Best ASRock Motherboards for Gaming in 2024

When it comes to gaming motherboards, there is an ocean of options to choose from. One of the largest motherboard manufacturers, ASRock, has been in the business for over 20 years. It is known for offering great performing motherboards at good value. Be it ATX, mATX, or mini-ITX, ASRock has them all and more for gamers, working professionals, server use, and all other use cases. For gamers, the company offers a wide selection of both Intel and AMD motherboards, so both teams can find their perfect board.

Intel CPUs, at least in the last three generations, have stayed on the LGA 1700 socket which means those looking to upgrade from a 12th Gen CPU to the recently announced 14th Gen chips will technically not have to switch out their motherboard. However, getting a new Z790 motherboard will ensure gamers are using the latest and greatest features such as support for higher RAM speeds, more USB ports, and PCIe 5.0 I/O compatibility. On the other hand, AMD CPU users on the latest generation of processors that are on the AM5 socket will have to jump over to the X670 and B650 motherboards, for which there are plenty of options.

RELATED: Best AMD Motherboards For Gaming In 2024

How to Choose the Best Gaming Motherboard

When looking at new motherboards, there are a few things one should keep in mind. These factors to consider are discussed in more detail at the end of this guide:

Platform: The motherboard market is split into Intel and AMD boards depending on the CPU. Motherboard manufacturers offer a wide range of chipsets for both chipmakers and these determine the features that will be available to the user.

Price: The most obvious point of consideration is the budget. There are options available in all price brackets, but that does not mean going with the cheapest or the most popular option.

Form factor: Motherboards come in different sizes or form factors. The four major form factors are ATX, eATX, mATX, and mini-ITX. The market is filled with a multitude of options within these major form factors.

Connectivity/ expansion: Connectivity and expansion options are determined by the number and quality of SATA connectors, USB ports, PCIe slots, as well as wireless connectivity options.

Overclocking: Overclocking allows users to squeeze every bit of performance from their components. The RAM, GPU, and CPU can be individually overclocked to achieve significant improvement in performance compared to their stock settings.

GameRant’s Picks for the Best ASRock Gaming Motherboards

Those looking for a top-of-the-line motherboard to run their AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs or in-line to purchase the upcoming Ryzen 8000 series processors look no further. The ASRock X670E Taichi brings together all the features gamers would need in a sleek and stylish-looking package. Following a 24+2+1 power phase design, the motherboard supports RAM overclocking to over 7800MHz with up to four DDR5 DIMMs. That power phase will come in handy to support the latest and greatest GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia that will sit snugly on the two PCIe 5 x16 slots.

The all-black design of the X670E Taichi will complement most build themes, however, the gold accents will likely stand out. But those looking for a white motherboard will have to look towards the Taichi Carrara. For high-speed storage, gamers can make use of the Gen5 M.2 SSD slot or the three other Gen4 slots. There are ample SATA and USB connectivity options for all kinds of expansions.

No gaming motherboard is complete without the best connectivity options. The X670E Taichi brings Killer 2.5G LAN and Killer 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E allowing a blazing fast wired connection as well as a no-lag wireless gaming experience.

As part of the most popular series of Intel motherboards from ASRock, the Z790 Taichi Carrara offers the latest and greatest features in the gaming motherboard industry. It supports 14th, 13th, and 12th Gen Intel CPUs which is great news for those eagerly waiting for Intel’s latest generation processors to drop. The Taichi Carrara has an e-ATX form factor, so it will not fit in all mid-tower cases.

The Z790 Taichi Carrara brings a 24+1+2 phase power design and has four DIMM slots with support for up to 7400 MHz RAM speeds. There are two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots for using GPUs or other expansion cards. In terms of connectivity, there are five M.2 drive slots and eight SATA ports, which means ample storage options. It comes with a 2.5 Gigabit LAN port as well as Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The motherboard has a black and white colorway which, along with its name, is inspired by the Carrara marble, which is white with black accents. The gaming motherboard features the latest SPS or Smart Power Stage technology present in the Dr.MOS design offering precise voltage monitoring. The ASRock Z790 Taichi Carrara also comes with a 120mm Carrara Edition cooling fan and a Wi-Fi antenna.

