you flash the BIOS, so write down the stable combinations for when you need to reset them.

>>58560742
Make sure it's the right socket, has the amount of ports you need, AMD the price is right. That's it for a basics need PC motherboard. All brands are fine, even odd brands like Biostar

Now if you're going to be running high end NVME drives, multiple video cards, a very High overclock on the CPU, you have to take a look at a few more things. For multiple pcie devices, does the board offer 2 full sized pciex16 slots? Does the motherboard even support SLI/xfire? (Some do one but not the other). What does the Voltage regulation section look like? How many phases? 4+1, 8+2, 12+2, 12+4? Is the heatsink on the VRMs capable of dispersing heat properly? Or will it just let the VRMs cook themselves to death? Is the CPU power plug a 4 or an 8 pin?

That last bit is only if you're really looking to squeeze every last MHz out of your CPU. Even middle of the road generic motherboards (assuming they're Z series) can overclock a little. My buddy's $80 gigabyte Z170 board is holding his i5-6600k at 4.4ghz and has been since launch without a hitch.

>>58560974
They used to be owned as the lower quality boards from Asus, (like what >>58561062 said)
, but they were spun off and have high quality boards now.

>>58560889
>Meh Tier:
>SuperMicro
Are you kidding me?

Also, Intel doesn't produce motherboards anymore.

>>58560742
OP, just make sure the motherboard has the right socket, can overclock if you're planning on doing that (for Intel boards, the chipset should start with Z or X), read some reviews.

In my personal experience, you can't go wrong with MSI, Gigabyte or ASUS. ASRock is good, too, but on my X99 board, the BIOS is buggy and shit.

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>>58561412
Thanks babe. Very informative post.

>>58561284
>Cheaper boards have 2 ram slots instead of 4, but that's usually enough. (It allows for 16gb)

That applies for DDR 3 boards. DDR 4 supports 16 GB chips, so a 2x RAM slot DDR 4 board can support 32 GB ........ IF the chipset is designed to.

However, in the current world of computing fun & games, 2 x 8 GB chips for 16 GB should be overkill for almost anybody. If you start working with virtual machines & multiple OS installs, then you can easily require over 16 GB.

I run an FX8350 CPU with 2x 8 GB chips plus 2x 4 GB chips for a total of 24 GB RAM (I started with 8 GB then upgraded later by adding 16 GB). I was lucky and am able to run all 4 chips at 1866 MHz (the max for AMD FX chips) ... but since they aren't matched, I could well have ended up fukt and had to settle for 1600 MHz or lower.

Anyway, once I started playing with virtual installs, it's easy to consume 18 or 20 GB RAM. It's one of the few situations where 16 GB can fall short.

If you're just gaming on Windows, 16 GB will take care of you quite well. Start with 2x 8GB chips if you can, then (if games get stupid ridiculous in the next few years) you can add in another 2x 8GB chips.

I have grave doubts more than 32 GB will be required within 5 years, and probably not for 8 or more. But, I also come from an era where I couldn't imagine needing over 4 GB total, and was very happy with 2 GB for many years.

Thank you to everyone in the thread.
Not OP, but you deserve a thanks since OP is too gay to do it.

>>58561662
I'm still reading through the information while simultaneously looking through some motherboards, but thanks for the compliment

In any case, thanks for the help guys, looks like I'm going to be making my first mini tower based on the needs of my current build

>>58561662

Eh. OP asked a legit question, then stayed with the thread long enough to get something out of it.

So, I'd say OP is probably bi at the most, maybe just bi-curious.


One last thing I'll throw on the pile: the point was made that a board should be able to cool itself. Agreed, but that question is one of the later ones to answer after sorting out some of the other info. Most boards today have adequate heat sinks where needed, and it's specific models that have design flaws, which you find out by checking reviews.

This problem can be addressed by resetting the heatsinks or even switching them (pretty radical & pain in the ass surgery, but do-able). Or, also make sure your case is properly ventilated and a good stream of cooling air is blowing into any problem spots.

Visit overclock.net forums and read around. It's a deep archive of information by about a million hobbyists. They've evaluated & solved every problem that exists with almost any piece of hardware ever made ... you just need to find it.

I'm out. Whoever got something out of this thread, you're welcome.

