8 Best Motherboards Under $200 in 2023 (ATX, mATX, mini-ITX)

Best Motherboards Under $200

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Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the 8 best motherboards under $200 available on the market in 2023.

Motherboards are one of the trickiest PC components to shop for–While picking a motherboard with the right socket for your CPU is easy, getting one that has the best set of features for your specific needs, as well as one that provides good value for a certain budget, can be a stressful experience–Especially with the number of options available to you.

That’s why we decided to compile our favorite boards under $200 and review them for you. No matter if you’re using an AMD or Intel CPU or whether you’re looking for an mATX, mini-ITX, or ATX board, you’ll be able to pick the perfect board for your build here in this article.

If you’re starting from the ground up with your PC build, be sure to also check out other articles that might be helpful to you, such as the best CPUs under $300 and the best GPUs under $500 (and many more).

Best Motherboards Under $200 in 2023 Round-Up

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the eight best motherboards under $200 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product

Image

Rating

1. ASUS ROG Strix B550-A Gaming

''Best Motherboard Under $200 Overall''

9.8

2. ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS

''Best-Performing Motherboard Under $200''

9.7

3. MSI MAG B660M Mortar Wi-Fi

''Best mATX Motherboard Under $200''

9.7

4. ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming

''Editor's Pick''

9.7

5. ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-PLUS WIFI D4

''Best mATX Runner-up''

9.6

6. MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WI-FI

''Best Z490 Motherboard Under $200''

9.5

7. MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi

''Best Mini-ITX Option''

9.5

8. ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming II

''Honorable Mention''

9.3



1. ASUS ROG Strix B550-A Gaming

”Best Motherboard Under $200 Overall”

Form Factor: ATX | Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD B550 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.800 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

ASUS ROG Strix B550-A

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent performance for the money
  • Great support for overclocking
  • Compatible with a wide variety of AMD processors
  • Attractive design with RGB
  • Premium build quality
  • Excellent overall connectivity
  • Supports fast internet speeds
  • Excellent audio solution

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No Wi-Fi out of the box
  • Doesn’t support the latest CPUs and RAM modules

Our Rating:   9.8/10

The Asus ROG Strix B550-A Gaming offers excellent features for serious gamers who put emphasis on both performance and aesthetics. Being a ROG product, the motherboard features a premium construction, attractive aesthetics, and great overall performance.

Admittedly though, it’s not quite the top-of-the-line option for gamers looking to build their rig using the latest and greatest components–the board only supports DDR4 RAM and PCIe 4.0, so you’ll be sacrificing a bit of performance now, but mainly the ability to upgrade your build later down the road.

As far as compatibility, this is an ATX motherboard equipped with an AM4 socket and AMD’s B550 chipset, making it compatible with a wide range of Ryzen processors, including Ryzen 5000 series processors, but not the latest 7000 series–these require a motherboard with the newest AM5 socket. Also, being an ATX board, it will fit into the majority of mid-tower cases without any issues.

In comparison with the older B450 chipset, you get updated PCIe slots to generation 4.0 (for the main one) and 3.0 (for the rest), plus a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot. In addition to that, you get improved network speed. In terms of a wired connection, you’re getting 150% faster internet (from 1Gbps to 2.5Gbps), which is probably not too exciting for the average gamer. More importantly, you get support for the newer Wi-Fi 6, which is dramatically faster compared to the previous standard.

Overall the leap from the B450 to the B550 is not too exciting, but it is definitely a noticeable improvement.

Connectivity-wise, the motherboard features dual M.2 slots for speedy SSDs, six SATA ports for your storage drives, and a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot alongside a full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, with support for both CrossFire and SLI if you wanted to install two graphics cards.

While gaming with two graphics cards has become less common in recent years, this is still a great value for editors, graphics designers, and even crypto miners.