Not everyone wants to have a giant tower sitting next to them at their desk. A lot of gamers are moving towards more compact PC builds as they are highly capable and save a lot of space, whether on the desk or below it. To support this growing market, ASRock has a good selection of compact MicroATX motherboards that offer top-of-the-line performance.

The ASRock B760M Steel Legend WiFi works with the latest Intel 14th Gen, as well as older 13th and 12th Gen CPUs. It supports overclocking thanks to its 12+1+1 power phase design and the DDR5 RAM can be boosted up to 7200MHz. Future-proofing has also been taken care of with the PCIe Gen5 slot and high-speed storage is handled by the three M.2 Gen4 slots. Even though it is a compact motherboard, it provides ample USB and SATA connectivity, and, on top of that, it features Dragon 2.5G LAN, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity.

Of course, being a Steel Legend series motherboard, this B760M has white accents on top of the black PCB and tastefully sprinkled RGB lighting. It is compatible with ASRock’s slew of software and UEFI tools.

RELATED: The Best Mini-ITX Motherboards for 2024

Small form factor PC builders know the balance that they need to strike between space constraints and performance. Having an ITX motherboard that does it all definitely makes things easier. Those building an Intel-based gaming PC can explore the ASRock Z790M-ITX WIFI. It comes with a 7+1+1 power phase design and support for overclocking, allowing the DDR5 RAM to surpass 7000MHz. Gamers can also make use of the PCIe Gen5 slot for zero bottlenecking when it comes to using the latest and most powerful GPUs. Of course, ones that will fit in a small form factor build.

The ASRock Z790M-ITX WIFI comes with two M.2 Gen4 slots along with four SATA connectors for ample storage and expandability. For wireless connectivity, it boasts both Intel 2.5G LAN and Intel 1G LAN despite its small size. The onboard WiFi module supports WiFi 6E and the motherboard comes with Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity as well.

Stable power is delivered to the board via the high-density 8-pin 12V connector which distributes power to all the slots, ports, and the addressable RGB header. Devices that are Polychrome RGB Sync-certified can all be synchronized and controlled off this one header through the ASRock software.

Gamers sticking with the last-gen yet still, very capable AM4 socket and Ryzen 5000 series CPUs still have quite a few options to choose from. The socket, while not as powerful and expansive as AM5 with its support for PCIe Gen5 and DDR5 memory, still holds a large chunk of the market and users have been satisfied with its impressive performance. The ASRock B550 EXTREME4 motherboard is the perfect home for Ryzen 5000, 4000, or even 3000 series CPU without breaking the bank.

It sports a 14-power phase design and allows DDR4 memory overclocking to over 4700 MHz and being an ATX motherboard, there is space for four DIMMs. There are two full-size PCIe slots, one of which is Gen4 while the other is Gen3, so while Nvidia SLI will not be supported, gamers can still use two AMD GPUs with Crossfire. For storage, there is a Gen4 M.2 SSD slot along with two Gen3 slots. Wireless connectivity is handled by Dragon 2.5G LAN but note that there is no onboard WiFi or Bluetooth.

In terms of aesthetics, the ASRock B550 EXTREME4 has an aluminum alloy heatsink, heatsink armor for the M.2 SSDs, reinforced PCIe slots, I/O armor, and a flexible integrated I/O shield.

RELATED: The Best Motherboards for Intel Core i9 13900K

With support for the latest Intel CPUs, the ASRock B760M PG Riptide is an excellent offering in the budget segment. For its price of under $200 which, at the time of writing, is heavily discounted at Newegg, the B760M PG Riptide brings a lot to the table. It is a micro ATX motherboard, which means it will easily fit in most standard and compact cases. It has a 14+1+1 power phase design and support for DDR5 RAM that can be overclocked to 7200MHz. Being a B series motherboard, it does not support CPU overclocking.

The full-size PCIe Gen4 slot is accompanied by a PCIe Gen4 x1 slot and two M.2 Gen4 SSD storage slots. At this budget, gamers get a preinstalled I/O shield, 2.5G LAN, high-density power connectors, four SATA3 6.0 Gbps connectors, and more. Along with the performance features, the design of the ASRock B760M PG Riptide also stands out with its blue accents on top of the black PCB. There is subtle RGB lighting on the right edge of the motherboard.

