Affordable Coffee Lake: TOP 5 inexpensive motherboards for new Intel processors
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In a special table, you can compare in detail the technical characteristics of selected motherboards from the review. And on the links you will find a list of motherboards on socket 1151 v2 and a general catalog of motherboards.
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Asus PRIME H310M-K is positioned by the manufacturer as a low-cost product designed to create efficient home and office configurations with any processors based on the Coffee Lake microarchitecture.
With the advent of this line of processors, Intel has also updated the line of 1151 chipsets for motherboards to keep up with the times. However, this walk turned out to be very limited and did not particularly lead the low-cost segment anywhere. For example, the new H310 chip still lacks USB 3.1 Gen 2 support and the ability to create RAID arrays. On the other hand, we are now talking about a low-cost motherboard, designed primarily for long-term and reliable work in the office, where many will not even notice such limitations.
And now, as usual, a moment of praise for Asus. The company clearly understood what they were doing and for whom. To reduce the price, they removed extra SATA connectors from the motherboard (there are only 4 of them), limited the number of USB ports to 4 pieces, removed the M.2 port for fast SSD drives, HDMI output, and made only 2 slots for DDR4 memory.
Instead, the board was equipped with an LPC block for quick fault detection, an ASUS Self-recovering BIOS system, the name of which speaks for itself, after which they drove through additional reliability tests (they say about 8 thousand hours of tests) so that the PRIME H310M-K is as compatible as possible with a variety of components and corresponded to modern quality certificate. You can only blame the lack of a radiator on the elements of the power subsystem, but if you don’t mess around with overclocking, then this is not particularly critical.
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The Gigabyte H310M S2V board is, on the one hand, a child of savings, designed for an undemanding buyer. On the other hand, it complies with the principles of Ultra Durable (high-quality audio capacitors, anti-noise screen, improved fiberglass, etc.), which promises reliable and durable performance.
In general, the H310M S2V looks like a typical representative of the "set it and forget it" club. The board is equipped with a minimum set of interfaces, including 2 slots for DDR4 RAM (maximum 32 GB), digital (DVI-D) and analog (D-Sub) video outputs, 6 USB ports, 4 SATA connectors and one PCI-E 16x and PCI-E 1x for connecting video cards, audio cards, etc. Neither USB-C, nor HDMI, nor M.2 were added here so as not to increase the price. Fortunately, for a simple but modern working machine, all this is included in the category of pleasant bonuses, rather than things without which life becomes a burden.
Of the unusual, one can only single out support for the “smart” SmartFan technology, which monitors the temperature of different parts of the motherboard and coordinates the work of coolers. Theoretically, this allows you to extend the life of the board (eliminating the risk of overheating) and reduce the noise of the cooling system.
Another question is that this feature was inherited by the H310M S2V from the company's more expensive motherboards (for enthusiasts) and there are doubts that it will really come in handy when working in an office or using it in a home multimedia computer. But if they do, why complain, right?
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From time to time, ASRock 's final products are as good as it gets. One lineup can turn out to be super-successful without any jambs, and literally another “mother” from a related lineup will noticeably fail and spoil the user’s life. That is why many enthusiasts and professionals are quite skeptical about the brand.
In the case of the B360M-HDV, we have the first scenario: the board turned out to be quite functional, inexpensive and, as far as one can judge, stable. At least, neither in my own experience, nor according to reviews on the forums, there were no reasons to kick her. There are, perhaps, rare complaints about the incorrect operation of video chips integrated into the processor, but it is usually solved by a banal reinstallation of video drivers under Win 10.
In terms of functionality, the B360M-HDV looks like a pretty solid motherboard without any major limitations. A pair of standard slots are available for installing DDR4 RAM. The disk subsystem includes an M.2 interface and six SATA ports. To install a graphics card, there is one PCI-E 16x slot with a reinforced design. Two more PCI-E 1x are for other expansion cards. There is also an HDMI output, which is found every other time in the segment of motherboards under $100. And even less often. Plus, there is support for USB 3.1 gen2.
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MSI B360M Pro-VD is an inexpensive but high-quality motherboard based on the B360 chipset, which belongs to the middle level. Among the features of the board, it is worth highlighting reinforced PCI-E slots to protect the video card from electromagnetic interference and physical damage, optimized memory module layout for more reliable memory overclocking, a utility for automatically optimizing the cooling system, and an M.2 port with support for ultra-fast NVMe drives. For complete happiness, I would like four slots for RAM instead of two.
With a $70 price tag, the MSI B360M Pro-VD looks like an interesting option for an entry to mid-range computer. It is extremely rarely complained about on specialized forums, it has a fairly wide functional set and there are no obvious weaknesses. The only thing missing is an HDMI output, instead of which there is a digital DVI-D and an old-school analog VGA. Given that MSI is positioning this board as a solution for a home multimedia center, this is a bit surprising.
Finally, I would like to note the set of utilities that comes with the board. As a rule, almost any motherboard is stuffed with this goodness, but the kit from MSI looks like one of the most thoughtful and useful. So, here you can find a full-fledged command center for overclocking the system, managing disks or controlling the cooling system, utilities for speeding up system boot and optimizing the bundle of drives (useful when a hybrid array of HDD and SSD is installed on your computer). Plus, MSI managed to make one of the most understandable and user-friendly BIOS shells on the market.
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You rarely see anything interesting in the $100 motherboard segment. Usually these are the simplest workhorses with identical functionality and without claims to fly to the stars. The more interesting is the Gigabyte Z370M D3H, which is based on the top-end Intel Z370 logic, which is usually used in products for gamers and enthusiasts.
The Z370M D3H boasts a 7-phase CPU power subsystem with large aluminium heatsinks and full overclocking functionality. Naturally, within reasonable limits - this board is still not a suitable candidate for working at maximum voltage with eight-core chips. However, Gigabyte is not trying to deceive anyone, positioning this board as a solution for mid-level workstations and gaming computers.
In terms of layout, the Gigabyte Z370M D3H is much closer to gaming boards than a modest one in the low-cost segment. The board is equipped with 4 RAM slots(maximum 64 GB), 2 PCI-E 16x slots for connecting a pair of video cards, a pair of M.2 connectors for installing high-speed SSD drives, DVI-D and HDMI video connectors, and a bundle of USB including USB-C. Inherited from the Z370M D3H gaming boards, it also received advanced options for connecting and controlling an RGB strip when the case is backlit.
Like all boards from Gigabyte of the latest generations, the Z370M D3H uses an improved textolite, high-temperature polymer capacitors and other electronic improvements that correspond to the Ultra Durable concept. In general, this is an extremely successful motherboard without any minor omissions such as an inconvenient layout of SATA connectors or jambs in the BIOS. It is not for nothing that in every second review it receives not only a high rating, but also a strong recommendation for purchase.
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Half an hour of simple manipulations with a screwdriver - and the computer is ready!