Best motherboard for i5 10600k in 2022 – Reviews & buying guide

The Intel Comet Lake processors are a huge update from the last generation due to their specifications and performance and overclocking headroom. The best motherboard for i5 10600K offers the best value for money and is a good mid-range option for modern versions.

The list below includes some of the best motherboards for i5 10600K that allows you to overclock the processor without breaking the bank. To build a new PC or upgrade to the previous generation, you will need a motherboard, as the socket has changed again and Comet Lake processors will not work with Z390 motherboards.

There, AMD has a small advantage as its new Ryzen 5000 series processors are fully compatible with previous generation motherboards. With Comet Lake processors, you need the H410, B460 or Z490 series motherboard depending on the budget.

Six cores and twelve threads are enough for any modern game or application, and it runs any newer title without breaking a sweat. Intel Comet Lake processors feature Hyper-Threading and, like previous generation processors, come with six true cores.

ASUS Prime Z490-A

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The Asus Prime series of motherboards are still offered at a very affordable price but with some great features, making them viable options for gamers on a budget. They are primarily aimed at low-budget versions, but their features and performance are similar to those of mid-range competitors.

The company has taken these motherboards to a more professional level, while other series have become games. The one that is compatible with this processor is Asus Prime Z490-Aw which cuts most Z490 motherboards in the same price range.

The best thing about this motherboard is its attractive price and overclocking support for Comet Lake processors, especially the i5 10600K. While there are other inexpensive options, but aesthetically, in terms of performance and features, this card tops the list.

Aesthetically, this motherboard is simple, but for all black or white versions, this motherboard is practical. We haven’t seen Asus change the look of this series of motherboards from the last two generations, as they still ship on black circuit boards with glossy white heat sinks and end-to-end diagonal lines.

The IO cover on this motherboard is also available in white and features RGB lights with Prime branding including the heatsink chipset and Asus and RGB branding below. There are four memory slots on this motherboard, allowing you to install 128GB of 3200MHz RAM.

There are two M.2 slots where an M.2 heat sink is available for storage, and it’s up to you to install it on the primary. or secondary and; In addition, there are 6 SATA 3.0 slots for additional storage expansion.

You will miss the Wi-Fi built into this motherboard, but surprisingly it will have a 2.5G network card, which is a standard on the latest motherboards, and it also has an M.2 E dongle slot for the modules M.2 Wi-Fi.

Some users claim that their Ethernet port is not working and I have personally experienced this with one of my Gigabyte motherboards, but for a lot of people, this motherboard is fine.

An ATX motherboard with such an incredible feature set and a reasonable price tag does nothing more than what we would expect from motherboards like this. Even for some reason, you are not satisfied with this motherboard; there are also other great options available, which you can consider for your build.

Tomahawk MSI MAG Z490

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The MSI Tomahawk series of motherboards are known for their low price and excellent overclocking performance. This is a thinner variant of the Unify series, which you know comes with premium features but for a bit pricey.

You might have heard of the Tomahawk B450 before, which is a great motherboard for overclocking due to its VRM and heatsinks spread across it. Aesthetically, this motherboard doesn’t give much of a premium look, but it doesn’t look awkward due to the black base and gray diagonal stripes from right to left.

There are MSI and MAG markings on the IO and VRM heat sinks and Tomahawk on the heat sink with RGB lights underneath. It seems that there is nothing wrong with this motherboard, not the features, but a price reduction would be appreciated.

There are two M.2 slots on this motherboard with heat sinks on both and six SATA6 slots for additional storage expansion. This motherboard has two Ethernet ports on the back for IO and 2.5G NIC, but it does not support Wi-Fi6.

The first Ethernet port works on 1G while the other on 2.5G, and they both use different drivers. The back of this motherboard has many other ports including USB 3.2 Gen2 and Gen1 and Type-A and Type-C ports.

The only cons to this motherboard are the normal cooling system of the VRM when overclocking the processor. There are two PCIe x16 slots on this motherboard, where the upper one comes with PCI Steel Armor for better support for large graphics cards, while the lower one does not.

The CPU section of this motherboard is powered by a single 8-pin power connector and 4-pin power connector and has 14-phase power supply design, voltage regulators. The MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk allows users to enjoy the overclocking power of other Z490 motherboards for a low price.

