Motherboards

A motherboard is dictated first by your CPU socket, then by chipset features and form factor. Here AMD AM5 boards split across B850 (MSI B850 Gaming Plus, ASUS TUF B850-PLUS), X870, and X870E (MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk, Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite, ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E), while Intel LGA1851 shows up as Z890 and B860 (ASUS TUF Z890-Plus, B860M-Plus, ROG Maximus Z890 Hero). The older AM4 MSI B550 Gaming Plus is the budget holdover. Chipset tier governs PCIe lanes, USB4/Thunderbolt, the number of M.2 slots, and overclocking support.

Form factor is the other big fork: the Strix X870-I and ASRock B850I are Mini-ITX for small builds, the TUF B860M-Plus is microATX, and most others are full ATX. The TUF B850 BTF is rear-connect, which only makes sense paired with a compatible case. Beginner-to-enthusiast B-series boards cover most gamers; X870E and Z890 add lanes, faster networking (WiFi 7), and beefier VRMs for high-core CPUs and expansion-heavy setups.

Start with two questions: which CPU socket are you on, and how small does the build need to be. Then confirm the board has the connectivity you'll actually use — M.2 count, USB ports, networking. Scores reflect sourced specs and feature sets, not hands-on use.