Looking at the rear I/O, ASUS has included a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, which provides extremely fast and stable internet for online gaming. Additionally, There are seven USB Type-A ports, alongside a USB Type-C port, an optical S/PDIF output if you need to plug in a digital mixer or other audio devices, DisplayPort and HDMI ports, and dedicated audio ports.

Overall, the connectivity is great for under $200, especially with the high-speed USB ports, plenty of expansion slots, and support for fast SSDs and internet connection. You also get a Flash BIOS button on the rear I/O panel, which will allow you to easily update the BIOS without entering the OS or the BIOS itself.

All things considered, the ASUS ROG Strix B550-A Gaming is, in our opinion, the best motherboard under $200 for AMD builds. It offers excellent build quality, beautiful aesthetics with RGB accents, and great performance and connectivity.

The only real drawback is the lack of WiFi; however, most gamers use a wired connection, and if you do need WiFi connectivity, it’s an easy and cheap fix. The bottom line is, for less than $200, you will be hard-pressed to find anything better.

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2. ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS

”Best-Performing Motherboard Under $200”

Form Factor: ATX | Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD X570 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.400 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 2x PCIe 4.0 x16, 3x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 8x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

ASUS TUF GAMING X570-PLUS

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent performance for the money
  • The only X570 motherboard under $200
  • Compatible with multiple generations of AMD processors (excluding the 7000 series)
  • Easily handles the most power-hungry processors
  • Great for overclockers
  • High-quality construction across the whole board
  • Excellent support for storage drives
  • Plenty of fan and RGB headers

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No BIOS flash function
  • Older wireless connectivity (BT 5.0, WiFi 5)
  • Only a 1 Gigabit ethernet (compared to today’s standard of 2.5 Gbps)

Our Rating:   9.7/10

The ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus is the only X570 motherboard available for less than $200, making it the absolute best motherboard for performance-oriented AMD builds in this price range.

Compared to the B550 chipset (a more budget-friendly option), the X570 blows it out of the water with sixteen more PCIe 4.0 lanes (supporting dual NVMe drives running at 4.0), support for more SATA ports, and faster USB ports. On top of that, with this motherboard, you get a beefy power delivery, allowing you to connect the most powerful CPUs and overclock them without any issues.

Compatibility-wise, the board is featuring an ATX form factor, meaning it will fit any mid-tower case with ease. It comes with the AM4 socket for AMD CPUs and is compatible with AMD’s 2nd, 3rd, and 5th generation of processors. And as we mentioned, it can house even the most power-hungry processors, up to the mighty Ryzen 9 5950X.

For your PCIe slots, you get two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots with support for AMD’s CrossFireX, meaning you will be able to connect dual AMD cards to this motherboard. In addition to that, you get two PCIe 4.0 x1 for your expansion cards. That’s a pretty standard configuration for most X570 boards, but keep in mind this one gets it done for less than $200.

Furthermore, this motherboard comes equipped with two M.2 slots for high-speed M.2 SSDs, and a whopping total of eight SATA ports for additional 2.5” or 3.5” drives. Thanks to the X570 chipset, both of the M.2 slots run at PCIe 4.0, and you can utilize all eight SATA ports and install massive amounts of storage. In terms of storage, this board is excellent.

While the connectivity on the front of the board is excellent, the back I/O is lacking compared to some other boards in this price range. While we appreciated the integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it is only Wi-Fi 5 instead of the more recent Wi-Fi 6 standard, which will limit your connection speed.

We also weren’t too impressed by the Gigabit Ethernet port and would have preferred to see a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port you get on most boards in the sub-$200 category. This is where you realize the board is an older model and isn’t perfect for today’s standards.

Apart from the internet connectors, the back I/O connectivity is great. From left to you right, you get the old PS/2 combo, six USB 3.2 Type-A ports (four Gen 1, two Gen 2), a single ultra-fast USB Type-C port (3.2 Gen 2), DisplayPort and HDMI ports, the aforementioned WiFi connectors, and Ethernet port, and your standard audio connectors.

