The motherboard is probably the most important purchase you will make as a gamer, and buying a motherboard with the right combination of features is paramount for the longevity of a system. Making sure you have a board that is compatible with current generation RAM, future generation CPUs and as many graphics cards as you’re likely to use will mean a lower cost next time you plan on upgrading.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy the latest, greatest, high-end motherboard, as these often sport features that gamers will seldom use. The price difference between a mid-range and high-end board will often free up a bit more in the budget for things such as more RAM and a higher-end GPU.
Typical mid-range gaming-oriented motherboard
Features you probably won’t need
Dual gigabit LAN: A great feature for power users; boards that provide two gigabit speed LAN ports open up a host of possibilities. You can connect the system to two separate networks at once, perfect for a media enthusiast who wants a central media system available across multiple networks. You can also “team” the ports together on some boards, which means both LAN ports act as a single connection for twice the available bandwidth. This is great for enthusiasts who work with RAID arrays that run faster than a single gigabit ethernet port will allow.
As far as gamers go; connect to the network, start gaming – that’s the end of it. A single gigabit port should provide more than enough bandwidth for even the most resource intensive games, and should even allow decent copying speeds while gaming.
Multiple PCIe x16 lanes: While not as black and white as dual gigabit ports, multiple PCIe x16 lanes can be a waste if you’re not going to make use of them.
SLI and Crossfire is certainly a good option for those who want to add a second card to increase performance at a later stage, but if you’re part of the majority of gamers who only ever make use of a single GPU, there is little point to this feature.
Luckily most mid-range boards offer at least two PCIe x16 lanes, so this isn’t too much of an issue for gamers, but it is something to consider if a good deal on a board with only one PCIe x16 lane comes up.
Asus Rampage II Extreme – a high-end gaming motherboard
SATA ports: High-end boards often offer 7 or more onboard SATA ports for enthusiast systems, whereas low- to mid-range boards resign themselves to 4 ports at most.
This isn’t such a bad thing as gamers seldom have the storage needs of enthusiasts. With large capacity drives almost cheap at chips nowadays, sticking two or three 2TB drives on a mid-range board while leaving a port open for the OS drive should address the needs of most if not all gamers.
Manufacturers are also waking up and listening to community calls for more SATA ports. There are boards on the upper end of the mid-range with six SATA ports if you look hard enough.
This motherboard I/O panel features everything a gamer needs
There are a number of boards that offer most of the above features at a mid-range price point of R1,000 – R1,600. These boards are the sensible choice for gamers who won’t miss the extra features found on motherboards retailing for well over R3,000.
Motherboards are one of the most important components for gamers, and getting the right one will ensure your system is ‘battle ready’ for many months or even years to come. This can however be done without spending a small fortune on a motherboard, paying for features that will often go unused.
Important gaming motherboard features << Comments and views
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