Important Features of the Best Motherboards for Gaming in 2015 and Beyond
When you are selecting a motherboard for a gaming PC, there are certain key factors you should consider. These include build quality, CPU compatibility and memory capacity. The motherboard connects all the other parts of your PC together. Hence the choice of your motherboard can either give you a thrilling and smooth gaming experience or an awful one. In 2015, various motherboards for gaming have been released into the market. But you must select one that can handle all the current games and those that will soon be released. Here is a brief discussion of the features to look for when choosing motherboards for gaming.
Good Build Quality
A good gaming motherboard should be strong and durable. This is very important because gaming puts a high demand on the electrical components of the board. So you should always choose a brand that has a strong reputation for quality and durability. If you are completely new to motherboards, you should check for reviews of motherboards that have passed benchmark tests. Some of the features you can physically examine to ascertain build quality include: the presence of more than one large heatsink, durable materials, and more attractive design. Brand names such as Gigabyte, ASUS, ASRock, and MSI provide durable gaming motherboards at relatively low prices.
Compatibility with the Latest CPUs
The two major CPU makers: Intel and AMD are constantly producing new processors and chipsets with powerful features that are of high value to gamers. Always remember that you will have to select your CPU first and pick either Intel or AMD before you attempt to buy a motherboard. For instance, Intel’s high end gaming processors such as the i7-4820K use the new LGA 2011 socket. To enjoy its full capabilities, you will need to buy an expensive motherboard that has this socket to support the CPU. Intel socket types all carry the LGA prefix e.g. LGA1155, LGA1366 while AMD sockets are listed with prefixes such as FM, AM3, and AM3+.
However, older Core i5 Quad-Core processors are however available at a lower price, and they still offer great performance on the latest games, when you pair them up with cheaper motherboards. You can even find some Core i3 processors such as the i3-3240 dual core that also enable you to play games with heavy graphics perfectly. AMD also has some nice and affordable gaming processors such as the A10-5800K APU. Currently, Intel is ahead of AMD with its release of more powerful and more energy-efficient gaming processors.
Memory and Over-clocking
To enjoy the best gaming experience, you must have adequate memory. Today, a new gaming PC should have a minimum of 4GB RAM. But since memory is now quite cheap, you should aim for 8GB. Hence, you will be covered for the next generation of games. Choose a motherboard that supports the fastest DD3 memory. That means your motherboard must support DDR3 RAM modules that operate at a frequency of 1600 Mhz or higher. In addition, if you love overclocking your CPU and memory, you should opt for a motherboard that can support very high frequency memory (as high as 2800 Mhz or more) and extreme memory profiles. Currently, Intel motherboards tend to support overclocking better than AMD.
Conclusion
Those are some of the most vital features you should look for in motherboards for gaming. Remember to invest more time when researching and choosing this component since it will have great impact on the overall stability, performance, and lifespan of the entire PC.