Coming back to the front of the motherboard, ASUS included a total of six fan headers to support a robust cooling system, including a pump header if you decide on liquid cooling.

This motherboard is AURA SYNC compatible, so if you have a variety of ASUS RGB accessories and would like to integrate them to work all together, this is a good motherboard for that. Plus, ASUS has been generous enough to include a decent amount of ARGB and RGB headers (three in total) onto the motherboard for all your RGB components.

Overall, being the only X570 motherboard available under $200, the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS is an excellent motherboard for performance-oriented rigs. It offers support for the most advanced CPUs, dual GPUs, and dual top-of-the-line storage drives. However, it does lack in wireless connectivity with only WiFi 5 and BlueTooth 5.0, plus you only get a 1 Gigabit ethernet. If this isn’t a dealbreaker for you, the X570-Plus offers the best performance per dollar out of any board on this list.

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3. MSI MAG B660M Mortar Wi-Fi

”Best mATX Motherboard Under $200”

Form Factor: mATX | Socket: LGA 1700 | Chipset: Intel B660 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.800 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 2x PCIe x16, 1x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

MSI MAG B660M Mortar Wi-Fi

REASONS TO BUY

  • Fantastic performance for the money
  • Dual full-length PCIe x16 slots allow for dual-GPU setups in a micro-ATX form factor
  • Excellent RAM and storage configuration
  • High-quality build
  • Dual heatsinks for both M.2 slots
  • Multiple RGB headers
  • Supports both liquid and air cooling
  • Rich I/O selection, including super-fast USB ports
  • Superb internet connectivity (WiFi 6, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet)

REASONS TO AVOID 

  • No RGB
  • Only two fan headers
  • No PCIe 5.0 for your GPU

Our Rating:   9.7/10

The MSI MAG B660M Mortar Wi-Fi is by far the best mATX board you can get in the $200 price range and is aimed at entry-level micro-ATX builders who are looking to balance budget and high-end performance in a small form factor.

The design is nothing special with a silver-on-black aesthetic, but the connectivity and overall performance per dollar are currently the best on the market–No wonder this is the most popular mATX board for the 12th and 13th generation of Intel processors.

Compared with the TUF B660M, the main competitor of this board which we also reviewed, the Mortar offers a slightly better set of features. The only thing that favors the ASUS motherboard is the PCIe 5.0 slot (this board only has 4.0) and support for faster RAM. That, however, doesn’t offer any performance boost in real-life scenarios–The only potential problem is that PCIe 4.0 will become obsolete sooner, which won’t happen any time soon.

With that out of the way, let’s focus on this board. In terms of PCIe slots, you get two full-length PCIe slots (4.0 and 3.0), with one of them being reinforced to prevent GPU sag. You also get one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot in between the two of them. Speaking of the reinforced PCIe slot, the whole motherboard feels extremely well put together with no construction flaws or anything like that–this one should last for a while.

In terms of memory, you get the standard four DDR4 slots with up to 128GB of RAM clocked up to 4800 MHz. As we mentioned, the B660M board from ASUS has slightly better support for RAM, with up to 5333 MHz, but anything over 4000 MHz is more than enough for gaming, so don’t let that fool you.

Storage-wise, the B660M Mortar features two M.2 slots for your NVMe SSDs, as well as six SATA ports for your 2.5” and 3.5” storage drives. The six SATA ports paired with dual M.2 slots do provide most users with more than enough drives, and it’s more or less the standard support for storage in this price range.

Turning the attention to the rear I/O panel, the connectivity is identical to the ASUS B660M board. There are a total of seven USB Type-A ports alongside an ultra-fast Type-C port, two antenna connections for the included Wi-Fi, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port for high-speed wired connection, perfect for online gaming. Lastly, there is also a DisplayPort and HDMI in case anything happens with your GPU.

