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We are looking at some of our favourite products in the market in late 2021. This section will look at some of the motherboards that we have seen throughout this year – as well as an older option that still has us impressed in the 2021 market. AMD boards do well with the budget and mid-range options here, but Intel options are strong when the purchasing budget is increased.
Timestamps
#3: Best Budget motherboard of 2021: MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk
See the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk review HERE.
You can buy the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk at Overclockers UK for £129.95 HERE.
#2: Best Mid-priced motherboard of 2021: Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
See the Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master review HERE.
You can buy the Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master for around £350 HERE.
#1: Best High-End motherboard of 2021: Intel Z690
As you will see in our reviews, we have been deeply impressed by Intel's Core i5-12600K however the matching 600-series motherboards come in at a high price. If we take the three Asus examples shown above, the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero sells for £520 HERE and the ROG Strix Z690-F sells for £425 HERE, so the Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus D4 with support for DDR4 rather than DDR5 which sells for £270 HERE looks rather promising.
It is a similar story with Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master that sells for £445 HERE and the MSI MEG Z690 Unify that is listed at £510 HERE.
The broader issue is that the Big Shortage has inevitably led to motherboard manufacturers concentrating on the production of models with higher prices and margins, and this has led to a mismatch between motherboards and processors. There is yet more bad news as DDR5 memory is suffering from short supply. When you take those points together you will appreciate the position with Z690 motherboards is similar to the one with graphics cards. For that reason we are not advocating for any particular model of Z690 but instead recommend you buy when the need arises and grab what is available.
KitGuru says: Intel has set claim on the high-end, high-feature status for mainstream platform motherboards. But AMD's more wallet-friendly options are still plentiful.
