What is point and purpose of upgrading or buying highend Motherboard

[gidonyou]

Hello.. my title explains my question but let me summerize my point: first of all.. im kind of "noov" in techworld so I really want well explained reply..

Isnt upgrading motherboard only for increasing ram slots and expansion slots? Ofcourse sometimes you have to upgrade motherboard to make cpu compatible each other.. but if not what is point if doing that?

thanks for support and answer. Also excuse me for bad English

[DigitalHermit]

Overclocking, expandability, more RAM channels, more stable power delivery, possibility of SLI/Crossfire.... M.2 slots, eSATA even...

 

It also looks cooler than a low-end motherboard, but that's just a bonus...

[monjanger]

No, there's many benefits, more yup slots and ram slots, but a newer intel chipset (z97) better wifi, cooler looking board etc etc.

[harrynowl]

You've identified 2 reasons to go for a higher end board, other people may want:

• Software features
• Overclocking features
• RAM Frequencies
• Better sound
• Longer warranties
• More SATA ports
• SLI/CFX support
• Better expansion slot layout
• Aesthetics
• Onboard Wi-Fi
• M.2

If you're shopping for a board you can give us a price range, things you'd like and where you're buying from. And we can give you suggestions

[bbrooking18]

There are some additional features that may or not be useful, M.2 Sata (something I intend to use on my MSI Gaming 9 AC), better audio in some cases, better overclocking, ability to use higher RAM frequencies, there are others as well like looks as well and features companies like to market

[Prokart2000]

well from what i read you can get a 8 core amd chip to 4.6 on my board if the chip is average

[NeCoNLive]

Anyway, feel free to tell your price range and we could help you find the perfect fit for you. 

[Hans Power]

It's a bit of a difference between AMD and Intel but since Intel is ahead at the moment I'll concentrate on their ecosystem.

So, on the lower end of intel motherboards (below the z97 or Z87 chipsets) you'll get no overclocking and lesser overall features like missing SLI support, fewer RAID modes, less or no USB 3.0, lesser RAM slots. On Z97 chipsets you get overclocking as long as you stick with an overclockable CPU (the K on the end of the product description like the I5 4690K marks overclockability). Another important feature would be SLI if you want to couple two or more Nvidia cards. AMD Crossfire on the other hand is usually present on lower end boards as well. Then there would be the inclusion of better audio chips and/or higher grade capacitors. There are some solutions like swappable off-Amps to change your sound signature (that's what gigabyte is going for) or the Asus supremeFX audio implementation. Then there are better LAN solutions like KillerLAN, which is good but not as good as the even more expensive Intel LAN Chipset. Also there are some additional features like on/off switches on the mainboard itself.

Usually you get boards with 2-way SLI support, better audio and better LAN for around ~130-150€. Those are in my opinion the sweet spot in terms of features for the everyday gamer. Then there are the higher end boards and those either have higher grade gaming features like even better audio and LAN and 3-4way SLI instead of "only" 2way or they are build for massive overclocking with liquid nitrogen and feature stuff like voltage measure points - those are build to reach world records. There are also mainboards which do a mix of both - a lot of gaming and overclocking features. Anyway, I think that boards with "useful" features end in a price range of around 200€ (+/- 30€) and that is maybe justifyable with the higher grade Intel LAN chip for highly competitive online gamers. More expensive boards in the 300-400€ range are more for people who want the best and ONLY the best no matter the cost and those usually have features which aren't needed by someone who just wants to play games or does a little bit of productivity work. I'd say that the new X99 mainboards are the exception since they support the latest extreme edition I7 CPUs which are actually very good for productivity work - might save you a few minutes of video rendering time for example compared to a regular I7.

Anyway, I hope that's detailed enough - for Intel boards at least. If you want to know a little bit more about AMD boards just ask.