10 Best Motherboards for Gaming UK 2022

For those after a quick look, here is our Top 5:

1. ASUS - ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero for £419.98
2. ASUS - ROG Maximus Z690 Hero for £469.98
3. MSI - B450M Mortar Max for £73.99
4. MSI - MAG B660M Mortar WiFi DDR4 for £181.48
5. Gigabyte - Z590 Aorus Tachyon for £329.90

For a more in-depth look at the comprehensive top 10 selection, make sure to read on to learn more about the different types of motherboards for gaming available and understand how our ranking was determined.

This article's chosen EC site price listings are reflective of its publishing date.

1. Choose a Motherboard That Is Compatible With Your CPU’s Chipset 
   
2. Make Sure the Motherboard Is the Correct Size for Your Case
3. Select the Correct RAM Type for your Board
   
4. Check for PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 Slots for the Best Performance
   
5. Take Note of the Type and Number of USB and SATA Ports
   

Motherboards have specific sockets for different CPU brands and models, so you'll want to make sure that your board is compatible with the CPU you're planning on using, as each motherboard is designed to fit with either an Intel CPU or an AMD CPU. These are not cross-compatible, and AMD will not fit in an Intel socket and vice versa.

It's also worth noting that many PC components will have different compatibilities depending on their age and generation, and this is true of CPUs. Just because a motherboard is compatible with an Intel chip does not mean it's compatible with all Intel chips, as an older CPU may not fit in a newly released motherboard.

When purchasing a motherboard, it's essential to check the socket type to make sure it fits both the chipset and generation. Intel sockets are indicated with LGA followed by a longer number (e.g. LGA 1700), while AMD has AM plus a single-digit denoting the generation (e.g. AM4).

Take a look at our picks for the best CPUs for gaming to pair with your new motherboard!

When tackling a new build, one of the most fun parts is choosing what sort of case you want all your parts housed in. Whether you're looking at brightly lit RGB LED monsters or something more understated, it's important to make sure your motherboard fits inside your case.

This isn't just a question of it physically fitting, but making sure that it can screw into the brackets holding it in place. Luckily, motherboard and case sizes are relatively universal, with most tower cases fitting ATX motherboards. If you're looking at options like Micro ATX and mini-ITX motherboards, however, you'll want a smaller case to match, but it's also worth noting that they will both often fit in the larger ATX case.

Looking to save money on your build? Consider opting for a budget PC case to cut back on costs.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is one of the most often misunderstood components in computing but is still crucial to how well your machine functions. As RAM gets better as technology advances, they become incompatible with older motherboards and, just like CPU sockets, a newly released stick of RAM probably won't fit in an older generation motherboard.

Types of RAM are denoted by DDR and then a single-digit number indicating its generation (DDR5, DDR4, etc.) and are not compatible with one another. A DDR5 stick of RAM will not fit in a motherboard that supports DDR4, so make sure everything matches up with one another, or you'll be wasting your money! 

We recommend using PCPartPicker to ensure you're getting the most out of your RAM, as motherboards have a "top-speed" of RAM they can support. For example, a motherboard can support DDR4 RAM, but only up to DDR4-2666, so a stick of DDR4-4600's extra speed would be wasted even though it will still work.

When picking the right graphics card for your motherboard, you won't have to worry about it physically fitting like your CPU sockets or RAM, as all GPUs use the universal PCIe interface. Nearly all gaming motherboards will also have a number of these ports as they're also used for inbuild WiFi cards, sound cards, and other networking adapters.

It is worth noting whether your motherboard supports PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0, which is similar to USB 2.0/3.0 in that older components will fit but won't be able to reach their peak potential. A new generation GPU will fit in a PCIe 3.0 slot, but a motherboard that supports PCIe 4.0/5.0 connections will have a better performance overall.

Act while you can and pick up a high-quality graphics card while prices are low!

There are several other ports and connections worth noting when buying a gaming motherboard, but the most common are SATA and USB. We're going to assume that most people are familiar with USB, and there are usually plenty of ports on offer, but you'll want at least one USB 3.0 or above and several of the 2.0.

You may be less familiar with SATA ports as they're hidden away inside your computer, but these are how HDDs and SSDs are connected to your motherboard. The current generation is SATA 3, and it is fully compatible with older generations of hardware but boasts much higher transfer speeds, which is noticeable when games are being downloaded, installed, or loading up. For best results, you want an SSD connected to a SATA 3 interface.

This ranking has been compiled by the writing team at mybest UK via careful evaluation of the points made in the buying guide and thorough research of each product and comparing multiple verified customer reviews across the EC sites used.

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Written and researched by David Sexton