How to choose a motherboard and not be disappointed

1. Decide on the form factor

The form factor determines the size of the motherboard, the location of the various connectors for connection and their number. Also, this characteristic affects the placement of the main parts in the system unit. At the moment you can find the following options:

• ATX (305 × 244 mm) is the most common standard supported in home, office and professional computers.
• EATX (305 × 330 mm) - originally used in server systems and workstations, but gradually moved to the premium segment of home PCs. Motherboards in this form factor stand out for their high price and are designed for top-end configurations.
• Mini‑ATX (284 × 208 mm) A smaller version of ATX that usually has the same feature set but fits in smaller cases.
• Micro-ATX, or mATX (244 × 244 mm) - is more often used in small budget systems, but there are also more expensive models for building compact powerful PCs.
• Mini-ITX (170 × 170 mm) - produced for small systems with an integrated processor, but now manufacturers also offer models for powerful discrete processors.
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• Mini‑STX (140 × 140 mm) - Designed for miniature PCs with an external power supply.

Manufacturers always indicate the size of the motherboard in the specifications. If in frame you can install an ATX card, then more compact models will do.

What motherboard to buy

• Motherboard GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS MASTER in the form factor EATX, from 33,828 rubles →
• Motherboard GIGABYTE B550M Aorus Elite in microATX form factor, from 14,512 rubles →
• Motherboard MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk in ATX form factor, from 10,677 rubles →
• Motherboard MSI H510I Pro in mini‑ITX form factor, from 9,179 rubles →

2. Pick the right socket

A socket is a socket on a motherboard that holds the central processing unit (CPU). The element consists of contacts to which the CPU is pressed by a holder with a grip and a lever.

At the moment, there are two popular manufacturers of processors - AMD and Intel. Part of the market is beginning to be occupied by other manufacturers from China, as well as Apple with its series of CPUs, but for assembling your own system, these options are not suitable due to limited distribution or closeness ecosystems.

The socket for AMD processors is called AM4, and for Intel, the name of the series begins with the letters LGA, followed by a combination of numbers (LGA 1700, LGA 1200). Processor sockets are updated regularly. It is better to buy such a CPU and motherboard so that you can upgrade the computer in a couple of years by replacing one of these parts. If you have already chosen CPU, then check the socket for it in the characteristics. The same should be indicated in the description of the motherboard.

There are also motherboards with an integrated processor without a socket. These systems usually have low performance, but also consume little power. Such models are suitable, for example, for home PCs, which will only perform simple everyday tasks.

What motherboard to buy

• Motherboard ASRock B550 Steel Legend with socket AM4, from 13,896 rubles →
• Motherboard ASUS Prime B660M‑K D4 with socket LGA1700, from 10 219 rubles →
• GIGABYTE B660M Gaming motherboard with LGA1700 socket, from 9,807 rubles →
• Motherboard ASUS TUF Gaming B450‑Plus II with socket AM4, from 9,179 rubles →

3. Find out information about the chipset

A chipset is a set of chips on the motherboard that controls all the components of a PC. The capabilities of the entire computer depend on the relevance of the chipset and its level.

Chipsets may have a different type and number of supported interfaces for drives and USB ports. Also, in models of motherboards of the middle and premium level, there is the possibility of overclocking processor and RAM to higher frequencies.

The Intel chipset series are identified by the letters B, H, Z, and X:

• B and H are budget chipsets for an Intel-based computer. They do not allow you to overclock the processor.
• Z is a chipset for powerful gaming and work PCs with support for overclocking or random access memory.
• X is an option for computing stations that are used in working with 3D graphics, as well as engineering applications.

There are A, B, X, and TRX designations in the AMD chipset line:

• A - for home and office PCs, similar to Intel's B and H chipsets.
• B is an intermediate mid-level option for those who want to overclock the processor.
• X - suitable for fine-tuning and overclocking the processor and RAM, an analogue of the Z chipset from Intel.
• TRX - This chipset is designed for powerful Threadripper processors and heavy CPU overclocking.

4. Find out about installed RAM slots

Motherboards of compact formats often have two slots for installing memory modules. Large ATX models usually have four slots, while high-end models for powerful computers have eight or more.

In the characteristics of RAM, the number after the letters DDR indicates its standard - the versions DDR4 and DDR5 are relevant. They are not interchangeable - you cannot insert DDR4 RAM into a motherboard for DDR5 and vice versa. Therefore, first you need to decide what kind of memory you will buy.

DDR4 is fine if you plan to completely upgrade your computer in a few years, or if you already have DDR4 memory modules. Choose DDR5 if you are building a PC, which you will then improve without replacing the motherboard. For example, buying only another video card and more RAM.

Please note that DDR5 performance is higher than DDR4, and without changing the motherboard, you will not be able to upgrade to DDR5. In a few years, only this standard will be relevant.

The motherboard must support the same frequency of RAM as your memory modules or more. Models with a higher frequency can be installed, but they will work more slowly. When buying, also pay attention to the maximum amount of supported memory.

