The Best Motherboards Under $250

It runs only LGA1851 processors, not older 12th to 14th Gen chips. It matches the B850 Tomahawk MAX and the Z890 Tomahawk II on M.2 slot count (4). It matches the PRO X870-P, the B850 Tomahawk MAX and the Z890 Tomahawk II on wired network speed (5Gbps).

Like the Z890 Tomahawk II, it has an LGA1851 socket, while the B850 Tomahawk MAX uses an AM5 socket. You also get a PCIe 5.0 graphics slot and M.2 heatsinks on every slot. Check the manual for which M.2 slots share lanes with SATA ports or the second PCIe slot before filling them all. It was priced above the X670E Gaming Plus and below the PRO X870-P at the time of writing.

Three M.2 slots are one fewer than the pricier X870 boards. On M.2 slot count it trails the group at 3, while the Z890 Tomahawk offers 4. On wired network speed it ties with the Z890 Tomahawk, the B850 Tomahawk MAX and the Z890 Tomahawk II at 5Gbps.

It shares an AM5 socket with the B850 Tomahawk MAX and X670E Gaming Plus; the Z890 Tomahawk II goes with an LGA1851 socket. No other pick in this guide offers an X870 chipset; compare the Z890 Tomahawk II, which has a Z890 chipset. It also offers a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and Bluetooth 5.4 alongside Wi-Fi 7. On price it sat third of 5, between the cheaper Z890 Tomahawk and the pricier B850 Tomahawk MAX, at the time of writing.

It is the board to start from unless you need something specific. On M.2 slot count it ties with the Z890 Tomahawk and the Z890 Tomahawk II at 4. On wired network speed it ties with the Z890 Tomahawk, the PRO X870-P and the Z890 Tomahawk II at 5Gbps.

It shares an AM5 socket with the PRO X870-P and X670E Gaming Plus; the Z890 Tomahawk II goes with an LGA1851 socket. It also offers a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot with Steel Armor and a rear USB 20Gbps Type-C port. It uses AMD's AM5 socket, so it takes Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 chips; a board built before a CPU's launch may need a BIOS update first, so check whether it supports BIOS Flashback. Its price falls between the PRO X870-P and the Z890 Tomahawk II, based on our last check.

On the spec sheet, it offers a 4 M.2 slot count and offers a 5Gbps wired network speed. Its four M.2 slots include one Gen5 x4, and 7W/mK thermal pads cool the MOSFETs. It matches the Z890 Tomahawk and the B850 Tomahawk MAX on M.2 slot count (4).

It matches the Z890 Tomahawk, the PRO X870-P and the B850 Tomahawk MAX on wired network speed (5Gbps). Like the Z890 Tomahawk, it has an LGA1851 socket, while the X670E Gaming Plus uses an AM5 socket. A Z890 chipset is unique to it among these picks, while the X670E Gaming Plus uses an X670E chipset.

It uses Intel's LGA1851 socket for Core Ultra 200S processors, not older 12th to 14th Gen chips. Check the manual for which M.2 slots share lanes with SATA ports or the second PCIe slot before filling them all. At our last price check it topped the group, with the B850 Tomahawk MAX the nearest cheaper option.

It trades extras for the X670E chipset's PCIe 5.0 lanes. On wired network speed it trails the group at 2.5Gbps, while the Z890 Tomahawk offers 5Gbps. A wi-Fi 6E is unique to it among these picks, while the PRO X870-P uses a wi-Fi 7.

It shares an AM5 socket with the PRO X870-P and B850 Tomahawk MAX; the Z890 Tomahawk II goes with an LGA1851 socket. No other pick in this guide offers an X670E chipset; compare the PRO X870-P, which has an X870 chipset. It also offers Bluetooth 5.3 alongside Wi-Fi 6E.

It uses AMD's AM5 socket, so it takes Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 chips; a board built before a CPU's launch may need a BIOS update first, so check whether it supports BIOS Flashback. It undercut the Z890 Tomahawk and every other pick on price at the time of writing. The maker doesn't give its M.2 slot count; if that figure matters, the Z890 Tomahawk offers 4.