Users looking for something more powerful can even get the MSI MEG Z490 UNIFY, which is an advanced variant. Unify and Tomahawk is great options to consider, and I would rate them as the best motherboard for i5 10600K, in 2021 or beyond. I am not including the others on this list because their main specs are very similar, while this one is slightly lower.

GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G

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GIGABYTE does not need to be introduced to the peripheral industry. GIGABYTE’s latest line of motherboards has taken the brand to new heights with the latest features and affordable prices.

Gigabyte has integrated the latest Z490 chipset and the new LGA 1200 processor socket into its Vision G model, making it compatible with the latest Comet Lake processors in the Intel lineup, including the new Intel Core i5-10600K.

Speaking of the aesthetics of the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G, the motherboard sports a sleek look with a combination of black, gray, and white. It might not appeal to those who expect a sleek look, but it’s icing on the cake for those who like to keep their figure minimalist.

With the 12 + 1 phase direct digital VRM solution capable of delivering up to 50 Amps, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G is not designed for extreme overclockers, but a moderate user cannot go wrong with this.

A rugged heat sink covers the VRMs with a direct contact heat pipe designed for optimal cooling. When it comes to networking, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G has a 2.5GbE port which can provide transfer speeds up to twice as fast as the traditional Gigabit Ethernet port.

It also includes cFosSpeed, a network traffic management application that aims to improve network latency and reduce ping times to provide better responsiveness in crowded LAN environments.

Speaking of storage, this motherboard comes with a dual-mode M.2 slot. It supports PCIe NVMe and SATA M.2 drives. As for the SATA ports, it has 6 SATA 6 Gb / ports.

On the audio side, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G is backed by the Realtek ALC1200-VB codec and features 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1 channels with support for S / PDIF output. It has 3 PCIe 3.0 slots running at x16 and 2 PCIe x1 slots.

MSI MPG Z490 gaming Wi-Fi

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The MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi motherboard is one of the nice, if not the best, motherboards available on the market in the budget-friendly range. It has everything you would normally look for in a flagship motherboard.

The motherboard PCB is made of 6 layers for durability and performance. MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi has a 12 + 1 + 1 power system suitable for powering Intel 10th generation processors. It comes with a pre-installed IO shield that makes it easy to handle the motherboard.

Speaking of wireless capability, this motherboard comes with built-in Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 capabilities to ensure seamless connectivity, especially during your intense gaming sessions. The MPG Z490 also comes with the next generation 2.5 Gbps Ethernet LAN for applications requiring high bandwidth and low latency connectivity.

The two M.2 slots running on PCIe Gen3 x4 maximize the performance of NVMe-based SSDs and are covered with built-in heat shields that help avoid the bottlenecks and bottlenecks of faster operations.

The motherboard is completely covered with aluminum heat sinks to help dissipate heat and ensure that the processor is operating at its optimum speed. The ruggedized PCIe 4.0 slot can provide transfer bandwidth of up to 64 Gb / s.

The device has a total of 4 DDR4 DIMM slots with maximum support of 128 GB. It has 6 SATA ports with a maximum transfer rate of 6 GB / s. MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi Motherboard is one of the cheapest Wi-Fi motherboards available for Intel Core i5-10600K on the market.

It has a decent build quality that looks promising for extreme use with a proper power solution onboard. Best of all, the motherboard comes with I / O shielding for hassle-free installation. Whether for a moderate user or a business user, the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi motherboard can be your ideal solution.

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex

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Take a step back and enjoy the vicious claw-shaped scratches that tear through the motherboard as if a monster had just attacked it. It’s a motherboard that looks like an absolute beast.

It has a brand new PCIe 4.0, although you can’t use it because the i5 10600K only supports PCIe 3.0. Future Intel processors could support it with the LGA1200 socket, making it a future-proof investment.

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex has 2.5 Gb Ethernet fast enough for all your gaming and productivity needs. CMOS and BIOS flashback buttons on the integrated IO as well as two antenna connections for the latest WiFi-6. 10 rear USB connections are sufficient for your peripherals.

It has a built-in zip code display, which is useful for Intel processors to judge if the issue is memory sync or other overclocked hardware. This motherboard is intended for experimenting with liquid nitrogen.