What motherboard to buy

• Motherboard ASUS Prime Z690‑P with four slots for DDR5 DIMM with a frequency of up to 6,000 MHz, from 18,435 rubles →
• Motherboard MSI B450‑A Pro Max with four slots for DDR4 DIMM with a frequency of up to 4133 MHz, from 6,680 rubles →
• Motherboard ASUS Prime H510M‑K with two slots for DDR4 DIMM with a frequency of up to 3,200 MHz, from 5,700 rubles →

6. Explore the set of slots and connectors for other components

PCI‑E slots are required for connecting a video card, cards with an M.2 SSD adapter, Wi‑Fi modules, sound cards, and other components. There are several connector options:

• PCI-E x1 - Designed for Wi-Fi and sound cards.
• PCI-E x4 and x8 - needed for USB or SSD expansion cards with an adapter for an M.2 slot.
• PCI-E x16 - used for graphics cards.

In addition to the width of the connector, it is important to pay attention to the version. For example, for an RTX 3090 graphics card with a PCI-E 4.0 interface, the motherboard must have a port of x16 length and version 4.0 and higher. If you insert it into a PCI‑E 3.0 slot, performance will drop by half.

Check the motherboard specifications for the number of PCI-E slots, their width and interface version. Make sure there are enough slots of the right size and interface for all the devices you want to connect.

If you need to connect two or more video cards, then make sure that the motherboard has multiple PCI‑E x16 slots and it supports SLI technology for NVIDIA graphics cards or CrossFire for AMD.

If the computer will not be played and it is not planned to buy a separate video card, you can select a motherboard that supports processors with integrated graphics. In this case, it must have its own connectors: VGA, DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI.

Also check the available USB ports on the rear panel. There are two types: USB Type‑A and USB Type‑C. Look not only at the type and number of ports, but also at the interface version of each connector: it depends on whether your accessories will work and at what speed.

Current versions of the USB interface at the moment:

• USB 2.0 - suitable for mice, keyboards, Bluetooth modules and old flash drives.
• USB 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 - used for flash drives or external drives with a read speed of more than 100 MB / s, all devices for USB 2.0 are also supported.
• Thunderbolt 4 - suitable for SSDs with speeds greater than 1 GB / s, found only in USB Type-C.

The number, form factor and version of the interfaces of the USB connectors of the motherboard are indicated in its characteristics.

Each motherboard must have at least one Ethernet port. It is needed to connect the computer to router by cable. If you plan to buy a NAS server in the future to store your movie library or work files, choose a model with two network ports so that you can connect the server to your computer directly.

Even inexpensive motherboards are equipped with a port with a maximum speed of 1 Gb / s. There are options with ports of 2.5 Gb / s and more. They should be taken only if your provider gives such speed or you need to transfer files weighing tens of gigabytes over a local network.

HDD and SSD drives with speeds up to 600 Mbps are connected via a SATA III connector. It is enough just to find out their number, so that there is enough for everyone. devices.

For M.2 slots, you need to check not only the number, but also the interfaces. It depends on how fast the drives will work. To get the best drive speed, make sure one of the M.2 slots supports the same interface or a newer one. Current slot standards for M.2 at the moment: PCI-E 3.0 x4 (up to 4 GB/s), PCI-E 4.0 x4 (up to 8 GB/s) and PCI-E 4.0 x8 (up to 16 GB/s).

You will be able to plug a drive with write and read speeds greater than 5 GB/s into a PCI-E 3.0 x4 slot, but the speed will drop to 4 GB/s. You can check which interface the slots support in the specifications on the motherboard manufacturer's website.

Many modern motherboards are equipped with an M.2 interface, which is useful for ultra-fast SSDs. It can have mounts to accept SSD cards of various sizes, but the most common option is 2280.

What motherboard to buy

• ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula motherboard with three PCI-E 4.0 x16 slots and 12 USB ports, from 58,999 rubles →
• MSI MPG Z690 motherboard with three PCI-E 5.0 x16 slots and 10 USB ports, from 31,966 rubles →
• ASUS TUF B450M‑Pro Gaming motherboard with two PCI‑E 3.0 x16 slots and six USB ports, from 8,578 rubles →
• ASRock B660M‑HDV Motherboard with One PCI‑E 4.0 x16 Slot and Six USB Ports, from 7,790 rubles →

7. Understand the power system

When choosing a motherboard, you need to take into account the processor power scheme, the characteristics of the power supply unit (PSU) and the cooling efficiency - the stability and life of the element depend on this.

On the motherboard, the power connectors are located next to the RAM and just above the processor socket. If at least one of these ports is not connected, then the computer will not work.

For the main power line, modern motherboards have a 24-pin connector that connects to the PSU.

The motherboard can have a four- or eight-pin CPU power connector in different combinations: 8 + 4 or even 8 + 8-pin. The two 8‑pin connectors provide more powerful processors. A simpler CPU can be powered by one eight-pin connector.

8. Consider the presence of sound and additional modules

Any motherboard is equipped with a built-in sound chip. The sound quality and capabilities of the audio chip vary depending on its price category. But it should definitely be possible to connect a standard 5.1 and 7.1 multi-channel system, as well as Dolby Atmos.

For multimedia systems, it is important to have a built-in Wi-Fi adapter. It will be easier to put one router or an access point to which all devices are connected at once, rather than laying a cable through walls. Some motherboards may have a built-in Bluetooth adapter - these are more expensive and are usually needed to build compact media centers.

Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth modules can be connected even if they are not in the original scheme. To do this, you need to buy the appropriate expansion card and insert it into the PCI‑E slot.