Best Motherboards for Gaming in 2021: Intel & AMD Options Reviewed

We rated, reviewed, & compared some of the best gaming motherboards across various budgets, including the best Intel motherboards and the best AMD motherboards.

The motherboard is the central communication center for your computer. It’s where all of your components plug into and are able to communicate with each other. The motherboard you choose for your gaming computer will have a huge impact on the quality of your build. If you choose a low-end cheap motherboard, you will be limited to what kind of hardware you can get.

However, if you choose a feature-rich and powerful motherboard, you will not only experience the benefits now, but you will also set yourself up with plenty of room to upgrade in the future.

While a motherboard isn’t going to have a direct impact on your gaming experience, it does play a huge role in your computer. Therefore, you need to consider allotting a decent portion of your budget towards your motherboard.

In this post, I will take a look at the best motherboards for gaming in 2021 across a handful of categories and price ranges. So, whether you’re looking for an affordable gaming motherboard or a high-end overclocking motherboard, there will be a motherboard option for you on this list.

*NOTE: If you’re looking to build a smaller form-factor gaming PC check out our guide on the Best Mini-ITX Motherboards to find options that will work for your mini system.

Our Top Picks for the Best Motherboards

The table below showcases our top picks for the best Z590 motherboard, the best X570 motherboard, a solid mini-ITX motherboard option, the best B550 motherboard, and the best H310 motherboard.

		NAME	SPECS	RATING
Z590		ASUS TUF Z590-Plus	Standard ATX Rocket Lake LGA 1200 128GB Max	9.3/10	Check Price Read Review »
X570		Gigabyte X570 AORUS	Standard ATX Ryzen 5000 AM4 128GB Max	9.3/10	Check Price Read Review »
MINI		ASUS ROG Strix-I	Mini-ITX Ryzen 5000 AM4 64GB Max	9.0/10	Check Price Read Review »
B550		MSI B550 Tomahawk	Standard ATX Ryzen 5000 AM4 128GB Max	8.9/10	Check Price Read Review »
H310		Gigabyte H410M S2H	Micro-ATX Comet Lake LGA 1200 64GB Max	8.5/10	Check Price Read Review »

*For more information on the motherboards listed above, just click the “Read Review »” link to jump down to read our overview on that motherboard. You can also keep scrolling to see more case options based on your budget.

1. ASUS TUF Z590-Plus

The best high-end Intel Z590 motherboard

• Standard ATX
• Rocket Lake CPUs
• Socket LGA 1200
• 128GB RAM Max

Our Rating: 9.3/10

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If you’re looking to for a Z590 motherboard to put inside of a high-end gaming PC build, then the ASUS TUF Z590-Plus is worth considering. It isn’t the cheapest Z590 chipset board on the market, but it comes packed with a ton of extra features and an extremely durable build quality that will make it a worthy option for anyone with a higher budget.

The Z590-Plus can support 11th generation Intel Core processors and it comes with triple M.2 slots, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 type C header, and a Thunderbolt header.

The ASUS TUF Z590-Plus also comes with PCIE 4.0 support and it can support multiple graphics card configurations. So, if you’re looking to build a multi-GPU system, this board will definitely allow you to do so.

You can also run up to 128GB of DDR4 memory in dual-channel mode on this motherboard (which is standard for LGA 1200 motherboards) and overclock the memory up to a maximum of 5133MHz. Speaking of overclocking, this board utilizes 14+2 DrMOS power stages, which will give it plenty of power in order to push your processor to extreme levels.

In the end, this board has everything an enthusiast could want and, so, if you’re looking for one of the best Z590 motherboards on the market, you should consider the ASUS TUF Z590-Plus.

2. Gigabyte X570 AORUS

The best high-end AMD X570 motherboard

• Standard ATX
• Ryzen 5000 CPUs
• Socket AM4
• 128GB RAM Max

Our Rating: 9.2/10

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The Gigabyte X570 AORUS is one of the best X570 motherboards available. First off, it’s a great option for any gamer who is looking to overclock their new Ryzen CPU.

It also comes with the option to run dual video cards, it has two NVME M.2 ports (so, you can use an NVME SSD on it), a USB 3.2 Gen 2 header, and is compatible with Gigabyte’s Fusion 2.0 RGB lighting control software.

