Motherboards with an LGA 1150 socket, also known as Socket H3, were released in 2013 as a replacement for LGA 1155 socket motherboards. Socket 1150 was designed for Intel’s fourth generation Haswell processors, such as the Core i7 4790K. Fifth generation Broadwell processors are also compatible with Socket 1150, although the newer Z97 and H97 chipsets are required for Broadwell CPUs. Read on as we examine what we believe are some of the best Socket LGA 1150 motherboards for gaming.
Read More: Best X99 Motherboards
Read More: Best Motherboards for Intel Broadwell CPUs
There are eight chipsets that are compatible with motherboards with a Socket LGA 1150; H81, Q85, B85, Q87, H87, and Z87 are referred to as Lynx Point chipsets. These chipsets are compatible with Haswell CPUs, but will usually require a BIOS update to work with Haswell Refresh CPUs. Broadwell processors are not compatible with 8-series Lynx Point chipsets, and the newer Z97 and H97 chipsets, also referred to as Wildcat Point, are required for Broadwell processors.
Motherboards with Socket 1150 have support for dual-channel DDR3 RAM, but newer DDR4 memory is not compatible with these boards.
LGA 1150 is succeeded by Socket LGA 1151, which is the socket for Intel’s newest CPU architectures: Skylake and Kaby Lake.
We have done all the hard work for you and narrowed it down to these motherboards, which we believe are some of the best Socket LGA 1150 motherboards for gaming on the market today.
MSI Z97 PC Mate
| Motherboard | MSI Z97 PC Mate |
|---|---|
| Socket Type | Intel LGA 1150 |
| Chipset | Z97 |
| Form Factor | ATX |
| Year Released | 2014 |
| Expansion Slots | 6 x PCI Express 2 x PCI |
|---|---|
| Onboard Graphics | No |
| RAM Slots | 4 x DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM | 32GB |
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Support for 2-way Crossfire technology | No SLI support |
| Fast Boot technology to boot your PC in seconds | No integrated WiFi or Bluetooth |
| GO2BIOS button to instantly go to the UEFI BIOS | GO2BIOS button to instantly go to the UEFI BIOS |
| 2 PCIe x16 connections 6 X SATA 6Gb/s connections 4 X USB 3.0 and 8 X USB 2.0 slots |
| Motherboard | Asus Maximus VII Gene |
|---|---|
| Socket Type | Intel LGA 1150 |
| Chipset | Z97 |
| Form Factor | Micro ATX |
| Year Released | 2014 |
| Expansion Slots | 5 x PCI Express |
|---|---|
| Onboard Graphics | Yes |
| RAM Slots | 4 x DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM | 32GB |
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Quad SLI and Quad CrossFire support | No SATA Express |
| SupremeFX Impact II audio module | One of the most expensive micro ATX Z97 motherboards |
| Gigabit Ethernet port powered by Intel I218-v NIC | No integrated WiFi or Bluetooth |
| 8 + 2 phase power with digital VRM control | |
| 2 PCIe x16 connections 1 X M.2 PCIe Socket 3 connector 8 X SATA 6Gb/s connections 4 X USB 3.0 and 3 X USB 2.0 slots |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 |
|---|---|
| Socket Type | Intel LGA 1150 |
| Chipset | Z97 |
| Form Factor | ATX |
| Year Released | 2014 |
| Expansion Slots | 7 x PCI Express |
|---|---|
| Onboard Graphics | Yes |
| RAM Slots | 4 x DDR3 |
| Maximum RAM | 32GB |
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Supports 3-way CrossFire or 2-way SLI | No integrated WiFi or Bluetooth |
| Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2201 Ethernet port | |
| High-end Realtek ALC1150 sound chip | |
| 3 PCIe x16 connections 1 X SATA Express 10Gb/s 1 X M.2 PCIe Socket 3 connector 6 X SATA 6Gb/s connections 4 X USB 3.0 and 8 X USB 2.0 slots |
Read More: Best X99 Motherboards
Read More: Best Motherboards for Intel Broadwell CPUs
