5 best gaming motherboards

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

A motherboard is the most important module of any PC, on which almost everything depends – which processor can be installed, what memory, what additional features can be used for various purposes. There is a separate class of motherboards, which initially have a significantly higher resource in any parameters than 'motherboards' for ordinary work. We are talking about boards for professional gamers, and today's rating-review from Expertoogy will be devoted to them.

All rated gaming motherboards have a list of common properties:

1. passive cooling;
2. 24-pin main power connector;
3. B IOS AMI with disaster recovery tools;
4. EFI support;
5. IDE controller is not provided;
6. four-channel memory mode;
7. the upper limit of the amount of RAM – 128 GB (except for Supermicro X11SPM-TF );
8. number of slots for memory modules – 8 (except for Supermicro X11SPM-TF);
9. SLI / CrossFireX support (except for Supermicro X11SPM-TF).

Rating of the best gaming motherboards

Nomination	a place	Name of product	price
Rating of the best gaming motherboards	1	ASUS ROG RAMPAGE VI EXTREME OMEGA	RUB 50,002
	2	GIGABYTE X399 AORUS XTREME (rev. 1.0)	RUB 30,877
	3	ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 XE	RUB 28 811
	4	GIGABYTE X299 AORUS MASTER (rev. 1.0)	RUB 27,271
	5	Supermicro X11SPM-TF	RUB 29 625

ASUS ROG RAMPAGE VI EXTREME OMEGA

Rating: 4.9

First, let's take a look at the most powerful, new, feature-rich motherboard in the collection of ROG RAMPAGE gaming series made by the Taiwanese company ASUS. This is one of the most expensive models on the market as of early 2019. The form factor is EATX, that is, the board is slightly longer than the most common ATX format.

This gaming motherboard is built on socket LG A2066 and chipset Intel X299. Supports microprocessor systems Intel Core X-Series 79xx / 78xx. The processor is powered by two 8-pin power connectors. Supports DDR4 RAM at frequencies from 2133 to 4266 MHz.

Storage controllers include: SATA with six 6Gb / s connectors; RAID based on Intel X299 with support for array levels 0, 1, 5 and 10; two M.2 slots of type M key, 2242/2260/2280 – one and M key, 2242/2260/2280/22110 – the other. M.2 interface type – combined, with support for SATA 3.0 and PCI-E. There is also a U.2 connector for connecting drives of the corresponding form factor. PCI Express 3.0 is supported. There are three 16-lane PCI-E expansion slots and one 4-lane PCI-E expansion slot.

On the basis of two integrated network cards Aquantia AQC-107 and Intel I219V, two network interfaces with speeds of 10 Gbit / s and 1000 Mbit / s are arranged, respectively. Wireless – 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio and module Bluetooth. Sound subsystem integrated – HDA standard 7.1CH.

The set of interfaces for peripherals includes 20 USB ports, of which 16 are of USB3.1 standard and 12 of them are located on the rear panel, S / PDIF output, optical output, USB Type-C interface. There is also a socket for connecting RGB tape and two USB 3.1 Gen 2 interfaces.

Package includes four SATA cords, LED strip extension cable, SLI HB BRIDGE (2-WAY-M) card, three thermistor cords, ASUS 2T2R dual detachable antenna, optional fan board with accessories, Q connector, ROG cable labels, ROG sticker, three packs of screws for M.2.

Advantages

• two wired network cards;
• integrated 7.1 sound;
• extended RAID controller;
• design;
• equipment;
• rich set of interfaces.

disadvantages

• no pronounced disadvantages were found.

GIGABYTE X399 AORUS XTREME (rev. 1.0)

Rating: 4.8

The rating is continued by another bright motherboard for sophisticated gamers produced by the specialized company GIGABYTE, the AORUS series. The form factor is the same as the previous model – EATX. Dimensions – 305×269 mm.

This model is based on TR4 socket and AMD X399 chipset. Supports AMD Ryzen Threadripper class microprocessors. Two 8-pin connectors are used to power the processor. Installation of DDR4 RAM with frequencies from 2133 to 3600 MHz is allowed. What is important is that the motherboard equally accepts both ECC memory and non-ECC.

Storage subsystem controllers include: SATA with six 6Gb / s connectors; RAID controller based on AMD X399 with support for levels 0, 1 and 10; three slots for connecting non-mechanical drives M.2 of types Socket 3, M key, 2242/2260/2280 and Socket 3, M key, 2260/2280/22110. M.2 have a combined format, like the previous model, with support for SATA 3.0 and PCI-E. There are four 16-lane PCI-E expansion slots and one single-lane PCI-E expansion slot. PCI Express 2.0 and 3.0 standards are supported. There is a connector for connecting an RGB tape.

This gaming motherboard has significantly expanded network capabilities that provide three Ethernet RJ-45 network interfaces at once: two of them are gigabit based on GbE controllers Intel, one is 5 Gb / s (or 10 Gb / s in some other modifications) based on Aquantia GbE. Other network or device connection options are 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The sound subsystem is integrated here – Realtek ALC1220-VB, operates within the high standard of 7.1 multi-channel sound.

The set of interfaces includes 18 USB ports, of which 14 are of the 3.1 standard and 10 of them are located on the rear panel. Optical output, S / PDIF and USB Type-C are also available.

Advantages

• high-quality cooling;
• ease of replacement of parts;
• design;
• highlighting elements;
• equipment;
• rich set of interfaces.

disadvantages

• inconsistent operation of software for controlling the backlight with presets.

ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 XE

Rating: 4.7

The next position in the rating is a striking product of ASRock, in which the production of motherboards is one of the priority areas of activity. The form factor here is already slightly different – ATX, but it implies a difference only in size, but not in the type of power supply or other fundamental properties. Dimensions – 305×244 mm.