On the board itself, MSI included several RGB headers, which are compatible with MSI’s Dragon Center software which is used to sync and control all your RGB components. In terms of support for cooling, there are only two fan headers, which is surprising, seeing you get five on the ASUS B660m board. Fortunately, there is an AiO pump header present on the B660M Mortar.

And finally, there are several large silver heatsinks on the motherboard that do a great job of keeping everything on the motherboard nice and cool–This is important for micro-ATX motherboards, as you will typically have less room for airflow in a compact case. Unfortunately, there is no RGB on the motherboard itself.

Overall, we strongly recommend going with the B660M Mortar from MSI, as it is one of the absolute best mATX boards available on the market for less than $200. It doesn’t feature crazy aesthetics with dazzling RGB; however, it features excellent connectivity, quality, and performance you’ll rarely see at this price point.

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4. ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming

”Editor’s Pick”

Form Factor: ATX | Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD B550 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.800 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 2x PCIe x16, 3x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent performance
  • Great for overclocking (even the Ryzen 9s)
  • Compatible with the vast majority of AMD CPUs (excluding the 7000 series)
  • The built-in RGB compliments the sleek ROG aesthetic
  • Ample amount of RGB and fan headers
  • Reinforced PCIe slot for your GPU
  • High-quality construction
  • Super fast 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
  • Rich I/O selection, including a Type-C port

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No WiFi
  • Similar pricing to some of the X570 boards
  • Doesn’t support the latest CPUs or RAM

Our Rating:   9.7/10

The ROG Strix B550-F Gaming motherboard from ASUS comes in near the top of our budget range, but it is, along with the B550-A Gaming motherboard from the same factory, the absolute best you can get for less than $200. They’re more or less the same board with some minor differences, so the main decision you’ll have to make is whether you want to go with a white-themed or standard black appearance.

Just like the B550-A Gaming, this is a standard ATX form factor motherboard that features the AM4 socket, meaning it is designed to be used with the vast majority of AMD processors, only excluding the newest 7000 series of CPUs that use the AM5 socket. It comes loaded with the AMD B550 chipset, which was designed to provide high-end computing for a reasonable price–That turned out to be a good choice seeing how popular B550 boards are.

In terms of PCIe slots, the motherboard comes equipped with two full-length PCIe x16 slots, one of them being PCIe 4.0, and reinforced for your GPU, meaning you can use the most powerful cards with this board with no problem. In addition to that, you get three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots for your expansion cards.

Storage-wise, this motherboard features two PCIe Gen 4.0 slots for your NVMe M.2 SSDs–again, nothing special at this price point, but it will allow you to connect the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives available. For your storage drives, you get 6 SATA ports, meaning you can connect up to six 2.5” or 3.5” drives (depending on the space inside your case, too) to this motherboard.

The back I/O comes equipped with a standard selection of ports, which includes seven USB Type-A ports for connecting flash drives and peripherals alongside a single ultra-fast USB Type-C port. Besides that, there is both a DisplayPort and HDMI port if you ever need to connect your monitors through your monitor; plus, the B550-F provides a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port–The best you can get in this price range.

Unfortunately, for anyone who prefers to use a Wi-Fi connection, you will need to install your own Wi-Fi card in one of the PCIe 3.0 x1 slots if you want to connect wirelessly–The ROG Strix doesn’t include an integrated Wi-Fi adapter.

One of the features where this motherboard has a leg up on the competition is design and build quality. While we’re not saying other boards are poorly constructed, we’ve never had an issue with any of the tens of motherboards we’ve received from the ROG factory. And, if you’re a fan of stealth builds, you’ll love this board–It features an all-black design with decent RGB lighting on both the I/O shield and the chipset–The lighting can be controlled via ASUS’ proprietary software (Aura Sync).

