The choice of motherboard can be one of the most difficult decisions when building a custom computer, but because of the effect it has on the rest of the build process we present it first. There has always been a debate over whether Intel or AMD is the best CPU choice in different applications, and the selection of a motherboard determines which processors will be available to pick from; choices over memory type and other related things add to the confusion. Puget Custom Computers has many hardware articles that can help you get up to speed, and by taking the time to give them a look you can make a much more informed decision. In the event that you are uncertain, don't hesitate to contact us.

All of our motherboards have built in LAN support. Motherboards often have other built-in features as well, including USB, Firewire, and RAID controllers. Each of the desktop motherboards listed below has full audio support, and in some cases even 6-channel or 8-channel sound! Make sure to become familiar with what features your motherboard has so you don't waste any money adding controller cards for features you already have!

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The MSI Z370M Pro AC is a Micro ATX motherboard for Intel's 8th-generation Core series processors (code named Coffee Lake). It sacrifices some of the expansion capacity that a larger motherboard can offer, but still supports dual video cards, 64GB of memory, and multiple SATA and M.2 drive connections.

For external connectivity, it also has both analog and digital audio outputs, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, four USB 3.0 ports, two 3.1 ports (including one Type C), and even a legacy PS/2 port. Thanks to the Intel graphics on the CPU, there are also multiple video outputs directly onboard: VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs) Says: This is a nice board, but I wanted to make a comment about MSI's port labeling. In their documentation, they call all of the USB ports "USB 3.1" - with four called "Gen 1" and two called "Gen 2". This is technically a valid way to describe them, according to the creators of the USB specification, but I find it a bit confusing. "USB 3.1 Gen 1" is really just the same thing as USB 3.0: a 5Gbps (theoretical max) connection. For that reason, I prefer to call such ports USB 3.0 - and to reserve the term USB 3.1 for the "Gen 2" 10Gbps connections. That is how we do our own labeling in the specs we provide here at Puget Systems. Update: It looks like MSI's documentation has been changed to reflect the speed differences between USB 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 2. I applaud their transparency! Hopefully the USB standards organization won't use such confusing naming in the future.

The Asus P10S-M WS is a micro-ATX motherboard aimed at workstation and server usage. It is built for Intel's E3-1200 v5 family of Xeon processors, using the Intel C236 chipset. That gives it ECC memory support for increased reliability, and Asus has complimented that with dual Intel gigabit Ethernet ports, eight SATA 6Gbps, M.2, USB 2.0 & 3.0, and digital & analog audio connectivity. The Intel graphics built into the Xeon E3 processors is also accessible, with support for up to three monitors via DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs.

Puget Professional Advice:

Jeff Stubbers (Technology Consultant) Says: This is a very stable motherboard, and if you use the onboard video the outputs can support 3 monitors with its (1) DVI, (1) HDMI, & (1) DisplayPort outputs. So if you plan to use onboard video outputs, you would want to make sure your monitor(s) have compatible inputs.

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The Gigabyte Z370 Aorus 5 is an ATX motherboard for Intel's 8th-generation Core series processors (code named Coffee Lake). It offers a full range of features, great connectivity, and solid build quality.

In terms of connectivity, this board is very well rounded. It has both HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs - allowing dual monitor usage without a dedicated video card. For memory it has four DDR4 slots, allowing up to 64GB of 2666MHz RAM. Drive connectivity includes several SATA III ports plus three M.2 slots. It also has both analog and digital audio outputs, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two 3.1 ports (including one Type C), and even a legacy PS/2 port. In terms of expansion card support, there are six total PCI-Express slots in varying sizes. SLI and Crossfire are supported as well, though when two video cards are installed the PCI-E slots they are in run at x8 speed rather than x16.

Puget Professional Advice:

Houston Bennett (Production Technician) Says: This is a pretty straight forward board. Easy to build with, fan headers are placed in easily accessible locations and the USB 3.0 port up by the 24-pin power connector makes wiring a bit neater. The shroud over the I/O ports is a little big for my tastes but that's really the only negative. I especially like that the first x16 slot is a little lower, which means your hot GPU is further away from your very hot CPU allowing for some better cooling. Also, it's kinda fun to play with the built in RGB LEDs even though we ship our systems with them off by default.

