Best Motherboards For I5 10600K

Desember 25, 2022Desember 24, 2022 falma.u99 10600k, motherboards

The i K is a great processor for gaming and other demanding tasks. It offers six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 3.8GHz that can be boosted to 5.0GHz. That makes it one of the fastest processors available, and it’s also very power efficient.

However, you need a great motherboard to get the most out of this processor. The motherboard is the foundation of your PC, and it needs to be able to support all the components in your system. It also needs to have the right features for your needs, and it needs to be well-made so that it lasts for years.

This guide will show you the best motherboards for i K processors. We’ll also explain what you need to look for in a motherboard so that you can make the best choice for your needs. So, if you are looking for a powerful motherboard to go with your new processor, keep reading!

At A Glance:

Best pickBest Flagship Motherboard for i K

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex

✓ Multiple fan headers

✓ Extended VRM heatsink

✓ Onboard Diagnostic Switches

View on AmazonStaff PickBest Overall Motherboard for i K

MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE

✓ Vast connectivity

✓ 128GB RAM support

✓ High overclocking with low temperature

View on AmazonBudget PickBest Budget Motherboard for i K

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS ELITE AC

✓ Power Efficient

✓ Great RGB control

✓ PCIe 4.0 support for future

View on AmazonOur Recommendations For i K Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Xtreme
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What recent buyers report?

The connectivity on this motherboard is robust. We will see an Aquantia 10GbE LAN chip and an Intel 2.5GbE LAN chip looking at the integrated IO shield. It has two connections for the WiFi-6. It surprisingly has an HDMI output for the iGPU. It has dual 8pin connectors to power the intel i K high clock speeds.

Why it stands out to us?

Two times the copper used in PCB tracing allows lower temperature, better overclocking, lower resistance, and eventually better efficiency. It has direct touch heat pipes for VRM cooling. DUAL BIOS, diagnostic LEDs, BIOS switches, and reinforced card slots make it an excellent choice for bench based testers. Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Xtreme board will not bottleneck your processor at all.

Who will use it most?

The heatsinks for the three M.2 drives make it an excellent choice for productive work. These ensure no throttling takes place when a lot of data fetching takes place. Even though the i K does not support PCIe 4.0, this motherboard is made to futureproof your investment and features support for PCIe 4.0. The two Thunderbolt ports at the rear panel allow fast data communication among devices.

Bottom Line

Gigabyte has gone all out with this motherboard, they have featured all the tech they had, but the downside to having so much on a single board is “the price.” It has all the connections right-angled to the motherboard, so going or a larger chassis won’t be a wrong decision. However, overall this motherboard will put indirect costs on your budget, but it’s worth the performance during overclocked conditions. No doubt it is the best motherboard for i K.

The Pros
✓ 3 M.2 Drive Slots

✓ Power Efficient by design

✓ Shielded Memory Routing

The Cons
✗ No SATA Controllers

View on AmazonASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex
Best pickView on amazon

The ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex motherboard is designed to unleash the full potential of 10th Gen Intel Core processors. Featuring 16 teamed power stages, high-quality alloy chokes and durable capacitors, this motherboard provides reliable power for intense overclocking sessions.

Thanks to OptiMem III and the Overclocker’s toolkit, the board also has record-breaking overclocking performance. Plus, it comes with condensation detection to keep your system running smoothly even in challenging conditions.

Moreover, it features a superb thermal design with VRM heatsinks and C-shaped Heatpipe, chipset and M. 2 slots heatsinks, solid steel backplate, multiple fan headers, and AI cooling to balance thermals and acoustics. It also has unmatched personalization with X-shaped PCB for customized the unique build, ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, including RGB headers and Gen 2 addressable headers.

What recent buyers report?

Take a step back and enjoy the vicious claw-like streaks going across the motherboard like some monster just attacked the motherboard. It’s an absolute beast looking motherboard. It features all-new PCIe 4.0 even though you might not be able to make use of it since the i K only supports PCIe 3.0. Future Intel CPUs might support it with the LGA1200 socket, so it’s a future proof investment.

Why it stands out to us?

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex has a 2.5Gb Ethernet fast enough for all the gaming and productivity needs. CMOS and BIOS flashback button on the integrated IO along with two antenna connections for the latest WiFi-6. 10 USB connections at the back sufficient for your peripherals. It has an onboard post code display, which is handy for Intel processors to judge whether the memory timing is the issue or any other overclocked hardware.

Who will use it most?

