Best Motherboards for Photoshop

This entry has been published on April 25, 2021 and may be out of date.

Last Updated on November 15, 2022 by admin

Best Motherboards for PhotoshopWhen deciding on which motherboard will serve you best for your video editing, there are a couple of things in the form of motherboard features you should think about before making the purchase.

Firstly, when you think about the graphics card, especially if you intend on having multiple ones in your machine, you should consider getting a motherboard that is compatible with Crossfire for NVIDIA and SLI for AMD. Another point of consideration has to be the M.2 slots for your solid-state drive. Finally, the processor that comes with your machine is also critical; this is because depending on whether it is an AMD Ryzen processor or an Intel processor you will require different chipsets, i.e., the X470 and Z390 respectively.

Remember motherboards come in several form factors such as the common mini E-ATX and ITX or the more common ATX. Typically, most machines support multiple form factors, so you do not have to worry about knowing which one to purchase.

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Also, take note that some of the best motherboards in the market are designed for gaming and gamers, and just because something is cheap it does not necessarily translate to poor quality.

1.GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H

GIGABYTE AM4 motherboards are ready to support the latest AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Processors and are backwards compatible with AMD Ryzen™ 2000 and 1000 Processors.

With a rich list of features on GIGABYTE AM4 motherboards such as Ultra Durable™ Armor for PCIe/ memory slots, USB Type-C™ interfaces on select boards, refined audio quality, high speed Ethernet, and the latest standard WIFI design, GIGABYTE AM4 motherboards are perfect for users looking to build the best AMD platform systems.

GIGABYTE motherboards provide native 4K support with integrated AMD Radeon® Graphics via HDMI.

In addition, HDMI™ is compatible with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), allowing the playback of Blu-ray/HD DVD and other protected media content.

2.GIGABYTE B450M DS3H

GIGABYTE motherboards are ready to support the latest AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Processors and are backwards compatible with AMD Ryzen™ 4000, 3000, 2000 and 1000 Series Processors.

With a rich list of features on GIGABYTE motherboards such as Ultra Durable™ Armor for PCIe/ memory slots, USB Type-C™ interfaces on select boards, refined audio quality, high speed Ethernet, and the latest standard WIFI design on selected models, GIGABYTE motherboards are perfect for users looking to build the best AMD platform systems

Gigabyte B450M DS3H – 1.0 – motherboard – micro ATX – Socket AM4 – AMD B450 | B450M DS3H (rev. 1.0).

3.MSI Enthusiast

In case the name wasn’t a clue-and-a-half: This is no modest motherboard. MSI’s MEG Enthusiast is the company’s Intel Z490 flagship, competing directly with the likes of Asrock’s Z490 Taichi and Asus’Enthusiast Extreme in terms of both price and features. Enthusiast is the top-end chipset for Intel’s latest desktop CPUs, allowing for extensive CPU and memory tweaking.)

With an MSRP of , this deluxe motherboard certainly isn’t for the casual user or PC builder. But if money is no hurdle, and the aim is pushing a 10th Generation “Comet Lake” Core i9 or Core i7 to the limit, then this builder package is certainly worth considering. Fancy features such as an onboard OLED info/bling panel and an included M.2 SSD expansion card pump up the price, but this board rivals Asus’ offering for Z490 supremacy.

4.MSI MPG Z390

They’re a necessary means to an end for most PC gamers, and that’s fine. So long as a new motherboard does its job, doesn’t get in the way, and allows you to get the most out of the rest of your expensive PC hardware, that’s all you can ask.

Unless you’re planning on strapping a bunch of graphics cards together, along with an unwieldy RAID array, then most of us PC gamers can get by with a relatively modest motherboard as the base of their PC.

And that’s what MSI’s MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC is looking to offer. But, despite its relatively low price for a top-end chipset board, this MSI Z390 still has the sort of lengthy feature set you’d want for your gaming PC. What’s not to like?

5.MSI Performance

You won’t be running SLI on this board, but you might be tempted to use the second x16-length slot to feed a second card in a CrossFire array, though that would be in x4 mode through the chipset.