Other interesting features that are uncommon at this price point are the reinforced steel PCIe slot, Nahimic 7.1 HD Audio, front USB Type-C header, and an addressable RGB header.

There are a few key components on a motherboard that determine how well it can overclock. Dedicated to overclocking, the Z690 AQUA OC boasts a 20-phase SPS Dr.MOS power design that is guaranteed to deliver ample stable power to the CPU and GPU when pushing them to their limit. The company has implemented SPS or SMART POWER STAGE that uses a combination of integrated MOSFETs that have advanced driver IC, current sensors, and temperature sensors to provide current monitoring for overclocking.

The Z690 AQUA OC comes with five OC buttons including two that allow adjusting the frequency, and three buttons with popular overclocker NickShih’s overclocking profiles. On top of that, there are dedicated switches for “Slow Mode” and LN2 overclocking. This motherboard is one of the very few that comes with a preinstalled water-cooling solution. The AQUA OC and this is where it probably gets its name, ships with a monoblock with heat-conductive thermal grease that sits on top of the CPU.

Besides its overclocking prowess, the Z690 AQUA OC covers all other bases as well, offering users two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, two Thunderbolt Type-C ports for display, two Gen4 M.2 SSD slots, and 10G LAN. And all this, no surprise, comes with a heavy price tag.

Diving Deeper into Finding the Best Gaming Motherboard

Platform

As mentioned earlier, there is a wide range of chipsets available for both Intel and AMD CPU users. Intel CPU users should look into Z790, B760, Z690, H670, B660, or H610 motherboards. These support the LGA 1700 socket which means they work with 12th Gen or later Intel CPUs. AMD CPU users should consider X670, B650, or A620 motherboards if they are on the latest AM5 socket which includes the latest Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. If they are using an older AM4 socket CPU (Ryzen 3000, 4000, 5000), they can consider X570, B550, B450, X370, A320, and some other chipsets.

Price

A motherboard is one of those components that should not be purchased without heavy research. Every build has a budget for the different components and the motherboard being one of the key components, should be given proper consideration. Along with the features one may need, it also determines future expandability and the general future-proofing so getting a cheaper motherboard may warrant an upgrade fairly soon. Every manufacturer has a range of motherboard offerings ranging from budget to premium and GameRant has extensive coverage on the different types of motherboards to help make the decision easier.

Form Factor

ATX is the standard size for motherboards while eATX or extended ATX is a bit bigger and offers more connectivity options. mATX or micro-ATX boards are smaller than regular ATX boards but still offer a decent number of connectivity options. Mini-ITX boards are the most compact and have limited expansion/ connectivity options. They are ideal for small form factor builds like HTPCs (home theater PCs).

Connectivity/ Expansion

Depending on the use case, gamers may require several USB ports, SATA drive connectors, extra PCIe slots, wireless connectivity options, or all of these features. The larger the motherboard form factor, typically, the higher the connectivity and expansion options. Wi-Fi is also an important requirement these days and most modern motherboards offer Wi-Fi connectivity.

Overclocking

Overclocking is not really a concern for some people, as not everyone likes to push their hardware to its limits. But, for those looking to see how far they can push their CPU or GPU or RAM, a motherboard that has been designed with overclocking in mind is a must. The motherboard needs to be able to supply enough power to the components that would require extra wattage without breaking down. Note that motherboards that are designed for overclocking are typically more expensive.

MORE: The Best Budget Intel Motherboards in 2024

FAQ

Q: Is ASRock still owned by Asus?

In 2002, ASRock spun off from ASUS and in 2010, it was acquired by Pegatron which is part of the ASUS group.

Q: Does ASRock make good gaming motherboards?

ASRock was established in 2002 and has since then been making motherboards, along with other components. ASRock is a strong competitor to ASUS which currently owns the largest market share when it comes to motherboards. It offers a wide range of motherboards just like its competitors and its products are mostly positively reviewed. In Korea and Japan, it is among the top 3 motherboard manufacturers.

Q: What is ASRock known for?

ASRock is known for its motherboards, which it has been making since 2002. It is a Taiwanese manufacturer that became the world’s third-largest motherboard brand in 2011. Over the years, the company expanded into the server and industrial space, after which it also developed graphics cards, gaming monitors, and Mini PCs.