where to start with Motherboards?

M00NREAVER

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Nov 28, 2015
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Hey I'm building my first PC and I have no idea where to start with motherboards or what is important when selecting a motherboard.
 
Solution
First select a CPU. Intel or AMD. Ok you selected Intel, that's good. Now pick a generation. Haswell or new Skylake. Ok you selected Skylake, that's good. Now decide if you want to overclock. Ok you selected no, that's good because it's largely a waste of time since Intel CPU's are already great performers. So you want an H170 motherboard and a i5-6500 CPU for a gaming system. Seriously though, the H170 and i5-6500 are a great base to build a gaming system from. If you want to overclock then a i5-6600K and a Z170 board is what you need.
First select a CPU. Intel or AMD. Ok you selected Intel, that's good. Now pick a generation. Haswell or new Skylake. Ok you selected Skylake, that's good. Now decide if you want to overclock. Ok you selected no, that's good because it's largely a waste of time since Intel CPU's are already great performers. So you want an H170 motherboard and a i5-6500 CPU for a gaming system. Seriously though, the H170 and i5-6500 are a great base to build a gaming system from. If you want to overclock then a i5-6600K and a Z170 board is what you need.
 
Solution
pick cpu first. this decides what mobos you can use.

then look at features such as overclocking, m2 slots, usb ports available (front and back), audio features, number of pcie slots you'll need. this will help you narrow down the options. newegg has some great filters that will let you whittle the choices down. you can decide on a couple of choices and do some more research for price and particular issues with the board.


or you can ask us and we'll be happy to give you some suggestions. we already know what is good and what is not so it is pretty easy for us to fit your budget with quality suggestions :)
 
Don't forget to pay attention to the size (Form Factor) of board and which your case supports. This said, most cases will support a smaller size motherboard. (So an ATX case can fit , ITX, mATX and ATX boards.) Common sizes are as follows (small to big):

ITX
mATX (micro/small ATX)
ATX (standard size)
EATX (extended width)
XL ATX (bigger width and length)

 
CPU Intel or AMD
U can choose a motherboard but need to understand the CPU socket
Then you need to choose the memory with CPU and motherboard
All brands are good but MSI is my favorite