For gamers, buying a cheap motherboard can be a great deal to invest money on other important components like GPU, PSU, and Ram. Low budget gaming motherboards may come with fewer features, but they are compatible with modern gaming peripherals. So in this guide, we will go through some of the best cheap gaming motherboards that support the modern gaming peripherals without any problem.
Now there was a time when CPUs with two cores ruled the gaming industry. Now we have CPUs with over 10 cores and threads that are not compatible with older gaming motherboards. If you are a fan of Intel, you might need to stick with motherboards that support socket LGA 1150/51.
For AMD geeks, wallet-friendly motherboards with AM4 socket support are worth having. Now the cheap motherboard for gaming doesn’t mean that you should compromise on quality parts. So we will only review the best budget gaming motherboards that are lower in price and come with quality parts.
Older motherboards tend to be a great fit if you are tight on budget. However, you have to look out for certain factors before buying one. As the latest motherboards cost well over $200, the low budget gaming boards still fall under $100 or so.
To find the best gaming motherboard on a low budget, you have to avoid extra features like built-in WiFi, USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, and some other extra PCIe ports.
So, your sole intention should be to pick the gaming motherboard that offers a little room for overclocking, at least 2 slots for SLI or CrossFire your graphics cards, and more enough DIMM slots.
Best Cheap Motherboard for Gaming
We highly recommend the go for cheaper Z370, Z390, and Z490 chipsets from Intel at the moment. As all of these chips support the latest gaming CPUs from Intel, it might be a profitable investment to go for them.
Here are some of the most affordable gaming motherboards on our list.
1. GIGABYTE Z490 VISION G | Best Overall Low Budget Motherboard for Gamers
Key Specs
- M. 2 Slots
- Overclocking
- Advanced Thermal Design
- LGA 1200 Socket
- USB 3.2 Gen2
- x4 DIMM Slots
- SLI/CrossFire Support
- 12 Phase VRM Design
- ATX
Priced under $200, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G delivers exceptional performance to play the latest games. We really like the thermal management of this motherboard in relation to its lower price.
On the first look, you will see huge heatsinks on most part of this chipset. This board comes with M.2 SSD slots, high-speed networking, USB C, and up to 128 GB DDR4 ram support. Not only this, but you can also customize this motherboard with fancy RGB lights.
Lastly, you can overclock your CPU without any issue for better gaming performance. It is one of the best low budget gaming board with surplus features for hardcore gaming.
The only downside we have noticed so far is the onboard sound quality. The sound is not loud and clear as compared to other low budget gaming boards. But it is doesn’t affect the overall performance of this chipset.
2. MSI Z490-A PRO Gaming Motherboard | Great Value for the Price
Key Specs
- Socket LGA 1200
- Dual M.2 Slots
- USB 3.2 Gen2
- 2.5 G LAN
- x4 DDR4 DIMM Slots [4800 MHz]
- Latest Thermal Heatsinks
- Supports 10th Gen CPUs
- Wi-Fi 6
- ATX
To us, there can be no better cheaper gaming motherboard than the MSI Z490-A PRO. It is one of the latest motherboards in the market that supports the 10th generation CPUs from Intel.
On one hand, where the latest Z490 chips are too expensive, this motherboard gives you a sweet spot between performance and price. It is quite hard to find a gaming motherboard like this under a $200 price tag.
It comes with an advanced thermal heatsink for better thermal management while gaming on higher clock speeds. Its killing look is accompanied by M.2 slots, support for USB 3.2 Gen 2, and DDR4 ram up to 128 GB. Indeed, this is one of the best motherboards for high-speed ram and processor at the same time.
The only thing that is really missing out is the support for some extra PCI Express slots. Other than that, this motherboard is the best bet for gamers who are tight on budget and need a high performing chipset.
3. GIGABYTE H310M A 2.0 | Wallet-Friendly Gaming Motherboard Under $100
Key Specs
- Socket LGA 1151
- x2 DDR4 Ram Support
- Supports 8th & 9th Gen Intel
- M.2 Slot
- USB 3.1 Gen1
- 8 Channel HD Audio
- Micro ATX
Although the GIGABYTE H310M might not be the choice of professional gamers, it still cuts out the cost the build your next gen gaming PC. However, this cheap gaming board limits you to install extra peripherals like ram, graphics cards, etc.
The good thing about this low budget gaming motherboard is that it support the older generation CPUs from Intel, especially the ones that are compatible with LGA 1151 socket. So you can install your favorite CPU from 8th or 9th gen if you want serious gaming.
This board comes with M.2 technology to boost the performance of your PC in gaming. With USB 3.1 Gen1 you can transfer your game files at lightning speed. Though most of the gaming motherboards are now using USB Gen2 support, having a Gen1 port on such a cheap price gaming motherboard is still worthy.
On top of all the famous Smart Fan technology keeps the motherboard cooler while playing games on higher clock speed. The only downside to this motherboard is that does not have more PCIe x16 slots to SLI or CrossFire GPUs.
4. ASRock B365M Phantom Gaming | Best Inexpensive Motherboard for the Money
Key Specs
- LGA 1151
- SATA3 & USB 3.1 Support
- x2 M.2 SSD Slot
- MicroATX
- x4 DDR4 DIMM Slots
- SLI/CrossFire Support
ASRock B365M Phantom motherboard is truly meant for gamers who are tight on budget when building a gaming PC. The Micro ATX form factor lets you fit this motherboard in a small form factor case without any problem.
Apart from being its SFF design, this motherboard comes with dual M.2, four DIMM slots, and SLI/CrossFire support. It is an ideal gaming motherboard under $70 with the taste of high-end gaming features.
Although you can toss in two GPUS at the same time to boost gaming performance, there are still downsides associated with this motherboard. This motherboard doesn’t have enough room to overclock your CPU to max speeds.
ASRock B365M Phantom is for the budget gamers who want to spend less on motherboards and more on other gaming peripherals.
5. ASRock H370M Pro4
Key Specs
- Socket LGA 1151
- Micro ATX
- 10 Phase Voltage Regulator
- x2 PCIe x16
- 3 Years Warranty
- x4 DIMM DDR4 Slots
- x2 USB 3.1 Gen2 & Gen1
With the ASRock H370M Pro 4, gamers can have more freedom to enjoy the high-end features of a true gaming motherboard. Furthermore, with extra DIMM slots and USB 3.1 Gen 1 and slots, you get more access to fast data transfer ports.
With more connectivity options, you can hook up 8th and 9th CPUs on this motherboard without any problem. We tested this motherboard with i9 9900K CPU for gaming, and the results were amazing. You can install any high-end gaming CPU on this board and overclock that for better performance.
Furthermore, you can install two graphics cards at the same time on this motherboard. So in terms of gaming, this gaming board is reliable by all means.
The Bottom Line
Well, these were some of the best cheap motherboards for gaming at the moment. We highly recommend you to go for the Z490 chipset due to its compatibility with 10th generation CPUs from Intel.
It is obvious that the Intel CPUs in the coming year will not support the older LGA 1150/51 socket, so this is the time to stick with the cheap Z490 motherboards if you are a gamer.
If you are not a fan of the latest 10th generation chips, you can choose the Z370 or Z390 gaming motherboards to install older CPUs. Z370 chips are cheaper as compared to the Z390, but lack some extra features. The Z390 chipset lies on a sweet spot between Z370 and Z490 at the moment. So, it is worth going for the Z390 gaming motherboards to save money for building a gaming PC.