People who like to overclock with Windows XP would need the PS / 2 ports, which this motherboard offers. It comes with four built-in switches to help to overclock enthusiasts.

2 RSVD switches to preload cold start error voltages, a slow mode switch to lower the processor to the lowest multiplier, a processor lock switch is mounted on the board. All you have to do is put the mobo in LN2 mode with a jumper.

Angled SATA ports are incredibly handy for benchmark overclockers. The SATA cable runs smoothly around the motherboard than the traditional side facing the straight SATA ports.

There are 16 phase VRMs, but it is actually an 8 phase VRM with duplicators. These VRMs can output 1.2V 200A with just 16 watts of heat, a huge plus for overclockers. Cooling the VRM would not be a problem on this motherboard.

Asus Prime Z490M Plus

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Asus, although my favorite when it comes to motherboards is not the one with the best motherboards for i5 10600K. It’s not that there aren’t good cards in the Z490 line, it’s just that other manufacturers have a little better, but there is no doubt that Asus’ BIOS is the best and that it’s very easy to change things from there.

If we’re talking about the cheapest, good Asus motherboard for the i5 10600K, then the Prime Z490M-Plus series is positioned as the ideal $ 150. It has a 6-layer PCB with 9 power phases and has good heat sinks on the VRM to control the temperature.

Its VRM is well suited for an intermediate level of overclocking, and due to its form factor, it can fit any center tower as well as the micro-ATX tower.

It has 2 PCI-E x16 slots and although it is a MATX card, it is compatible with AMD CrossfireX, where the main PCI-E x16 slot works in X16 mode and the second one works in X4 mode, which is controlled by the Z490 chipset.

For storage, you will get 2 M.2 connectors and 5 SATA ports and it should be remembered that the SATA 1 port will be disabled if the second M.2 connector is used by a SATA SSD as they share the bandwidth.

This card is basic, but it should be good enough for any mid-range gaming PC, as it also supports memory (up to 4400MHz). On the I / O you will find 6 USB ports, including a Type C, of ​​which 4 are USB 3.2 and 2 are USB 2.0 next to which is a single PS / 2 port. For viewing, it has 3x outputs: HDMI, DVI, and DP.

MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi

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The MSI MPG Gaming Carbon is a mid-range gaming-focused Z490 motherboard and it comes with an easy setup and everything you need from a mobo at this price. It’s not the cheapest of the bunch, but it does have some much-needed upgrades to keep prices competitive.

First, the improved power design allows for additional overclocking headroom as well as full control of BIOS settings. MSI also did a good job integrating the 20Gbps Lightning USB-C port, Wi-Fi 6, and 2.5GbE LAN into it.

Part of the ‘Carbon’ range, it has an amazing aesthetic with carbon fiber accents on VRM and M.2 Frozr heatsinks and it also comes with good Mystic Sync RGB support. It also supports DDR4 Boost and Twin Turbo M.2 slots to maximize gaming performance.

You also get metal bracing on two of the three PCIe x16 slots as well as a 6-layer PCB for added durability. Gaming Carbon is also suitable for the upcoming Rocket Lake chips, making it a very good option for gamers.

MSI MEG Z490 As

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The MEG Z490 ACE is MSI’s flagship offering for Comet Lake chips. Like many other high-end MSI cards, this one has a black and gold color scheme with plenty of RGB implementations across the board.

This ATX mobo comes equipped with a 16 + 1 phase power supply with rugged heat sinks, as well as three NVMe slots with thermal pads. It also has a convenient POST LED and an EZ Debug LED next to the DIMM slots.

MSI uses the ALC 1220 codec with the ESS Saber ES9018 DAC, which can easily power any high-end audio equipment. As expected from a premium motherboard, the rear I / O comes with a pre-installed shield and has eight USB ports, including a 2×2 20Gbps USB-C port. You will also find the BIOS flash and clear CMOS buttons here.

However, we would have appreciated a 10G LAN, as we only found 2.5G and 1Gbit Ethernet on it. Anyone who has used a modern MSI card will know in depth the OC options built into the BIOS. Overall, the MEG ACE has a lot of scalabilities and high-quality hardware that is more than capable of overclocking the i5-10600k.

MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard

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If you’re looking for a high-end motherboard to take your PC to the extreme, look no further than the MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE gaming motherboard. As the name suggests, it delivers extraordinary performance with industrial class features.

