Motherboard Information
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!
| Asus TUF B760M-PLUS WIFI | MSI MAG B650M MORTAR WIFI | Asus TUF B650M-PLUS WIFI | Asus ROG STRIX Z690-G WIFI | Asus ProArt Z790-Creator WiFi | Asus ProArt X670E-Creator WiFi | ASRock W790 WS | ASRock WRX80 Creator Rev 2.0 | Asus Pro WS WRX80E-SAGE SE WIFI | ASUS Pro WS W790E-SAGE SE | Intel NUC 13 Extreme (NUC13RNGi7) | Intel NUC 13 Extreme (NUC13RNGi9) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socket | 1700 | AM5 | AM5 | 1700 | 1700 | AM5 | 4677 | sWRX8 | sWRX8 | 4677 | 1700 | 1700 |
| CPU Compatibility | Alder Lake | AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop Processors | AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop Processors | Alder Lake | Raptor Lake | AMD Ryzen | Sapphire Rapids | Threadripper Pro | Threadripper Pro | Sapphire Rapids | Intel Core i7 13700K 3.4GHz (Up To 5.4GHz Turbo) 16 Core 125W | Intel Core i9 13900K 3.0GHz (Up To 5.8GHz Turbo) 24 Core 125W |
| Form Factor | MicroATX | MicroATX | MicroATX | MicroATX | ATX | ATX | CEB | CEB | SSI EEB | SSI EEB | ||
| Chipset Manufacturer | Intel | AMD | AMD | Intel | Intel | AMD | Intel | AMD | AMD | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Chipset | B760 | B650 | B650 | Z690 | Z790 | X670 | W790 | WRX80 | WRX80 | W790 | Z690 | Z690 |
| Front Side Bus | DMI 4.0 | DMI 4.0 | DMI 4.0 | DMI 4.0 | DMI 4.0 | |||||||
| Network Connectivity | 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6 | 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6 | 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6 | 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6e | 10G + 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6e | 10G + 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6e | Dual 10G Networking + 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6 | Dual 10G Networking + WiFi 6 | Dual 10G Networking + WiFi 6 | Dual 10G Networking | 10G + 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6e | 10G + 2.5G Networking + WiFi 6e |
| Network Controller | Intel 2.5GbE + Intel Wi-Fi AX201 | Intel 2.5GbE + Intel Wi-Fi AX210 | Marvell 10G + Intel I225 + Intel AX210 | Marvell AQC113CS + Intel I225-V + Intel AX210 | Aquantia AQC113CS, Intel I225LM, Intel AX211 | Marvell 10G Intel AX210 | Intel X550-AT2, Intel AX200 | Intel X710-AT2 | AQC113, i226-V, AX1690i | AQC113, i226-V, AX1690i | ||
| Audio Controller | Onboard Realtek ALC4080 HD Audio | Realtek 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC | Realtek 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC | Onboard Realtek ALC4080 HD Audio | Onboard Realtek S1220A HD Audio | Onboard Realtek S1220A HD Audio | Onboard Realtek S1220A HD Audio | Onboard Realtek ALC4050H+ALC1220 HD Audio | Onboard Realtek ALC4080 HD Audio | Onboard Realtek S1220A HD Audio | Onboard Realtek HD Audio | Onboard Realtek HD Audio |
| Cooling System | Heatsink | Heatsink | Heatsink | Heatsink | Heatsink | Heatsink and Fan | Heatsink and Fan | Heatsink | Heatsink and Fan | Heatsink and Fan | ||
| Number of Fans | 2 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Color | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black | Grey | Black | Black | Black | Black |
| Notebook-Display | ||||||||||||
| Memory Support | ||||||||||||
| Type | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 ECC Registered | DDR4 ECC Registered | DDR4 ECC Registered | DDR5 ECC Registered | DDR5 SODIMM | DDR5 SODIMM |
| Maximum Speed | 5600 MHz | 5200 MHz | 5200 MHz | 4800 MHz | 5600 MHz | 5200 MHz | 4800 MHz | 3200 MHz | 3200 MHz | 4800 MHz | 5600 MHz | 5600 MHz |
| Number of Slots | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum Size per Slot | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 256 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB | 256 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Maximum Amount Supported | 128 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 2048 GB | 1024 GB | 2048 GB | 2048 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Onboard Video | ||||||||||||
| Chipset Manufacturer | Intel | AMD | AMD | Intel | Intel | AMD | ASpeed | ASpeed | ASpeed | Intel | Intel | |
| Processor Type | CPU Dependent | RDNA2 | RDNA2 | CPU Dependent | CPU Dependent | AST2500 | AST2500 | AST2600 | UHD Graphics 770 | UHD Graphics 770 | ||
| Maximum Resolution | 7,680 x 4,320 | 7,680 x 4,320 | 1920x1200 | 1920x1200 | 1920x1200 | 7680 x 4320 at 60Hz | 7680 x 4320 at 60Hz | |||||
| Maximum HDMI Resolution | 4096x2160 | 4096x2160 | 4096x2160 | 4096x2160 | 4096x2160 | 4096x2160 | ||||||
| Maximum DisplayPort Resolution | 7680x4320 | 7680x4320 | 7680x4320 | |||||||||
| VGA | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| HDMI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| HDMI Version | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | ||||
| DisplayPort | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| DisplayPort Version | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | ||||||||
| USB | 4.0 | |||||||||||
| Notes: | HDMI supports a max of 4k 60hz | Displayport IN for Thunderbolt Outputs | Display Port In - usable with dedicated GPU and USB4 display | 2x Thunderbolt 4 video outputs provided by 2x Mini Displayport IN | VGA output via included expansion bracket | 2x Thunderbolt 4 Outputs | 2x Thunderbolt 4 Outputs | |||||
