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A round up of the best motherboard deals May 2024 (Megathread)
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KITTYBOTS Deal editor
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About this deal
Update 1
20/05/2024 Update.
Hope everyone is having a nice day today!
I noticed a lot of good CPU deals recently,but every good CPU deserves a good motherboard to plug it into! However,with the different sockets,features and standards it can be a bit of a minefield deciding on what to get.
So the aim of this thread is to go through what you need to get and at the lowest price possible.
What is a Motherboard chipset and what is a CPU socket?
The motherboard is the basis of any good PC. It serves as the fabric which holds together all the other components of the PC,so it is essential to choose wisely.Techspot have a good article about the anatomy of a motherboard here which covers all the ins and outs of what makes a motherboard tick. Tom's Hardware also has a set of good articles explaining this here and here.
Living on the motherboard a chipset manages the communication between all the components in a PC. Intel and AMD design several chipsets,each with different features to fit specific price-points. Different chipsets will only work with specific CPUs.
A CPU socket is the place where the CPU slots into on a motherboard. Since different socket shapes exist,only CPUs compatible with that socket shape will fit in that motherboard. They also have to be electrically compatible too.
What are motherboard VRMs and why are they important?
The VRM is the Voltage Regulation Module and is responsible for providing clean and stable voltages to the CPU and is an important part of the power delivery mechanism to the CPU. Poor VRMs can lead to CPU instability. As they produce a lot of heat,motherboards without heatsinks can cause problems.
Overview of Chipsets and Sockets(since 2021)
AMD has two sockets,namely Socket AM4(DDR4) and AM5(DDR5). Intel has had two sockets,namely socket LGA1200(DDR4) and LGA1700(DDR4 and DDR5 dependent on CPU and generation).
20/05/2024 List
Motherboards are primarily ranked by VRM and heatsinking quality. I have looked through reviews to check VRM quality. DDR4 motherboards for Intel are not included because DDR5 prices are low.
20/05/2024 Update.
Price change
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £97.94 - price increase to £98.71
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £122.97 - price decrease to £120.97
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £139.97 - price decrease to £139.90
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £154.14 - price decrease to £152.40
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £233.98 - price decrease to £229
ASRock B760M PG Riptide(mATX) - £123.55 - price decrease to £121.94
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £139.37 - price decrease to £138.93
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £133.97 - price decrease to £128.98
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186 - price decrease to £184.98
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.19 - price increase to £232.99
Added
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE(mATX) - £193.49
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM4/DDR4/PCIe 3.0/ no overclocking or limited overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have limited or no overclocking support.
ASUS PRIME B450M-A II(mATX) - £69.95
MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX(mATX) - £64.99
MSI B450 GAMING PLUS MAX(ATX) - £79.98( )
ASUS AMD Ryzen A520M-PLUS WIFI TUF GAMING(mATX/Wi-Fi) - £79.99
Asrock A520M-ITX/AC(mini-ITX) - £106.88
Midrange motherboards(AMD/Socket AM4/DDR4/PCIe 4.0/overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled.
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £98.71
Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE(mATX) - £103.99
MSI B550-A PRO AMD Ryzen B550 ATX DDR4 Motherboard(ATX) - £109.95
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0/no overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have limited or no overclocking support.
ASRock A620M PRO RS - £119.99/ASRock A620M PRO RS WIFI(mATX) - £129.99
Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS(mATX) - £119.99/Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £133.99
Unusually for an A620 motherboard unoffically supports a single PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD.
Asrock A620I LIGHTNING WIFI(mini-ITX) - out of stock(best mini-ITX motherboard under £170)
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0 NVME/ limited overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs with PBO enabled.
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £112
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £111.72
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £108.98
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £120.97
ASRock AMD B650M PRO RS(mATX) - £132.66
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £139.97
Midrange motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0 NVME/ overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled.
Gigabyte B650 Eagle AX(ATX) - £139
Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX V2(ATX) - £149
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £152.40
Asus TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI(ATX) - £154.99
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £190
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE(mATX) - £193.49
ASRock AMD B650I Lightning WIFI(mini-ITX) - £209.99 + postage
Highend motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 5.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 NVME/ overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled. Will have PCI-E 5.0 for both the main card slot and NVME SSDs.
ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI(ATX) - £229.99
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £229
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WIFI(mini-ITX) - £275.97
Entry level motherboards(Intel/Socket LGA1700/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 card slot/ PCIe 4.0 NVME slot/no overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have no overclocking support. Since Intel CPUs consume more power,they require motherboards with relatively better VRMs than AMD equivalents.
MCE(or the AIB partner equivalent) should be OK with locked SKUs,but K SKUs ideally should be run within the stock settings.
ASRock B760M PG Riptide(mATX) - £121.94
ASRock B760 PRO RS(ATX) - £131.99
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £138.93
ASRock B760M STEEL LEGEND WIFI(mATX) - £146.99
The same motherboard as above but without the Sonic branding.
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £128.98
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £148.99
Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX(ATX) - £174.98
MSI Intel MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI - £179
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186
Gigabyte B760I AORUS PRO(mini-ITX) - £191.99
Midrange motherboards(Intel/Socket LGA1700/DDR5/PCIe 5.0 card slot/ PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 NVME slot/ overclocking)
Stronger VRMs. More suited for overclocking. Core i9 CPUs might require better motherboards for overclocking.
Asrock Z790 PG Lightning(ATX) - £160.99
More of a basic Z790 - suitable for overclocking a Core i5 - probably a Core i9 should be run at stock.
MSI Intel MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI(ATX) - £221.78 - reported problems
GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX(ATX) - £224.99
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.99
Glossary of Terms
VRM:Voltage Regulation Module
Heatsink: Metal Radiator used to dissipate heat from VRM
NVMe:nonvolatile memory express
PCIe:PCI express
DDR:Double Data Rate
Overclocking: method of running CPU faster than factory settings. Causes more power draw and heat production.
I noticed a lot of good CPU deals recently,but every good CPU deserves a good motherboard to plug it into! However,with the different sockets,features and standards it can be a bit of a minefield deciding on what to get.
So the aim of this thread is to go through what you need to get and at the lowest price possible.
What is a Motherboard chipset and what is a CPU socket?
The motherboard is the basis of any good PC. It serves as the fabric which holds together all the other components of the PC,so it is essential to choose wisely.Techspot have a good article about the anatomy of a motherboard here which covers all the ins and outs of what makes a motherboard tick. Tom's Hardware also has a set of good articles explaining this here and here.
Living on the motherboard a chipset manages the communication between all the components in a PC. Intel and AMD design several chipsets,each with different features to fit specific price-points. Different chipsets will only work with specific CPUs.
A CPU socket is the place where the CPU slots into on a motherboard. Since different socket shapes exist,only CPUs compatible with that socket shape will fit in that motherboard. They also have to be electrically compatible too.
What are motherboard VRMs and why are they important?
The VRM is the Voltage Regulation Module and is responsible for providing clean and stable voltages to the CPU and is an important part of the power delivery mechanism to the CPU. Poor VRMs can lead to CPU instability. As they produce a lot of heat,motherboards without heatsinks can cause problems.
Overview of Chipsets and Sockets(since 2021)
AMD has two sockets,namely Socket AM4(DDR4) and AM5(DDR5). Intel has had two sockets,namely socket LGA1200(DDR4) and LGA1700(DDR4 and DDR5 dependent on CPU and generation).
20/05/2024 List
Motherboards are primarily ranked by VRM and heatsinking quality. I have looked through reviews to check VRM quality. DDR4 motherboards for Intel are not included because DDR5 prices are low.
20/05/2024 Update.
Price change
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £97.94 - price increase to £98.71
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £122.97 - price decrease to £120.97
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £139.97 - price decrease to £139.90
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £154.14 - price decrease to £152.40
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £233.98 - price decrease to £229
ASRock B760M PG Riptide(mATX) - £123.55 - price decrease to £121.94
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £139.37 - price decrease to £138.93
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £133.97 - price decrease to £128.98
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186 - price decrease to £184.98
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.19 - price increase to £232.99
Added
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE(mATX) - £193.49
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM4/DDR4/PCIe 3.0/ no overclocking or limited overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have limited or no overclocking support.
ASUS PRIME B450M-A II(mATX) - £69.95
MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX(mATX) - £64.99
MSI B450 GAMING PLUS MAX(ATX) - £79.98( )
ASUS AMD Ryzen A520M-PLUS WIFI TUF GAMING(mATX/Wi-Fi) - £79.99
Asrock A520M-ITX/AC(mini-ITX) - £106.88
Midrange motherboards(AMD/Socket AM4/DDR4/PCIe 4.0/overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled.