However, with great specs, the price is higher. If you can beat the affordability factor, the rest is magic. The motherboard comes with a black and chrome-themed PCB with 8 layers which makes it massive.

It offers three full-length PCI x16s, with the upper slot directly connected to the processor, while the lower two share lanes with the upper slot. Speaking of M.2 slots, the MSI MEG GODLIKE has a total of three M.2 slots with double-sided cooling solutions to avoid bottlenecks during operation.

Speaking of the powerful capabilities of this motherboard, the MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE gaming motherboard comes with a 16 phase power solution with 16 stages of 90A power. MSI has incorporated its own Titanium Choke III to take VRM quality to the next level.

The MSI GODLIKE houses an incredible set of connectivity options with a dual network card supporting both 10 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps LANs. It has the Wi-Fi 6 protocol and also supports Bluetooth 5.1. On the I / O ports, it has 6 USB 2.0 ports, eight USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) ports, as well as two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

The MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE is one of the premium motherboards available in the market with an incredible VRM network and an incredible onboard cooling solution. If you can afford the price, the MSI MEG Z490 GODLIKE won’t disappoint.

Pro Series MSI Z490-A PRO

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The MSI Z490-A Pro Series motherboard is no different from the aforementioned Asus Prime motherboard as they both offer the same features at a very reasonable price. The company itself has targeted this motherboard for professional use and content creators because of the entry-level features.

At the same time, you can use it for cheap gaming machines as well, but a better option from MSI is always recommended if you can afford it. The ProSeries motherboard is very similar in design to the X570-A ProSeries also looks like this, but they revamped it with 12-phase design voltage regulators.

A lot of things on this motherboard would make this motherboard much more appealing to users like IO cache, Wi-Fi, and a few other features, but for this price, it’s still a good option.

You don’t see a lot of rewards on this motherboard as it comes on a black PCB with a big accent, while the heatsinks have a metallic black glow. This motherboard comes with a 2.5G network card, which has become the norm nowadays, and a pair of M.2 slots with M.2 heat sink on the main slot and four angled SATA slots straight and two at right angles.

You can install memory up to 128 GB with a clock speed of 4800 MHz, which is pretty good on the entry-level motherboard on all four DIMMs and gets users excited. This motherboard supports a variety of graphics card configurations as it has two full-length PCIe x16 slots with PCIe STEEL Armor in the primary slot and three PCIe x1 slots.

The heat sink in the main M.2 slot provides decent cooling to the NVMe SSD and allows it to perform at its full potential. When it comes to overclocking Comet Lake processors, this motherboard will never let you down, but PCIe 3.0 slots can be disappointing for future Rocket Lake processors.

The rear I / O of this motherboard has one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. This motherboard also has a pair of display output ports including HDMI port and display port.

Aim like a pro, but NIC, M.2, and 4800 MHz memory support make it more premium and appealing. What’s great about this motherboard is its inexpensive 12-phase power design VRM and a host of storage and connectivity options.

While the disappointing stuff on this motherboard is a USB 3.2 Gen2 port, the IO cover is missing, there’s no extended heatsink on VRM and a simple aesthetic.

Buying Guide for i5-10600k

Getting a good motherboard isn’t the only thing you need to overclock this processor as you need a good thermal cooler as well, and you may already know that most Intel processors don’t have the original.

Overclocking this processor is only possible with Z490 series motherboards, while if you don’t want to, you can choose any board with a B460 chipset that offers all the basic functions.

Once you’ve decided to go for the 10600K, you’ll also need a solid Z490 card to go along with the processor. It seems like there are a ton of Z490 cards on the market right now, and many of them are great products that offer a lot for the money.

But which motherboards are best to pair with the 10600K? Let’s see what we find out in this article but first, let’s answer why you would get the Core i5-10600K.

Why choose the i5-10600K?

First of all, it’s the cheapest unlocked processor from Intel right now. The company agreed to launch the i3 series unescorted by a K model, and more of it that the Core i5-10600K appears great gaming performance when overclocked.

Run it stably at around 5 GHz and you can hit 10,900,000 gaming performance levels for a lot less money. The good news is that the 10600K is very easy to overclock as it runs much cooler than its larger cousins ​​the 10700K and 10900K.

