Best Micro ATX Motherboards In 2023 – Top 7 Rated Reviews

If you want to combine affordability and flexibility, the best micro ATX motherboards are a perfect choice. Being a bit smaller than the usual ATX motherboards, they will also save you a bit of money, without having to sacrifice too many bells and whistles. But, we understand that the micro-ATX might not suit everyone.

However…

No matter if you are on a budget or if you are looking to build a high-end gaming system, a micro-ATX is a great place to start, especially when you are building a smaller gaming rig.

In general, micro-ATX boards come in two versions. Ones that are compatible with Intel’s graphic cards and ones that are compatible with AMD’s cards. Today, you can find hundreds of different boards to choose from. They range from everything from cutting-edge, over-the-top boards to the beloved, slightly older models.

Which should you choose?

No matter if you want to spend your money on a brand new high-end card or if you are opting for a budget version, we have an outstanding choice for you in today’s review.

So, let’s g through them and find the best mATX motherboards your money can buy…

Top 7 Best Micro ATX Motherboards In 2023 Reviews

1 MSI B450M Gaming Plu – Best Mid Range Micro ATX Motherboard

Specifications

The MSI B450M is a great board that offers a lot at an excellent price for any PC builder. As a matter of fact, the entire production line of MSI Gaming plus boards is affordable, reliable boards. Even though they fall a little short compared to the cutting-edge boards, they are nowhere near outdated, rather the opposite. And the B450M Gaming Plus will handle and support almost every component that you throw at it.

Not very fancy, but who cares?

The board itself isn’t very fancy with features like extreme lighting or anything like that, but it does have a pleasant red and black color scheme, which is not a very uncommon theme for MSI products. The colors might not match with all builds, but they are subtle and won’t scream from inside the case. Most LED components will outshine it anyway.

There are, however, a couple of factors you need to be aware of though…

There is an unfortunate lack of space on this board, especially with the air coolers. You need to make sure that your CPU cooler actually fits with all your other components before buying the board.

The A4 socket has a very good overclocking potential, even though it can be a little tricky. The chipset is the AMD B450. It’s really nothing extraordinary, but it does what it is supposed to do. The B450M supports DDR4-3466 and has two memory slots for a total capacity of 32 GB of RAM.

Connections…

Four SATA 3.0 ports are more than enough, so you never have to worry about running out of hard drive space. In addition, it also has four USB 3.0 ports, which is pretty impressive too, considering the small size of the board. Six fan headers to which you can connect your cooling fans make for excellent cooling, no matter which method you choose.

Other connections include one HDMI port and one DVI port, but unfortunately no DisplayPort, since there just isn’t enough room.

Our Verdict?

A great choice for anyone who wants a quality micro-ATX board. It is both affordable and offers great performance through the AMD chipset. The only real downside is the size, but if want to build a small gaming system, then this is a great choice.

2 MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC – Best Premium Micro ATX Motherboard

Specifications

Another great option from MSI is the Z390M Gaming Edge AC. This is MSI’s version of a high-quality, all-rounded board. It looks amazing, and at the same time, it won’t break the bank. It is not very cheap, but not overly expensive as well. It is somewhere in-between top-tier boards and budget boards.

Looks like a sports car…

The Z390M looks nothing like a budget card. The board’s black and silver colors make it look sleek, and it is decked out in LEDs. It kind of reminds us of an expensive sports car but at an incredibly lower price. To impress even further, it comes with two GPU slots and Wi-fi, which will suit any dedicated gamer.

Some serious overclocking abilities…

It also has, on top of all that, some serious overclocking abilities. But make sure you have a good cooling system if you decide to overclock it because this board can get very hot. If you plan to overclock it a significant amount, you should consider buying a liquid cooler. Yes, it will add to the cost, but it will increase the performance and keep things nice and cool.

The Z390M is a perfect example of how a micro-ATX board can deliver on both features and performance, despite the small size.

Our verdict?

If you are in the market for a micro-ATX card, this is an extremely good option. It is perfect if you want a smaller card without having to compromise on functions. It is quite amazing how MSI managed to fit all the ports and features on to this micro-ATX board.

If you are a dedicated gamer, who wants a small motherboard, there aren’t much better options than the Z390M. It is top-quality and gives excellent performance.

3 EVGA X299 Micro ATX – Best Rated Micro ATX Motherboard

Specifications

A high-end luxury board…

If you are looking for a high-quality, extreme performance, modern motherboard, you don’t have to look any further. Except for the Taichi X399M, the EVGA X299 is the highest performer in our review. EVGA has improved this micro-ATX to new heights. Improved cooling for a higher overclocking potential is just one of the amazing features on this board.

Impressive feature list…

The feature list is almost as long as Santa’s list. But compared to the MSI Z390M, there is a significant lack of ports. No HDMI, no DisplayPort, no USB-C, to name a few. Since it is a high-end motherboard, the price is pretty steep, but considering that it is a luxury board, the price is quite reasonable. The massive feature list and high quality make it worth its price.

