This £116 motherboard supports the Core i9 13900K and cheap DDR4 RAM
Spend less on your motherboard, spend more on your CPU and GPU.
One mistake I often see novice PC builders making is overspending on the motherboard. It's true that higher-end models offer more features and can support better overclocking performance, but for the vast majority of people you're better off putting your budget towards the highest-tier graphics card and processor you can afford - as these actually determine in-game performance! - then slotting in the cheapest motherboard that gets decent reviews and supports your components.
One excellent example of just such a motherboard is the Gigabyte B760M Gaming X DDR4, a simple option that supports 12th/13th-gen Intel processors all the way up to the 13900K. With an asking price of just £116 right now, you can pick up this plus a cheap 16GB DDR4 RAM kit for just £152, letting you spend the vast majority of your PC budget where it really matters.
Despite its budget price, this Gigabyte board is well-appointed, with a reasonable 8+1+1 VRM design, slots for four sticks of DDR4 RAM, two M.2 NVMe slots, a quick-release PCIe 4.0 x16 slot for your GPU, a standard PCIe 3.0 x4 slot for additional accessories (eg a WiFi card) and six SATA ports. That means you can hook up a high-end GPU and two PCIe 4.0 drives without sacrificing performance, plus a ton of extra SSDs or HDDs if needed.
This Micro ATX motherboard does everything you need in terms of ports too, with video outputs (HDMI and DisplayPort) which come in handy if you're using your CPU's integrated graphics, eight full-size USB ports (up to 5Mbps) for your peripherals, fast 2.5-gig ethernet and three 3.5mm ports (mic, line out, line in) for your headset or speakers. The only real deficits are WiFi or a surround sound solution, but for most people what's here is fine - and you can always add any missing functionality via USB or PCIe expansion down the line.
(Note that if you like the idea of a budget motherboard but need more PCIe slots than the Micro ATX form factor provides, you could instead consider the cheapest ATX option, the MSI Pro B760-P, which also comes with built-in WiFi and costs £140.)
In terms of raw value, it's hard to find anything much better than this Gigabyte board - and I think it would pair very nicely with something like the 13400F, 13600K or 13700K.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more PC deals as we discover them!
