Motherboard Reviews

Motherboard Troubleshooting

Check out motherboard reviews to choose the best motherboard (mobo) for your system (e.g. why are Asus motherboard drivers so popular?). If you need to do motherboard troubleshooting, access motherboard diagrams.

Here are some down and dirty motherboard reviews.

These are boards that I have either used while building a computer, or that I have researched.

I tried to list a few for both AMD and Intel CPUs, and to give some high end choices, and some practical choices.

Also, with each board is a link to the manufacturer's website with detailed information on that board.

The computer industry is a fast-changing, continuously improving marketplace. Every 8 to 12 months, manufacturers release new, better, faster, improved computer hardware.

Don't see the motherboard you are looking for here? Check out my computer builds page for more ideas.

It's hard to keep up. But it's also not always necessary to keep up. Do your computer hardware upgrades when necessary (failure to perform). Or if your system is three years old, and your performance needs have grown significantly, have a look at what it would cost for you to build a new system.

Note: Share your experiences with computer hardware basics. Tell us about the best and the worst of your experiences: we'd all like to hear about them and learn from you.

The first thing to decide is which CPU you are planning to use (remember that the relationship between motherboard and CPU is critical), I'll start with AMD...

Asus Motherboards

If you are looking for the best motherboard that will allow you to use high end graphics cards, the fastest CPUs and Memory, then I would personally go with as Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe board. I have used Asus motherboards (and Asus motherboard drivers) for years and they always perform as promised. Look at any of the motherboard reviews on this board and you'll see that it shines. This board has a ton of features and will run you around $220:

Dual PCI-E slots
Up to 8GB DDR2-1066
6 PCI-E x1 ports
10 USB Ports
HD Audio
Details

Grab the ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe - Motherboard.

If you are looking for solid performance, but don't need the high end graphics and speed, then I would recommend another Asus board, the M2A-VM. This one will be quite a bit less. It is inexpensive, right around $70.00, and will allow you to still use a good AMD processor. This board does not support AMD's latest AM2+ chipset, but we're not looking here for the latest and greatest, just the best motherboard we can get for the money. In motherboard reviews, this board stands out from the crowd. The M2A-VM sports...

Integrated ATI Radeon Allows Dual Monitors
6 Channel Audio Onboard
10 USB ports
Up to 8GB DDR2-800
Asus Mobo Details

Grab the ASUS M2A-VM - Motherboard.

Gigabyte Motherboards

For a bit less, around $180, you can pick up the Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5...

Up to 16 GB DDR2 1066
Dual PCI-E slots
6 SATA Ports
6 USB Ports
Gigabyte Mobo Details

Pick up the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FX-DS5 ATX Ultra Durable II AMD Motherboard.

Here's one that's a bit more, at $199.00, the Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6...

Up to 8GB DDR2-1066
1600/1333 FSB
8 SATA Ports
8 USB Ports
Details

Get the Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 ATX Ultra Durable 2, Ultra Cooling Intel Motherboard here.

That's still a lot of money. For a nice motherboard that will cost significantly less, go with the Gigabyte Model GA-G31M-S2L. You can pick up this board for around $65, maybe less if you can find a deal on it. At this price you will still get the latest Intel processors and...

Up to 4GB DDR2-800 RAM
PCI-E 16X slot
4 SATA Connections
Onboard 6 Channel Audio
4 USB Connections
Giga-byte Motherboard Details

Grab a Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L Micro ATX Intel Motherboard.

Asus and Intel: Motherboards

Ok, here again, if you are going for the best motherboard, I would personally go with the Asus Maximus Extreme. This board can handle the top end CPUs from Intel, as well as high speed DDR2 memory and is an overclocker's dream. It's not cheap, and will run you about $329.00, but if you want the best, it features...