Speaking of Aura Sync, you’ll be pleased with the RGB headers as well as cooling support on this board. The motherboard comes equipped with two aRGB headers (3-pin) and two standard RGB headers (4-pin), providing plenty of support for RGB lighting. As far as cooling, you get a single AiO pump header if you decide on liquid cooling, plus a total of 5 fan headers, including the fan header for your CPU cooler.

All in all, just like the B550-A Gaming, the ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming offers an excellent set of features you’ll find on a motherboard under $200. It features support for the best GPUs, up to two super-fast M.2 drives, fast RAM (though only DDR4), as well as an internet connection with a 2.5 Gigabit ethernet port–Our only complaint is the lack of WiFi which is something a motherboard close to the $200 mark should have.

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5. ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-PLUS WIFI D4

”Best mATX Runner-up”

Form Factor: mATX | Socket: LGA 1700 | Chipset: Intel B660 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 5.333 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 4x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-PLUS WIFI D4

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent performance for the money
  • Compatible with the latest 13th-generation Intel CPUs
  • High-quality overall build
  • PCIe 5.0 and 4.0 connectivity
  • Great internet options (WiFi 6, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet)
  • Rich I/O with fast USB ports
  • Supports both air and liquid cooling
  • Excellent RAM configuration
  • Beefy heatsinks 

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Only four SATA ports (compared to MSI’s six)
  • Only one heatsink for your M.2 drives
  • Boring design

Our Rating:   9.6/10

Another fantastic mATX motherboard you can get under $200 is the TUF Gaming B660M-Plus from ASUS–That is, if you can forgo the flashy design and RGB lighting of the more popular ROG motherboards (also from ASUS). Despite the size of this board, it offers better connectivity than even some larger ATX models, and being a part of the TUF lineup, you know you can expect great quality at an affordable price point.

Plus, with the newer Intel B660 chipset and the LGA1700 socket, you’re getting ultra-fast USB ports, updated DIMM slots to support overclocking up to 5333 MHz (though only DDR4), and a full-length PCIe 5.0 slot for your GPU. Most importantly, the motherboard is ready for both the 12th and the newest 13th generation of Intel processors, so you can load it up with the latest and most powerful CPUs on the market.

As far as the connectivity on the front of the board, the TUF B660M-Plus features a full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot that’s reinforced with steel so that you can mount heavier graphics cards without putting too much stress on the PCIe slot. In addition to that, you get two more PCIe slots for your expansion cards, with one being a full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and one a PCIe 4.0 x1 slot for the usual configuration on mATX boards.

As we already mentioned, the RAM support of this motherboard is excellent. You get four DIMM slots, meaning you’ll be able to load up the motherboard with up to 128GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at up to 5.333 MHz. That’s the most you’ll be able to get out of any board in this price range; however, being only a DDR4 memory, it’s not as exciting as if this was a DDR5 motherboard. That being said, if you plan on overclocking your RAM, this would be the perfect board for it.

Storage-wise, there are two M.2 SSD slots for two super-fast NVMe drives, but only one of them comes with a heatsink. While that’s not a big deal, it’s worth noting that the B660M Mortar from MSI offers (practically the same motherboard for the same price), comes equipped with two heatsinks for each of the M.2 slots. There are only four SATA slots for 2.5” and 3.5” storage drives–And again, the B660M Mortar offers better storage support with six SATA ports.

Inspecting the rear I/O panel, there are a decent amount of connectivity options with a total of seven USB Type-A ports, alongside a single ultra-fast USB Type-C port, dedicated audio ports, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs, as well as connectors for the integrated Wi-Fi 6 and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. Everything you’ll need as a micro-ATX builder in connectivity options is there. 

Cooling-wise, there is a couple of huge VRM heatsinks that do a good job of keeping the motherboard cool. Plus, you also get five fan headers for your fans, along with the AIO pump header–great support for both liquid and air cooling. And on top of that, there is one 12V RGB header and three 5V addressable headers to support your RGB components.