The three x1 slots are even more limited: Not only do they compete with everything else on the chipset for bandwidth, but the top x1 slot gets disabled whenever a card is detected in the second x1 slot.  And that automatic selection explains why we see only one PCIe pathway diverting switch on the entire board, behind the first PCIe x1 slot.

Builders hoping to use the money saved here to splurge on a case might want to hold back a little, as the MPG performance Gaming Plus has no Gen2 front-panel USB header. On the other hand, those retaining an old high-end case might appreciate that this board has two USB3 Gen1 front-panel headers.

6.GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Pro WIFI is one of three Falcon-inspired models from its Aorus branded product stack; what’s interesting is that there’s a total of just $25 between them. This includes the Z390 Aorus Pro  which is identical to the Pro WIFI, but without the WIFI, and the Z390 Aorus Elite .

What users consider to be gaming features can be perceived differently with manufacturers usually altering the design, branding and software bundle to set the gaming and non-gaming boards apart. Some of the core features of the Z390 Aorus Pro WIFI model include a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec, an Intel I219-V 1 GbE NIC and an Intel 9560 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi module.

GIGABYTE advertises the Z390 Aorus Pro WIFI to feature a 12+1 power delivery which is spearheaded by an Intersil ISL69138 PWM 7-phase controller. Cooling this is two solid heatsinks pieced together along a single heat pipe which is nestled neatly underneath the rear panel cover.

7.ASUS Prime Z590-A

ASUS has included plenty of connectivity options, including a USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. Networking options are limited to an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller, while an unspecified HD audio codec powers the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output. Users looking to benefit from Intel’s integrated HD graphics can do so with a pair of video outputs, including one DisplayPort and one HDMI.

The ASUS Prime Z590-A looks set to cost $336, which is where mid-ranged Z590 models are expected to sit. It offers a variety of features and premium controllers, including three M.2 slots, USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, and an Intel 2.5 GbE controller. It’s not a bad price, but pricing between the time of writing and release could differ slightly.

8.ASUS TUF B560M-PLUS

Both boards include one full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, one full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, and a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. For storage, there’s a pair of M.2 slots, including one PCIe 4.0 x4 and one with support for PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives.

In the bottom right-hand corner is six SATA ports, three with straight angled and three with right-angled connectors, with all available ports allowing for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. In the top right-hand corner is four memory slots, with support for DDR4-5000 and 128 GB of capacity.

Although we don’t have a clear image of the rear panel, we know both models include a Realtek RTL8125 2.5 GbE port, while the Wi-Fi version comes with an Intel-based Wi-Fi 6 CNVi.There arefive 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output powered by an unspecified Realtek HD audio codec.

In regards to USB, there’s one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C port and eight unspecified Type-A ports. ASUS has also included a pair of video outputs including one HDMI and one DisplayPort.

9.ASUS AM4 TUF X570-Plus

Asus’ TUF lineup has changed from the ultra-robust, heavy shielding it was known for in years past and has evolved more toward gaming-centric boards with protection on individual parts such as the PCIe and DIMM slots. ESD guards, additional surge protection measures and military-grade components are still a part of the TUF lineup, but the additional hardening went beyond what was necessary for most use cases.

These changes have made the Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus Wi-Fi the second-least-expensive board in the Asus X570 product stack just missing the mark to be  our best motherboards pick in the budget X570 category.

10.ASUS Tuf Plus AM4 AMD

Asus’ TUF lineup has changed from the ultra-robust, heavy shielding it was known for in years past and has evolved more toward gaming-centric boards with protection on individual parts such as the PCIe and DIMM slots. ESD guards, additional surge protection measures and military-grade components are still a part of the TUF lineup, but the additional hardening went beyond what was necessary for most use cases.

These changes have made the Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus Wi-Fi the second-least-expensive board in the Asus X570 product stack just missing the mark to be our best motherboards pick in the budget X570 category.

Best Motherboards for Photoshop – BUYER’S GUIDE

Photoshop

Developed by Adobe, Photoshop is easily the most broadly used and recognizable photo editing and graphic design software on the market. It boasts intuitive design, deep capabilities, universal compatibility, and extensive support. Any professionals or aspiring professionals would do well to start here, unless deterred by the recurring cost.

Photoshop is available in a bundled subscription with Lightroom for $119.88 per year from Adobe’s website.