This motherboard is to experiment with liquid nitrogen. People who like overclocking with windows XP would require PS/2 ports, which this motherboard offers. It comes with four switches on board to help aid overclocking for enthusiasts. 2 RSVD switches to preload cold boot bug voltages, a slow mode switch to drop CPU to the lowest multiplier, a CPU stall switch are board mounted. All you need to do is put mobo in LN2 mode with a jumper.

Bottom Line

The slanted SATA ports are incredibly convenient for test bench overclockers. The SATA cable smoothly goes around the motherboard than the traditional side facing straight SATA ports. There are 16 phase VRM, but actually, it’s an 8 phase VRM with doublers. These VRMs can give 1.2V 200A output with only 16watts of heat, a big plus for overclockers. Cooling the VRM would not be an issue on this motherboard.

The Pros
✓ Multiple fan headers

✓ Extended VRM heatsink

✓ Onboard Diagnostic Switches

View on AmazonMSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE
Staff PickView on amazon

What recent buyers report?

It has excellent connectivity with the latest WiFi-6 and BT 5.1. It has enough headers for the RGB and Cooling solution connections. The GODLIKE series of MSI is meant to be great for all kinds of work, i.e., gaming, content creation, and productivity. This motherboard does all types of work with a breeze. The PCI slots are reinforced to ensure they remain robust when heavy graphic cards are placed in the slot.

Why it stands out to us?

MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE motherboard has the PS/2 port for overclockers to achieve those extra hertz on their processors: clear CMOS and BIOS flashback button for ease of recovery. There are two Thunderbolt ports and 2.5/5G LAN ports for the fastest possible connectivity with the least lag. The IO shield is integrated with the board. It has an onboard LED for ease in the diagnostic approach.

Who will use it most?

It features a slow-mo jumper, which helps you take your processor to the lowest possible speed to remove any hardware conflict that might have occurred due to extreme overclocking. Dual BIOS is provided with an onboard switch for ease of access if one BIOS gets corrupted. A power and a reset button on board for the benchmarkers.

Bottom Line

The VRMs on this motherboard is excellent; they can go from 1.2V 200A 15W to 600A 66W, which is an impressive range for overclocking. However, the VRMs are forced ventilated, which increases power consumption. This VRM is overkill for the i K. Users who like to remain within the stable overclocking range would not want to flow that much amount of amperes through their circuit. However, it would be of great benefit for bench overclockers.

The Pros
✓ Vast connectivity

✓ 128GB RAM support

✓ High overclocking with low temperature

The Cons
✗ No DDL/DTS Connect

View on AmazonMSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WiFi
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The MSI MPG Z490 Edge motherboard is perfect for gamers and power users who need the best performance and features. It supports 10th Generation Intel Core / Pentium Gold / Celeron Processors for LGA 1200 socket, dual-channel DDR4 memory up to 128GB (4800MHz), and Lightning USB 20G.

The ASmedia 3241 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 controller provides never before seen USB speeds up to 20Gb/s from the Rear USB Type-C port, making it the perfect choice for gamers and users who need the best performance.

It’s equipped with twin-turbo M.2 slots for ultra-fast SSDs, on-board 2.5G LAN plus gigabit LAN with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), and pre-installed I/O shielding for convenience and protection from electrostatic discharge. This board also features MSI’s exclusive M.2 Shield Frozr technology, which keeps your drives cool and helps to improve performance.

What recent buyers report?

If you are looking for a Z490 chipset with WiFi, then this motherboard is your best bet. The connectors are well placed to keep your cable management hassle-free. It has an onboard RGB strip that reflects off your chassis and keeps your gaming rig feeling alive. It features the 2 latest USB 3.2 Gen2 ports for the fastest data transfer from a USB port.

Why it stands out to us?

MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WiFi comes with the latest WiFi-6 and BT. It can provide stable 1.7V with 600A of current for overclocking your CPU. The 6 layer PCB keeps everything intact, and the additional steel armor/reinforcement allows heavy cards like the RTX 3090 FE to stay in place. The BIOS is clean and comfortable to manage with a good looking GUI.

Who will use it most?

MSI Overclocking can be easily achieved with the BIOS. The MPG series is made for aesthetically pleasing gaming rigs, and the personalization of RGB with convenient software designs keep your rig in the center of attention. The support for Dual-channel RAM ensures high-speed data fetching across hardware, and with a good RAM, you can overclock up to 5000MHz of clock speeds.