Overall, The ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-Plus is one of the best mATX motherboards in the sub-$200 category, only bested by the B660M Mortar from MSI. For less than $200, you get support for the latest Intel processor (including the newest 13th generation), PCIe 5.0 (GPU) and 4.0 (M.2) connectivity, and plenty of fast RAM. It’s not too much to look at, but it delivers excellent performance for the money.

 

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6. MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WI-FI

”Best Z490 Motherboard Under $200”

Form Factor: ATX | Socket: LGA 1200 | Chipset: Intel Z490 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.800 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, 2x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WI-FI

REASONS TO BUY

  • The best budget Z490 board you can get
  • Easily handles Core i9 CPUs
  • Good support for overclocking
  • Excellent internet connectivity with built-in WiFi 6
  • Great support for cooling (even liquid)
  • Rich I/O connectivity, including a high-speed Type-C port
  • Plenty of RGB headers for customization
  • Good RAM and storage configuration

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No PCIe 4.0 slots
  • There are better motherboards in this price range (in terms of both performance and aesthetics)

Our Rating:   9.5/10

With the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WiFi, you’re getting everything you need for a high-end gaming rig built around either 10th or 11th generation of Intel processors, including the i9 series. It’s an excellent all-around motherboard, and we recommend it to nearly anyone who is building a PC and plans on doing some gaming or intensive productivity work. Above else, you’ll appreciate the high-quality construction, support for overclocking, and excellent connectivity.

As we suggested, the motherboard uses Intel’s LGA 1200 socket, which allows you to take advantage of the performance of both 10th-generation and 11th-generation Intel CPUs. The MPG Z490 comes in the ATX form factor and gives you two full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, with one of them being reinforced to protect your GPU.

Unfortunately, the board doesn’t come with PCIe 4.0 x16 slots and is limited to the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0. While PCIe 3.0 x16 is more than enough to get the most out of your graphics card, some tests have shown that the top-of-the-line GPUs have slightly better benchmarks when used with PCIe 4.0 compared to 3.0.

So if you’re not rocking an RTX 4090 or 3090, you won’t lose any performance. The PCIe will, however, become obsolete quicker. Keep that in mind, as this is probably the biggest drawback of this board, seeing that you can get a number of boards with PCIe 4.0 in the sub-$200 category.

Furthermore, this motherboard supports the older DDR4 RAM memory, but that won’t limit your PC’s performance in the slightest. You will be able to install a maximum of 128GB of RAM clocked at 4800 MHz, which can compete with the newer and faster DDR5 modules (with overclocking).

Visiting the rear I/O panel on the MPG Z490, you have a PS/2 Combo port for keyboard and mouse setups, a total of seven USB Type-A ports, and an ultra-fast USB Type-C port. These high-speed ports are a great addition to any motherboard’s rear panel. In addition to that, there are two antenna ports for the built-in Wi-Fi 6, which is an excellent addition, along with a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, ensuring high-speed internet no matter if you plan to use a wired or wireless connection.

In terms of storage, this board offers two M.2 slots for your high-speed NVMe drives, along with six SATA III connectors for your storage drives for a pretty standard configuration at this price point. What’s nice is that you get a heatsink for one of your drives, which does a really good job of keeping your most important drive nice and cool. And so, if you plan on using only one NVMe drive, you’ll be all set from the get-go.

As far as aesthetics, this board doesn’t offer too much apart from subtle RGB lighting on the board itself; however, it does offer an array of RGB headers. You get a total of four (two 3-pin and two 4-pin) RGB headers, so if you plan on building a colorful rig, this one won’t let you down. Additionally, the board features good support for both air and liquid cooling, with six 4-pin fan headers for your case fans and a single 4-pin connector for a water pump.

All things considered, the MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WiFi is one of the best ATX motherboards under $200 for 10th and 11th-generation Intel processors. It offers excellent connectivity, great internet connection support, including WiFi 6, and a good power delivery to power even the beefiest Intel processors. If you’re looking for an ATX motherboard in this price range, the MPG Z490 Gaming Edge WiFi should be at the top of your list.