>>58561412
To be perfectly clear on the subject:

If it says 3200(O.C), that does NOT mean I have to overclock to reach that speed, only that if I want to reach that speed with a slower ram, I can, by overclocking.

So I buy a motherboard that says 3200(O.C) and have 3200 ram, I will not be using more voltage to run it?

The * VS (OC) is confusing me.

>>58562059
>motherboard that says 3200(O.C) and have 3200 ram, I will not be using more voltage to run it?

Correct.

You _SHOULD_ not have to make a voltage adjustment.

I'm leaving myself an out because you might end up with a board that's slightly off-spec. In which case, a rare case, you might have to make a slight upward tweak. And ... emphasize SLIGHT. Like, 0.005 volt steps, until things behave well.

This is the price of playing with cutting edge. When you first boot the board out of the box, it'll probably boot at 3000 no matter what. Or even lower, depending on the board.

After you get it booted and running, even install your OS, then you can go into your BIOS and start making adjustments.

You _SHOULD_ not have to bump the voltage, but remain open to the idea that you might have to if there's a boot problem related to the RAM. Also, if you really get into it, you might want to play with the individual timings (eventually), and then voltage adjustments might come into play again.

In 99% or more cases, though, you should not have to adjust voltage. You might even be able to reduce it and still get your native RAM speed running stable.

If you just want to get the system running before you install the OS, you can also consider making a live CD (or USB stick) with some flavor linux. It will allow you to see if the system is running at spec and maybe spot problems/troubleshoot the hardware before you do a full install. It's one way to track down installation problems/driver configuration issues that might be separate from hardware issues.

I can't get into this right now ... so if this looks interesting, check into the Friendly Linux Thread here and ask around for which flavor of live CD to try and what basic GUI-friendly tools to check system/GPU temps, CPU & RAM speeds, fan speeds, etc.

Don't forget there's always a Build Thread & a Stupid Questions Thread running here these days ... make use of those.

Luck to you.

>>58562319
Thank you very much.

>>58561223
must be great been stuck with 2009 hardware.

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>>58560742
pcpartpicker.com
And
logicalincrements.com

>>58560889
>God Tier:
>EVGA
gotta love constant evga shilling on /g/

You want the right size, the right chipset, and the inputs/outputs you plan on using
After that it doesn't matter, especially on the Intel side where they build the features into the chipset themselves so that motherboard manufacturers have as little actual responsibility as possible

>>58561212
If it's not Z170, it will only run at 2133mhz. "Higher frequency" ram sticks will still work, at 2133mhz
Z170 can use fast ram to its full potential, set through XMP

>>58562059
"Overclocking" is a nearly one-step process nowadays, and DDR4 can reach some insane frequencies on normal voltage (the biggest advantage of ddr4)
If you have a Z170 motherboard, you can just drop 3200mhz ram in, set XMP and have fast ram, it's the Z170 chipset that allows this, not the motherboard itself

>>58562319
Incompatible ram is almost never a voltage issue, ESPECIALLY with ddr4, it's more likely that it's an exception model of ram that just won't work without updated BIOS/support. Happened with my Gskill, one of the bios updates was specifically for ram XMP compatibility.
There might be a list of compatible ram on the motherboards original website

>>58564041
>>58564074
>>58564106
thanks!

>>58560883
>I really feel like all these boards that get bad reviews are because of incompetent builders.

Pretty much this.

>>58561482
Kill yourself, nigger.

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https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WkRrwV
am I a meme

>>58564987
>didnt get noctua fans to match his meme headphones

try harder

>>58565010
I could just buy poo leds tho

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Can someone tell me what the difference between these 5 boards is? What am I losing out on if I go with the cheapest one?

I intend to overclock.

>>58565441
For one thing, one is micro atx. meaning its a small sized mother board.

When buying a motherboard, you have to make sure the motherboard will fit inside the PC case you buy.

>>58565476
The fuck's this P K AR A shit?

>>58565476

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/EliteKnightRamza/saved/nFkjXL

This is my build. Ignoring the micro ATX board, which of those 4 remaining is best for me? I chose the cheapest one to save money but if I am missing something critical I will pay for the more expensive ones.

>>58565506
>>58565517


try /sqt/, this thread is ded

>>58560742
gaming motherboards are oft re-brands of the cheaper version with near identical specs, the difference is usually a few ports and the leds, board paint scheme and audio port paint scheme