| External Connections | ||||||||||||
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB 3.1) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C | 1 | |||||||||||
| USB 3.2 Type C | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| USB 4 | 2 | |||||||||||
| USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| PS/2 Keyboard | No | |||||||||||
| PS/2 Mouse | No | |||||||||||
| Audio Out | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Stereo | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) | Surround Sound (7.1) |
| Audio In | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone | Line-In/Microphone |
| S/PDIF | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | ||||||
| LAN (RJ45) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Mgmt LAN (RJ45) | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Wireless Antenna Port | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Thunderbolt Ports | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| BIOS Flashback | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Internal Connections | ||||||||||||
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| SATA III 6.0Gbps | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| M.2 Connector | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| M.2 Support | 2x 80mm PCIe 4.0 | 2x 60-80mm (PCIe 4.0) | 1x 42-80mm (PCIe 5.0), 1x 42-80mm (PCIe 4.0) | 2x 42-80mm NVMe (Gen4), 1x 42-80mm NVMe (Gen4) + SATA | 2x 42-110mm NVMe (Gen4), 1x 42-80mm NVMe (Gen4), 1x 42-80mm NVMe (Gen4) + SATA | 2x 42-80mm (PCIe 5.0), 1x 42-80mm (PCIe 4.0), 1x 42-110mm (PCIe 4.0) | 1x 30-80mm PCIe 5.0, 3x 60-80mm PCIe 5.0 | 1x 60-110mm PCIe Gen4, 1x 60-80mm PCIe Gen4 | 42-110mm NVMe (Gen4) & SATA | 2x 42-110mm PCIe 5.0, 1x 42-110mm PCIe 4.0 | 3x 80mm (PCIe Gen4) | 3x 80mm (PCIe Gen4) |
| U.2 Connector | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Serial (Com) | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| TPM (module sold separately) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Compatible TPM | Asus TPM-SPI | Asus TPM-SPI | Asus TPM-SPI | Asus TPM-SPI | ||||||||
| SATA Controllers | ||||||||||||
| SATA III 6.0Gbps Controller 1 | Intel B760 (1-4) | 6x via AMD B650 Chipset | 4x via AMD B650 Chipset | Intel Z690 (1-4) | Intel Z790 | AMD X670 | Intel W790 | AMD WRX80 | Intel W790 | Intel Z690 | Intel Z690 | |
| SATA III 6.0Gbps Controller 2 | Asmedia (5-6) | Asmedia | ||||||||||
| Expansion Slots | ||||||||||||
| Slot 1 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 |
| Slot 2 | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 3.0 x1 | PCI Express 4.0 x1 | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | ||
| Slot 3 | PCI Express 4.0 x1 | PCI Express 4.0 x4 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x4 in a x16 size | PCI Express 3.0 x1 | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | ||
| Slot 4 | PCI Express 4.0 x4 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x4 in a x16 size | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 5.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | ||||
| Slot 5 | PCI Express 5.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 5.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | ||||||
| Slot 6 | Slot not available on this board | Slot not available on this board | PCI Express 4.0 x4 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x8 in a x16 size | ||||||
| Slot 7 | PCI Express 3.0 x4 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x2 | PCI Express 5.0 x8 in a x16 size | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 | PCI Express 5.0 x16 | ||||||
| Additional Information | ||||||||||||
| SLI Compatible | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | ||
| Crossfire Compatible | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |||
| RAID Support | 0/1/5/10 | NVMe RAID 0/1/10 and SATA RAID 0/1/10 via RAIDXpert2 | NVMe RAID 0/1/10 and SATA RAID 0/1/10 via RAIDXpert2 | 0/1/5/10 | 0/1/5/10 | 0,1,10 | 0/1/5/10 | 0/1/5/10 | 0, 1, 10 | 0/1/5/10 | 0/1/5/10 | 0/1/5/10 |
| Built-in Webcam | No | No | No | |||||||||
| Built-in Microphone | No | No | No | |||||||||
| Bluetooth | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) | No | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.0) | No | Yes (5.2) | Yes (5.2) |
| Dual GPU Slot Spacing | 3-Slot | 4-Slot | 4-Slot | 4-Slot | ||||||||
| Integrated IO Shield | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Management | Onboard | Onboard | Onboard | |||||||||
| BIOS Features | ||||||||||||
| UEFI BIOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EZ Flash | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OC Profiles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Puget Measured Battery Life | ||||||||||||
| Dimensions | ||||||||||||
| Height | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 305 mm | 305 mm | 305 mm | 305 mm | 310 mm | 305 mm | 318 mm | 318 mm |
| Width | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 244 mm | 227 mm | 272 mm | 330 mm | 330 mm | 129 mm | 129 mm |
| Depth | 337 mm | 337 mm | ||||||||||
| Net Weight | 1.33 kg | 1.434 kg | 1.434 kg | 1.33 kg | 1.538 kg | 1.579 kg | 1.756 kg | 1.732 kg | 2.5 kg | 2.793 kg | 7.378 kg | 7.378 kg |
| AC Adapter Input | ||||||||||||
| AC Adapter Output |