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7. MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi

”Best Mini-ITX Option”

Form Factor: mini-ITX | Socket: LGA 1200 | Chipset: Intel B560 | Memory Support: 2x DIMM DDR4, Up to 5.200 MHz (O.C), Max 64 GB | PCI-e Slots: 1x PCIe x16 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 4x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent performance for the money
  • Can accommodate high-end processors
  • Great results in overclocking for such a small form factor
  • Great RAM and storage configurations
  • High-quality, compact build
  • Full-length, reinforced PCIe 4.0 x16 slot
  • Solid amount of fan and RGB headers (for a mini-ITX board)
  • Fantastic internet connectivity

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Only five USB ports on the back I/O panel
  • Supports only one PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive

Our Rating:   9.5/10

The smallest form factor motherboard on our list, the MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi motherboard from MSI is a mini-ITX motherboard that uses the LGA 1200 CPU socket for support of the 10th and 11th generation of Intel processors. This mini-ITX motherboard, while lacking in some features due to its small size, packs enough of a punch that you could make this a pretty serious gaming rig with a high-end graphics card and high-end 11th-generation Intel CPU with no problem.

Despite its small size, the MPG B560I gives you access to two M.2 slots, two DDR4 RAM slots, a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, and four connections for SATA 2.5 and 3.5” storage disks.

We found this motherboard to be great for the challenge of building the perfect mini-ITX gaming system, and while you have to make sacrifices in this form factor, we still felt pretty good about how far we could push the board and what components we could install onto it. We were happy to have access to a reinforced PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, and with the pairing of the top-end of the 11th generation of Intel CPUs, we were able to stress test this motherboard with a 3080 Ti and a Core i9-11900K CPU.

And while things got quite hot, everything run perfectly fine, even with a light overclock of the CPU to 5.0 GHz. So while the motherboard has limited space, it performs beautifully, and the only thing that’s maybe going to limit you is the storage options, with only one M.2 slot running at PCIe 4.0–But generally, with a mini-ITX motherboard, we were happy to see four SATA connections and two M.2 connections.

We were a bit disappointed in the offerings from the rear I/O of the MPG B560I, however. The MPG B560I only features five USB Type-A ports, but things get much better after that. You get a single ultra-fast USB Type-C, along with your usual DisplayPort and HDMI ports and dedicated audio jacks. There is still a lot of blank space on the rear I/O, and we felt like MSI could have added another USB port or two or a S/PDIF port.

What’s absolutely great is the internet connectivity. This motherboard has built-in Wi-Fi 6E, the fastest Wi-Fi networking standard in 2023, plus a 2.5 Gbps ethernet port for ultra-fast wired internet connection–No matter if you use wired or wireless internet connection (or both), you can enjoy the fastest internet connections currently available.

As space is extremely limited and tight on a mini-ITX motherboard, at first glance, the VRM heatsinks make the biggest impression. However, these heatsinks are rather small compared to many other mini-ITX motherboards, and while they provide decent heat dissipation, we weren’t that impressed by their performance.

This motherboard could run, as we tested, the highest end of the 11th generation of Intel processors. But, to do that, you would really need to have a case that is optimized for airflow. And with only three fan headers, you might want to make use of liquid cooling, as this small motherboard will need a good cooling system if you plan on overclocking or installing higher-end components. 

All in all, the MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi is a fantastic mini-ITX motherboard that provides excellent performance and connectivity for a very affordable price. There are some notable drawbacks, but nothing that should stop you from building a high-end, compact gaming PC, plus the internet options are excellent–For under $200, this is THE board for the 10th and 11th generation of Intel CPUs.