Bottom Line

Overall this motherboard has all the essentials for gaming, productivity, and content creation. It has enough USB ports, thunderbolt port, display port, antenna connection, and M.2 slots for all the gaming needs. Combining this motherboard, an RTX 3070 and an i k will let you play all the latest titles like CyberPunk 2022 at 1080p with 60above fps and high settings.

The Pros
✓ Sturdy PCB Build

✓ Mystic Light RGB

✓ Supreme Audio Boost technology

The Cons
✗ No PCIe 4.0 slot

View on AmazonGigabyte Z490 AORUS ELITE AC
Budget PickView on amazon

What recent buyers report?

The motherboard comes with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The WiFI antenna comes with a magnetic base making it easy to stick it to metal surfaces. The visual appeal of this motherboard is clean, which makes the PC build easy to manage. The subdued pale orange glow of the AORUS logo makes it look alive. You will need the F4 or above BIOS rev for the RTX 2070 to work on this motherboard.

Why it stands out to us?

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS ELITE AC can withstand 600Amps of current directed towards the CPU for overclocking due to the 2x larger copper tracing on the motherboard and using solid capacitors. The motherboard features sufficient heatsinks to ensure proper heat transfer from the VRMs, Z490 chipset, and the M.2 drives. The XMP profile rams can be boosted to 5000MHz on this motherboard, which is the highest possible on any RAM available in the market.

Who will use it most?

This motherboard supports the all-new PCIe 4.0 slots for GPUs and SSDs. It has a USB-C connection for the front panel, the handiest USB type for Android users. It has two headers for connecting addressable RGB strips and two headers for regular RGB. It has more than ten options for RGB lightning to make it feel alive.

Bottom Line

This motherboard is a good investment for users who play offline games and want a future proof motherboard as Intel will hopefully stick with their LGA1200 socket for a significant amount of time. The 10th generation of processors is all LGA1200. If you consider the 14nm lithography, power draw will remain a challenge for Intel, and this motherboard has good copper tracing to deal with such power consumption. So it is the best motherboard for i K for beginners.

The Pros
✓ Power Efficient

✓ Great RGB control

✓ PCIe 4.0 support for future

The Cons
✗ No Audio Shield for Noise Control

View on AmazonASUS Z490-E ROG STRIX GAMING
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What recent buyers report?

This motherboard has all the features to support the latest 10th generation of processors, including the i K. The 14+2 phases of VRM ensure that the processor has enough voltages and stable amperes to keep the performance boosted. 128GB of RAM is significant for any AAA title in the market. 64 GB is enough for all the top titles, but having a margin allows your rig to be future-proof.

Why it stands out to us?

ASUS Z490-E ROG STRIX GAMING, as its title suggests, is made for gaming. You can be an online gamer/streamer with this motherboard and keep it running 24/7. The heatsinks on this motherboard will keep the VRMs, M.2 drives, and chipset temperature under control. The ROG SupremeFX audio chipset is the best in the business to ensure your gaming experience is noise-free and pinpointing the enemy.

Who will use it most?

The ROG series of ASUS is made for gamers who want all the features for their latest gaming needs under one roof. The motherboard is for overclockers that are going to use the enhanced capability for gaming. Bench based overclockers will need a few more options. However, this motherboard has all the essentials for gaming needs. Support for 4800 MHz RAM is more than enough for all the latest games.

Bottom Line

Running this motherboard under a beautiful chassis will make it stand out amongst your friends’ circle. The streaks across the board with the STRIX logo near the IO shield make it look both rough and operational. The iGPU can also be used on this motherboard for productivity as no dedicated GPU is required for booting, and display ports are provided on the IO panel.

The Pros
✓ WiFi-6

✓ Supreme Audio Chipset

✓ LGA 1200 socket compatible

View on AmazonASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming WiFi
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What recent buyers report?

ASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming WiFi motherboard is on-point, minimalist, and built for small chassis. If you are a gamer and do not require all of those overclocking gimmicks that come on board for an extreme overclocking profession, then this is the right choice for you. The 12+2 phases are more than enough to power through your games and give stable gaming performance. Hi-speed WiFi 6 provides higher capacity and better performance in environments dense with wireless networks.

Why it stands out to us?

It does not only look cooler; it runs cooler as well; it has good headers for cooling solutions and RGB. The VRM heatsink and the M.2 heatsink packed in such a small package is a big plus for long streaming sessions. The ROG Strix logo shining on the stainless steel plate makes it speak out its superiority in gaming hardware. The integrated IO has a BIOS flashback button and two display outputs for the iGPU.

Who will use it most?

