6 of the Best Motherboard for i9-9900k in 2023

The Intel Core i9 9900K was the flagship processor in the Coffee Lake series, and it still gets awards for being the best processor for gaming despite its age. The CPU alone cannot deliver the performance you need, but you need components that can utilize its full potential.

We’ve listed below the motherboard recommendations for the Intel Core i9 9900K that you can consider in 2022.

Although this processor is compatible with many mid-range and high-end chipset motherboards, its performance degrades when you go cheap while choosing the motherboard.

No one would advise you to save on the board with such a powerful processor and spend it on other components.

Intel’s 8th generation processors had six cores maximum, but in the 9th generation, they again increased the cores, and both the i7 9700K and i9 9900K come with eight cores each which will allow you to play AAA games at 4k resolution.

The difference between them is the number of threads, as one comes with hyperthreading disabled, while the other has it enabled. We will discuss some potent motherboards and might be interested in coolers that you can use to overclock the i9 9900K.

So without further ado, check out the guides first, and then head over to the product reviews.

List Of Best Motherboards for i9 9900K

Here is my list.

1: Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Xtreme

SPECIFICATIONS

Socket: LGA1151 | Chipset: Intel Z390 | Form Factor: E-ATX | Voltage Regulator: 16 Phases | PCIe x16: 3 | USB Ports: 17 | Warranty: 4 Years

Despite being one of the most expensive motherboards that you can pair with Intel’s Core i9 9900K, this price may lead some users to look for alternatives. Nevertheless, when compared to competitors, this board still looks cheap since the MSI Z390 Godlike is roughly 30% more expensive.

The MSI motherboard is mainly built for creativity and productivity tasks, while the Gigabyte motherboard is geared toward gamers. Voltage regulators are more significant, giving the processor excellent overclocking performance and smooth power delivery.

This motherboard looks attractive with its black PCB, some silver heatsinks, and a lot of RGB lights. Additionally, it comes with the Aorus RGB fans commander and has eight RGB or fan ports.

On the rear side of the motherboard are two Ethernet ports, one of which is 10GbE and the other 2.5G NIC. This motherboard also features a Thunderbolt controller with dual USB Type-C ports on the rear IO panel.

Gigabyte budget motherboards do not come with integrated Wi-Fi, but all premium boards in the Aorus series do, and this one has 1.73/Gbps.

While the overall performance of this motherboard is undeniably good, most users have trouble overclocking memory modules. The OC touch controller that comes with this motherboard allows you to install six additional fans.

However, it does not have mounting slots, so you may need to mount in the casing. Using the four slots on this motherboard, 128 GB of memory clocked at 4000+ MHz can be installed. AMD graphics cards can be installed in a three-way, and Nvidia graphics cards can be installed two-way in the three PCIe x16 slots.

These three M.2 slots have dedicated heat spreaders, and all PCI slots come with PCI Steel armor.

Overall, this motherboard is excellent to consider with an Intel Core i9 9900K, but the price also makes us look at other options.

These motherboards don’t support the latest generation processors, so you will need a completely new motherboard if you plan to upgrade in the future. However, it is now available at a much lower cost than the MSRP.

2: MSI MEG Z390 (New)

MSI’s MEG series motherboards are designed for enthusiasts with many premium features, hence the name MSI Enthusiast Gaming. Its powerful power delivery section can push the Intel flagship Core i9 9900K to its limits.

MSI motherboards are known for their potent voltage regulators and their cooling, and this one includes heatsinks over the voltage regulators to cool down quickly.

Despite its similar features, this motherboard’s best feature is its affordable price, which is significantly lower than its competitors.

MSI’s Z390 series may not be the best offering, but it’s still an excellent foundation for premium builds. A Black touch-up on the base and grey heatsinks give it an appealing appearance, while the RGB lights attract users to use it.

There are four memory slots on this motherboard that support up to 128 GB of memory at 4500 MHz and memory overclocking. It is almost half the price of the company’s best motherboard, the MSI Z390 Godlike, but you will empty your pockets as well because it is over $600.

There are three M.2 slots and six SATA 3GBPS slots for storage, but only the bottom M.2 slot has an integrated heatsink. This motherboard has an integrated IO cover that hides the VRM heatsinks, and it has RGB lights and ACE branding.

Though it is nothing special, the company likes to put these letters in the name, as it is the same as Godlike motherboards but capitalized. With its nice edges and MSI dragon branding, the chipset heatsink is very attractive.

The motherboard controllers are among the best in their class. The integrated audio and networking are excellent. 

In general, this motherboard is an excellent consideration for Intel’s Core i9 9900K. It provides a solid foundation, but some users are disappointed by the lack of heatsinks on the M.2 slots, the price, and the lack of display ports.

It is possible to debug graphics-related issues using the integrated graphics of the Intel i9 9900K, but this motherboard lacks the ports, which may put you in some problems.

1: GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS ULTRA

If you can’t afford the Aorus Xtreme, Gigabyte also has the Aorus Ultra with slightly cut-down, little cheap controllers with the same feature set.

Previously, the company used a numbering scheme that confused users in identifying the motherboard; now, the company uses more prominent letters to distinguish the boards better.

It comes in a completely black color scheme with gray and silver heatsinks and RGB lights. All of these things combine to make it appear premium even though the design is straightforward.

Compared to its competitors and even premium motherboards in the series, this motherboard has a much lower price. 

This motherboard has 13 phase power design voltage regulators that can easily overclock the flagship Intel Core i9 9900K processor. The motherboard comes with four memory slots on which you can install up to 128 GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 4500 MHz.

Three PCIe x16 slots are equipped with Steel Armor and support Nvidia SLI in two-way and AMD Crossfire in three-way. There are three M.2 slots, each with a dedicated heat spreader and six SATA slots available for storage expansion.

