Intel knows precisely that a CPU is the essential element of a computer managing all the in-and-outs as the central brain for the rig. Following the ritual, the brand has created the Intel Core i5 11400F with many improvements over the previous-generation chips. It has six cores and 12 threads with a 12MB Intel Smart Cache and a 2.6GHz base clock that can increase up to 4.4GHz Max Turbo frequency, depending upon the load. The chip can provide excellent multi-threaded performance if you pair one of the best motherboards for i5 11400F, which is necessary too.
There are two variants in the stack, the i5 11400 and 11400F, where we have taken the ‘F’ version since it’s affordable may be because of no integrated graphics support. Further, it’s a locked chip, so we can put it with a locked chipset motherboard to save money without lowering the performance. A motherboard plays a vital role in the overall rig’s performance since it holds most of the elements and supervises their speed, performance, and communication with each other – pay attention to the process.
Award | Design | Best | Retailer |
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Best Budget Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Mini ITX Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Flagship Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Premium Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Budget Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Value Motherboard for i5 11400F | View | ||
Best Gaming Motherboard for i5 11400F | View |
In addition to that, it’s critical to uncover a compatible mother circuit with an appropriate chipset. We will add some more light to the “Chipset” section of the buying guide section coming next. Apart from that, the market is filled with thousands of options, and it becomes very complicated for an ordinary user to spot one. You need to get help from an expert or read this post to drop a perfect pick. My team has helped me research and hunt eight compatible motherboards for the i5 11400F. You must read the post till the end to absorb all the required knowledge.
Quick Shopping Tips:
Size: I always add this factor in every buying guide I write to make the user understand its cruciality. No matter how excellent your motherboard is, it’s useless if unable to fit into the PC case. How can you use it properly when it’s not in its appropriate place? So, when leaving home to buy a mobo, take the socket’s measurements with you and match those with the board you’re interested in buying.
Memory Capacity: The details, specifications, type, and all other aspects of the memory modules depend upon the mother circuit since these sit on it. Every motherboard has a particular number of memory module sockets with a specific capacity and memory speed. The thing to remember is that your board can accommodate at least 32 GB of volatile memory. In this way, you are stress-free in case of future expansion.
Compatibility: Here, I’m talking about the connection’s compatibility between the processor and mother circuit. Intel follows a unique connection method using LGA sockets with a particular pin count. In the case of the i5 11400F, the brand has used an LGA 1200 type socket, so you have to figure out a motherboard that supports the same type. Like the size, with the wrong socket type, you will not be able to fit the chip on the mother circuit.
Chipset: The Absence of the “K” suffix with the chip’s name means it can’t be overclocked since it’s a locked variant. So, you must ensure that you buy a motherboard with a locked chipset without wasting your money on an expensive mobo just because you want some overclocking headroom. If we look at the socket, you can go for the latest 500-series mobos but remember you need to have a “locked” term in your mind. For simplicity, you can choose one from the list in this post.
Cooling capabilities: Like any other PC element, cooling is significant for the motherboard since all the crucial elements are connected, and its thermal management capabilities directly affect its performance. You must ensure that your desired mother circuit has enough to deal with the temperature produced at peak-level performance. To find that, you can check the buyers’ reviews, ask in online tech communities, or take help from this post.
Best Motherboard for i5 11400F List
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi
Best Budget Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel B560 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 2133 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Affordable
✓Impressive B560 performance
✓Good RAM overclocking potential
✓LAN Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E
✓IO contains nine USB ports
REASONS TO AVOID
✗No SLI support
The MSI’s Tomahawk motherboards series has been the most exciting stack among gaming lovers for the last few years. It represents its gaming-focused MAG series with proven gaming features and performance-centric technologies. Therefore, we have the MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi on this list. Further, it’s an affordable option from Intel’s budget-focused LGA 1200 B560 series and is available at a very competitive price. You can unleash the entire system’s performance with a 12+2+1 duet rail power system combined with an 8+4 pin power connector.
You won’t have to compromise on some necessary features despite the item being available at a low price. You can take the memory speed of four DDR4 DIMMs of 128GB up to 5000MHz and fully utilize RAM’s potential. As far as the connectivity matters, there are ten all-kind USB connections, six SATA 3.0 slots supporting support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10, PCIe 3.0/4.0 supports, and a pair of M.2 slots to expand with one HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 output for video outputs.
