Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024 coverage.
It's been a busy year for motherboard vendors, thanks to new AM5 socket chipsets from AMD and a completely new platform (LGA1851 and Z890) from Intel. In many cases, manufacturers just took a previous design and tweaked it for 2024, but some took the opportunity to improve all kinds of different aspects such as the BIOS interface, and PCIe and M.2 slot latches.
With Intel's Core Ultra 200S series of processors being rather underwhelming in terms of gaming chops, last-gen Raptor Lake chips are still very popular but what motherboard to pick? Well, the ASRock B760I Lighting should be seriously considered, despite its diminutive size. It'll handle any 14th Gen Core processor and highly overclocked RAM. It's a bit short on rear IO ports, though.
For AMD enthusiasts, you could choose a last-gen chipset or something with the latest X870. For the former, the Asus ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming WiFi is an exceptional motherboard, jammed with USB ports and Gen5 slots for graphics cards and SSDs. The price tag is steep though and that's where the newer MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi come in.
It's a good deal cheaper than the Asus board and sports more USB ports than you could ever possibly want. There are plenty of M.2 slots too, though the available configurations are complicated, to say the least.
Out of everything we've tested this year, these models are the ones we've nominated for gaming motherboards of 2024. Now you just have to wait until New Year's Eve to see which one is the winner!
Best gaming motherboard 2024: the nominees
The winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for the best gaming motherboard on New Year's Eve. Three different boards but only one can be a winner.
