So, if you are out in the market to buy a new motherboard for your new system, you will have tons of options to choose from. There are so many motherboard manufacturers like ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock, Biostar, etc. that it is easy to get lost between the sheer number of choices and options. So, we will list some of the most popular brands that make some of the best motherboards out there in this article.
The Big Three: ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte
In the PC hardware space, ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte are the biggest three motherboard manufacturers. They make both Intel and AMD motherboards and have the largest market share by far.
ASUS: How Good are They?
ASUS is one of the leading manufacturers, and their products go head-to-head with offerings from MSI and Gigabyte. Their Apex, Hero, and Maximus series are often regarded as the best in the market. These boards come with extreme OC potential and will cost you a fortune.
ASUS’ DIY gaming hardware manufacturing sub-brand is called ROG Strix. ROG Strix is known for packing overkill specs and features into every product they possibly manufacture. This does make them the best performers out in the market, but they always come at a hefty price tag. So, if you are on a budget, look out for the ASUS TUF Gaming lineup, which is quite budget-focused, or other companies like MSI and Gigabyte.
MSI: How Good are They?
MSI or Micro-Star International, Inc. is a Taiwanese company that excels in gaming hardware manufacturing. They, much like ASUS, also manufacture some of the best motherboards out in the market. Their Godlike series is hailed by every PC enthusiast, and that makes the most expensive motherboard you can buy on any given platform. But, unlike ASUS, they have a large number of options in varying price ranges.
These include the MSI Performance Gaming (MPG), and the MSI Arsenal Gaming (MAG) lineups alongside the MSI Enthusiast Gaming (MEG) lineup.
MEG has the best-in-class boards like the Ace series, the Unify Series along the Godlike series mentioned earlier.
MPG is a middle ground between MEG and MAG, and it has some products with great price-to-performance ratios. These include the Edge, Carbon, and Force, boards. All of these boards are great performers but at the same time, they won’t break your bank.
MAG is a product lineup targeted towards users who want performance at the lowest price points. But, MSI has made some great products in this lineup as well. These include the very popular Tomahawk lineup. The Tomahawk boards are widely regarded as one of the best budget boards you can get.
Other products in this lineup are the Mortar series and the Torpedo series, each great in their way.
Gigabyte: How Good are They?
Alongside MSI and ASUS, Gigabyte also makes some shiny great hardware. Their gaming lineup is called AORUS, and some of the most notable boards in this lineup are the AORUS Tachyon, the AORUS Xtreme, the Aorus Master, and the Aorus Elite boards.
Another aesthetic-focused lineup from the company is Vision. These boards are mostly white and look extremely cool in a white build.
The more budget-focused offering from the company is the Gaming X lineup. Gigabyte also makes some of the cheapest motherboards with decent features. Their Ultra Durable (UD) series is a great example.
However, Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion is garbage, and their non-Aorus products also come with terrible build quality and lifespan. So, you would want to avoid the UD series at all costs.
Other Notable Motherboard Manufacturers
ASRock
After ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte, ASRock is the next biggest motherboard manufacturer in the market today. They make some great boards like the Taichi and the PG Velocita boards. The Taichi boards are a direct challenge to the best offerings from the big three.
In the budget range, they also manufacture the Steel Legend series, a board with steep pricing and great features.
But, much like Gigabyte, ASRock’s Polychrome Sync software is complete garbage. ASRock has improved the software from an absolute miserable state, but it is still nowhere near perfection.
EVGA Corporation
EVGA is another company that manufacturers some of the best motherboards you can buy. Their Dark series is custom-designed to tap the highest OC potential from any board by veteran overclocker Vince Lucido aka K|NGP|N.
Other Motherboard Manufacturers
- Acer
- AOPEN, Inc.
- Elitegroup Computer Systems
- American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI)
- Sapphire Technology
- Leadtek
- Biostar
- Shuttle Computer Group
- PNY Technologies
- Chaintech
- NZXT
- XFX
- Colorful
Most of these companies manufacture OEM motherboards, but PNY, NZXT, XFX, Colorful, and Sapphire manufacture some for the DIY market.
NZXT recently got into the motherboard manufacturer scenario, and their N7 B550 is a solid ASRock rebrand with a strong focus on aesthetics.