It’s built for small chassis and gamers who like to keep minimum hardware spread on their gaming tables. The small but powerful motherboard is made to gain maximum performance through minimum hardware. The superior sound quality ensures that no enemy remains undetected with pinpoint precision. The audio is well shielded to reduce noise. The dual amplifiers provide that the amplitude is high enough for all the big brands of headphones.

Bottom Line

Asus has been around for a long time in the gaming industry to know what gamers want. This motherboard is also suitable for productivity and content creation, considering you will be using an i k. This processor has an iGPU; thus, having a display port and an HDMI port helps productive work that does not require a dedicated GPU. They have managed to get 12+2 phases in such a small size, and 128GB x 4 DIMM slots are amazing. It deserves to be in your home.

The Pros
✓ Sufficient RAM Capacity

✓ High-quality thermal pads

✓ Intuitive AI Overclocking user interface

The Cons
✗ No 10GbE Ethernet

View on AmazonMSI MEG Z490I Unify
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What recent buyers report?

The MEG series of MSI is meant to break records in performance; this means the specs are way above what anyone would require in competitive gaming environments. The mobo is made to push limits and make records. The 10 layer PCB offered by only the flagship motherboards can be achieved with this motherboard. Most gamers don’t require SLI or CrossFire and 128GB of RAM. So this motherboard offers the essential 64GB support with the premium build quality.

Why it stands out to us?

They have packed in everything gamers could ask for in such a small package. The Thunderbolt 3 connection at the back can run at 3840×2160 @60Hz. MSI MEG Z490I Unify has a 2.5GbE LAN for high-speed connectivity for streamers and online gamers. The DP and HDMI port enable the iGPU to work when a dedicated GPU is not present, making it the right choice for people working from home.

Who will use it most?

There is no onboard RGB on this motherboard, and the connections supported are also not programmable. Consider it a motherboard for small form factor functional motherboards rather than bold and flashy hardware. It gets the job done with minimum hardware. It’s suitable for minimalists who are looking for stable hardware.

Bottom Line

The motherboard runs cool with heat pipe based heat dissipation for the VRM, and the PCIe steel armor makes sure that the heaviest of GPUs don’t snap your PCIe slot. The heatsink for the M.2 slots and Aluminium cover with integrated IO shield ensure that the frequent attachment and detachment of peripherals don’t harm your connections.

The Pros
✓ Solid ten layer PCB

✓ Reinforced PCIe slots

✓ Optimized for Intel 10th Gen processors

The Cons
✗ No Onboard Diagnostics

View on AmazonSummary For i K Motherboard
Conclusion

The Intel i K has enough power to process the physics of all the latest gaming titles. The overclocking capability is high enough to keep your gaming performance boosted to the maximum. Competitive gamers can smoothly go for a big graphic card like the RTX 3070 to ensure 200+fps at medium settings.

Each of the mentioned above products could be labeled as the best motherboard for i K that we have featured in our article has sufficient features to support your combination. However, we do recommend that you go for motherboards that support PCIe 4.0.

Even though the Intel processors lag in PCIe technology, the all-new Nvidia 3000 series and Radeon RX 6000 series graphic cards are not severely bottlenecked due to PCIe 3.0 alone. We still recommend you should go for a motherboard with supreme audio and PCIe 4.0 featured if you are a gamer with a knack of beautiful looking graphics.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best motherboard for i K?

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex is the latest and greatest for the Intel i k processor. Everything from cable management to onboard diagnostics and overclocking tools makes it the best choice for overclockers. Some users have tried breaking records using liquid nitrogen-based cooling to boost their performance to the peak, and this motherboard handled it well.

What chipset is the i K?

Z490 chipset with LGA1200 socket is the best for the i K. Like the ASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming WiFi, motherboards have successfully contained this beast chipset in a smaller PCB and design. The performance can easily compete with any E-ATX motherboard. The Z490 chipset alone supports PCIe 4.0, which is essential for all the top GPUs.

Which motherboard is best for an i K processor?

MSI MEG Z490I Unify is the best motherboard you can get for the Intel i K. It is a powerhouse in such a small package. The support for 5000MHz RAM O.C and a ten layer PCB design keeps your hardware fast with reliable performance. 64GB is enough RAM for any RAM intensive application or game.

What is the cheapest motherboard for the Core i K?

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS ELITE AC is the cheapest motherboard that can run the Core i K. There are other motherboards around the same price point, but this motherboard is the best bang for the buck. It has good overclocking, WiFi, BIOS, RGB, onboard connections, IO ports, and shielded memory routing for lossless data transfer.