A gaming motherboard based on the socket LG A2066 and the chipset Intel X299, which implies compatibility with microprocessor systems Intel Core X-Series. Two 8-pin connectors are used to power the processor. It is allowed to install DDR4 DIMM or RDIMM RAM with frequencies from 2133 to 4400 MHz.

The storage controllers are organized as follows: SATA with ten 6Gb / s connectors; RAID controller based on Intel X299 with support for levels 0, 1, 5 and 10; three slots for M.2 SSD types Ultra M.2, M Key 2230/2242/2260/2280 and Ultra M.2, M Key 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110. As in the previous cases, the M.2 interface is combined, supports SATA 3.0 and PCI-E. There are four PCI-E expansion slots with 16 lanes each and one slot per lane. PCI Express versions 2.0 and 3.0 are supported.

In terms of networking capabilities, this motherboard is equal to the previous one, but only quantitatively, not qualitatively. It means that there are also three RJ-45 Ethernet network interfaces here, but based on other controllers and with different speeds – all three gigabit based on AQUANTIA AQC107, Intel I219V and Intel I211AT . Wireless – 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio. There is also a module Bluetooth.

The audio part of multimedia in this model is also integrated and complies with the multichannel standard 7.1CH, HDA, based on the Realtek ALC1220 microchip.

The set of interfaces includes 16 USB ports, of which 10 are 3.1 and 6 of them are located on the rear panel. There are also a pair of PS / 2 interfaces for connecting a mouse and keyboard, S / PDIF output, optical, USB Type-C interface. There is a special connector for connecting an RGB tape.

The package includes four SATA cords, a 3-Way SLI-2S1S Bridge card, an ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S card, two ASRock WiFi 2.4 / 5 GHz antennas, three screws for Ultra M.2, and a cover plate for the rear panel.

Advantages

• performance;
• three wired network interfaces;
• extended possibilities of memory installation;
• equipment;
• design.

disadvantages

• no pronounced disadvantages were found.

GIGABYTE X299 AORUS MASTER (rev. 1.0)

Rating: 4.7

The next position in the rating is another remarkable motherboard made by GIGABYTE, only with a slightly different focus and a different socket standard. Form factor – EATX.

A system based on socket LG A2066 and chipset Intel X299 with support for microprocessor systems Intel Core X series 44-lane / 28-lane was built. Two 8-pin connectors are provided to power the processor. Installation of DDR4 memory with frequencies from 2133 to 4000 MHz is allowed.

The storage controller is arranged as follows: SATA with 8 6Gb / s connectors; RAID controller based on Intel X299 with support for levels 0, 1, 5 and 10; three slots for M.2 solid-state drives of types Socket 3, M key, 2242/2260/2280/22110 and Socket 3, M key, 2260/2280/22110 (combined interface, as in the above solutions – PCI-E / SATA 3.0) . There are four PCI-E expansion slots with 16 lanes each. Built-in support for PCI Express 3.0.

The audio multimedia subsystem is almost 100% similar to the previous motherboard – multichannel 7.1CH, HDA based on Realtek ALC1220-VB.

Wired network connections in this motherboard are represented by two Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 interfaces. Wireless – 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio, module Bluetooth.

The set of interfaces of the gaming motherboard includes 13 USB ports, of which 11 are of the 3.1 standard, eight of which are located on the rear panel. There are also S / PDIF outputs, optical and USB Type-C interface. There is an interface for connecting an RGB tape.

Advantages

• performance;
• extended range for RAM;
• two gigabit network interfaces;
• minimum heating;
• design.

disadvantages

• some minor restrictions on interfaces and extensions.

Supermicro X11SPM-TF

Rating: 4.6

The rating of the best gaming motherboards according to the version is completed by the model that our experts deliberately included in the review in order to answer the request of those potential buyers who, for some reason, are limited by the choice of the smallest motherboard. This model is made in the microATX form factor.

This board uses socket LG A3647 (Socket P), is built on the Intel C622 chipset, supports Intel Xeon Scalable class processors. One 8-pin connector is provided to power the processor. It is allowed to install DDR4 DIMM or RDIMM RAM with speeds from 1600 to 2666 MHz. Importantly, the gaming motherboard is only compatible with ECC memory. There are six slots for RAM modules in total and provides an unprecedented maximum amount of possible memory installation – up to 768GB.

The storage controllers are organized as follows: SATA with 12 6Gb / s connectors; RAID controller based on Intel C622 with support for levels 0, 1, 5 and 10; one M.2 slot PCI-E 3.0 x4, 2242, 2280. There are also two PCI-E expansion slots for 16 lines and one for 8 lines. PCI Express 3.0 is supported.

As for the integrated sound, in this collection it is the only model where the integrated sound subsystem is not provided, and the card must be purchased separately. But there is a built-in Aspeed AST2500 graphics adapter, but in the context of a gaming motherboard, this is a weak advantage, since most likely, for a full-fledged game you will have to buy a discrete and much more powerful video card.

The built-in networking capabilities are pretty impressive: two controllers Intel X722 and Intel X557 provide two 10Gbps Ethernet links.

The set of interfaces includes 11 USB ports, 5 of which are of the 3.1 standard, and 2 of them are located on the rear panel. There are also two classic COM ports, D-Sub.

The package includes two SATA cables and a cover for the rear of the case with ports.

Advantages

• microATX form factor (advantage for those who need it);
• extremely high upper limit on the amount of RAM;
• two high-speed network Ethernet ports.

disadvantages

• natural limitations associated with an atypical form factor.

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Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.