Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024 coverage.
It's been a busy year for motherboard vendors, thanks to new AM5 socket chipsets from AMD and a completely new platform (LGA1851 and Z890) from Intel. In many cases, manufacturers just took a previous design and tweaked it for 2024, but some took the opportunity to improve all kinds of different aspects such as the BIOS interface, and PCIe and M.2 slot latches.
With Intel's Core Ultra 200S series of processors being rather underwhelming in terms of gaming chops, last-gen Raptor Lake chips are still very popular but what motherboard to pick? Well, the ASRock B760I Lighting should be seriously considered, despite its diminutive size. It'll handle any 14th Gen Core processor and highly overclocked RAM. It's a bit short on rear IO ports, though.
For AMD enthusiasts, you could choose a last-gen chipset or something with the latest X870. For the former, the Asus ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WiFi is an exceptional motherboard, jammed with USB ports and Gen5 slots for graphics cards and SSDs. The price tag is steep though and that's where the newer MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi come in.
It's a good deal cheaper than the Asus board and sports more USB ports than you could ever possibly want. There are plenty of M.2 slots too, though the available configurations are complicated, to say the least.
Out of everything we've tested this year, these models are the ones we've nominated for gaming motherboards of 2024. Now you just have to wait until New Year's Eve to see which one is the winner!
ASRock B760I Lightning
Despite Intel launching a new CPU socket, motherboard chipset, and a full range of processors (Core Ultra 200S), last-gen Raptor Lake chips are still the best choice for gaming if you want an Intel setup. But you needn't spend a fortune on getting a good motherboard to go with your 14th Gen Core chip.
The ASRock B760I Lighting is small in size (mini-ITX), small in price (under $200), but big in performance and Raptor Lake support. Want to fit a Core i9 14900K in a tiny PC? This ASRock will cope without fuss and let you use ultra-fast DDR5.
Naturally, something has to give in order to reach this price point and in this instance, it's USB ports with just six in total on the rear IO panel. Due to its diminutive dimensions, you only get one PCIe and M.2 slots, too. But they're minor quibbles when the rest is all top-notch.
Read our full ASRock B760I Lightning review.
Asus ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WiFi
Yes, it's 'merely' a mini-ITX motherboard and it costs over $400, though you can pick one for less during sales. But if you're going to build a small but potent gaming PC, then this board is going to be the star of the show.
In terms of connectivity and slots, the small size does limit matters somewhat (just one PCIe and two M.2 slots, for example) but Asus has made up for this by ensuring the ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WiFi can cope with any Ryzen processor, even one heavily overclocked, and stuck dual USB4 ports for good measure.
It uses clever riser boards to expand connectivity and user options, without taking up valuable space—vital when it's a mini-ITX size. There's no denying it's an expensive motherboard but you're getting more features than other models on the market that are just as pricey.
Read our full Asus ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WiFi review.
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi
AMD's new X870 chipset might not seem to be vastly better than its previous X670, but you do get way more PCIe 5.0 lanes—which results in more connectivity options for vendors to play around with.
In the case of the MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi, MSI went to town with USB ports: 12 on the rear IO panel (including two USB4) and support for a further nine via headers.
You also get four PCIe slots and four M.2 sockets for SSDs, but the surfeit of USB ports means that they're not all equal, and the speeds you get depend heavily on what you have plugged into each one. It's a complicated affair, that's for sure.
It's a little on the pricey side but MSI has fitted lots of 'quality-of-life' features to make it easy to remove devices, change settings, and keep things all nice and cool.
Read our full MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi review.
The winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for the best gaming motherboard on New Year's Eve. Three different boards but only one can be a winner.
