This one is among the most hyped questions, and people are literally more concerned about it.
Does motherboard matter for gaming? Is quite similar to asking what sort of tires would be better for my car and how they will affect my driving pleasure.
Well, the answer to this question will be made in reference to tires only,
And in that reference, you won’t be able to taste the greater level of difference in terms of performance and traction until and unless you spend a lot of money on them, this is a similar scenario with motherboard as well.
If you won’t spend a lot of money or say more than a decent amount you are not going to see much difference and it will not offer you top-end performance in terms of playing games.
Similarly, you would only be able to enjoy some basic sort of games and only be able to see the big change if you are willingly spending more on some high-end specifications in your motherboard.
If you are planning to build a computer to play games, then you are sure to be interested in knowing the best place to start. You might also want to learn about the components that are most important to gaming. This is why motherboards matter in gaming for you?
Does Your Motherboard Matter for Gaming?
A motherboard doesn’t matter too much, since it’s regarded as the unnoticed symbol of the gaming world. It’s because it doesn’t have any direct impact on gaming. However, it provides protection to the entire system and improves various gaming-related computer functions.
What your motherboard will do is allow your processor and graphics card to work better (or less).
It’s a bit like the impact of a Solid State Drive on FPS. It’s not directly affecting the framerate, but it improves the responsiveness of your PC in general and games will load much faster.
In the past motherboards were similar to those used for traditional computer usage, and also for gaming. However, today, the latest models are on the market. Gaming motherboards are unique in comparison to old-fashioned PCs.
In this article, I’ll go over the most important aspects of motherboards. From knowing if you require one, the factors that make them great as well as the best motherboards available and much more. Are you interested in learning more? Let’s dive into it!
How Much Does Motherboard Matter for Gaming?
It is possible that you do not require an excellent motherboard as your choice will not have an impact significantly on the experience you get from gaming. However, the choice you make can affect the general experience of your computer. The motherboard is considered as one of the most important components of gaming.
Each other component connected to the motherboard is connected via the device. This is why a motherboard, as well as the chipset, determines the kind of graphics card and processors the PC uses as well as the features it’ll be able to use. If you own a reliable one, it will be compatible with the best Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) and Central processing units (CPUs).
Additionally, it will have other capabilities. Be aware that a motherboard does not directly impact performance. It could give the graphics card, processor, and other components a performance boost.
It will also increase your Frames per Second(FPS). But, you won’t necessarily require a high-quality one to play games. Make sure you choose a motherboard compatible with graphics cards as well as the processor you’ve picked. If you don’t require any other options, like more RAM slots or GPUs and so on Then a good one is enough.
Apart from just a motherboard upgrade, there are certain other things which you must take care of like the CPU (Processor) or the GPU (Graphics card) as they also constitute together in the overall gaming experience.
The type of motherboard will affect how much you can overclock the processor while still maintaining stability.
While not all games will see a significant improvement from processor overclocking in this manner, it is still a good idea.
Only Z-series motherboards from Intel allow overclocking. However, you will also need a K series CPU. These motherboards are high quality and have the best feature set.
All AMD Ryzen platforms chipsets, except the A320 budget chipset, allow overclocking with any Ryzen CPU.
These boards are not like Intel motherboards. However, they have a wide range of quality and overclocking capabilities.
The GPU is responsible for your game’s FPS, so it is important to provide a quality line through its PCIe port to allow it to transfer and read data.
The PCIe x16 ports are available for graphics cards at speeds of 2.0 (5GHz), 3.0 (8GHz), and the new 4.0 designation motherboards that boast twice the bandwidth of the 3.0 that will be coming with the Ryzen X570.
How Much Should I Spend on a Gaming Motherboard?
There are multiple motherboards that offer a lot of contrasting features and capabilities in terms of gaming performance and specifications, so it might not be worth spending a few hundred more on a new board to get some more frame rate.
We recommend that you consistently choose mid-range boards, but some people have tight budgets and still want to spend as much money as possible on their Gaming computer.
Motherboards are not necessarily more expensive.
There are a few things that affect the price of motherboards:
- Aesthetics
- Specifications
There are certain top-notch motherboards that will be more expensive due to their fancy lighting which comes with RGB variants. They are only available in conjunction with high-performance motherboards.
A motherboard’s price will invariably be affected by its feature set. A motherboard with three USB 3.0 ports is more expensive than one with three USB 2.0.
An AMD-based lower-end motherboard with overclocking capabilities should cost between 50 and 100 USD, depending on which model you choose. For Intel processors, the Z370 and Z390 Mobos will set you back at just around 100 USD for the lowest models.
As mentioned, gaming doesn’t require a motherboard. For those not familiar with computer building and its components, the motherboards used for gaming and non-gaming may look different.
They are almost identical. They are almost identical except for aesthetics and overclocking limitations. To enjoy gaming, you don’t need a high-end motherboard.
Some boards are more affordable and can run a game at ultra settings.
You can still overclock a CPU at a small scale. Even if the model is very expensive, you can still take full advantage of the CPU’s capabilities.
Overclocking can give you a significant performance boost since the CPU works at high speeds. A CPU can also be increased in voltage, which will cause it to produce more heat. A good motherboard will have a good heatsink in its voltage regulators. This allows you adequate heat dissipation, overclocking, and heat management.
If you want to lower the cost of a gaming console, you can spend a lot to get the elements of your choice.
Mike is an experienced video game journalist and enthusiast with more than a decade of experience in the gaming industry. As founder and lead editor of mygamingsetup.net, Mike strives to keep gamers up-to-date with the latest gaming news, guides, tips and tricks for popular video games.