How Much Does Your Motherboard Affect Performance?
0 up · 0 down · 0 ratings
Promos
Thanks to Micro Center for sponsoring this video! New Customers Exclusive – Get a Free 240gb SSD at Micro Center: micro.center How to Choose PC Parts: The Motherboard: micro.center We took one 11900K and benchmarked it across TEN different motherboards to see just how much of a difference they can make when it comes to both gaming and CPU-intensive workloads. The Test Bench on Micro Center’s Custom PC Builder: micro.center Intel Core i9-11900K: micro.center MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Overclocked Graphics Card: micro.center G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3600 PC4-28800 CL16: micro.center Crucial P5 Plus 1TB SSD 3D NAND M.2 NVMe: micro.center Corsair HX1200 80 Plus Platinum Fully Modular Power Supply: micro.center Noctua NH-D15 Brown CPU Cooler: micro.center Noctua NT-H1 High-Performance TIM - 3.5g: micro.center MSI Z590 MEG GODLIKE Intel LGA 1200 eATX Motherboard: micro.center ASRock Z590 PRO4 Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard: micro.center MSI B560M MAG MORTAR WIFI Intel LGA 1200 microATX Motherboard: micro.center MSI Z590-A PRO Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard: micro.center ASUS Z590-P Prime Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard: micro.center Gigabyte Z590 UD Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard: micro.center ASUS B560M-A Prime Intel LGA 1200 microATX Motherboard: micro.center ASRock B560M PRO4 Intel LGA 1200 microATX Motherboard: micro.center ASRock H510M-HDV/M.2 Intel LGA 1200 microATX Motherboard: micro.center Gigabyte B560M DS3H Intel LGA 1200 microATX Motherboard: micro.center Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com ►GET MERCH: lttstore.com ►SUPPORT US ON FLOATPLANE: floatplane.com ►LTX EXPO: ltxexpo.com AFFILIATES & REFERRALS --------------------------------------------------- ►Affiliates, Sponsors & Referrals: lmg.gg ►Our WAN Show & Podcast Gear: lmg.gg ►Private Internet Access VPN: lmg.gg ►Our Official Charging Partner Anker: lmg.gg ►Secretlabs Gaming Chairs: lmg.gg ►MK Keyboards: lmg.gg ►Nerd or Die Stream Overlays: lmg.gg ►Green Man Gaming lmg.gg ►Amazon Prime: lmg.gg ►Audible Free Trial: lmg.gg ►Our Gear on Amazon: geni.us FOLLOW US ELSEWHERE --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: @LinusTech Instagram: @linustech Twitch: twitch.tv FOLLOW OUR OTHER CHANNELS --------------------------------------------------- Mac Address: lmg.gg Techquickie: lmg.gg TechLinked: lmg.gg ShortCircuit: lmg.gg LMG Clips: lmg.gg Channel Super Fun: lmg.gg They're Just Movies: lmg.gg MUSIC CREDIT --------------------------------------------------- Title: Laszlo - Supernova Video Link: youtube.com iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com Artist Link: soundcloud.com Outro Screen Music Credit: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High youtube.com Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa @mbarek_abdel Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us CHAPTERS --------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Intro 1:05 The Process 3:35 Results 4:47 Store Callout 5:01 Outliers 6:44 Losers 8:04 Bottom Boards 10:05 Conclusion 11:01 Outro
This video investigates how much the motherboard actually influences system performance, using a controlled test bench to compare ten different boards against the exact same CPU, memory, cooling, and GPU. The host emphasizes tight control of variables by rebuilding the test setup for each motherboard, ensuring a fair comparison across gaming and CPU-heavy tasks. They reveal early on that BIOS usability and power limit controls can affect outcomes more than raw feature sets, noting that some boards lock long duration power limits or require digging into advanced menus to reach essential settings. The testing environment is described as climate-controlled with identical components and even identical thermal paste, to minimize external differences. The results challenge a common assumption that premium motherboards guarantee substantial performance gains, showing that benefits are often small and context-dependent, particularly in non-extreme workloads. The biggest surprise is that a $900 motherboard outperformed budget boards in some tests, but the margin was relatively narrow and not universal across all tasks. The discussion also highlights how cooling choice and VRM temperatures can influence sustained performance, even when CPUs themselves are capable of high boost clocks. Overall, the video frames motherboard choice as a meaningful consideration for enthusiasts who crave specific features or cooling efficiency, rather than a universal performance lever for all use cases.
Topics · technology · hardware · computing · performance_benchmarks
Questions answered
- What is the main takeaway about motherboard impact on performance?
- The main takeaway is that motherboards can affect performance, but the impact is often small and highly workload-dependent. Modern CPUs handle boosts well, and only certain boards with better power delivery or user-friendly BIOS features show noticeable, consistent advantages in specific tasks like Cinebench or Blender. For most users, especially in gaming, a mid-range board can provide near-parity with premium options if other components are solid.
- Which motherboard performed best overall in this test?
- MSI's Godlike Z590 performed best in Cinebench and Blender among the premium boards tested, but it was significantly more expensive than many others. When considering value, ASRock Z590 Pro4 offered strong overall performance at a much lower price, staying near the top in most tests despite not leading in any single category.