The motherboard acts as the working platform or carrier for all hardware, serving as the foundation that connects various components. While it doesn’t determine a computer’s performance, it does dictate stability and expandability.Many users assembling their own PCs may notice that even motherboards with the same chipset from the same brand come at different price points, differing only in model suffix.So, how do you evaluate the quality of a desktop motherboard?What are the differences between expensive and cheap motherboards with the same chipset?To address these purchasing questions, let’s explore some motherboard knowledge to help everyone.
Motherboard Knowledge Overview
How to Evaluate the Quality of Desktop Motherboards?
1. Brand (First, consider reputable brands; it is recommended to choose ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI, which are known for their excellent reputation, product quality, and comprehensive after-sales service).
2. Motherboard Chipset (Choose the motherboard chipset according to the CPU. If the CPU supports overclocking, you also need to pair it with a chipset that supports overclocking. For example, the mainstream i5-9400F can be paired with the B360 chipset, while the i7-9700K should ideally use a Z390 motherboard).
3. Build Quality and Materials
4. Expandability (Meet your own expansion needs; it’s not necessarily better to have more memory or graphics card slots; what matters is having enough).
What are the Differences Between Expensive and Cheap Motherboards with the Same Chipset?
We know that for the same motherboard chipset, different brands may have price differences, which is normal. Good brand motherboards, such as ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI, not only benefit from brand influence but also excel in technology, build quality, and after-sales service, resulting in a lower return rate, making higher prices reasonable!But if it’s the same brand with the same chipset, why are there still different price points? Let’s discuss this further.
1. Differences Between Large and Small Motherboards
ATX motherboards are larger compared to M-ATX motherboards, offering more expansion interfaces. Typically, a large motherboard will have four memory slots, while a small one may have two or four. Large motherboards may have two or more PCI-E X16 graphics card slots, or more PCI-E X1 slots, and even more USB ports, providing stronger expandability.We specifically compared two B360 motherboards from the same brand and series for reference.
Differences Between Large and Small Motherboards
While large motherboards have more space, layout, and interface design, it’s not necessary to pursue a “large” board. Current M-ATX small boards can fully meet the needs of low-end and mid-range mainstream users.
2. Differences in Expandability
Even among M-ATX small boards, size and expandability can differ. For example, the following are all ASUS B360 motherboards, differing only by model suffix. We find that the larger motherboard not only has a bigger size but also boasts a more luxurious build, equipped with four memory slots, six USB ports, an additional Type-C port, two M.2 slots, and one WiFi M.2 slot, plus an RGB header. The smaller one has only two memory slots, four USB ports, one M.2 slot, no Type-C port, and no RGB header.
M-ATX Motherboard
3. Differences in Build Quality and Materials
There may be several differences in build quality and materials!
1. Number of Power Phases for the Motherboard
Entry-level motherboards typically have three to four CPU power phases, while higher-quality motherboards often have six, eight, or more. The left motherboard has only five power phases, while the right one has seven. More power phases mean more paths for power distribution, reducing load on each power line and maintaining control over safety and heat, resulting in greater stability and better overclocking performance. However, more power phases do not necessarily mean better; having enough is sufficient.
Motherboard Power Phase Count
2. Reinforcement of PCI-E Graphics Card Slots
Some more expensive motherboards may come with metal shields on PCI-E slots, providing better interference resistance and increasing the strength of PCI-E graphics card slots for heavier high-end graphics cards, enhancing reliability.
Reinforcement of PCI-E Graphics Card Slots
3. Motherboard Cooling Armor
Some premium motherboards consider better cooling performance, offering multiple heat sinks, such as CPU power cooling armor, M.2 cooling armor, chipset armor, audio armor, and even full motherboard armor for improved cooling performance.
Cooling Armor
There are many differences in build quality and materials, such as PCB layer count, power module quality, capacitor quality, and the quality of network and audio chips, which we will not detail here.
4. Motherboard RGB Lighting Effects
Some expensive motherboards offer RGB lighting effects, catering to users’ aesthetic needs and creating a more high-end luxurious ambiance.
Motherboard RGB Lighting Effects
5. More Features
Some expensive motherboards may support more features, such as onboard Bluetooth, onboard WiFi cards, onboard diagnostic cards, and temperature displays. However, these features are not crucial and their absence does not affect performance.
Conclusion:
This overview of motherboard knowledge shared by our assembly team highlights that the main differences between expensive and cheap motherboards of the same brand and chipset lie in size, expandability, and build quality. For expandability, ensuring sufficient capability to meet needs is key; for instance, multiple graphics card slots are generally not a consideration for most casual gamers. We hope this article helps everyone.
More Computer Configuration Recommendations:
DIY Assembly Guide for August 2019: From entry-level to high-end PC configuration recommendations.
Assembly Team’s August 2019 Summer Promotion! No pitfalls, no tricks in PC assembly.