It features an integrated IO cover that hides the USB ports and the VRM section while maintaining aesthetics. 

The Z390 Gaming Ultra is similar to the Z370 Gaming 5 in that both offer three M.2 slots and three PCIe x16 slots. There are many RGB lights on this motherboard, which you can customize with their software to make it look good in your case.

Additionally, there are USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A and Type-C ports and two USB 3.1 Gen1 ports marked with Gigabyte DAC-UP. A single HDMI port is also available if you plan to use the integrated graphics. There are five 3.5mm audio jacks on the motherboard and has a S/PDIF, which the Realtek audio controller controls. 

This motherboard is an excellent option from Gigabyte when you want premium features at a low price and don’t want to compromise on anything. In case you found it expensive, we have another excellent recommendation from Gigabyte below.

4: GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS PRO

The Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro is our next budget option after we have covered some premium options. It is from the same series as the one above, but it is much cheaper, some features are reduced, and it has cheap controllers.

There are about seven different ATX motherboards with Z90 chipsets in the 200$ price bracket, but this one is the best value in the category.

Also, this puts some pressure on manufacturers to deliver the best product at a reasonable price. For a very affordable price, it features premium features, including IO covers and integrated Wi-Fi. 

You can choose from three different motherboards for this price. The first one is Z390 Wi-Fi, the second lacks Wi-Fi but offers identical features, and the third is Z390 Aorus Elite. Even though this motherboard lacks a 2.5G NIC, it comes with Intel’s 9560 802.11ac Wi-Fi, something that makes it worthwhile.

There are two M.2 slots on this motherboard, and if you need more storage for your build, there are six SATA slots. Even though the premium option in the series comes with at least three M.2 slots, they also cost more, so you can save a lot on it without compromising much. 

I was not too fond of this motherboard because it lacks some minor features and is a bit more expensive than some of its competitors.

However, this motherboard’s features justify its price, and you won’t be disappointed with its performance. The thermal performance of this motherboard can easily beat a $300 motherboard from other manufacturers like MSI or Gigabyte.

The couple of USB Type-A and Type-C ports on this motherboard make it the best in terms of connectivity. An attractive feature on this motherboard is the Aorus branding on the IO cover and heatsink, as well as RGB backlighting. 

In an ATX-size motherboard, the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro is the cheapest option from the company which offers excellent overclocking and gaming features.

In their Aorus series, the company provides a wide range of motherboards that range from budget-friendly options to high-end products, and you can choose the one that will suit your needs.

5: Asus ROG Maximus XI Gene Z390 

You might already be familiar with Asus’ Maximus VIII Gene, which comes with the Z170 chipset, and since then, users have been looking for a motherboard with a premium chipset on an m-ATX form factor.

With the ROG Maximus XI Gene, the company returns with a slightly different model than its predecessor.

It no longer has four RAM slots and only has two now, while supporting DDR4 4600 MHz memory modules out of the box and shorter latency tracks which compels the enthusiasts and overclockers towards this motherboard. 

Having a black-colored PCB with some grey touches makes this motherboard appealing to users, and the RGB lights also make it attractive. With a single M.2 slot and four memory slots, this motherboard offers excellent storage options, and the heat spreader on M.2 is what makes it so popular.

In addition to a single PCIe x16 slot, the PCIe Steel Armor provides exceptional support to the PCIe slot. These twelve-phase power design regulators offer great overclocking support for high-end processors and have extended heatsinks. 

Most users have problems with the graphics card and the front panel headers on this small motherboard, but it comes with downward-facing headers, which solves the problem.

Most users report that this motherboard does not support multiple graphics cards, which is a significant problem.

Also, there is no legacy M.2 SATA support on this motherboard, but there are four SATA 3GBPS slots, which is sufficient for expansion. CPU storage is one of the best features on this motherboard, but enabling it causes the PCIe x16 slot to run at x8 speed. 

Due to its size, this motherboard lacks a few features, but if you are building a slight build, it will be a great option to pair with Intel Core i9 9900K.

Overclocking this processor with this motherboard is possible, but not to an extent since the voltage regulator’s cooling solution isn’t great, but you can still increase the clock speed significantly.

6: ASUS ROG Strix Z490-I

We chose the Asus Rog Strix Z390-I Gaming motherboard because it has all the basic and premium features gamers want. The RGB lights are the only thing that makes this motherboard stand out.

Its small size means fewer ports and slots, but you will have to compromise on them; as the size of the components decreases, their price increases, which is why ITX systems cost more than ATX systems.

If you’re looking for aesthetics and performance, Asus’s Strix lineup is the best choice. As compared to the Maximus lineup, these motherboards are also much cheaper. Asus ROG Strix Z390-I is the best mini-ITX motherboard available.

You’ll want this motherboard if you want to build a gaming PC with a relatively small form factor. Strix Z390-I supports every Intel 8th and 9th-generation processor, including Coffee Lake.

This motherboard has a 12-phase power VRM, allowing you to push your i9-9900k to its maximum capacity. It also features two DIMM RAM slots that can accommodate 64GB of memory and can also be boosted to reach their maximum frequencies.

Due to its smaller size, it only has a single PCIe x16 slot, so it isn’t possible to connect multiple graphics cards. There is no PCIe x4 slot, so expansion is not possible. Using the connectivity ports on the rear I/O panel, you can connect your devices without any problem.

Strix Z390-I has several USB 3.1 Type-C and Type-A ports and a few USB 2.0 Type-A ports. There are four SATA6 slots, as well as two M.2 modules for NVMe SSDs. In addition, it has a built-in Wi-Fi card, making it the best value for money.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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