Quantcast
PC World: Technology Advice You Can Trust
Find a Review
Free Newsletters
Receive the latest reviews, how-to's, news, and more.
Weekly Brief
Daily Downloads
Daily Technology News
WiFi Finder
Locate wireless services by a specific address, city, state, country, airport, or zip code.
RSS Feeds
Get our latest content via convenient RSS feeds.
Latest News
Today @ PC World
Become a PCW Member
Join the community and start enjoying the benefits:
  • Get tech advice from thousands of PC World Members
  • Rate and recommend the latest tech products
  • Share your thoughts in blog and article comments
  • Get free excerpts and exclusive discounts on Super Guides

Top Motherboards

Performance within each group varied only slightly, so components and connections should guide your buying decision.

Edited by Danny Allen

Monday, February 26, 2007, 03:00 PM PST
Recommend this story?
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to See a Side-by-Side Comparison
Rank Name PCW Rating
INTEL-BASED MOTHERBOARD
1
BEST BUY
Asus P5N-E SLI
• nVidia nForce 650i SLI chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
• 4 SATA, 2 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 eSATA ports
• Price when ranked: $149
Check latest prices
This impressive all-around SLI board has two ATA channels and an eSATA port, though only x8. You'll need a rear-panel breakout to get 7.1-channel analog output.
Test Report
Pending
2
ECS nForce 570 SLIT-A (v5.1)
• nVidia nForce 570 SLI chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 PCI slots
• 8 Serial ATA, 1 PATA ports
• 4 USB ports
• Price when ranked: $95
Check latest prices
Easily the lowest-priced SLI board on the chart, this model is a very good performer. A lack of FireWire ports and limited x8 SLI are the only nits to pick.
Test Report
Pending
3
MSI P965 Platinum
• Intel P965 chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PC slots
• 7 SATA, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 2 FireWire ports
• Price when ranked: $135
Check latest prices
The best performing board, this model also offers a full complement of cutting-edge and legacy features. Only the lack of dual graphics kept it out of the top spot.
Test Report
Pending
4
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6
• Intel P965 chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
• 8 SATA, 1 PATA ports
• 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 0 + 4 eSATA ports
• Price when ranked: $198
Check latest prices
Another board with a complete set of legacy ports and state-of-the-art features. We love the friendly color scheme, but the price--not so much.
Test Report
Pending
5
Abit AB9 Pro
• Intel P965 chip set
• 1 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
• 8 SATA, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 0 + 2 FireWire, 1 eSATA ports
• Price when ranked: $150
Check latest prices
This great performer has contemporary ports to spare: ten USB (six on headers), eight SATA, and a single eSATA port. But a lack of legacy ports dropped its ranking.
Test Report
Pending
AMD-BASED MOTHERBOARD
1
BEST BUY
Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
• nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x8, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
• 8 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
• 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 0 + 2 eSATA ports
• Price when ranked: $170
Check latest prices
Like its 965-based sibling on the Intel portion of the chart, this model has all the legacy ports and cutting-edge features you'll need--but at a better price.
Test Report
Pending
2
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
• nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 1 PCI slots
• 6 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 0 + 2 FireWire ports
• Price when ranked: $170
Check latest prices
This board performed well at specified speeds and was born to overclock. If you don't need legacy parallel or serial ports, it's a terrific deal.
Test Report
Pending
3
MSI K9A Platinum
• ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200
• 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
• 4 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire ports
• Price when ranked: $130
Check latest prices
This very solid offering mixes all of the newest and oldest technlogies, but it performed a tad slowly in our testing, which kept it from the top of the chart.
Test Report
Pending
4
Asus Crosshair
• nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
• 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x4, 3 PCI slots
• 6 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire ports
• Price when ranked: $249
Check latest prices
A tweaker's delight, with a ton of techie-oriented lights and other features. It's pricey if your needs are basic, but it's a great board for overclocking enthusiasts.
Test Report
Pending
5
Sapphire Pure CrossFire PC-AM2RD580
• ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 (AMD 580X)
• 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 1 PCI slots
• 8 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
• 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA ports
• Price when ranked: $130
Check latest prices
The classy, retro pale green look belies a true overclocker's heart. But this board could use better SATA connectors, and Sapphire's support policies are stingy.
Test Report
Pending
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to see a Side-by-Side Comparison
CHART NOTES: We tested all boards with a 256MB EVGA GeForce 7800GT graphics board, 2GB of Kingston PC-6400 DDR2 memory, and two 250GB Western Digital hard drives configured in a striped RAID array. We tested Intel boards with a 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU. We tested AMD boards with a 2.6-GHz Athlon 64 X2 5200+ CPU. The first number listed for peripheral ports indicates those located on the back panel of the motherboard; the second number (following the "+") indicates ports located on included expansion brackets (which will occupy an expansion bay in the case). Most boards also have additional internal port headers to which additional expansion brackets can be connected.

Today's Special Offers

Name City
Address 1 State Zip
Address 2 E-mail (optional)