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £98.71
Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE(mATX) - £103.99
MSI B550-A PRO AMD Ryzen B550 ATX DDR4 Motherboard(ATX) - £109.95
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0/no overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have limited or no overclocking support.
ASRock A620M PRO RS - £119.99/ASRock A620M PRO RS WIFI(mATX) - £129.99
Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS(mATX) - £119.99/Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £133.99
Unusually for an A620 motherboard unoffically supports a single PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD.
Asrock A620I LIGHTNING WIFI(mini-ITX) - out of stock(best mini-ITX motherboard under £170)
Entry level motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0 NVME/ limited overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs with PBO enabled.
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £112
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £111.72
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £108.98
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £120.97
ASRock AMD B650M PRO RS(mATX) - £132.66
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £139.97
Midrange motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0 NVME/ overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled.
Gigabyte B650 Eagle AX(ATX) - £139
Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX V2(ATX) - £149
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £152.40
Asus TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI(ATX) - £154.99
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £190
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE(mATX) - £193.49
ASRock AMD B650I Lightning WIFI(mini-ITX) - £209.99 + postage
Highend motherboards(AMD/Socket AM5/DDR5/PCIe 5.0 Card Slot/PCIe 5.0 NVME/ overclocking)
Better VRMs with heatsinks - will be more suited to running CPUs overclocked or with PBO enabled. Will have PCI-E 5.0 for both the main card slot and NVME SSDs.
ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI(ATX) - £229.99
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £229
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WIFI(mini-ITX) - £275.97
Entry level motherboards(Intel/Socket LGA1700/DDR5/PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 card slot/ PCIe 4.0 NVME slot/no overclocking)
Basic boards to run the CPU at stock settings. Have no overclocking support. Since Intel CPUs consume more power,they require motherboards with relatively better VRMs than AMD equivalents.
MCE(or the AIB partner equivalent) should be OK with locked SKUs,but K SKUs ideally should be run within the stock settings.
ASRock B760M PG Riptide(mATX) - £121.94
ASRock B760 PRO RS(ATX) - £131.99
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £138.93
ASRock B760M STEEL LEGEND WIFI(mATX) - £146.99
The same motherboard as above but without the Sonic branding.
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £128.98
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £148.99
Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX(ATX) - £174.98
MSI Intel MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI - £179
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186
Gigabyte B760I AORUS PRO(mini-ITX) - £191.99
Midrange motherboards(Intel/Socket LGA1700/DDR5/PCIe 5.0 card slot/ PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 NVME slot/ overclocking)
Stronger VRMs. More suited for overclocking. Core i9 CPUs might require better motherboards for overclocking.
Asrock Z790 PG Lightning(ATX) - £160.99
More of a basic Z790 - suitable for overclocking a Core i5 - probably a Core i9 should be run at stock.
GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX(ATX) - £224.99
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.99
Glossary of Terms
VRM:Voltage Regulation Module
Heatsink: Metal Radiator used to dissipate heat from VRM
NVMe:nonvolatile memory express
PCIe:PCI express
DDR:Double Data Rate
Overclocking: method of running CPU faster than factory settings. Causes more power draw and heat production.
More details at
Community Updates
Edited by KITTYBOTS, 59 seconds ago
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101 Comments
sorted byTime to stop paying the Asus tax, we already have had enough taxes.
