Computer Shopper - UK (2021-01)

ISSUE395|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2021 43

01

It’sessentialthatyoubuytheright

typeofmotherboardforyour

processor.For example,Intel’s Skylake,

Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake processors all

use the same LGA 1151 socket, but because

each CPU generation introduced new

chipsets, you’ll need to get aZ370

motherboard foraCoffee Lake chip,aZ270

boardfor aKabyLakechip and so on.

02

All current Intel processors have

built-in graphics chipsets, so if you

want to useyour chip’s built-in graphics,

make sure the motherboard has the

video outputs, such as DVI, HDMI and

DisplayPort. If youwant to playthe latest

games, you’ll need to fit adedicated

graphics card in the motherboard’s PCI

Choosingan... Intelmotherboard

Express x16 slot, although this mayblock

one of your other slots.

03

Normal tower cases can accommodate

ATXmotherboards, which provide the

most expansion slots. AmicroATX

motherboard will let you build your PC in a

smaller case,but if you opt foramicroATX

board, make sure it has all the features you

need built in as there won’t be much room

forexpansion cards.

04

If you want to install lots of

expansion cards, look fora

motherboard that offers plenty of PCI and

PCI-E x1 slots. Some motherboards also

have PCI Express x4 slots and extra PCI

Express x16 slots. PCI Express x1 and x4

cards also work in PCI Express x16 slots.

If you need alot of storage,amotherboard

with plenty of SATA2and SATA3ports is

essential. SATA2isfine foroptical drives

and hard disks, but to make the most of an

SSD you need SATA3.

05

All motherboards have built-in audio

chipsets, but some support only 5.1

surround sound rather than 7.1. If you’re

connecting to older surround-sound

amplifiers that don’t have HDMI, look for

an optical or coaxial S/PDIF output. All

motherboards have Ethernet ports and most

have the faster Gigabit version. Youmay also

find it useful to buy aboard with built-in

Wi-Fi so you don’t have to useupaUSB

port or PCI slot with an adaptor.

COMPONENTS

AMD Ryzen93 9 00X

★★★★★

£440•www.scan.co.uk

AMD Ryzen73 7 00X

★★★★★

£284•www.amzn.to/2nFtHMC

Forget the Intel Core

i9-9900K –this 12-core

monster ofaCPU performs far better

forsimilar money.There is adrawback, in that it’s not very

overclocking-friendly,but that’s partly because it’s so fast to begin

with. Pair it with some good RAM, and you’re already most of the

waytoacapable home workstation.

This octa-core chip has all

the single-core strength of the

Ryzen 93900X,with mutlitasking

power that still puts it well beyond its Intel rivals. Lowpricing and

power efficiency areadditional highlights: the Ryzen 73700X only

draws up to 65W,atiny amount forthis many cores.

SOCKETAM4•CORES (^12) • FREQUENCY 3 .8GHz•INTEGRATEDGRAPHICSNone•WARRANTYTwo
yearsRTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODE 100 -1 00000023 BOX•FULLREVIEWNov 2019
SOCKETAM4•CORES (^8) • FREQUENCY3.6GHz•INTEGRATEDGRAPHICSNone•
WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODE100-100000071BOX•
FULLREVIEWDec 2019
GIGABYTEZ4 90 AorusMaster
★★★★★
£375•www.ebuyer.com
If you can afford tosplash
out on ahigh-end motherboard
forIntel’s 10th-gen chips, it should
be this one.The Z490 Aorus Master has all the features
and overclocking capability of itsrivals, and is better designed.
PROCESSORSOCKETLGA1200•DIMENSIONS305x244mm•CHIPSETIntelZ490•MEMORY
SLOTS (^4) • PCI-Ex16SLOTS (^3) • PCI-Ex1SLOTS (^0) • PCISLOTS (^0) • USBPORTS4x USB2, 2x USB3,
3x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C•VIDEOOUTPUTS1x HDMI•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILS
http://www.gigabyte.com•PARTCODEZ490 AorusMaster•FULLREVIEWOct2020
ASUS ROGStrixFlare
★★★★★
£153•www.novatech.co.uk
Besides being a
comfortable and
responsive gaming keyboard,
thanks to its reliable Cherry MX Redswitches, the ROG Strix Flare
is loaded with useful features and extras: there’s aset of dedicated
media controls and aUSB2 pass-through port, among others.
KEYBOARDSHAPEFull size•NUMBERPADYes•CONNECTION1x USB2•MEDIAKEYSPause/
play,mute, skip,volume•USBPORTS2x USB2•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.
asus.com/uk•PARTCODE90MP000MO-BOEA00•FULLREVIEWOct2019
AMD RadeonRX 5700
★★★★★
£334•shop.amd.com
NZXT KrakenX53
★★★★★
£120•www.scan.co.uk
AMD’s 7nm GPU is cheaper
than the GeForce RTX 2060
and the RTX 2060 Super,yet is
just as comfortable with gaming at 1080p and 1440p.This price only
seems toapply for the reference design rather than partner versions,
but the blower-style cooler is the only real downside.
Not only is the Kraken X53 one ofthe most effective
AIO watercoolers out there,it’s also among the
easiest to install and the easiest to customise.
It works with lots of different Intel and AMD sockets too, so you
can upgrade older PC builds as well as newer ones.
GPUAMDRadeon RX 5700•MEMORY8GBGDDR6•GRAPHICSCARDLENGTH268mm•
WARRANTYOneyear RTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODERadeon RX 5700•
FULLREVIEWOct2019
TECHNOLOGYClosedloop•FANS2x 120mm•SOCKETIntelLGA 2066/2011-3/2011/1151/1150/
1155/1156/1366, AMDAM4/TR4 (TR4 requires separate bracket)•RADIATORDIMENSIONS
(NOFAN)123x275x30mm•WARRANTYSixyears RTB•DETAILSwww.nzxt.com•PARTCODE
RL-KRX53-01•FULLREVIEWMay2020

0

er

0

yetis

i ly

X 53 fth t ff ti

usMaster

oard

tshould

thefeatures