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The motherboard is one of the most important aspects of your PC, no doubt. It is part that communicates between the different components, and it is also the part that offers the various expansion capabilities. That means that your PC will only ever be as good as the motherboard you choose for it.
On the flip side, getting yourself a new motherboard can be a great way to get a big performance boost, without having to change the rest of it. In this article, we are going to be looking at our top ten motherboards for Intel Core i7-6700k.
This processor came out as part of Intel’s Skylake project back in 2015. It is a quad-core, eight-thread capable processor, with a top stock clock speed of 4.20 GHz, and it is a popular choice with gamers. But if you want to make the most of everything this processor has to offer, you need to make sure that you get a motherboard that is of the same standard.
Most of the motherboards on our list have 4 memory slots of 64GB max, DDR4 RAM, as well as an LGA 1151 socket. So the main thing you need to look out for is the expansion capabilities, the size, and the brand. Plus we’ve pointed out a few key features that differentiate them.
So take a look through the article, and we’re sure that by the end you’ll know which is the best motherboard for you. Towards the end of the article we’ve even included a few essential aspects to consider before you buy, so you should be able to make a fully-informed decision before you purchase.
We’re going to start the list with the ASUS ROG Maximus IX Code. For quite a lot of people, this is the ultimate motherboard for Intel Core i7-6700k, and it also costs quite a bit more than a lot of them. We think that it is the standard by which the others on this list should judge.
We’re not sure it’s the best one out there, especially as it costs more, but we wouldn’t particularly recommend a motherboard with any fewer slots. It has onboard AC Wi-Fi and lots of other gaming-centric features, like integrated AIO headers which provide extra cooling control for your monster gaming sessions.
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Our second choice is the ASRock Z270 Extreme 4, and it’s another humdinger of a motherboard. What sets this mobo apart from the others is that it is VR Ready. So if you want to dig in and enjoy the world of Virtual Reality, this is a great choice for you. Plus it has a really sleek design in black with a silver X detail.
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Here we have a motherboard that is a bit more affordable than the previous two, and it’s great if you are into gaming. It has 1-click overclocking as well as SupremeFX Audio. Plus it has a SafeSlot to keep your mobo speedy over a long period of time.
It also has 3D printing-friendly modules, plus customizable RGB LED lighting. So if you want a motherboard that you can make your own, this is a great option for you.
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This is another motherboard that has heaps of ways to customize the lights and set different effects for different modes. It is a bit pricier than the last one, but it has a lot to offer. The lights can even work intelligently, so that the effects can be fairly intuitive.
It also has the Smart Fan 5 which can make the mobo more liquid cooling friendly, plus it has 15 USB ports, so you can keep gaming to your heart’s content.
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If you want a durable, intuitive motherboard, look no further. This mobo has plenty of PCI Express lanes and USB ports for all the expansions you need.
It also has the SupremeFX Audio system, which is perfect if you want to immerse yourself in the games and hear the audio as if you were living it. It’s just a shame that some of the slots are a little tricky to reach.
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The MSI Performance Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon is made of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, which is also popular in the world of car racing, and as such, it is by far the lightest motherboard on our list. But despite being so light, it is also a very durable motherboard and has a customizable Mystic Light feature so you can keep changing the systems’ design. It’s also got 15k anti-surge protection, as well as great expansion capabilities.
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If you are on a bit of a budget and enjoy casual gaming, the ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 could be a great option for you. It has on-the-go overclocking capabilities alongside pre-defined presets, so you can really dig into your games without having to worry too much about the mobo reaching a limit.
This is a motherboard that provides a lot relative to its price tag.
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This motherboard stands out from the others on our list due to its smaller form factor of being micro ATX. It’s still got a lot of expansion capabilities, but there are fewer, commensurate with its smaller size.
Plus it has a Turbo Processing Unit which makes it capable of automatically overclocking the CPU at 95% of the possible max frequency. It’s also got a custom water-cooling system, so you don’t have to compromise on your gaming, despite being a bit smaller.
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Our penultimate motherboard sits at the upper end of the price range, but it is also arguably one of the best motherboards on our list. It has one-click cooling and overclocking, and the front panel USB port makes it easy to get high-speed transfers even when you’re not gaming.
Plus the ROG technology of ASUS optimizes your computer system based on real-time usage, so you can get an even better CPU performance.
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We are going to finish our list of the best motherboards for Intel i7-6700k with by far the flashiest mobo on our list. This is the MSI Z170A XPower Gaming, Titanium Edition. And in case you didn’t realise yet, this motherboard is made of titanium, inside and out.
It is designed with titanium strengthened PCB and chokes, plus Steel Armor technology for DDR4 Boost, so that there is even better signal strength and EMI-shielding. If you want a motherboard that is going to stand out from the crowd, this is definitely the one for you.
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It is really important that you bear in mind the type of chipset that the motherboard can support and to make sure that it is compatible with the one you have. All of these motherboards are compatible with the Skylake and Kaby Lake processors of either Z170 or Z270.
The form factor of the motherboard determines how many expansion slots you can have. So if you are building your own PC, bear this in mind if you think about going for a smaller mobo.
We’ve spoken quite a lot about the expansion capabilities of the motherboards in this article, but that’s because they are really central to the functionality of the mobo.
Your motherboard is like the communications centre, so if you want to be able to overclock, with various video outputs, different input devices connected, and then need to install some extra fans, you need to make sure that your motherboard can handle everything. Check the number of ports and slots and then think about how many you actually need.
Hopefully now that we’ve been through the features that each of these motherboards has, as well as what makes each of them different, you’ll have a better idea of which one would work best for you.
The important thing is to try to think about what you actually want from your mobo first, so that you can make sure that it is capable of doing everything you need. After that, you can start looking at the nice to haves, like customizable LED lighting or perhaps a titanium frame.
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