Pair it with a solid AIO or a quality air cooler and you can hit 5 GHz. And the best part is, you don’t need an expensive board to do it. Even some inexpensive Z490 cards have VRMs good enough to support the 5GHz Core i9-10900K. Running an OCed 10600K wouldn’t be the least of a problem for these boards.

Finally, the 6-core design of the processor may seem like a limiting factor for some users, especially when it comes to performance with next-gen games. B

ut considering the performance per core and the fact that the consoles reserve a core for the operating system, it seems that a powerful 6-core, 12-thread processor, such as the 10600K, will be a great choice for the future games. That said, the 5600X is clearly a good option.

The better gaming performance and productivity, a case cooler that comes with the processor (and a less demanding processor to cool down in case you go for an aftermarket cooler), compatibility with cheaper B550 and X570 cards, and the ability to achieve 10900K gaming performance without overclocking.

If you want to get a new gaming processor in the 10600K price range, just get the 5600X. But if you already have the 10600K, let’s review the cards.

SIZE

The size or form factor often depends on the reason for the construction. Most gamers usually go for mid-tower versions, which are ATX-sized motherboards. Mid-Tower strikes a balance between performance, feature set, and economy.

On the other hand, high-performance enthusiasts and researchers are opting for the full tower design (E-ATX motherboards) for maximum customization and performance. Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX are more suitable for entertainment PCs and casual games.

CPU SOCKET

Intel processors belonging to the 10th generation are compatible with the LGA 1200 socket. In addition, the Z490 is the most compatible motherboard chipset for 10th generation processors.

The Z490 chipset is explicitly designed for Comet Lake processors to enable these processors to reach their full potential. Its notable features are multiple PCIe 3.0 slots, M.2 v3.0 slots, DDR4 support up to 128GB, and USB 3.2 G2 and G1 slots.

M.2 slots

Games are becoming extremely resource-intensive these days. The best AAA titles can take a long time to load, which annoys players. M.2 slots are significantly faster than SATA drives. M.2 disks have been accelerated up to 4 GB / s, while SATA disks are only up to 600Mb / s.

Therefore, M.2 disks cause faster loading during gaming, which improves the overall performance of the system.

Support for multiple GPUs

Installing multiple graphics cards is a new standard for enthusiasts and flagship versions. Multiple GPU support is useful for high-end 4K gaming and cryptocurrency mining. But not all motherboards are compatible with crossfire SLI and AMD technologies.

Make sure to select your GPU before choosing the motherboard to find the most suitable selection with the required compatibility.

Frequently asked Questions

 

What is the best motherboard for i5 10600K?

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex is the latest and best for Intel i5 10600k processor. Everything from cable management and onboard diagnostics to overclocking tools makes it the best choice for overclockers.

Which chipset is the i5 10600K?

Z490 chipset with LGA1200 socket is best for i5 10600K. Like the ASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming WiFi, motherboards have managed to pack this beastly chipset into a smaller PCB and design. The performance can easily rival any E-ATX motherboard. The Z490 chipset only supports PCIe 4.0, which is essential for all the best GPUs.

Which motherboard is best for an i5 10600K processor?

MSI MEG Z490I Unify is the best motherboard you can get for the intel i5 10600K. It’s a powerhouse in such a small package. 5000MHz O.C RAM support and ten-layer PCB design keep your hardware running fast with reliable performance. 64 GB of RAM is sufficient for any RAM-hungry application or game.

What is the cheapest motherboard for the Core i5 10600K?

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS ELITE AC is the cheapest motherboard that can run the Core i5 10600K. There are other motherboards for the same price, but this motherboard is the better option.

It has good overclocking, WiFi, BIOS, RGB, built-in connections, IO ports, and shielded memory routing for lossless data transfer.

Conclusion

So here we have the best motherboard for i5 10600K on our site. Before buying a motherboard, you should not only check the compatibility with your CPU but also the list of functions that it offers.

The Core i5-10600K is an extremely attractive chip for demanding gamers and will be able to handle even next-gen titles in the future. The best part is that you don’t need the more expensive Z490 mobo to remove it.

Even entry-level offerings come with solid VRMs to handle any 10th Gen OECD chip, and we’ve included plenty of great value products on our list as well.