Do motherboards really matter or should I buy the cheapest one?

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k1114
Cpu/gpu will always be king and mobo will not affect their performance; aside from pcie lanes if sli/cf. Imo, psu would be next, and then mobo, ram, hdd, case. But in the great scheme of pc building, all parts matter. If one fails, the pc most likely won't be running. Generally more expensive boards are better but every good company has cheap good mobos. You won't have to worry about reliability or longevity as long as it's a good model. Every company isn't perfect and every company has bad models, even at the high end. Even on a $2k build, I had a $130 mobo, because it was good quality and had the features I need. Spend as much as you can on cpu/gpu: what really matters.
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wdmfiber

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Dec 7, 2012
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There is a lot to know actually, research: mechanical keyboards
If you get one, you'll wonder how you ever "made due" with a cheap, mass produced membrane unit.

The only downside is price and noise(clickety keys). Although some mechanicals are quiet. Like the Razer Blackwidow Stealth, as an example.
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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Motherboards do matter, but it depends what you want from the board. If you just need something to host eg. a Pentium or Core i3, a single graphics card, and a single hard drive and DVD drive, you can safely go with the cheapest board available. If you're going to overclock or use multiple graphics cards or SSDs... then you'll have to get a more expensive motherboard.
 
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Shaun o

Shaun o

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Oct 7, 2007
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It depends what you want out of the board.
More expensive boards will have better features for overclocking the graphics card,memory, and the cpu of your intended build.

The electronic components of an expensive board will be of a better quality.
Hopefully making it more reliable, and last longer over its use of time.

The thing to watch out for with buying a cheaper board is the wattage of a cpu it can take.
Normally cheaper boards have for example two memory slots than the four that you would find in a more expensive model.

Less option to expand the system if required.

There is nothing wrong with buying a cheap board.
If you don't wish to overclock the cpu ect.
It may not last as long as a more expensive board though due to the cheaper electronic components. Expensive boards will have a higher grade of electronic components.




 
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robnof

robnof

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Oct 9, 2012
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Motherboards matter a great deal. Yes there is a price to performance ratio, like anything else. But the general rule of thumb, is the more features you want or the better the craftmanship, the more you are going to pay.
 
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k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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Cpu/gpu will always be king and mobo will not affect their performance; aside from pcie lanes if sli/cf. Imo, psu would be next, and then mobo, ram, hdd, case. But in the great scheme of pc building, all parts matter. If one fails, the pc most likely won't be running. Generally more expensive boards are better but every good company has cheap good mobos. You won't have to worry about reliability or longevity as long as it's a good model. Every company isn't perfect and every company has bad models, even at the high end. Even on a $2k build, I had a $130 mobo, because it was good quality and had the features I need. Spend as much as you can on cpu/gpu: what really matters.
 
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