I'm putting together a new PC primarily for game development in Unreal Engine 5, and I'm looking for advice on how to choose a motherboard. I'm considering either the Intel i7-9700X or the i9-9900X for my CPU. The 9700X works with several chipsets such as A620, X670E, X670, B650E, B650, X870E, X870, B840, and B850. I've been checking out various B650 ATX motherboards from MSI and found these seven options: MSI Pro B650-VC WIFI II ATX, MSI Pro B650-S WIFI, MSI Pro B650-P WIFI, MSI B650 Gaming Plus WiFi ATX, MSI Pro B650-A WIFI, MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI, and MSI MPG B650 Edge WIFI. I haven't done much research on Gigabyte boards, and I've heard mixed reviews about ASUS and ASRock. With all these brands, chipsets, and variations, how do I narrow down my options to find the best motherboard? Additionally, I'm planning to pair this with a 9070XT GPU, 32GB of RAM (preferably 16x2), and I'm not quite sure about selecting dual rank RAM or whether I should go for faster RAM than what the CPU specifies. Also considering a 2TB SSD for storage but want to make sure I structure my build wisely. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answer
When choosing a motherboard, focus more on the features you need rather than just the brand. Key things to consider are: 1. Do you need WiFi? 2. How many M.2 slots do you want? 3. Look for enough USB ports on the rear I/O to meet your needs. 4. Make sure there are enough fan headers for your cooling setup. Also, use PCPartPicker to filter your options and find the best prices!
Thanks a lot! That really simplifies things for me. I'll definitely use PCPartPicker once I finalize the case and fan choices.