Top 5 · side by side
The best motherboards
Side-by-side spec comparison of the top 5 motherboards ranked by Versus score. Live prices, no sponsored rows.
Motherboards | best of 5
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ASUS ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme 77Points | ASUS ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Extreme 75Points | ASUS ASUS ROG Strix Z890-E Gaming WiFi 69Points | ASUS ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Formula 67Points | MSI MSI MPG Z890 Carbon WiFi 67Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where to buy | Check priceAmazon | Check priceAmazon | Check priceAmazon | Check priceAmazon | Check priceAmazon |
| Platform | |||||
| Socket | LGA 1851 | AM5 | LGA1851 | LGA 1700 | LGA1851 |
| Chipset | Z890 | X870E | Intel Z890 | Z790 | Intel Z890 |
| Form factor | E-ATX | E-ATX | ATX | ATX | ATX |
| Supported CPU generations | Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2) | AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000, 7000 | Core Ultra 200S | Intel Core 14th Gen, 13th Gen, 12th Gen | Core Ultra 200S |
| Memory | |||||
| RAM type | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| RAM slots | — | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Max RAM(GB) | — | 256 GB | 192 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Max memory speed (OC)(MT/s) | — | — | 8800 MT/s | — | 9200 MT/s |
| ECC memory | — | — | — | ||
| XMP / EXPO support | — | — | — | — | |
| Power delivery | |||||
| VRM phases | 24(110A)+2(90A)+1(90A)+2(80A) | 20+2+2 | 18+1+2+2 | 24+1 | 19+1+1+1 |
| VRM amperage per phase | 110A / 90A / 90A / 80A | 110A | — | — | — |
| CPU power connectors | ProCool II | 2x 8-pin | 2 x 8-pin EPS | 2x 8-pin | 2 x 8-pin EPS |
| VRM heatsink | — | — | |||
| Expansion slots | |||||
| PCIe 5.0 x16 slots | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe 4.0 x16 slots | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| PCIe x1 slots | — | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| M.2 slots (total) | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| M.2 PCIe 5.0 slots | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots | 3 | 2 | — | 4 | — |
| M.2 heatsinks | 4 | 1 | — | 5 | — |
| SATA ports | — | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Rear I/O | |||||
| USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gb/s) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s) | 8 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s) | — | — | 0 | — | 4 |
| Rear USB-C | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| HDMI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| HDMI version | 2.1 | — | — | 2.1 | — |
| DisplayPort | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Internal headers | |||||
| Front USB-C header | — | — | |||
| Front USB-C generation | 20Gbps and 10Gbps | USB 10Gbps and USB 20Gbps | — | — | — |
| Networking | |||||
| Ethernet(Gb/s) | 10 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s | 5 Gb/s | 2.5 Gb/s | 5 Gb/s |
| Ethernet ports | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| Ethernet controller | Marvell and Intel | Realtek 5Gb Ethernet and Marvell AQtion 10Gb Ethernet | — | — | — |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Wi-Fi antennas | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| Bluetooth | — | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Audio | |||||
| Audio codec | — | ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 | ROG SupremeFX (Realtek ALC4080) | ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 | Realtek ALC4080 |
| Audio channels | — | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Dedicated DAC | — | — | — | — | |
| Features | |||||
| BIOS flashback | |||||
| Clear CMOS button | — | — | — | ||
| Debug LED / postcode display | |||||
| Onboard power button | — | — | — | ||
| RGB / ARGB headers | — | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Fan headers | — | 9 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Where to buy | Check price | Check price | Check price | Check price | Check price |