Paintshop Pro

Developed by Corel, Paintshop Pro is a professional-grade photo editing and graphic design software. It boasts a similar set of features to Adobe Photoshop, but due to it being less well-known and less broadly-used in professional communities, it is available cheaper and does not require a subscription. This lack of a recurring cost makes it desirable for people new to photo editing as well as small-team or freelance workers. But those intending to transition into a larger or established graphic design company or position may need to make use of Photoshop.

A single-user commercial license of Paintshop Pro can be purchased for $79.99 from Corel’s website.

Lightroom

Developed by Adobe, Lightroom is a robust photo organizing and basic photo editing software designed to work in conjunction with Photoshop. It is a program which Adobe develops alongside Photoshop as a means of organizing, cataloguing, and doing initial/quick edits to photos that are shared across all of your devices.

Lightroom is available in a bundled subscription with Photoshop for $119.88 per year from Adobe’s website.

CorelDRAW

Developed by Corel, CorelDRAW is a suite of related Corel programs focused on digital drawing and sketching; logo and font design; and graphic design. Likely Corel’s most well-known software, CorelDRAW sees use by a lot of creative professionals. But due to the large set of features it provides (and despite its lack of a recurring subscription cost), new users may find it prohibitively expensive.

A single-user commercial license of CorelDRAW can be purchased for $499.00 from Corel’s website.

Illustrator

Developed by Adobe, Illustrator is a vector drawing graphic design program. It is used for the creation and editing of logos, artwork, and illustrations. It is capable of automatically tracing and converting line work into vectors, and sees a lot of use by graphic design professionals.

Illustrator is available as a subscription for $239.88 per year from Adobe’s website.

GIMP (Free)

Developed by The GIMP Team, GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a free and open-source image editing and photo retouching software. GIMP boasts a wide array of very thorough features and capabilities, on-par with most professional-grade paid software; the trade-off is that GIMP has a steep learning curve, a lack of some ease-of-use/automatic functions available in the big-name options, and a sometimes-unintuitive user interface.

You can download GIMP for free from The GIMP Team’s website.

paint.net (Free)

Developed by dotPDN, paint.net is a free (but not open-source) image manipulation and pixel drawing tool. It began life as a free alternative to Microsoft Paint, developed by a single person. But as it was developed (still by a very small team), it slowly incorporated some additional functionality which is more typically associated with Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and GIMP. Although not nearly as feature-rich as those competitors, paint.net instead provides intuitive, simple, and easy-to-use interfaces and tools.

You can download paint.net for free from dotPDN’s website, or you can purchase it (with automatic updating and some further virtues) for $8.99 from the Windows store.

InDesign

Developed by Adobe, InDesign is an industry-leading graphic design software geared specifically toward layout design for magazines, journals, websites, news publications, and the like. While not an image editor per se, InDesign is an important part of the creative process at many journalistic, graphic design, and creative companies.

InDesign is available as a subscription for $239.88 per year from Adobe’s website.

PhotoDirector

Developed by CyberLink, PhotoDirector is a basic, consumer-grade image editing software. Similar in many ways to the kinds of image editing functions natively provided by Windows and Mac stock photo applications, PhotoDirector is not suitable for professional users who need a wide variety of powerful options in their software.

It may, however, be suitable for users who just want a cheap and simple solution that will allow them to make adjustments to images in software with an accountable support staff. It may also be suitable for users who are already familiar with CyberLink’s UI design, due to working with their more well-known video editing software, PowerDirector.

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Best Motherboards for Photoshop –  Compromising on your motherboard for video editing and VFX purposes can have severe consequences. It is sensible to invest in a good motherboard even if it presents a somewhat significant cost, however, you may also be able to get it done at an affordable price.

With the release of 10th Gen Intel processors and 3rd Gen AMD processors, different companies have released better motherboards than the existing ones currently in use, and this presents an opportunity to up your game.

GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H
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GIGABYTE B450M DS3H
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MSI Enthusiast
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MSI MPG Z390
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-15% MSI Performance
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-2% GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS
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-17% ASUS Prime Z590-A
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ASUS TUF B560M-PLUS
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ASUS AM4 TUF X570-Plus
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-14% ASUS Tuf Plus AM4 AMD
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