- Jul 27, 2014
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Hello and welcome to the Motherboard tier list!
This list ranks (or tiers) Motherboards from currently active sockets, namely the LGA1150, LGA2011-3, AM3+, FM2+ and FM2, separated by chipsets like X99, 990FX, Z97, H81, A88X, A55 etc. The ranking criteria comprise quality, usability and features, per the specific chipset the board is based off. The criteria are more clearly defined in the next section.
It’s important to understand basic Motherboard terminologies to select the best board for your specific purpose and more importantly understand what’s within this piece of tech. Learn about them here:
Motherboard terminologies
Informational links:
VRMs and Power Phases explained
Anatomies of Motherboard
This list is intended to help users in selecting the best boards for their needs. The top tiers contain the best boards for that chipset, tier 1 being the best.
Understanding the Motherboard tier list
NOTE: All MoBos are distinctly categorized first by chipset, then by features.
Key:
Red: MSI
Blue: ASROCK
Green: GIGABYTE
Gold: ASUS
Gray: ECS
Pink: BIOSTAR
Black: EVGA
Locating the required chipset/ socket
The Motherboard list is very big. It's impractical to accommodate it all on a single page. Therefore, the links to different threads containg each specific chipset have been given on this page. All included threads are part of this article. You can discuss about a particular chipset on it's own thread, or this thread.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Motherboard Tier List
Intel sockets
LGA2011-3 socket:
LGA1150 socket:
With that we come to an end of the Intel’s Motherboard tier list. It should be noted that all boards in general are fine quality wise and there’s no reason to avoid them due to quality. Yes, basic motherboards should not be paired with high end CPUs, and only Z and X series boards support OCing officially. Though H and B MoBos have unlocked multipliers for Pentium.
But, OCing is supported with Intel ‘K’ series CPUs only. The i3, non-K i5/ i7 and Xeon are locked CPUs and you can’t OC them. The Pentium does support OCing, but not for all models. ‘G3258’ model in general has been tested to OC very well on basic MoBos, H and B chipsets to be particular. Ofcourse it will OC on Z series as well, but pairing a $60 CPU with $80 MoBo is not the best value/money.
In general for Z chipset, Tier 2 and higher MoBos support SLI. This is beneficial for CFX as well, because of x8/x8 config (which’s the least required for SLI ability) is a very good one for dual GPU support, performance wise. x16/x8 or higher is obviously better, but x8 and x16 have very less difference in performance in most cases. So if you’re planning to Crossfire, x8/x8 shall be highly desirable. x8/x4 config, seen in many lower end Z MoBos and some H MoBos, is not ideal, performance wise.
Impact of PCIe gen and speed on gaming performance
_________________________________________
AMD sockets
AM3+ socket:
AMD’s mainstream CPU socket, very close physically to FM2+ (AMD’s APU line), but distinct in performance, the AM3+ socket houses the current AMD CPUs, namely the FX, Phenom and Athlon II line. Being quite old now, there have been several rounds of AM4 or FM3 replacing it, nothing concrete yet though. It is essential for Bulldozer series FX and later CPUs. The socket boasts entry level CPUs to 5Ghz octa-core high TDP powerhouses, spanning through various chipsets.
It should be noted that CPUs have varied TDPs, so power phases and thermals on VRMs have a more pronounced impact on quality, since some newer MoBos with more features may not have the thermals and PPs to take up 220W or even 125W CPUs. Care must be taken based on the CPU you’ve zeroed on, but from our side, labeling has been carefully done.
FM2+ socket:
FM2 socket:
_____________________________________________________________________
Some background about this list
The list, as you see it, is possible becuase of the generous feedback of various members (names in Credits section) who gave their valuable inputs on the Collaboration page:
The Motherboard tier list collaboration page
And these are the draft files:
Motherboard tier list draft files
Credits to members who've provided their valuable inputs and feedbacks
tiny voices
LukaBoki
terry4536
Joeteoh99
darkbreeze
Novuake
RobCrezz
zeyuanfu
Gam3r01
We hope this list helped you! Feel free to drop in your input to make it better.
Thanks for your time,
MeteorsRaining
This list ranks (or tiers) Motherboards from currently active sockets, namely the LGA1150, LGA2011-3, AM3+, FM2+ and FM2, separated by chipsets like X99, 990FX, Z97, H81, A88X, A55 etc. The ranking criteria comprise quality, usability and features, per the specific chipset the board is based off. The criteria are more clearly defined in the next section.
It’s important to understand basic Motherboard terminologies to select the best board for your specific purpose and more importantly understand what’s within this piece of tech. Learn about them here:
Motherboard terminologies
Informational links:
VRMs and Power Phases explained
Anatomies of Motherboard
This list is intended to help users in selecting the best boards for their needs. The top tiers contain the best boards for that chipset, tier 1 being the best.
