10 Best Gaming PC Motherboards 2025 in the United States

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is a high-end gaming motherboard that excels in several key areas for gaming enthusiasts. Its ATX form factor and Intel Z790 chipset make it compatible with the latest 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Intel processors, ensuring future-proofing and high performance. The LGA 1700 CPU socket and support for DDR5 RAM provide a significant boost in speed and efficiency, catering well to demanding gaming applications and multitasking with a memory storage capacity of up to 128 GB and a memory clock speed of 7000 MHz.

This motherboard also includes a robust power solution with 20+1 power stages, ensuring stable performance under heavy loads, which is crucial for gaming reliability and overclocking capabilities. The optimized thermal design, including multiple heatsinks and embedded backplates, ensures efficient cooling, which is essential to maintain performance during long gaming sessions. Connectivity options are plentiful, featuring WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, ensuring fast and reliable network connections and versatile peripheral compatibility. Additionally, it offers five M.2 slots for ample fast storage expansion, ensuring quick game load times and system responsiveness.

However, this motherboard may be overkill for casual gamers due to its premium features and higher price point. It is better suited for serious gamers or those who plan to use their PCs for other intensive tasks like content creation. The BIOS/UEFI interface is user-friendly, enhanced with AI Overclocking and AI Cooling II for easy configuration, even for users who might not be very tech-savvy. Despite its weight and slightly bulkier dimensions, this motherboard is a solid choice for those looking to build a powerful and future-proof gaming rig.

The ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi 6E is a feature-rich ATX motherboard designed to cater to gamers using Intel's 12th, 13th, or even upcoming 14th Gen processors. One of its standout features is the support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 RAM, which ensures future-proofing and high performance. The motherboard also boasts 18+1 power stages, promising stable and reliable power delivery even for demanding multi-core processors. This is enhanced by a robust thermal design including various heatsinks and hybrid fan headers, which helps to keep the system cool during intensive gaming sessions.

The inclusion of AI features like AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, and AI Noise Cancellation further enhances its appeal by simplifying complex tuning processes and ensuring optimal performance with minimal user intervention. Connectivity is another strong point with WiFi 6E, 2.5 Gb LAN, and Thunderbolt 4 ports providing fast and versatile networking options. The five M.2 slots, including one PCIe 5.0 M.2, offer ample storage expansion capabilities for modern high-speed SSDs.

The motherboard's premium features come at a higher price point, which may not be ideal for budget-conscious gamers. Additionally, while the comprehensive array of features is beneficial, it might be overwhelming for those who are new to building gaming PCs.

The ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II is a solid choice for those looking to build a high-performance gaming PC. It uses the Intel LGA 1700 socket, making it compatible with the latest Intel 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen processors, which is great for future upgrades. The robust power solution with 16+1+2 phases ensures stable performance, which is essential for gaming and multitasking.

Additionally, the optimized VRM thermals with large heatsinks help in maintaining cool temperatures, enhancing the motherboard's longevity and performance under heavy loads. The motherboard also supports DDR5 RAM, allowing for faster data transfer rates and improved game performance, with a generous capacity of up to 192 GB. The five M.2 slots provide ample storage expansion, with four of them featuring heatsinks to keep your SSDs cool.

Connectivity is another strong point, offering a range of USB ports including a front-panel USB connector with Power Delivery 3.0 up to 30W, which is handy for fast charging devices. The inclusion of WiFi 7 ensures you're equipped with the fastest wireless internet speeds available. However, the motherboard's high-end features come with a higher price tag, which might not be suitable for budget-conscious buyers. Additionally, the ATX form factor may not fit into smaller cases, so it's important to check compatibility with your PC case. The ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II offers excellent performance and features for gamers and power users, provided the investment and size are not issues.