That's a nice chart.
👍
MSI Tomahawk, on average, seems the best. Also, it is within your budget of up to €300.
Since MoBos have so many features, it is difficult to suggest one, because i don't know which features you value the most. All MoBos have at least 2x SATA ports and at least 1x M.2 slot. Though, some doesn't have S-PDIF port.
But when to classify the features you listed out;
Price - Goes from reasonable price to costing a fortune. So, a wide bracket.
Boot time - Given it is from 17s to 23s, the 5s difference shouldn't matter between different MoBos.
DDR max frequency - This is the max RAM transfer speed MoBo supports. But the higher the transfer speed you go at, the less likely chance it actually holds. DDR5 JEDEC standard is from 4400-6400 MT/s. Anything over 6400 MT/s needs CUDIMM RAM. While current good middle ground is 6000 MT/s.
E.g in DDR4, JEDEC is 2133-3200 MT/s, while OC speeds go as high as 4800 MT/s. Sweet spot for DDR4 is 3000 MT/s.
If you want a high transfer rate RAM, do check MoBo memory QVL list beforehand. That list contains RAM modules that MoBo manufacturer has tested and confirmed to work at given speeds. If the RAM you buy isn't listed in memory QVL, it can still work, but it may not be able to hold faster speeds than JEDEC standard.
Operating frequency - 2% variance between MoBos, making this feature negligible within MoBo selection.
Cinebench - This score actually depends far more on the given CPU and cooling of the CPU, rather than on MoBo itself. But this shows on how much the MoBo itself limits the CPU's performance. From best to worst, there's 4.5% difference, which is minor.
Chipset - X870 is standard, while X870E is upgrade over X870. The "E" stands for Extreme.
vcore VRM - This is complex to describe in few words. Instead, further reading:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ly-matter-50a-60a-105a.3851851/#post-23318625
VRM temp - How hot the MoBo VRMs get during sustained load. But PC case fans, which every PC should have, play a direct role on cooling the PC internals, including MoBo and it's VRMs. And while the temp bracket is wide, from 52C to 76C, the VRMs can sustain ~100C, making even the 76C VRMs nothing to worry about.
PCI-E x16 slots - How many full sized PCI-E slots MoBo has. Now, GPU does need x16 slot but is essentially only hardware that needs x16 slot. Other add-on cards use either x1 or x4 slots. Though, do note that while MoBo may have 3-4 PCI-E x16 slots physically, not all of them have 16x PCI-E lanes in them. Instead, it is usually where one has 16x lanes (where GPU goes in), while other slots have 4x or 1x PCI-E lane. PCI-E slot, physically, can still be x16 but it can have 8x, 4x or 1x PCI-E lane in it instead. So, to know for sure, look it from MoBo specs, on how the PCI-E lanes are divided within PCI-E slots.
M.2 PCI-E 5.0 (aka Gen5) - Current fastest M.2 slot there is. Also, there are some Gen5 M.2 drives, but they run hot and cost a lot. Instead, PCI-E 4.0 (Gen4) drives have better value, e.g Samsung 990 Pro. Even PCI-E 3.0 (Gen3) drives have good value, e.g Samsung 970 Evo Plus (which is my OS drive). PCI-E 5.0 M.2 slot is backwards compatible with older generation drives.
SATA 3 ports - How many SATA ports MoBo has. Looks like the 4x SATA ports is the norm today. Then again, many now move onwards with M.2 drives, making SATA drives obsolete. 8 years ago, norm was 6x SATA ports on MoBos. But back then, M.2 just came out and many still used SATA drives mainly.
USB4 ports - That's the current fastest USB port there is. 40 Gbps transfer speeds. Type-C connector.
USB 3.2 ports - Depending on which version it is, it can be 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps or 20 Gbps port. E.g 5 Gbps port is the old and true USB 3.0. Also, port can be type-C (oval) or type-A (rectangular).
M.2 Gen4/3 - How many older gen M.2 slots MoBo has. In a nutshell, Gen 4 is double the speed of Gen 3. And Gen 5 is double the speed of Gen 4. In real world application, you can not tell a difference between Gen3 and Gen5, since Gen3 is already very fast. Only in synthetic benchmarks (or when moving large files), you can tell a difference.
Sound - The quality of on-board audio. I'm not an audiophile and can't comment on the on-board audio quality. E.g i'm using USB headset for my sounds and the rear I/O ports are used with my 2.1 speakers, which have their own dedicated AMP and control unit (including bass, treble etc). So, whatever sound MoBo produces, i can adjust it when need be. So, i don't need good on-board audio to begin with.
With true audiophiles, they even don't use the inferior on-board audio. Instead, they are using dedicated PCI-E based sound card, for best audio.
LAN - What speed LAN port MoBo has. That depends on your internet speed. E.g when you only have 2.4 Ghz internet connection, the 5 Ghz port won't increase your download/upload speeds and would be waste of money.
USB 2.0 ports - How many 2.5 Gbps ports MoBo has. Even today, most USB peripherals use USB 2.0 connectors, so, having them plenty won't hurt. But you can use USB 2.0 device in USB 3.0 port and it works fine. Or when you do run out of USB ports (any kind), you can always add more via PCI-E x4 based add-on card.
Fan headers - How many fan headers MoBo has. Most people connect their case fans to the MoBo, whereby fans are then software (BIOS) controlled, based on the fan curve they defined. This is the easiest approach regarding PC cooling. And depending on how big of a PC case you have (how many fans), it is better to have more fan headers then less. But if you do run out of fan headers, you can easily connect 2x fans onto 1x header. Downside is that the two fans will run in sync then.
Since i, personally, don't like software control over my case fans, i've bought and installed dedicated fan controller instead. Where each fan has their own channel and i can manually control each and every case fan i have. I find this control method much better, compared to letting PC decide for myself how fast the fans should run.
Wi-fi - All MoBos have the latest wi-fi 7. So, no selection in that category.
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