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8. ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming II

”Honorable Mention”

Form Factor: ATX | Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD B450 | Memory Support: 4x DIMM DDR4, Up to 4.400 MHz (O.C), Max 128 GB | PCI-e Slots: 3x PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 | Storage Support: 2x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s Ports | Video Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort | Warranty: 3 Years

ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming II

REASONS TO BUY

  • Good overall performance
  • Attractive ROG aesthetics with RGB
  • High-quality construction
  • Lots of expansion slots
  • Great storage and RAM configuration
  • Is capable of overclocking with solid power delivery and several fan header and liquid-cooling options
  • Plenty of USB ports

REASONS TO AVOID

  • The board runs on an old PCIe 3.0 standard
  • No integrated Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Only a Gigabit Ethernet
  • Much better options available at this price point

Our Rating:   9.3/10

Designed for AMD builders on a budget, the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming II from ASUS is an ATX form factor motherboard that utilizes the AM4 socket from AMD. This is a motherboard from the previous generation compared to most of the motherboards on this list, but it now sits at a great price point and is one of the best starter motherboards under $200.

There is still a great price-to-performance value found in the B450-F. This budget ATX motherboard gives you access to two M.2 slots, three full-size PCIe 3.0 x16 speed slots, and a pretty sleek looking aesthetic from ROG, all coming in at under $200.

What the Strix B450-F lacks in high-end features, it makes up for in price. And even then, this mobo provides you with everything you need to start gaming right away, but don’t expect to be using the highest-end components with this motherboard. The Strix B450-F gives you access to three full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 speed slots, dual M.2 ports for solid-state drives, and six SATA ports for 2.5 and 3.5” storage drives.

One thing to note is that everything here runs on the PCIe 3.0 bandwidth instead of the PCIe 4.0 bandwidth, which is more common in almost every motherboard on this list. While PCIe 4.0 devices have become much more commonplace in 2023, if you are a budget builder and gamer, you will likely want to opt for PCIe 3.0 devices due to the increase in cost that came with the PCIe 4.0 interface.

As expected, the rear I/O panel isn’t too exciting as well. There are seven USB Type-A ports, a single USB Type-C port, a PS/2 port for your mouse and keyboard, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, as well as dedicated audio jacks, which is great.

But, there is no integrated Wi-Fi or Bluetooth in the Strix B450-F, so if you are planning on using a wireless network, you will need to purchase and install your own Wi-Fi card. And also, you only get 1 Gigabit Ethernet, which isn’t the end of the world, but it’s far from the standard 2.5 Gbps you usually get in the sub-$200 price range.

Taking a look at the motherboard itself, we really enjoyed the ROG STRIX aesthetic of the B450-F. You get some ROG accents scattered on the board with a decent amount of RGB. On top of that, we were happy to see six fan headers included, more than enough to keep your components cool in intense gaming or overclocking sessions. ASUS includes a suite of RGB headers that are all compatible with ASUS Aura Sync, which is great if you have other ASUS peripherals you want to connect together for an RGB setup.

Overall, the B450-F Gaming II is a decent budget ATX motherboard for anyone using an older Ryzen processor. ASUS has made it pretty easy to overclock the CPU and memory on this motherboard thanks to their software suite and BIOS. While the B450-F is lacking in the newest features and features a PCIe standard that’s now two generations behind, this board is still a great value board for anyone looking to put together a budget build with older components.

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Final Words

There you go, these were the 8 best motherboards available on the market for less than $200. Always make sure you pick a motherboard based on your budget and CPU requirements and try to avoid paying more for a motherboard than you did for your CPU.

We hope this list helps to shed some light on your choice of which motherboard to buy for your next build. Feel free to let us know in the comments which of these motherboards is your favorite, and feel free to ask us any questions. We love hearing from you!

About Richard Gamin 232 Articles
My name's Richard and over the years, I have personally built many PCs for myself and my friends. I love gaming, programming, graphics designing and basically anything that has to do with computers and technology. If you ever need a hand with anything, feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to help you out.

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