A motherboard is a base upon which you construct the entire model of your system. Keeping in view its role, it is imperative that for a strong build, you provide a solid base that can bear the weight it is subject to.
Motherboards are produced in all shapes and sizes and tagged with prices of a very broad range, but all of them are not suited for every task.
Many are powerful industrial-grade ones used for high-end compiling and complex coding, a lot of them are flashy, RGB, massive overclocking monsters specifically designed for optimal gaming purposes, but there are also mid-level ones without many features and lower-level ones with only basic capabilities.
Only optimal equipment can provide an optimal gaming experience, and demanding any other substitute for a similar experience is just asking them too much.
So, as far as I am concerned about a gaming experience dependent on a quality board, I will always advocate the notion because I believe it to be true.
Does Your Motherboard Affect FPS?
Frame rate per second and the motherboard have no direct relation, and a motherboard can not directly affect your FPS.
Though ‘No’ seems to be the simpler answer to the question however things are not as black and white as that.
A Motherboard can’t directly affect the FPS, but it can directly affect the things which are responsible for your frame rate.
Your graphics card and CPU are embedded in your motherboard, and issues with their mutual compatibility with the motherboard can cause a severe drop in frame rate and performance.
Apart from this, motherboard drivers also affect FPS, so you should always have the proper and up-to-date drivers installed for a performance boost.
How Much Should You Spend On A Gaming Motherboard?
For a gaming build, a motherboard doesn’t hold the same importance to people as other parts, such as the GPU or the processor, and while it is true to some extent that it is one of the rare hardware pieces that you can cut back on to manage budget, it doesn’t mean that you should choose to entirely neglect it.
The general answer is that you will be fine with most of the midrange ones because most of them have reliable VRMs with adequate cooling combined with good connectivity, but fine does not always satisfy, and that changes this discussion into one about personal preference.
There is also no need to get the latest motherboard, just make sure it is new enough to support the majority of the expansion cards available.
What Makes A Motherboard Good For Gaming?
A good motherboard is a good system, and it forms the basic link between the different components of a system.
A good motherboard has many qualities like numerous slots, good VRMs, and reliable voltage distribution, but the thing which makes a board exceptional is good connectivity.
Here are the things that you should look for in a motherboard
- Overclocking Ability.
- BIOS Support.
- Overall Performance.
Overclocking Ability
A motherboard that can overclock flawlessly is a motherboard you can reliably game on. Overclocking is the practice of running the system at a higher clock rate than being certified by the manufacturer for increased performance. Accelerated performance is achieved by increasing the operating voltage.
When buying a motherboard for gaming purposes, remember to check its overclocking ability, one more thing to check is the cooling system.
Overclocking generates excessive amounts of heat, and if the system’s cooling is below par, then it will significantly reduce the lifespan of the overclocked components.
BIOS Support
BIOS support is crucial for a better gaming experience because it is quite literally the code that runs your computer, and motherboards from different brands have different BIOS.
Default BIOS configuration isn’t exactly intended to augment your gaming experience, so you can tweak the BIOS settings of RAM or SSD to better suit your playing needs.
One of the ways to enhance your experience is to adjust the ‘Fan settings’ for more frequent cooling or simply update your BIOS if the newer version fixes bugs and meltdowns or if it simply offers more compatibility to your needs.
Overall Performance
When buying for gaming reasons, remember to scrutinize the performance results of the product you are interested in and make a note of the features which make it a better choice for a gaming-centered build than others.
Some features of note, for example, are VRMs and heatsinks, etc. VRMs control voltage and are essential for overclocking purposes.
Make a note of how many VRMs a motherboard has to get an idea of its ability but do not forget the heatsinks either because a cooling system is a better system.
Also, make a note of connectivity which is by far the best indicator of a motherboard’s performance, make sure the connection speed between the components is fast because it will improve your gaming experience and reduce lag.
Can A Bad Motherboard Affect Performance?
Plainly, yes. Anything bad will affect performance, especially if it is a crucial part, like a motherboard. A bad motherboard will make a weak base for your gaming build and would hardly bear the weight of the performance that you submit it to.
Even high-end motherboards have trouble constantly overclocking different components, so it should prove even more troublesome for a bad motherboard.
I am assuming that by a ‘bad motherboard,’ you mean a low-end motherboard with unreliable VRMs and inadequate cooling, which, even in writing, seems like an inappropriate choice.
Suggested readings:
- Which is the best motherboard brand?
- Motherboard processor compatibility check
- What is the best way to clean a motherboard
- How to check what motherboard you have
- Motherboard size comparison
– My Final Verdict:
A Good build needs a good motherboard, not necessarily an expensive one but a reliable one. A thing that you could trust to bear the weight when you increase the clock rate of one of the components attached.
From a gaming POV, a motherboard may not directly be involved with the FPS, but it will affect things that are, and a board with good connectivity will see to it that you don’t lag.
A good motherboard will always be a better addition to your build that will bring out the best of your processor and GPU.
