Best Z590 Motherboard

How We Choose

The recommendations we have here are considered the best Z590 motherboards for Intel’s 11th-Gen CPU lineup and have been hand-selected to bring the best out of your chosen processor. Firstly, we conducted a thorough search to discover which motherboards gamers tend to prefer while trying to balance those with the highest reviews against those with the lowest price tags.

How We Test

From CPUs to Z590 motherboards, we like to get hands-on with all the hardware we recommend. Testing the products is a huge part of our overall selection process and it is a way we can be sure that a specific option is the best for the job.

Products must pass our testing which is largely a lot of gaming, with some other boring stuff but most if not every recommendation will have gone through a strict testing process.

With motherboards regardless of the chipset, we need to assess build quality, performance, and finally, value.

Things To Consider

When it comes to recommending the best Z590 motherboard, it is quite easy as this is Intel’s flagship chipset. These motherboards all ship with some of the best features money can buy but there are still a few key areas you need to consider before making that final purchase.

What Budget Do I Need For A Z590 Motherboard?

Just because we are talking about Intel’s premium chipset, it doesn’t mean there aren’t suitable options for a variety of budgets. Most of us when building a PC have budgetary limitations, which can have a massive impact on what Z590 motherboard you end up choosing.

The Z590 chipset does bring a slight extra cost to the table due to the included features but this is by far the best for the majority of Intel’s upcoming CPUs. Whether you are an avid AMD builder or have always stuck with Intel for single-core performance, you will know that generally speaking, Intel’s flagship chipset often comes with a higher price tag, leaving less cash for your other components.Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, as many budget-focused builders will know but you can still expect to spend anything from $130+ on a Z590 motherboard.

While this can’t be said for all motherboards, generally, a higher price brings in more features like PCIe 4.0 support and better VRMs, which is exactly what you are going to get from these Z590’s.

Z490 Vs Z590

When Intel introduced the LGA 1200 socket and previous flagship Z490 chipset back for the 10th-gen Comet Lake CPUs, there were a few that worried future launches may not be supported. Well, this isn’t the case and some Z490 boards will support the upcoming Rocket Lake processors so even though Comet Lake processors will only support PCIe 3.0, some Z490 motherboards are set to get an upgrade to 4.0.

So, the Z590 comes with native PCIe 4.0 support but what else? These boards will also provide an additional x4 PCIe lanes, giving you a total of x20 lanes. The Z590 chipset will also feature x8 DMI support, working only with the new 11th gen CPUs.

Another area we see the Z590 excel over its predecessor is with connectivity. The Z590 will feature USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (Type-C, 20 GB/s) support for up to three ports and will support 10 USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 (10GB/s) ports, where the Z490 can only support six.

Form Factor

Whether you are buying a Z590 or an X570, it is important to consider your motherboards form factor. Motherboards come in a variety of sizes ranging from E-ATX all the way down to Mini-ITX, so you need to ensure they will fit inside your chosen PC case.

Below you can see the sizes that are available to most consumers and ideally you will want to go for an ATX sized board. ATX is the most common size and there are a greater number of cases that support this size. Don’t let that sway you but sometimes smaller-sized motherboards will lack features.

We generally recommend you go for ATX, but if you are on a tight budget, you may be limited with options from the Z590 chipset as they tend not to feature the cheaper MATX options that we see with others.

Socket

The socket on a motherboard is the physical slot that holds your CPU in place. You need to ensure your motherboard socket type matches the CPUs but as we are dealing with Z590 motherboards, we only need to concern ourselves with the LGA 1200 socket. All motherboards for both Intel’s 10th and 11th gen CPUs use this socket, so you can rest assured that our selections above are 100% compatible with the new Rocket Lake CPUs.

Why are motherboards important for PC performance?

A motherboard acts as the backbone of a computer and helps to connect all the components together. The motherboard determines the compatibility and functionality of the components, the speed and number of inputs and outputs, the storage capacity, and the data transfer rate. A high-quality motherboard can support faster processing speeds, multiple graphics cards, and increased memory, which can greatly enhance a computer’s overall performance.