Best motherboard for i5–9600K in 2022 | LEVVVEL

1. MSI Z390-A Pro: Best budget motherboard for i5-9600K · 2. ASUS Prime Z390-A: Best mid-range motherboard for i5-9600K · 3. ASUS ROG Z390 Maximus ... Motherboards·April26,2022Bestmotherboardfori5–9600Kin2022Findoutwhat’sthebestmotherboardtopairwithyouri5-9600Kandwhy. Thei5-9600KisIntel’s9thgenerationmid-rangegamingCPUoffer.Itisasix-core/six-threadCPUthatprovidesgoodenoughgamingperformanceineverymoderntitle.Comparedtomorepowerful9th-genIntelCPUs,the9600Kisprettytamewhenitcomestopowerrequirements.ThismeansmostZ390boardscanrunitwithoutissues.Now,ifyouownsomeotherCPUcheckoutourmotherboardssectionformoremotherboardbuyingguides.Luckily,thereareplentyofexcellentboardsouttherethatdon’tcosttoomuch.Youcangetadecentboardthat’sgoodenoughtohosteventhe Corei99900K or i79700K forabouthalfthepriceyouwouldpayfortheCPUandadecentcooler.So,what'sthebestmotherboardfori5-9600K?Well,readonandfindout.Beforeyoustartscrolling,takealookatourlistofthebestgraphicscardsforthei5-9600K.Ifyou'relookingforadecentcoolerforthisCPU,wehaveaguideforthebestCPUcoolersfori7-9700K.Anycoolercapableofcoolingthe9700Kwillhavenoissueschillingitssmallercousin.1.MSIZ390-APro:Bestbudgetmotherboardfori5-9600K Memory4×DDR4DIMMmax.128GBStorage1×M.26×SATAIIIExpansionSlots2×PCIe3.0x164×PCIe3.0x1Wi-FiNoAmazonWhenitcomestobudgetmotherboardsforthei5-9600K,therearealotofgreatchoices.Ourpickforthebestbudgetmotherboardfor9600KistheMSIZ390-APro.ThisboardfeaturesasolidcollectionoffeaturesbutalsoaVRM(voltageregulatingmodule)goodenoughtohostthei9-9900K,letalonethei5-9600K.TheMSImodelsupportsDDR4memoryupto4000MT/s.Storage-wiseyou'vegotoneM.2slotincombinationwithsixSATAIIIconnectors.TheMSIZ390-AProalsopacksanadditionalM.2slotthatcanhostaWi-Fimodule,whichcouldbeabigplusforuserswhoneedthewirelesscapability.ThemainPCIex16slotworksatx16speedwhilethesecondaryworksatx4.OtherexpansionslotsincludefourPCIex1slots.TheRealtekALC892Codecispoweringtheaudiosection.ConnectionoptionsarelimitedtotheincludedGigabitLANport.Finally,theMSIZ390-AProcomeswithanHDMI,DVI-D,andDisplayPortonthebackpanelalongwithtwoUSB10Gbpsports(oneisUSB-C),two5GbpsUSBports,andtwoUSB2.0ports.2.ASUSPrimeZ390-A:Bestmid-rangemotherboardfori5-9600K Memory4×DDR4DIMMmax.64GBStorage2×M.26×SATAIIIExpansionSlots3×PCIe3.0x163×PCIe3.0x1Wi-FiNoAmazonNext,wehavethebestmid-rangeboardforthe9600K.TheASUSPrimeZ390-Acanhandlethei9-9900Kwithoutissues.Design-wise,theASUSmodelfeaturesaslickwhiteandgraydesignthat’squitepleasanttotheeye.TheASUSboardsupports4266MT/sDDR4memory,anditpackstwoM.2slotsandsixSATAIIIconnectors.Themotherboardcomeswith3PCIex16slots.Theprimaryonerunsatx16,secondaryatx8(x8/x8modeinCrossfire/SLI),andthetertiaryatx4speed.TherearealsothreePCIex1slotspresentincaseyouneedevenmoreexpansionslots.IntelGigabitLANispresentasthemainconnectivityoption.TheaudiosectionispoweredbytheRealtekALCS1220Acodec.Onthebackpanel,youcanfindbothDisplayPortandHDMI.Ontopofthose,theASUSPrimeZ390-AincludesfourUSB10Gbpsports(oneisUSB-C),twoUSB5Gbpsports,andtwoUSB2.0ports.3.ASUSROGZ390MaximusXIHero:Besthigh-endmotherboardfori5-9600K