Best Micro ATX Motherboards For Gaming

Micro ATX or mATX is a small factor on motherboards, perfect for any build. Whether you have a spacious or a small case, micro ATX always wins as it can it itself anywhere. There are variables everywhere. It means, there are both good and not bad motherboards of this small factor. And researching & searching before buying one is always the mandatory procedure. 

Without a motherboard, your precious build will be incomplete, you should choose wisely while picking up the right one for you. A well-built, well-performing, and satisfying featured motherboard should be that one. However, you should also see if the motherboard can connect and be compatible with other components of your PC. There are only a couple of the best Micro ATX motherboards for gaming in the market for their budget-friendly option and outstanding performance. The best ones always serve impressively in gaming and some other factors as well.

Our Recommendations

Model	Socket	Price
EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2	LGA2066	Check Price
MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC	LGA1151	Check Price
MSI Pro Series B250 Pro-VDH	LGA1151	Check Price
Asus ROG Maximus XI Gene Z390	LGA1151	Check Price
Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming	LGA1151	Check Price
MSI H310M Gaming Plus	LGA1151	Check Price

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EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2

EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2 along with the LGA2066 socket is suitable for the Core i9 CPUs. X299 includes fourteen power phases VRMS with a heatsink along with a small fan that is used for the fastest power supply. This small motherboard will also give you better performance with stable features.

Though it is not the latest or newest, it works just as it described. The performance ratio matched up with the price and the value is satisfactory as well. It is like a small pack, a huge success.

Specification

Motherboard	EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2
Form Factor	M-ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	4000 MHZ
DIMM Slots	4
MAX MEMORY	128 GB
SATA III Ports	6
M.2 Slots	1
Total PCIe Slots	3

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: EVGA X299 has been updated with a sky boost overclocking feature. Even overclocking of the fastest Core i9 CPUs isn’t of any problem. It also includes M.2 NVMe, 8 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, 6 SATA 6Gb/s, onboard LAN options, and most importantly dual-band intel Wi-Fi+Bluetooth. It also has 6 x 4-pin PWM fan headers that have a maximum power limit of 12 volts. Moreover, you can even flash your BIOS with no installed CPU, using a USB dongle.

Downsides: As it has only one M.2 PCI-e slot, there seem to have some heating problems.

Final Thoughts

With its super VRMs and cooling design, it has won many hearts. It is worth its price. All of the mobos have some defects and there aren’t any perfect amongst them. You can choose this if you want to have a new experience of pure performance.

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MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC

MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC is probably the most chosen Micro ATX because of its wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. However, its voltage regulator cooling only is sufficient for Core i9-9900K at stock speed. This mobo is easy to build. However, it has a bit of a problem with the RGB feature. Overall, it is stable and has good performances to offer.

It is the best Z390 mATX motherboard if you are building a Z390 featured build. It has easy to spot and well-designed layout. Moreover, the UEFI BIOS is easy to figure out and has easy settings.

Specification

Motherboard	MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC
Form Factor	M-ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	4500 MHZ
DIMM Slots	4
MAX MEMORY	128 GB
SATA III Ports	4
M.2 Slots	2
Total PCIe Slots	4

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: MPG Z390M is of an elegant look with some excellent features such as dual M.2 slots, 4 SATA III slots, front USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, 6 USB ports that are capable of speed up to 10Gbps transfer data, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, and Bluetooth connectivity, etc. MSI MPG Z390M box importantly includes 2 SATA cables, a snap-in IO shield, and an RGB LED splitter Cable. An additional 4-pin connector is great for overclocking.

Downsides: You’ll lose two of your six SATA ports if your M.2 slots are populated. The slot arrangement of Z390M Gaming Edge AC is only adequate for 2 double-slot cards at max.

Final Thoughts

Along with good build quality, MSI MPG Z390M is also a DIY-friendly board. This budget-friendly motherboard is one of the most attractive and full-featured mATX that you can find. Many of the users complained about the RGB feature but it was solved within a time.

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MSI Pro Series B250 Pro-VDH

MSI B250 Pro VDH is a decent Micro ATX board that is also called the KabyLake motherboard as it supports the new Kaby lake series. Due to its budget, it has some missing points but this is pretty acceptable in all other aspects. Also, there is plenty of room for upgrading it later.

It has got good quality materials and offers stable performance. Moreover, it is easy to install and easy to work with. The overall look of the B250 Pro-VDH is stylish and simple.

Specification

Motherboard	MSI Pro Series B250 Pro-VDH
Form Factor	M-ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	2400 MHZ
DIMM Slots	4
MAX MEMORY	64 GB
SATA III Ports	6
M.2 Slots	1
Total PCIe Slots	3

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: MSI Pro Series B250 Pro-VDH has a DDR4 boost that gives the DDR4 memory a higher performance. Its one and only M.2 slot can deliver speeds Up to 32Gb/s. B250 also has a reliable UEFI BIOS solution. In addition to these B250 VDH includes 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 (Type- A+C), 2 frontal USB 3.1 ports, and 6 SATA ports, etc. Moreover, it has 4 RAM slots along with PCIe slots which means you can put a good amount of power into it.

