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For many gaming enthusiasts, building a computer is one of the most exciting aspects. You get to pull together all the different elements that you need, so that your computer can let you do everything you need for a full-on experience. The problem is that top-end computers usually require a top-end budget too.
That’s why a lot of people who don’t have as much to spend, turn to the i3-8100. It’s affordable, reliable, and a great choice of processor for anyone on a tight budget, but who still wants to do some high-quality gaming.
The i3 range is part of Intel’s eighth generation of processors that was released under the codename Coffee Lake. These CPUs have four cores, known as quad cores, and they have moved away from hyperthreading, making them less vulnerable to attacks, plus they use the LGA1151 socket.
As part of the Coffee Lake microprocessor family, the i3-8100 is used with the 300-series chipset, and isn’t officially compatible with 100 and 200-series chipset. In this article, we are going to be looking at the best motherboards for the i3-8100.
The motherboard is the communication centre of the computer, allowing the communication between the CPU and the memory, as well as providing connectors for peripheral devices. This is one of the aspects that makes building a computer so appealing for gamers, and it is why the best motherboard is so important.
The motherboard is the part that determines the expansion capabilities of your computer, so it’s a pretty influential component for your gaming experience. The problem is working out which mobo is the best one for you. With so many aspects to consider, and so many marketing techniques obscuring the plain facts, it can be difficult to know what each motherboard has to offer, and what is right for you. T
hat’s why in this article, we are going to take you through our six favorite motherboards for the i3-8100, including all the key specs you need to consider. Plus we’ve got the answer to some of the main questions you need to bear in mind when you’re looking into buying a new motherboard. So sit back and take a look through this, and we’re sure that by the end, you’ll know which mobo is the one for you.
We are going to kick off our list of the best motherboards with the ASRock Z390 Pro4. We think that this motherboard really sets the tone for the rest of the list, as it shows what you can get when you’re working with the i3-8100.
It has really good capability in terms of its PCI Express lanes, as well as six USB ports, so it has pretty good expansion capability. It does lack a rear panel cover and it doesn’t use power delivery heatsinks, but otherwise this is a great motherboard, especially as it costs less than $150 brand new.
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Our second motherboard is a little bit more expensive, but still well under $200 when bought new. It boasts a 5-way optimization that allows intelligent overclocking. By this we mean that it uses smart prediction and thermal telemetry to overclock a CPU.
This will be super useful when you’re gaming, saving you days of manual tuning. It also has RGB LED lighting control, so that you can personalize your experience. Plus it has 8-channel HD gaming audio, so that you can really feel like you’re there.
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If your computer requires a smaller motherboard, then this MSI B360M Pro-VD is an excellent choice with its Micro ATX form factor. Being smaller, it does have a smaller memory and fewer expansion capabilities, but this motherboard still has one PCI-EX16 slot, which can be used for things like a graphics card.
It also has an additional two PCI slots, plus six USB ports, so if you want to install a WIFI card or various other expansions, it should be more than capable of providing what you need. Plus its VRM has 4 + 2 power phases tol prevent it from overheating, which is pretty essential for anyone who will be using it or gaming.
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No doubt one of the most popular choice of motherboard for the i3-8100, the Gigabyte H310M A 2.0 had to feature on our list of favorites. The main reason why it is so popular? Its price. Although prices do vary, this motherboard currently comes in at under $70 brand new.
That’s pretty impressive, especially when you take into account everything it has to offer. This motherboard is again a smaller one, with a Micro ATX form factor, but it still offers expansion capabilities. With a SATA interface and PCI-Express lanes, you should be able to get what you need from this mobo, and it’s pretty reliable for its price too.
Plus by saving on this, you’ll have plenty more to spend on the peripheral devices.
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Our penultimate motherboard is perhaps the best option for gamers. It has an ATX form factor, which allows it to have more expansion capabilities and a bigger memory. This mobo also has decent heatsinks as well as seven fan headers.
All of this means that it can prevent overheating, even if it doesn’t have enough airflow, so you can overclock to your heart’s content. Plus it offers all of this for around $120. Bargain.
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The final motherboard on the list is by far the most expensive, at over double the price of the others currently, but you get what you pay for. It has loads of expansion capabilities, a good memory size, and is still nice and light. Plus it has a pre-mounted I/O shield, so that installation can be as streamlined as possible.
It also looks the sharpest, mostly in black but with some hot-pink assets that make it really stand out from the other options.
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You might have noticed that these different motherboards have different chipsets, including Z390, B360 and H310. You need to make sure that the motherboard you pick is compatible with the chipset that you have.
All of these motherboards fell into two categories, either ATX or Micro ATX. The form factor determines the size. As you might expect, the bigger form factor tends to support more memory, more features, and more expansion capabilities. So if you are building your own PC, it is worth remembering that the size will affect how many expansion slots you can use for gaming.
Now that we’ve been through our favorite motherboards for the i3-8100, you should have a much better idea of which one will work best for you. Remember to consider carefully what you need from your motherboard. There’s no point building a computer that can’t do what you were hoping.
Equally, you shouldn’t spend too much unnecessarily. Think of what you need and then work out which of these options will work best for you.
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