Best motherboards in 2025

When building your PC, one of the most important components is the motherboard. Sure, you're going to need a powerful CPU and the fastest graphics card, but it's the motherboard that brings everything together. The choice of motherboard will determine what other components can be used inside your PC, including processor, storage, and even the chassis form factor. We've rounded up the best motherboards right here for Intel and AMD systems to help you make the right decision.

The best motherboards for AMD and Intel CPUs

This is the almost same motherboard as another in this collection by name, but it has a very different socket and chipset. This Asus ROG Strix X670-E Gaming is quite the motherboard, designed for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors. It's got DDR5 RAM support, PCIe 5.0, and the new AM5 socket for good measure. The 18+2 stage power design is fantastic for overclocking your CPU, especially if you're planning to use one of the non-X AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs. Both full-size x16 PCI slots support the newer PCIe 5.0 standard. Both x16 slots are armored and most of the available M.2 slots also support PCIe 5.0 so you can upgrade this PC further down the line with faster components.

The all-black, 8-layer PCB is paired with matching heatsinks, and a splash of RGB looks as stylish as ever, but it's not just skin deep. You have addressable RGB headers to sync your entire build using ASUS Aura. And as is so often the way, Asus takes care to include premium-quality audio hardware on its best motherboards. Overclockers will get some good mileage, too, and the LED display in the top right-hand corner to display error codes is a welcome touch. There are also more ports on this thing than you could ever use at once, as well as Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5G Ethernet. It puts a tick in all the important boxes.

Looking to build a system with the latest 15th-gen Arrow Lake Intel processors? You'll need a motherboard with an Intel Z890 chipset. That's what we have here with the MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk WiFi Gaming. This premium motherboard strikes a balance between functionality, performance, and affordability. Supporting Intel Core Ultra series 2 processors, this motherboard has a strong feature set. The LGA1851 socket is surrounded by DDR5 DIMM slots, PCIE 5.0 storage and expansion slots, 5Gbps LAN, Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 5, and more.

Let's talk about the connectivity as it's truly impressive for its class. The rear of the motherboard has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, three USB-A 10Gbps ports, four USB-A 5Gbps, and a single USB-C 10Gbps port. It's a strong loadout, though I would have lived to see a few more USB ports, even if they are 2.0. Thankfully, there's 5Gbps networking and plenty of internal USB headers for a compatible chassis. Full A-RGB support is present for hooking up all your favorite PC components, and the inclusion of a 16+1+1+1 power phase design ensures you have ample headroom for the more powerful processors.

The Z790 chipset supports 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Intel CPUs and is the latest flagship chipset for the company's products. As such, the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master is our pick for the best overall Intel motherboard right now. Its price, features, and performance combine to help it rise to the top. The Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master comes with four DIMM slots with support for up to 128GB of RAM. This particular motherboard supports DDR5 memory kits which means you will not be able to use your older DDR4 kits. According to Gigabyte, this board supports up to DDR5-8000 memory speeds. It's not necessarily built for serious overclocking, but you can certainly squeeze additional performance out of the processor without issue.

Another noteworthy feature of the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master is the fact that it also supports PCIe Gen 5.0. While you can't take advantage of the PCIe 5.0 slot just yet, we still think it's good to have support for future peripherals. The Aorus Master motherboard also has five M.2 slots, and you also get as many as four SATA 6GB/s connectors with support for RAID 0,1,5, and 10. As one of the high-end Z790 motherboards, the Aorus Pro also comes with plenty of connectors and headers to connect all your external peripherals, including fans, pumps, RGB lights, and more. The ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard is one of the current flagship chipsets for AMD AM4 builds. It brings full support for PCIe 4.0, including devices connected to both its CPU-integrated controllers.

The Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard is one of the current flagship chipsets for AMD AM4 builds. It brings full support for PCIe 4.0, including devices connected to both its CPU-integrated controllers. This isn't the best motherboard for AMD builds, but it brings a good mix of features and performs well for the price. The Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard features AMD's AM4 socket, which means it'll support Ryzen 3000 as well as Ryzen 5000 series processors. You can install up to 128GB of RAM using the four DIMM slots on this board. This motherboard also comes with a good selection of ports by any standard. Asus has included as many as seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an optical S/PDIF out, a 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi, as well an additional USB 3.2 Gen-2 USB-C port.

