What are the best Intel LGA 1151 motherboards for gaming?

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Jun 16, 2016

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3 Options Considered

Best Intel LGA 1151 motherboards for gaming	Price	Last Updated
-- ASUS Z170-A	$152.29	Jun 16, 2016
-- ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 GAMING K4	$145.99	Jun 16, 2016
-- Gigabyte LGA 1151 GA-Z170X-Gaming G1	$499.99	Jun 16, 2016

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score 2 · Answer 1

ASUS Z170-A

Top Pro

Good USB options

This board supports USB 3.1 type A and C meaning it is pretty future proof as well as versatile due to all of the options USB C connections allow. See More

Top Con

Third party tower coolers may not clear RAM

The RAM slots are pretty close to the CPU, which means if you are using or plan on using a third party tower cooler, it may not install due to the RAM positioning. See More

Top Pro

Good built in sound

The board supports 7.1 digital surround sound with great clarity, which is great for games that support it as it is can be helpful to gameplay when hearing sounds in certain directions. See More

Top Con

Mounting issues

The I/O shield on the board tends to be in the way, is quite flimsy and also is to be avoided as it can cut your hands. This makes installing the MOBO troublesome and maybe a bit dangerous. See More

Top Pro

Easy to optimize the CPU

The board has a built in optimizing tool that will allow for easy overclocking as well as control for power consumption. It will also allow for auto adjusting of the PCs fans as well as set per app settings. While some may want to do all of this manually, for the uninitiated it is quite easy to click a single button to get better performance out of their setup. See More

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score 2 · Answer 2

ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 GAMING K4

Top Pro

Good overclocking controls

The board is able to overclock non K series Intel CPUs, which is helpful for those that want to overclock but do not have a K series chip. See More

Top Con

Somewhat flimsy

The board itself feels thin and flimsy which may cause issue when trying to mount as it could break. This also can cause some vibration of the board when using 3rd party coolers. See More

Top Pro

Good built in sound

The board supports 7.1 digital surround sound with great clarity, which is great for games that support it as it is can be helpful to gameplay when hearing sounds in certain directions. See More

Top Con

Not a full ATX board

Even though it is described as an ATX board, the size is not as big, which may cause some mounting issues depending on the case being used. See More

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score 1 · Answer 3

Gigabyte LGA 1151 GA-Z170X-Gaming G1

Top Pro

Audio as good as a discrete card

This board has a built in quad core audio processor as well as a high end 127dB DAC. This allows for a 192kHz/24-bit audio signal. See More

Top Con

Poor software

Starting with the BIOS, it is not very intuitive and takes a lot of poking around in order to learn what all of the features are. On top of this, many error codes are not listed on Gigabytes site or anywhere else, leaving the user guessing when one crops up. The other issue with software is the bundled apps that work on the desktop, they have memory leaks and are prone to crashing, making for an overall poor experience and support when it comes to the supplied software. See More

Top Pro

Good USB options

This board supports USB 3.1 type A and C meaning it is pretty future proof as well as versatile due to all of the options USB C connections allow. See More

Top Con

Too many shared PCIe lanes

If the user wishes to use two M.2 slots at the same time, this will disable two of the Sata Express ports. So proper planning is required depending on what hardware one wants to use that are PCIe compatible. This can be much time spent on research, which some may not want to invest. See More

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What are the best Intel LGA 1151 motherboards for gaming?

3 Options Considered

ASUS Z170-A

My Recommendation for ASUS Z170-A

My Recommendation for ASUS Z170-A

Good USB options

Third party tower coolers may not clear RAM

Good built in sound

Mounting issues

Easy to optimize the CPU

ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 GAMING K4

My Recommendation for ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 GAMING K4

My Recommendation for ASRock FATAL1TY Z170 GAMING K4

Good overclocking controls

Somewhat flimsy

Good built in sound

Not a full ATX board

Gigabyte LGA 1151 GA-Z170X-Gaming G1

My Recommendation for Gigabyte LGA 1151 GA-Z170X-Gaming G1

My Recommendation for Gigabyte LGA 1151 GA-Z170X-Gaming G1

Audio as good as a discrete card

Poor software

Good USB options

Too many shared PCIe lanes

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