Up to 128 GB of ram…

EVGA even managed to make this micro-ATX support multiple graphics cards as well, which is perfect for dedicated gamers. It’s a real powerhouse with the Intel i9 CPU. Four memory slots make it possible to run 128 GB of RAM, which is really impressive for a micro-ATX board! Of course, they had to compromise on the ports because they simply ran out of space.

But are they one of the Best Micro ATX Motherboards you can buy?

We have to admit that this is the perfect balance between features and extreme power. It is capable of pure performance that will make anyone jump with joy. Superior cooling and an impressive VRM just adds to the excellence of this card. The price is pretty high compared to other micro-ATX boards but, if you are a dedicated gamer, this might just be the board you have been looking for.

4 ASRock X399M Taichi – Best Value Micro ATX Motherboard for the Money

Specifications

EVGA X299’s big brother…

Like we mentioned above, the only real competitor to the EVGA X299 is the ASRock X399M Taichi. You might even say that this is the big brother to the X299, which is true in terms of both luxury and price. Even though this is by far the most expensive micro-ATX board in our lineup, it is also jam-packed with features.

Also capable of 128 GB of RAM…

Both the X299 and the Taichi are capable of 128 RAM. But what really sets the two boards apart is that the X399 has three PCIe connections! You will probably never fit three graphics cards on this board, but the option is there. Now even if you don’t use three GPUs, it gives you a number of options that you can use them for instead.

No visual connections…

Just like the X299, it doesn’t have any visual connections unless they are really well hidden. We couldn’t find any HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPorts. So, if you want to plug directly into the motherboard, you have to use USB-to-X chords to connect your monitor.

Supports Threadripper CPUs…

This is also one of the only micro-ATX boards available that support AMD’s Threadripper CPUs. So, if that is what you have your eyes set on along with a micro-ATX board, this is definitely going to be the board of your choice.

Our verdict?

We couldn’t get enough of testing this board. It is just superior to everything else. The price might be a little too high to actually make you feel comfortable to buy it, but if you do, you will not regret it.

Excellent performance all around, but just like the X299, the card can get a bit hot, so consider an AIO cooling system to go with the X399. This is, without a doubt, the best micro-ATX board we have tested.

5 MSI B450M Pro-M2 MAX – Best Budget Micro ATX Motherboard

Specifications

MSI’s B450 boards are all great…

MSI’s lineup of B450 boards is both exceptional and filled with high-performing boards. Both of the B450 boards that we have reviewed today reflect this. Just like the Gaming Plus that we reviewed earlier, the PRO-M2 is an excellent combination of flavor and effects. Even though it is very much like the Gaming Plus, it has a few features that stood out to us. And those are actually what makes this board worth looking at.

A good all-around gaming board…

This is one of the best all-around gaming boards that we have tested. The M2 is available in two versions. The V2 and the MAX. We have reviewed the MAX since it seems to have fewer issues than the V2, but the V2 is less expensive. Therefore, the V2 could be worth looking at if you don’t want to spend too much.

We think that the reason for the price difference could either be that the Max is more in-demand or the fact that they are no longer being manufactured and are simply rarer.

Not the common red and black…

Anyway, if you aren’t a big fan of the red and black colors that are usually used on MSI products, you might like this one better. This is much more subtle and is grey and black. So, this might be a better match if you aren’t using red colors in your build.

Our verdict?

Like we said earlier, the B450M Pro-M2 MAX is a great all-around board for gamers. It is both affordable, even though not cheap, and is an excellent performing board. The color scheme is subtle and will probably suit most PC builders better. It doesn’t have a lot of flashy lighting either, which makes it a great choice if your other components are packed with LEDs.

6 MSI H310M Gaming Plus – Best Value mATX Motherboard for the Money

Specifications

A little older than the Gaming Plus…

The MSI H310M is, unlike the B450 PRO we just reviewed, the little brother to the Gaming Plus. The biggest difference is that it is based on Intel instead of AMD. The H310M is a little older than the Gaming Plus, even though they were still both released in the same year.

But, instead of being outdated, it was built as a lightweight, budget-friendly board instead. This is the cheapest of all the boards we have reviewed, and you will have to sacrifice some of the performance to save money if you choose this card.

A little lacking in terms of features…

Even though the price is really low, and it is a bit lacking compared to other micro-ATX boards, it still delivers everything you really need in order to build an excellent budget system. It is available in a number of versions, so look carefully at which of the versions suits you before buying.

Are they the one of Best Micro ATX Motherboards currently on the market?

There really isn’t much more to say about the M310M other than that it’s a great choice if you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a motherboard. It will perform exactly to the standards that you pay for, and even though it is reliable, it may make you regret your choice if you are looking for a high-performing board.

7 GIGABYTE GA-AB350M-DS3H – Best Budget mATX Motherboard

Specifications

The Gigabyte AB350M-DS3H is the last micro-ATX board in this review. Even though it is a slightly older card than its competitors, it still performs well. It still comes with a lot of great features, even if it is not the youngest card in the bunch.