Downsides: Having only 2 PWM fans, it occurred to disappoint many of the buyers. Also, the IO shield feels cheap and it wouldn’t line up because of the metal prongs. It would have been better if the LED wasn’t placed at the end of the board as it can’t be seen because of the case and PCIe cards.

Final Thoughts

As an MSI member, it is also DIY friendly. Rather than having some of the problems, it works really great. IO, LAN, and other features are also quite decent for their price point.

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Asus ROG Maximus XI Gene Z390

It has become an old myth about Micro ATX being budget-friendly/cheap. But Asus completely changed the concept by making this high-end XI Gene Z390. Yes, the price is super crazy but you’ll get some features worthy of your price. With a high build quality, it also supports decent overclocking. The visual of this motherboard is great as expected of ASUS.

Specification

Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus XI Gene Z390
Form Factor	M-ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	4800 MHZ
DIMM Slots	2
MAX MEMORY	64 GB
SATA III Ports	4
M.2 Slots	4
Total PCIe Slots	2

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: Maximus XI Gene Z390 includes dual DIMM slots (can install up to 64GB), 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 and 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 expansion slots, 4 SATA 6Gb/s, 4 M.2 slots, 4 USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type- A+C), Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/ Bluetooth, 2 RGB/LED headers and 1 Gigabit LAN controller. There is a USB 3.1 Gen2 connector port at the front panel. The double capacity DIMM has an optimized memory layout of dual 32GB. This premium mobo is also pretty good at OC- capabilities and VRM cooling system.

Downsides: One of the major problems is the PCIe x16 will drop to x8 mode if you enable CPU storage. Though there are 4 SATA ports, there is no legacy of SATA M.2 support. Furthermore, it doesn’t support dual graphics.

Final Thoughts

In a simple way, this is very expensive while being a beast motherboard. There are not many options for intel motherboards and ROG Maximus XI Gene Z390 is absolutely best for this chipset. Asus put a lot of effort into it but they have left behind some features. However, This one is for those who have a great budget for a motherboard.

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Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming

Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming is the last one in our chart. It is a very nice system motherboard with a 2-way crossfire multi graphics system. This one is above average. Yet, we wanted to keep it here because some of the features of Z390 M are really great.

Specification

Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming
Form Factor	M-ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	4266 MHZ
DIMM Slots	4
MAX MEMORY	128 GB
SATA III Ports	6
M.2 Slots	2
Total PCIe Slots	4

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: Firstly, it has four fan headers- one is CPU fan header and the other 3 are system fan headers. Moreover, it features 10+2 power phases, PCIe expansion slots, dual M.2 slots, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 ports (Type A and C), 6 SATA Gbps ports, 4 DIMM slots, and RGB lighting effects that support in full color. Z390 M also has an excellent onboard network adapter.

Downsides: The BIOS of this board and also the software doesn’t feel like professionals and is hard to use but they work just fine. You may find some problems while setting it up.

Final Thoughts

There aren’t many things about this motherboard that we need to say specifically. Though we said that this is above average, you can’t deny its benefits. It has ultra-durability and some other excellent features to draw you near it.

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MSI H310M Gaming Plus

If you don’t care about overclocking and just want to have an mATX mobo while saving money, H310M is the one for you. MSI H310M Gaming Plus is a blessing to those who are on a tight budget and don’t really care about the overclocking feature. This one’s look is also the same as other MSI Gaming Plus motherboards- Black and Red themed.

Specification

Motherboard	MSI H310M Gaming Plus
Form Factor	M – ATX
Maximum Memory Speed	2666 MHZ
DIMM Slots	2
MAX MEMORY	32 GB
SATA III Ports	4
M.2 Slots	1
Total PCIe Slots	3

Key Features & Downsides

Key Features: H310M Gaming Plus supports DDR4 memory with 32 GB support that speeds up to 2666MHz, 4 SATA3 slots, 7 phase VRMs, a single M.2 slot, 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C along with LAN options. A single 8-pin EPS connector set at the top is the option of sending power to the CPU. Also, at the top the only 2 fan headers are located that can control DC and PWM type fans. Furthermore, there is this EZ Debug LED that lights up when there is a POST process. In addition to these features, there are several headers, an RGB header, additional USB headers, etc.

Downsides: Even if it runs well with USB 3.1 Gen1 at 5 Gbps speed, it would have been better with a USB Type of C port. Also, there aren’t any heatsinks for the 7-Phases VRM. Finally, only 2 fan headers have become a common feature between all of the Micro ATX boards.

Final Thoughts

MSI H310M Gaming Plus has been built for those enthusiasts and streamers who like to spend the major portion of their budget on CPU, Graphics Card, RAM, etc. This cheap yet great motherboard is awaiting your incomplete build.

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Closing Thought

There are so many features that we cannot choose a single motherboard hastily. If one is good with numerous USB, then another is good with its other features. Not every board is perfect. We have tried our best to mark out the main features of each of them and hope they can help you. Among them, EVGA X299 Micro ATX 2 is our picks. You can thoroughly think and choose them as you wish. Yet, if there is anything we’ve missed out or any mistake we made, please feel free to inform us through comments or you can Contact Us.

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