Memory4×DDR4DIMMmax.128GBStorage2×M.26×SATAIIIExpansionSlots3×PCIe3.0x163×PCIe3.0x1Wi-FiYesAmazonThebestboardfor9thgenIntelCPUsistheMSIMEGZ390Godlike.Theproblemisthatyoucangettwoi59600KCPUsalongwiththreesolidcoolersforthepriceofoneGodlike.Inotherwords,theboardisn’tworthitforthisCPU.Instead,we'vepickedtheASUSROGZ390MaximusXIHeroasourbesthigh-endboardfortheCorei5-9600KCPU.TheROGMaximusXIHeroisasuperbZ390board.Itcanpowerthei9-9900KevenonhighOCclocks,sorunningthe9600Kwon’tbeaproblemforit.Theboardlooksveryattractive.BlackPCBwithlotsofdarkheatsinksandacoupleofRGBeffectsareminimalisticandverypleasanttotheeye.TheboardcanrunDDR4memoryat4400MT/s.ItpackstwoM.2slotsandsixSATAIIIports.Graphics-wise,yougetthreePCIex16ports.Oneworksatx16,thesecondworksatx8mode(x8/x8modeworksinSLIandCrossfireconfiguration),andthethirdisanx4port.TherearealsothreePCIex1ports.IntelGigabitLANisalsopresent,aswellasawirelessmoduleandaBluetooth5.0module.ROGSupremeFXS1220isresponsiblefortheaudiosection.Onthebackpanel,there’soneHDMIandoneDisplayPortformultimonitorsetupwhenusingiGPU.YougetsupportforallkindsofRGBeffectsaswellasothergoodiessuchasinstallingBIOSfromaflashdrive,BIOSflashback,lotsofdiagnosticLEDs,andClearCMOSandBIOSFlashbackbuttonsonthebackpanel.Overall,thisisanexcellentboardforthemoney,withitsonly(small)downsidebeingjusttwoM.2slots.Athirdonewouldbegreat.4.GigabyteZ390MGaming:Bestmicro-ATXboardfori5-9600K Memory4×DDR4DIMMmax.128GBStorage2×M.26×SATAIIIExpansionSlots2×PCIe3.0x162×PCIe3.0x1Wi-FiNoAmazonTherearen’tmanymATXZ390boards.Formostusers,theGigabyteZ390MGamingshouldbemorethanenough,especiallyfor9600Kowners.TheGigabyteZ390MGamingisaqualityboardwithVRMgoodenoughtoruntheCorei5-9600K.Justmakesuretorunslowermemorywiththatsetup.Officially,theboardsupportsDDR4memoryupto4266MT/s.ItcomeswithtwoM.2slotsand6SATAIIIconnectors.Graphics-wise,yougetonePCIex16slotrunningatx16andonePCIex16slotrunningatx4.Therearealso2PCIex1slotsandathirdM.2slotforIntelWirelessandBluetoothCNVimodules.Youcanrunamulti-monitorsetupfromaniGPUsincetheboardcomeswithHDMIandDVIportsonthebackpanel.TheRealtekALC892codecisbehindtheaudiodepartment,withanIntelchippoweringtheGigabitLAN.Design-wisetheboardlooksprettydarngood.OrangeAorusdetailsarereplacedwithacoupleofredlines.TherestoftheboardfeaturestheclassicGigabyteblackandgreycoloring.TheboardalsofeaturesdualBIOSsupportaswellasQ-Flash.5.ASRockZ390PhantomGaming-ITX/AC:BestMini-ITXboardfori5-9600K Memory2×DDR4DIMMmax.64GBStorage2×M.24×SATAIIIExpansionSlots1×PCIe3.0x161×PCIe3.0x1Wi-FiYesAmazonWhenitcomestoMini-ITXboards,VRMisthemostimportantpieceofthepuzzle.QualityVRMinasmallpackageisneededtooverclockK-seriesCPUs.AndtheASRockZ390PhantomGaming-ITX/achasthebestVRMoutofallZ390Mini-ITXboards.ThisisthebestMini-ITXboardfortheCorei59600K.The5phasesand60Apowerstagesonthisboardareenoughforany9thgenIntelCPU.AsidefromthebestVRMontheMini-ITXmarket,theASRockZ390PhantomGaming-ITX/acoffersaslewofotherfeatures.Memorycanrunat4500MT/s,andtheboardcomeswithtwoM.2slots(alwaysaplusonaMini-ITXboard)andfourSATAIIIconnectors.There’sonlyonePCIex16portrunningatx16speed,butthat’snormalforaMini-ITXboard.RealtekALC1220AudioCodecispoweringtheaudiodepartment.Thisisaprettygoodaudiosetupthatsupports7.1channelsetups.TheboardalsohasoneThunderbolt3portontheback.ThebackalsohostsoneHDMIandoneDisplayPortinputformulti-monitorsupportoniGPUsystems.WiththeThunderbolt3,youcanrunthreemonitorswithanintegratedGPU,whichisgreatforaMini-ITXboard.IntelchipispoweringGigabitLAN.TheboardalsocomeswithWi-FIandBluetooth5.0modules.There’salsosupportforRGBLEDstripsandinstallingBIOSfromflashdrives.Thedesignoftheboardissolid.All-blackcoloringwithlotsofheatsinks.Itlooksniceenough,butit'snothingspecial. Features Gaming Reviews BuyingGuides Builds Under$500 Under$750 Under$1000 Under$1500 Under$2000 Cases Cooling CPUs GraphicsCards Motherboards PowerSupplies RAM Storage Software Sections TwitchPrimefreegamesforMay2022CoinMasterfreespins&coins—dailylinksforMay2022Zyngastatisticsandfacts2022PetMasterfreespins&coins—dailylinksMay2022 PressESCtoclose