Two of the main features being the four memory slots, giving you up to 64 GB of RAM, and the two PCIe x 16 slots. This actually allows you to max out the board’s performance in reasonably short order. A beautiful LED strip is attached to the board as well.

More like the X370 chipset…

Despite being a 350 board, it is actually more comparable to the X370 chipset, performance-wise, that is. You can overclock it as well. A more surprising thing we noticed was that, even though it has ports available for it, it doesn’t support the NVidias NVLink or SLI. This seems pretty odd. The lack of USB Type-C is also a downside, but not enough to discourage anyone from buying it.

The AB350M is just like the MSI B250 Pro series, a little bit overpriced, but if you should find it on sale or at a low price somewhere, don’t hesitate to buy it.

Our verdict?

The performance isn’t that great on the AB350M. Also, considering that it is a budget version of a micro-ATX, it is slightly overpriced, in our opinion. And there are a couple of better options available, at the same price.

All in all, it is a decent board, which doesn’t try to punch above its pay grade. It has a fair number of features, and the value you get for your money is decent as well. It is a great choice for anyone who wants to build a decent gaming system without spending too much money.

Best Micro ATX Motherboards Buying Guide

Micro-ATX boards, or mATX as they are also known, are usually very small and measure only 244 x 244 mm. The mATX is often used by those who want to build a portable entertainment PC or a small office build. One thing that is typical for the micro-ATX, is that it usually only supports four expansion cards.

The two brands…

Just like we mentioned in the beginning, the two main CPU manufacturers are Intel and AMD. All micro-ATX boards support either one or the other. Neither of them actually manufactures the boards themselves anymore; they simply design the chipsets.

When buying a micro-ATX board, you should always look at the chipset. What kind of CPU socket does it use? Both Intel and AMD regularly update their socket designs, so upgrading to a new CPU may mean that you have to upgrade the motherboard as well. So, always be sure that you know which CPUs your micro-ATX supports. Also, keep in mind that both Intel and AMD always use different sockets.

What Is The Chipset?

A chipset is basically a group of chips and components on the motherboard that is connected to the processor. Most processors from Intel and AMD are designed for a specific chipset.

If you are uncertain which chipset you should choose, you could always choose the processor that is recommended for the chipset on your micro-ATX board. In some cases, the older chipset will work with newer processors and vice versa, but this isn’t always the case.

The number of PCIe slots is important…

The number of PCIe slots on an mATX is usually limited to four because of the small size of the board. So, make sure your build doesn’t need any more slots than that. If you should need more slots, you can always buy an ATX or E-ATX board instead.

It is also very important that you know what configuration the slots have. They come in four different sizes that are based on the transfer rate, X1, x4, x8, and x16. Make sure that the micro-ATX you want has enough slots as well as the correct configuration. You don’t want to end up with an x8 slot if your GPU requires an x16 slot.

Multiple graphics cards…

If you are planning to use multiple graphics cards, you want to choose an mATX that supports Nvidia SLI or AMD Crossfire. Because even if your micro-ATX has the correct number of PCIe slots, without the support of SLI or crossfire, you might not be able to use both ports for GPUs. The only board that didn’t support this in our review was the Gigabyte AB350M-DS3H, even though it had ports available for it.

Last but not least…

You want to choose a micro-ATX that supports DDR4. This is usually determined by the chipset. Since the amount of RAM that you can use is limited by the number of memory slots, you need to make sure that the board you want has more than one.

All the ones that we reviewed had that. Some even had four slots, which makes them upgradeable to 128 GB of RAM. As we have mentioned in other reviews, 16 GB is sufficient for most games, but 32 GB is recommended. Anything above that is just a huge plus.

Looking For More Gaming Goodness?

Then check out our comprehensive Best Budget Gaming Chairs Under 200 Reviews, our Best CPU For Gaming Reviews, our Best Gaming Glasses Reviews, and our Best Network Switches For Gaming Review.

Also, be sure to take a look at our Best Budget Gaming Headset Reviews, our Best Expensive Gaming Keyboards Review, our Best Gaming Desks Review, and our reviews of the Best Gaming Monitors Under 200 dollars on the market in 2023.

Which Are The Best Micro ATX Motherboards?

Having been fortunate enough to test some of the best mATX boards available, the decision about which one is the best does not come easy. They all have something special to offer, but there are some key factors you want to consider as well, the price being one.

There is no use to even look at a board that is out of your budget. But if you have the money to spend, you should go with either the…

EVGA X299 Micro ATX or the ASRock X399M Taichi

Both are amazing boards with high-end features and a performance that is almost out of this world. If you don’t want to spend that amount of cash on the motherboard, we would recommend the…

MSI B450M Gaming Plus

This is also a great micro-ATX with a friendlier price. Both performance and quality are excellent, which is more than enough to satisfy most PC users. If you still think it is too much money for an mATX board, we would go with the Gigabyte AB350M-DS3H. A great board that offers good solid performance.

Happy gaming!