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The MSI X299M Pro Carbon AC is a small form factor mATX motherboard built for the enthusiast Core X-series processors from Intel. Like all boards based on the X299 chipset it supports DDR4 memory, and with four slots it can fit up to 64GB total in a quad-channel configuration.

For external connectivity it provides two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, and two USB 3.1 ports - with one of those being a Type C port for the latest peripherals. Digital and analog audio are included too, along with dual Gb Ethernet and 802.11ac WiFi. Internally there are eight SATA 6Gbps ports and two M.2 slot for drives - as well as USB headers for front panel ports / devices. Three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 size slots are present, with two running at x16 speed and one at x8 (or x16, x8, and x4 on CPUs with fewer PCI-E lanes).

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs) Says: Please note that the PCI-Express slot speeds depend on the processor installed. Lower-end chips have fewer PCI-E lanes, so if you plan on using a lot of expansion cards please check with our consultants to make sure you get a CPU that will support everything you need.

The Gigabyte X399 Designare is an ATX size, workstation-grade motherboard for AMD's Threadripper processor line. In addition to the TR4 socket for the CPU, it has eight RAM slots supporting up to 128GB of DDR4-2666 memory and a mix of PCI-Express slots allowing for up to four double-width GPUs - provided a large enough chassis and power supply are used.

A wide range of connectivity is provided as well: eight standard USB ports, two USB 3.1 (one of which is Type C), dual Gb Ethernet, WiFi, audio, and even a legacy PS/2 port. Internally it has eight SATA ports and three M.2 connectors, with heatsinks, for a wide range of storage options.

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The Gigabyte X299 Designare is an ATX size, workstation-grade motherboard utilizing the X299 chipset from Intel. That chipset is built to support Intel's Core-X series i7 and i9 processors, along with eight DDR4 memory slots.

A wide range of connectivity is provided as well: six standard USB ports, a pair of Thunderbolt 3 (Type C) ports, dual Gb Ethernet, WiFi, audio, and even a legacy PS/2 port. Internally it has eight SATA ports, three M.2 connectors, and a mix of PCI-Express 3.0 slots.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs) Says: Please note that the PCI-Express slot speeds depend on the processor installed. Lower-end chips have fewer PCI-E lanes, so if you plan on getting a lot of expansion cards you may want to check with our consultants to make sure you get a CPU that will support everything you need.

John D. (Senior Production Technician) Says: The Gigabytle X299 Designare is a solid X299 board with support for up to three dual-slot GPUs and a good array of rear-panel connectivity. It even has built-in dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and two gigabit Ethernet ports, which saves a couple slots worth of potential expansion cards. Large heatsinks for the chipset and voltage regulators round out the package, and there are even dedicated heatsinks for all three M.2 slots!

The Gigabyte MW51-HP0 is a workstation and server oriented motherboard, built for Intel's Xeon W line of processors. It pairs a lot of PCI-Express slots and high RAM capacity (up to 512GB!) with a nice set of rear panel I/O ports, more commonly found on consumer motherboards than those for processors in the Xeon family.

Speaking of connectivity, the MW51-HP0 has seven PCI-E 3.0 slots, which can either be set up as four x16 or one x16 and six x8 slots. It also has one M.2 connector, one U.2, and ten SATA ports for internal drives. Externally, it has eight USB 3.0, two USB 3.1 (including one Type C port), two Gb Ethernet ports, PS/2 ports for legacy mice and keyboards, and both analog and digital audio jacks.

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The Asus Z10PE-D8 WS a feature-rich motherboard for the Xeon E5-2600 V3/V4 family of processors. It can house two such CPUs along with large amounts of RAM. It also includes multiple USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports, dual gigabit Ethernet ports for networking, surround-sound audio, and several PCI-Express 3.0 slots for additional expansion. That wide range of connectivity aims it more at use in a workstation rather than a server, but it could fill either role.

Note: As this is a server/workstation motherboard, some desktop features are not present: specifically, standby/sleep functionality is not guaranteed.

Puget Professional Advice:

William George (Puget Labs) Says: If you want a powerful, dual CPU system for roles outside of the server room, I highly recommend this board! It has all the standard connectivity you'd expect on a desktop or workstation, like USB 3.0 and audio, which are so often missing from server-class hardware. It also has a ton of PCI-Express slots, allowing a wide range of add-on card configurations.