How do you choose a motherboard

Hardware Hub Motherboards
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Hello everyone

I've been pondering on how to tackle this topic for a while, and I've come to the conclussion that there is probably no definite guide or process to pick a motherboard as characteristics of motherboards and the types of systems they power are too big. So instead i decided on making it a question to you in the steps you each take to pick the right mother board for your build. these comes all in hopes that in the future it will help me choose the right motherboard.

So how do you choose a motherboard?

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  • DPC latency levels
  • Has an Intel NIC
  • Power delivery
  • Colour scheme
  • Price
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VRM xD

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I love how you put this last. lol

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I just get the cheapest for my socket :L

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This all applies to Newegg, since that's where I prefer to get internals. I'd go with a simple process of elimination.

  • Socket
  • # of PCI slots
  • # of USB ports
  • # of SATA ports
  • Any unusual features I might need in the build (m.2, bluetooth, etc.)

This would usually leave you with one or two choices. If so, price usually decides it. If not, it's on to round 2.

  • # of DIMM slots
  • Quality of NIC
  • General build quality of brand between personal experience and community experience

Of course, sometimes it's best to just go by price.

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Sounds about right, I'd put SATA higher since that is mainly what I run out of, actually not sure about the Socket, all the times I've gotten a new motherboard I went ahead and upgraded CPU as well.

But yea, go for this, and at last point of round 2, balance the economy with quality.

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Well, it's just the starting point to get you into a manageable list to start with. Sometimes it's appropriate to go back to an older socket for certain builds, no?

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Aah yea you are right, I'd normally select CPU and then find motherboards it fit on.

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Precisely what I meant, yes.

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Thanks i've seen the video before but what im wondering is what steps do you personally take to choose a motherboard

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DPC latency levels? what is this

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pcpartpicker.com you choose your stuff and it only gives you compatibility.

it also depends are you going to be making a super computer or a world of warcraft and basic gaming pc

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Thanks this really helps a lot, yeah socket is the obvious first elimination point

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Personally?
I first sort by socket type, the move on to features and compare prices. Features can depend on the purpose of the machine.

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  1. color scheme (if it ain't blue, I ain't buyin')
  2. does it have what I need (enough USB 2 and 3 ports, gigabit NIC)
  3. VRM's (FX-8320 is a thirsty chip)
  4. brand (asus, msi are the ones I have bought from so far)
  5. price
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Generally speaking I go for the best price I can find with the features I need for the system I'm building. At the same time I try to stick within a few reputable vendors, typically matching as many of the other parts as I can, just because I'm OCD like that.

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Basically how system interrupts are handled especially in the case of Windows. Its noticable in things like audio/video playback mostly - chopping, popping etc. Even in gaming. Measured in µs (micro-seconds).
Most of the time its down to poorly coded motherboard drivers. A lot of AM3 boards and even some new X99 boards are riddled with bad DPC latency. The worst I've seen was spikes in the 15000+ µs (s775 p45 ud3p) and best - my current z77 board - 35 µs(p8z77v deluxe). Anandtech are the only site that tests it when reviewing boards.
I requested it a long time back to be a topic on the Tek as it does effect a lot of people's PC's but is never or rarely talked about.

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