Best motherboards for Intel Core i5-12600K 2021
Best
motherboard for Core i5-12600K
Windows Central
2021
You don’t need to go all-out with an incredibly expensive motherboard for the Intel Core i5-12600K since it doesn’t require an overkill power delivery design but can take advantage of high-quality components and DDR5 support. We’ve compiled a list of only the best motherboards for this processor.
Best overall:
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming
Staff pick
Runner-up:
MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI
Best performance:
ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero
Best budget:
MSI PRO Z690-A
Best DDR4:
ASRock Z690 Steel Legend
Best ITX:
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming WiFi
Choosing the best motherboard
You can’t go wrong with choosing a motherboard for the Core i5-12600K. It’s a 10-core processor with fairly low requirements, meaning you can get away with a budget motherboard and even push the chip a little further than factory settings. The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming is our go-to board for this processor, thanks to its impressive power setup and feature list.
If that’s a little too much and you won’t find yourself using DDR4 RAM, which will add yet more additional cost to the upgrade, there’s always the budget-friendly MSI PRO Z690-A. This would be a match made in heaven should you already have DDR4 RAM modules available and wish to cut down on waste.
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