went for a asus think 69xx proart matched with a intel 13700K and yes not a Matx , but really not seeing a relative difference on the fx6300 i upgraded from , and in the last 6 weeks /2 months bluescreens and daily freezes till i reboot
Removed
ASRock B650M PRO RS(mATX) - £119.99(Refurb) - out of stock
Price change
MSI B450 GAMING PLUS MAX(ATX) - £74.99( ) - price increase to £79.99
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £109.99(plus postage) - price decrease to £108.98
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £121.97 - price increase to £122.97
ASRock AMD B650M PRO RS(mATX) - £129.98(plus postage) - £132.66 delivered
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £149.02 - price decrease to £139.97
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £154.99 - price decrease to £154.14
Asus TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI(ATX) - £199.61 - price decrease to £154.99
ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI(ATX) - £209.99 - price increase to £233.98
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WIFI(mini-ITX) - £239.99 + postage - price increase to £276.97
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £139 - price increase to £139.37
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £152.99 - price increase to £154
MSI Intel MAG B760 TOMAHAWK WIFI - £179.99 - price decrease to £179
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186.48 - price decrease to £186
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £239.99 - price decrease to £232.99 (edited)
ME = Victim aka MUG (edited)
videocardz.com/new…ent
Promotion ends 23rd May 2024. (edited)
Added
ASRock B760 PRO RS(ATX) - £131.99
ASRock Z790 PG Lightning(ATX) - £160.99
Price change
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £117.15 with code BLUEBELL10 (edited)
uk.pcpartpicker.com/lis…ZqR
It came from Ebuyer
Noob question here, I got a PC that used an old processor, and it struggled to run unreal engines due to a multi thread limit. I checked the upgrade, but it turns out it's the best processor for my motherboard. Hence, I'm on the hunt for a new pair of mb and processor.
On my research, it seems Intel 14900k is the best option (Happy for any suggestion) . What is the best motherboard to buy (balance between price and quality)? I have tall corsair casing and rtx 4070.
The Zen 4 Ryzen CPUs are also more efficient and are easier to run. Zen 5 is also due for release this year - might be some news about it at Computex in June. (edited)
kitguru.net/com…/1/
There are cheaper A620 and B650 motherboards but I wouldn't trust them:
They need to be used with horizontal air cooling otherwise the VRMs will get very hot and it limits the upgrade path.
The Gigabyte B650M DS3H and ASRock B650M PRO RS are both around £120 and have good VRMs. The Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS and ASRock A620M PRO RS are the same price and look OK too.
If you can wait for an Ebay discount code again - check if Ebuyer or Technextday are included. An example is here when the ASRock B650M PRO RS was £100. Sometimes you can get special offers like here when the Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS was below £100. (edited)
Regarding the B550 Tomahawk - the B550 PRO and Gaming Plus are consistently cheap and should suffice for the most part. It's a good board - I could put it in if people want.
But as AM4 is now a more budget orientated platform with no real core updates,if spending more I would go AM5.
The other Tomahawk boards are not as well priced. The B650 Tomahawk when I made the list yesterday is £180. But there are a pair of Asus B650E motherboards for a similar price with PCIe 5.0 card and NVMe slots.
The Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX has similar VRM temperatures to the MSI B650 Tomahawk. The Eagle AX also has a better VRM than the Gaming X AX. Both are much cheaper than the Tomahawk when I made the list yesterday.
Of course the pricing can change,so like the SSD Megathread the list will change according to the changes in pricing. (edited)
Only difference in the MSI one supports higher RAM speeds and has 6 power phases compared to 5 which I don't think matter?
amazon.co.uk/Gig…8-3
Removed
Asrock A620I LIGHTNING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £162.15 - out of stock everywhere.
Added
ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2(mATX) - £111.72 - additional store
Price change
MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX(mATX) - £69.98 - price drop to £64.99
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £98.71 - price drop to £97.94
Asus TUF GAMING A620M-PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £136.80 - price drop to £133.99
ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI(ATX) - £209.99 - price increase to £229.99
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £233.98 - price drop to £229
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.99 - price drop to £232.19
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £97.94 - price increase to £99.13
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £190.99 - price drop to £190
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WIFI(mini-ITX) - £276.97 - price drop to £275.97
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £154 - price drop to £133.97
Price change
Asrock B550M Pro4(mATX) - £97.94 - price increase to £98.71
Gigabyte B650M DS3H(mATX) - £122.97 - price decrease to £120.97
MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI(mATX) - £139.97 - price decrease to £139.90
Asrock B650 LiveMixer(ATX) - £154.14 - price decrease to £152.40
MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI - £233.98 - price decrease to £229
ASRock B760M PG Riptide(mATX) - £123.55 - price decrease to £121.94
ASRock B760M PG SONIC WIFI(mATX) - £139.37 - price decrease to £138.93
Gigabyte B760M AORUS ELITE AX(mATX) - £133.97 - price decrease to £128.98
ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI(mini-ITX) - £186 - price decrease to £184.98
ASRock Intel Z790 Steel Legend Wifi(ATX) - £232.19 - price increase to £232.99
Added
Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE(mATX) - £193.49