Perhaps one of the coolest features of the Gigabyte X570 AORUS is the fact that the IO shield comes pre-installed on the motherboard. If you’ve built a computer before, you know how much of a pain it can be to get the motherboard correctly lined-up to the shield. It’s a small feature, but it is a nice addition from Gigabyte—and one that hopefully all motherboard manufacturers adopt in the future.

Ultimately, the Gigabyte X570 AORUS is geared towards AMD enthusiasts who are looking to build a high-end overclocking-friendly gaming computer with a new Ryzen 5000 CPU.

3. ASUS ROG Strix-I

The best mini-ITX motherboard option

• Mini-ITX
• Ryzen 5000 CPUs
• Socket AM4
• 64GB RAM Max

Our Rating: 9.0/10

Check Price on Amazon

If you’re looking to build a mini gaming PC and you need a solid mini-ITX motherboard for your system, then you might want to consider ASUS’ ROG Strix X570-I or Z590-I motherboards. We’ve linked to the AMD version of the motherboard above, but you can find the Intel Z590 version of the board here.

The ASUS ROG Strix-I motherboards are high-end mini-ITX options and they aren’t cheap. There are other more affordable mini-ITX motherboard options out there. But, if you’re looking for a top-of-the-line mini-ITX motherboard that will allow you to overclock your processor and that will come with a host of high-end features, this is a solid option worth considering.

These motherboards come with PCIe 4.0 support, a sleek design, plenty of RGB lighting options (including access to ASUS’ Aura Sync RGB lighting software), and multiple M.2 sockets.

Ultimately, while these mini-ITX motherboards won’t make sense for budget-conscious builders, they will work well for anyone who is looking to build a high-end compact system.

4. MSI B550 Tomahawk

A solid mid-range AMD motherboard

• Standard ATX
• Ryzen 5000 CPUs
• Socket AM4
• 128GB RAM Max

Our Rating: 8.9/10

Check Price on Amazon

For those of you looking to build a powerful—but more moderately-priced system—AMD’s mid-range B550 chipset is an excellent platform to utilize. And, of the available B550 motherboards on the market, the MSI B550 Tomahawk offers a nice mix of price-to-performance. There are cheaper B550 boards out there and there are higher-end options. But, the B550 Tomahawk combines the best of both worlds.

This Socket AM4 motherboard can support up to 128GB of RAM that can be overclocked up to 4866MHz. It has PCIe 4.0 support, multiple M.2 slots, USB 3.2 functionality, and a ton of RGB lighting options.

It’s not going to be the best motherboard for overclocking, but if you do want to hit extreme overclocks, you should be looking at an X570 chipset motherboard. This board will allow you to achieve mild overclocks, though.

The bottom line is that if you’re looking for a nice mid-range motherboard that will give you plenty of RGB lighting features, will allow you to overclock, that comes with nice aesthetics, and that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, then the MSI B550 Tomahawk is an option you’ll want to check out.

5. Gigabyte H410M S2H

Cheap Intel motherboard for budget builds

• Micro-ATX
• Comet Lake CPUs
• Socket LGA 1200
• 64GB RAM Max

Our Rating: 8.5/10

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If you’re working with a tight budget and you want to build an affordable gaming PC, a 10th generation Intel processor paired with an H410 chipset motherboard is a worthy option. And, while the H410 chipset isn’t going to blow anyone away, it will provide you with an adequate platform to support your build.

We like Gigabyte’s H410M S2H motherboard for it’s low price tag and decent set of features. At just under $90, this motherboard will pair well with an Intel Core i3-10100f or i5-10400f. It doesn’t have a ton of extra features, but it has everything you need: support for up to 64GB of RAM, PCIe 3.0 support, an M.2 slot, and USB 3 headers.

Again, this motherboard isn’t going to win any awards. However, it is a great entry-level motherboard that will give you everything you need to build a solid 1080P gaming computer.

Which Motherboard is Right for You?

While your motherboard isn’t going to have any kind of direct impact on your in-game experience, it will play a large role in determining what components you can put into your build. The cheaper the motherboard you choose, the more limited you will be.

However, if you are working with a tight budget, you can definitely choose a less-expensive motherboard. And, if all you are planning on doing is building a single video card setup then you don’t necessarily have to spend hundreds of dollars on an extreme motherboard.

Ultimately, though, your motherboard is an important part of your computer and you should definitely take the time to choose one that will serve your needs and even will give you upgrade options in the future.