Our Top Picks for the Best Z490 Motherboards
| NAME | SPECS |
|---|
| TOP PICK | MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE | Z490 E-ATX PCIe 3.0 128GB |
| WHITE | ASUS Prime Z490-A | Z490 ATX PCIe 3.0 128GB |
| MINI-ITX | ASUS ROG Strix Z490-I | Z490 Mini-ITX PCIe 3.0 64GB |
| VALUE | ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus | Z490 ATX PCIe 3.0 128GB |
Intel CPUs are typically the favorite choice for performance and overclocking enthusiasts. Intel's top CPUs cost more than their AMD counterparts, especially once you add in a decent cooler, but they're often a bit faster in games. AMD meanwhile is able to trounce Intel when it comes to multithreaded applications.
Does Your Motherboard Affect FPS? Motherboards do not directly influence your gaming performance at all. What your motherboard type will do, is allow your graphics card and processor to perform better (or worse). It's sort of similar to a Solid State Drive's impact on FPS.
What To Consider When Buying A Motherboard
- Form Factor. Initially you'll need to select a form factor.
- Processor Socket. After choosing a form factor you'll need to choose a processor socket.
- RAM (Random Access Memory) Next up, RAM, short for Random Access Memory.
- PCI Slots. A PCI slot is a connection or port that is located on the motherboard.
- Features.
- SATA.
Best motherboards of 2021 at a glance
- Asus ROG Maximus XII HERO - best Intel motherboard.
- MSI MEG Z490 Godlike - best high-end Intel motherboard.
- GIGABYTE Z490 Gaming X - best budget Intel motherboard.
- MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC - best Intel micro-ATX motherboard.
2. Motherboard or bust. When building your own gaming PC, selecting a motherboard is a critical decision. It houses the most important parts of your PC, such as the graphics card, CPU, and every other component your computer needs to be functional.
There are also a number of motherboards to avoid in this price range: the Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X and Z490 UD are subpar when it comes to VRM quality and struggle to overclocked well. We saw them failing to pass core-heavy workloads with the 10700K and 10900K.
For those of you who like future-proofing your build as much as possible, knowing that Z490 motherboards will support Rocket Lake processors can certainly offer some peace of mind. For those unaware, Intel didn't bake in PCIe 4.0 support into the Z490 chipset or Comet Lake CPUs that you'll be able to buy this year.
What are the major differences between Intel's Z370 and Z390 chipsets? The two biggest differences between Z370 and Z390 are built-in USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) and WiFi 802.11ac support. Z390 now has both integrated into the chipset itself and can handle up to six USB 3.1 ports.
According to Gigabyte's alleged marketing materials, the company's Z490 motherboards have limited PCIe 4.0 support. As a refresher, Comet Lake-S processors are still on the PCIe 3.0 standard, meaning you will have to wait for the next wave of processors, probably Rocket Lake-S, to get PCIe 4.0.
Intel Z490 Chipset: New Socket, (Slightly) Different Features
| Feature | Z490 | Z370 |
|---|
| Socket | LGA 1200 | LGA 1155 |
| PCH PCIe 3.0 Lanes (CPU/PCH) | 16/24 | 16/24 |
| PCIe Configuration | x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 | x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 |
| USB 3.2 (Gen2/Gen1) | 6/10 | 0/10 |
Your Z390 motherboard has a LGA1156 layout, the 10th gen CPU's physically won't fit. They are increasing mainstream max core to 10 in Comet Lake and current socket doesn't support power needs for this at high freqs. current socket doesn't support power needs for this at high freqs.
Intel 300 seriesIntel's current consumer chipset is home to the 8th generation and 9th generation Core processors (also called Coffee Lake).
They feature Optimem II, which reimagines memory traces from the ground up—literally. Optimem II adds a dedicated ground plane and surrounding ground trace with via stitching to reduce interference for the traces connecting the CPU and memory slots. When a memory-related POST problem is detected, MemOK!
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| CPU | Validated since PCB | Validated since BIOS |
|---|
| Core i3-10300 (3.7GHz, 65W, L3:8M, 4C rev.G-1) | ALL | 0403GO |
| Core i3-10300T (3.0GHz, 35W, L3:8M, 4C rev.G-1) | ALL | 0403GO |
| Core i3-10320 (3.8GHz, 65W, L3:8M, 4C rev.G-1) | ALL | 0403GO |
| Core i5-10400 (2.9GHz, 65W, L3:12M, 6C rev.G-1) | ALL | 0403GO |
We've already mentioned that LGA 1151 provides support for 8th and 9th generations of Intel CPUs which use the 300 series chipsets, including H310, B360, Z370, and Z390. On the other hand, LGA 1200 was announced for the 10th generation of Intel CPUs, under the code name of Comet Lake.
Intel Alder Lake 12th-gen CPUs could usher in a new socket in 2021, leaving Z490 motherboards out in the cold. However, those boards could be swiftly cast aside when 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs possibly arrive in 2021 with a new LGA 1700 socket according to the rumor mill.
Intel 1200 10th Gen
- MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk Motherboard.
- MSI MEG Z490 Ace Motherboard.
- MSI MEG Z490 Unify Motherboard.
- MSI MEG Z490I Unify ITX Motherboard.
- MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon Wi-Fi Motherboard.
- MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi Motherboard.
- MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus Motherboard.
- MSI MPG Z490M Gaming Edge Wi-Fi Motherboard.
