Four LGA-1150 Motherboards Under $60

Round-ups
By published

Here at Tom's Hardware, we have a lot of fun testing the most expensive, highest-end gear. So can we really get excited about $60 motherboards?

Test Bench Configuration

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Test System Components

We've heard your feedback about exploring low-budget overclocking with this little unlocked wonder. And as mentioned, Intel's stock heat sink and downdraft fan work well with these boards and their VRMs. For enthusiasts on a budget, this is a perfectly affordable union.  

Mushkin asked to sponsor our motherboard reviews, and we were happy to have them. The Chronos SSD removes any slowdowns and pauses from a mechanical disk and puts the bench software's focus on the motherboard, where it belongs.

Mushkin also contributes a pair of DDR3-1600 CAS 9 modules. These may seem tame compared to what Thomas uses in his X99 and Z97 reviews, but remember that the Pentium G3258 doesn't support data rates above 1400 MT/s, so these modules are more than adequate.

Gigabyte sent over an entry-level graphics card for our testing, matching our mainstream theme with a GeForce GT 730 2GB. Remember that we're focusing on the differences between motherboards; we only need a sufficiently strong GPU for a few 3D tests, and the 730 gets the job done.

This PSU is overkill for our round-up's modest power requirements. However, we wanted an 80 PLUS Gold-rated unit for accurate power consumption measurements, especially since efficiency drops significantly under a 20-percent load. The modular cables keep our bench clean and the near-silent operation is much appreciated as well.

I used Gelid GC-Extreme thermal compound for this round-up. The stock cooler's compound is only good for one application, and I needed at least four. Instead of scraping and reapplying partially cured paste for each subsequent test, I used a fresh smear for my installation on all four boards.

Drivers

Swipe to scroll horizontally
GraphicsNvidia 347.25
ChipsetB85M-DGS: 9.4.0.1027 H81M-HDS: 9.4.0.1026 H81M-E: 9.4.0.1026 H81M-E34: 10.0.20

Benchmark Suite

Swipe to scroll horizontally
PCMark 8Version: 2.3.293 Work, Home, and Creative Benchmarks
SiSoftware SandraVersion: 2015.01.21.15 CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography File System Bandwidth Memory Bandwidth
Cinebench R15Version: R15.0 x64 CPU Single and Multi-Core
3DMarkCloud Gate Version: 1.1, Skydiver Version: 1.0 Test Set 1: Cloud Gate, 1920x1080, Default Preset Test Set 2: Skydiver, 1920x1080, Default Preset
Unigine Heaven 4.0Version 4.0, Built-in Benchmark DirectX 11, Low Detail, 1920x1080, No AA, No Tessellation
Unigine Valley 1.0Version 1.0, Built-in Benchmark DirectX 11, Low Detail, 1920x1080, No AA


MORE: Best Motherboards
MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard: A Guide For Beginners
MORE: How To Build A PC: From Component Selection To Installation
MORE: All Motherboard Articles
MORE: Motherboards in the Forums

Eric Vander Linden
Eric Vander Linden is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews motherboards, specializing in high-end Intel chipsets.