You also get a DisplayPort and HDMI for Ryzen CPUs with integrated graphics. The Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard also has plenty of RGB connectors and pump headers for water cooling. Most motherboards these days have enough fan headers, so that's not an issue here, either. Notably, you get three M.2 slots, a few SATA ports, and even PCI slots for connecting other components like, say, a sound card. As a premium motherboard from a reliable manufacturer, the Strix X570-E also comes with high-quality components and a great power delivery system. Of the new generation of Z790 motherboards for Intel 12th and 13th Gen CPUs, this is one of the most expensive. But it's also one of the most impressive, and until someone like Kingpin comes along, probably the board of choice for enthusiasts and overclockers. It's a perfect companion to the new Intel Core i9-13900K if you're looking to push it to its limits. In that regard, the quality VRMs, 20+1 phase power design, and support for water cooling, well, basically everything, will come in handy. That said, the included heatsinks are extremely beefy and will do a decent job on their own. The BIOS is full-featured and solid, while being approachable for newcomers.

This isn't the best motherboard for AMD builds, but it brings a good mix of features and performs well for the price. The ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard features AMD's AM4 socket, which means it'll support Ryzen 3000 as well as Ryzen 5000 series processors. You can install up to 128GB of RAM using the four DIMM slots on this board. This motherboard also comes with a good selection of ports by any standard. ASUS has included as many as seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an optical S/PDIF out, a 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi, as well an additional USB 3.2 Gen-2 USB-C port.

Of the new generation of Z790 motherboards for Intel 12th and 13th Gen CPUs, the Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is one of the most expensive. But it's also one of the most impressive, and until someone like Kingpin comes along, probably the board of choice for enthusiasts and overclockers. It's a perfect companion to the new Intel Core i9-13900K if you're looking to push it to its limits. In that regard, the quality VRMs, 20+1 phase power design, and support for water cooling, well, basically everything, will come in handy. That said, the included heatsinks are extremely beefy and will do a decent job on their own. The BIOS is full-featured and solid while being approachable for newcomers. But it isn't just built for overclocking, it's packing everything any enthusiast could want in building a killer PC.

That starts with the sheer quantity of options. Naturally, it supports up to 128GB of DDR5 memory, but you also have a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, PCIe 4 expansion, m.2 SSD support, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, RGB, 2.5G Ethernet, and even killer audio. As an additional bonus, ASUS includes its Hyper expansion card, which can be used for either a PCIe 5.0 SSD (when they're available) or a pair of PCIe 4.0 SSDs to run in one of the expansion slots. If a motherboard were to tick all the boxes, it's this one.

The Asus TUF Gaming B650-PLUS motherboard comes with plenty of features you need and none of the fancy features you don't, making it a perfect choice for the budget-conscious AMD builder. Supporting the latest AMD Ryzen processors, you'll find an AM5 socket on this more affordable Micro ATX motherboard. Despite a relatively affordable price tag, the ASUS TUF Gaming B650-PLUS comes with support for PCIe 5.0 for SSDs, dual-GPU configurations, and 4x 32GB (128GB) of RAM. It's a little overkill but it's nice to have the headroom for future upgrades. You even get heatsink covers for the M.2 slots.

The motherboard also comes with integrated Wi-Fi 6 and 2.5G LAN with first-party TUF features, making this a well-rounded board for the price. Alternatively, you can also check out the Asus TUF Gaming B650M-PLUS variant of this board. It's a smaller micro-ATX motherboard that costs a little less. It lacks some of the features you find on the larger board, though.

Alongside the launch of its 12th-generation CPUs, Intel also announced the new H670, B660, and H610 chipset motherboards, which are suitable for 12th and 13th-generation processors. These new chipsets are generally more affordable than Z690 or Z790 motherboards. Out of the B660 selection, we think the ASRock B660M Pro RS is one of the most affordable best ASRock motherboards. The ASRock B660M Pro RS is a microATX motherboard that is priced at around $100. It offers an incredible amount of value, and it's a solid option to consider for budget 12th and 13th Gen builds. On the memory side, this motherboard supports DDR4 with speeds of up to 4800MHz. When it comes to the expansion slots, the ASRock B660M Pro RS motherboard only supports PCIe 4.0.