Understanding the Motherboard tier list
■The list is divided into sockets and then into chipset. Intel and AMD have their separate lists. The basic structure is:
-Brand-
-Socket-
-Chipset-
-Tiers-
■The first and foremost criteria is build quality for the purpose and application. For eg, a H81 may not be enthusiast friendly but is perfectly fine for say home theater or budget gamers. So H81 has different applications from X99. This calls for different tiers for each chipset.
■Only the active sockets, ie, LGA1150/ LGA2011-3/ AM3+/ FM2+/ FM2 are ranked.
■Features come second, ie, inside the chipset list. Features shall comprise, in order of importance:
■Thermals on VRMs and power phases- especially for AMD boards. The thermals on VRMs along with the (true) power phases largely determine the overclocking ability of the board.
■PCIe slots configuration: a MoBo with 4 way SLI capability will certainly be of decent enough quality to be Tier one in appropriate chipsets. But a H97 MoBo with no heatsinks on VRMs or no M.2 slot shall not be worthy enough for tier one standing. Quality, once again will be primary so no MoBos with known persistent issues will be given the best tiers. For example:
970-G46 is known to burn, so it’s SLI ability can be ignored keeping quality in mind.
NOTE: CrossfireX capability is not the best, performance wise at x4 speed (for the second card) as it does not allow the second card to function to it's full potential, thus reducing performance.
■Storage configuration: SATA3 ports, M.2, USB 3.0, eSATA, etc can be the basis of classification if competition is too close.
■The list contains MSI/ ASROCK/ GIGABYTE/ ASUS/ EVGA boards.
NOTE: All MoBos are distinctly categorized first by chipset, then by features.
Key:
Red: MSI
Blue: ASROCK
Green: GIGABYTE
Gold: ASUS
Gray: ECS
Pink: BIOSTAR
Black: EVGA
Locating the required chipset/ socket
The Motherboard list is very big. It's impractical to accommodate it all on a single page. Therefore, the links to different threads containg each specific chipset have been given on this page. All included threads are part of this article. You can discuss about a particular chipset on it's own thread, or this thread.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Motherboard Tier List
Intel sockets
LGA2011-3 socket:
LGA1150 socket:
With that we come to an end of the Intel’s Motherboard tier list. It should be noted that all boards in general are fine quality wise and there’s no reason to avoid them due to quality. Yes, basic motherboards should not be paired with high end CPUs, and only Z and X series boards support OCing officially. Though H and B MoBos have unlocked multipliers for Pentium.
But, OCing is supported with Intel ‘K’ series CPUs only. The i3, non-K i5/ i7 and Xeon are locked CPUs and you can’t OC them. The Pentium does support OCing, but not for all models. ‘G3258’ model in general has been tested to OC very well on basic MoBos, H and B chipsets to be particular. Ofcourse it will OC on Z series as well, but pairing a $60 CPU with $80 MoBo is not the best value/money.
In general for Z chipset, Tier 2 and higher MoBos support SLI. This is beneficial for CFX as well, because of x8/x8 config (which’s the least required for SLI ability) is a very good one for dual GPU support, performance wise. x16/x8 or higher is obviously better, but x8 and x16 have very less difference in performance in most cases. So if you’re planning to Crossfire, x8/x8 shall be highly desirable. x8/x4 config, seen in many lower end Z MoBos and some H MoBos, is not ideal, performance wise.
Impact of PCIe gen and speed on gaming performance
_________________________________________
AMD sockets
AM3+ socket:
AMD’s mainstream CPU socket, very close physically to FM2+ (AMD’s APU line), but distinct in performance, the AM3+ socket houses the current AMD CPUs, namely the FX, Phenom and Athlon II line. Being quite old now, there have been several rounds of AM4 or FM3 replacing it, nothing concrete yet though. It is essential for Bulldozer series FX and later CPUs. The socket boasts entry level CPUs to 5Ghz octa-core high TDP powerhouses, spanning through various chipsets.
It should be noted that CPUs have varied TDPs, so power phases and thermals on VRMs have a more pronounced impact on quality, since some newer MoBos with more features may not have the thermals and PPs to take up 220W or even 125W CPUs. Care must be taken based on the CPU you’ve zeroed on, but from our side, labeling has been carefully done.
FM2+ socket:
FM2 socket:
_____________________________________________________________________
Some background about this list
The list, as you see it, is possible becuase of the generous feedback of various members (names in Credits section) who gave their valuable inputs on the Collaboration page:
The Motherboard tier list collaboration page
And these are the draft files:
Motherboard tier list draft files
Credits to members who've provided their valuable inputs and feedbacks
tiny voices
LukaBoki
terry4536
Joeteoh99
darkbreeze
Novuake
RobCrezz
zeyuanfu
Gam3r01
We hope this list helped you! Feel free to drop in your input to make it better.
Thanks for your time,
MeteorsRaining
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