You get two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots along with a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot towards the bottom of the board. For storage, you get a single M.2 socket along with four SATA3 6.0GB/s connectors with support for RAID 0,1,5, and 10. The LGA1700 socket at the center of the board is flanked by the VRM module to the left and four DIMM slots to the right. The ASRock B660M Pro RS has a reliable VRM module with an 8-phase design. It supports Intel's Hybrid and Turbo Max 3.0 technology to boost the clock speeds of the chip. It probably isn't a good fit for a high-end CPU, but paired with Intel's more affordable offerings, you've got a capable budget system.

The Asus ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WIFI is our pick for the best compact AMD motherboard on the market. Despite the form factor, this is one of the most premium motherboards in our collection, with some thoughtful additions like the M.2 thermal guard with a multi-layered heatsink design. It also features an AM5 socket for Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. You can comfortably install even the high-performance Ryzen 9 7950X CPU and push all 16-cores and 32-threads. It also retains a full PCIe slot and lets you install an M.2 SSD and up to 64GB of RAM. You only get 2 DIMM slots though, so you be sure to pick a 64GB kit to go along with this board.

This motherboard also supports Wi-Fi 6, making it a future-proof option for those not wanting to deal with Ethernet all the time, but a 2.5Gb connection is available if cables are preferred. As for the ports, the ASUS ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WIFI offers an HDMI port, two USB-C 4.0 ports, five USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, three USB-A 2.0 ports, the aforementioned Ethernet, and audio jacks. Additionally, there are plenty of I/O connectors on the board for fans, extra USBs, an AIO pump, and more. This is one seriously powerful compact motherboard.

If you're planning to use a 12th or 13-generation Intel processor and wish to create a more compact system, we'd recommend the ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4. It's expensive, being such a small motherboard, but you're getting the same Intel Z790 chipset found on larger premium Intel motherboards. It may be a little on the smaller side, but don't write it off completely for a gaming PC build. ASRock managed to squeeze in a 10+1+1 phase power delivery design for providing the CPU and other components with reliable power.

This won't mean you can overclock your favorite 13th Gen Intel processor to extreme levels, but you could install an Intel Core i9-13900K and run it without an issue. Connectivity on the ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4 is also strong with three SATA ports, three M.2 slots (rated at PCIe 4.0 speeds), 2.5GbE, and Wi-Fi 6 networking. For USB, there's Thunderbolt 4 (or USB 4), and many USB 3 ports to choose from. We rounded up the best Mini-ITX PC cases if you need a helping hand with finding some good options.

Choosing the best motherboard

If we had to choose a motherboard as the very best for AMD and Intel systems, it would be the Asus ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming and Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master, respectively. They're both excellent motherboards for their supported processors, allowing you to create a powerful PC build with AMD Ryzen 7000 or 12th and 13th Gen Intel CPUs. They have excellent features and great overclocking support, but if you don't want to spend as much, we'd recommend checking out the Asus TUF Gaming B650-PLUS for AMD and ASRock B660M Pro RS for Intel.

Some things to know when shopping around for a motherboard

• Choose the right socket: Make sure the board has the right socket to support your CPU of choice. It's an important specification highlighted by each manufacturer. The latest AMD processors use the AM5 socket, while the current-gen Intel CPUs require LGA 1700 sockets.
• Motherboard size: Most modern motherboards come in three sizes — ATX, micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX. ATX boards are more suitable for standard-size builds, and they offer the most space for connections and slots. microATX boards are slightly smaller with less room for ports. Lastly, mini-ITX boards are made for small enclosures with limited space. They have the least amount of ports and slots for peripherals.
• Pick your ports & slots: The smaller the size of your motherboard, the fewer ports and expansion slots you'll get for your build. So plan your build accordingly.
• Wi-Fi card: If you don't have access to Ethernet, then you'll need a Wi-Fi card. We recommend choosing a board with Wi-Fi 6 if you plan on keeping your PC around for years.
• RAM support: It's worth checking the highest speeds the motherboard is capable of handling when it comes to DDR4 or DDR5 RAM. Manufacturers also post a Qualified Vendor List (QVL) that should have your module(s) on there.
• Motherboard aesthetic: Since most PC cases have a transparent side panel, or a window, you may want to consider a motherboard with some RGB lights or at least a sleek aesthetic.