The board has a Realtek HD audio codec to provide audio to five 3.5mm and S/PDIF optical outputs, along with a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5GbE controller for networking. Also, you can utilize an Intel AX210 WiFi 6E CNVi chip to perform your tasks wirelessly by building the fastest connections. Build-wise, the board has an excellent thermal solution containing an extended heatsink design, the quickest airflow, and M.2 Shield Frozr technology for effective cooling performance. Moreover, the mobo presents an attractive look with a black PCB with gunmetal grey heatsinks and some “Tomahawk” lettering.
ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS WIFI
Best Micro ATX Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel B560 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: micro ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 5000 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Compact and attractive
✓Powerful VRM
✓Plenty of USB ports
✓WiFi, Bluetooth, and LAN Ethernet
✓Multiple RGB and fan headers
REASONS TO AVOID
✗Not competitively affordable
Who doesn’t want to build a compact gaming system? If you’re one of those gamers who are mad about building smaller systems, the ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus WiFi is for you. The series has three variants, and two have micro ATX form factor, but the simple B560M-Plus lacks WiFi support. Both share identical features, including look, memory capabilities, and more; however, the B560M-Plus WiFi features an improved VRM, M.2, and PCH heatsinks. It has a robust 8+1 power phases design that works pretty well combined with a single- 8-pin 12V power connector.
Moreover, the board is made on a 6-layer PCB, so you can expect fast signal transmission and data flow among the connected components. You can take peak-level speeds from the latest 10th and 11th generation chip connected via Intel’s LGA 1200 socket and DDR4 volatile memory with a 5000MHz memory speed. Moreover, It comes with fifteen USB connections on the front and rear sides, six SATA 6Gb/s ports, PCIe 3.0/4.0 support, and a pair of M.2 slots for storage purposes.
You can utilize a Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet with TUF LANGuard for fast networking with a WiFi 6 based on Intel WiFi 6 CNVi and Bluetooth v5.0 to establish effective wireless connections. On top of that, you can take the output of the Realtek HD audio codec from five 3.5mm audio jacks. If we look at the board, it follows a black and grey design scheme mixed with yellow accent PCB and heatsinks presenting a more eye-catching look. Overall, this motherboard is made to handle Intel’s latest processors with a stronger build, pre-installed IO shield, and easy-to-use BIOS feature.
MSI MPG B560I GAMING EDGE WIFI
Best Mini ITX Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel B560 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: Mini-ATX | Memory: 64 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 5200 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Compact and attractive
✓2.5 Gb/s LAN and Wi-Fi 6E
✓Better thermal performance
REASONS TO AVOID
✗Lacklustre VRAM
✗Pricey
The trend of building smaller systems has been increasing daily; now, every user wants to follow it. If you follow the same rising trend, the MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge WiFi is a perfect compact motherboard for you built on a mini ITX board. Due to this aspect, it becomes an excellent choice for small form factor (SFF) PCs. It features a 6+2+1 power phases configuration on an 8-layer PCB with two heatsinks to deliver exceptional power to the connected elements.
Since the board is smaller, no doubt, you have to compromise on some features like limited memory support, some slots, and ports. If we look at the specification sheet, the board has space for two DDR4 DIMMs to accommodate 64GB memory with 5200MHz memory speed based on a dual-channel architecture. Further, it has eight USB connections, including all types, four SATA 6Gb/s ports, PCIe 4.0 support with heatsink, and a pair of M.2 slots to expand. Despite being smaller, it has competitive features, offerings, and technologies.
There is a 2.5 Gb/s LAN Ethernet for smooth networking with WiFi 6E for efficient wireless connection supporting faster data flow than the non-E variant. You can take the enhanced audio quality from Audio Boost with the help of three 3.5mm audio jacks. Moreover, the board has Click BIOS 5 features with two modes, EZ-mode, and advanced mode, and can be updated from the CMOS Setup utility in no time. Design-wise, most of the black PCB is hidden by white accents, a cool dragon logo, and a more robust design where most heatsinks are barely exposed.
GIGABYTE X570 AORUS Master
Best Flagship Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: AMD X570 | Socket: AM4 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 2133 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Excellent performance
✓Has everything you may need
✓Dual Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth
✓Good external connectivity
✓Updated BIOS
REASONS TO AVOID
✗
✗Only four SATA ports available when third M.2 is occupied
✗Pricey
Starting reviewing the products with the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master is a great gaming motherboard since the designers have spent hours working on it. AMD’s top-tier X570 chipset makes the board the second-best product from the top of the stack. Remember, it has twice the price of the most affordable X570 mobo like ASUS Prime X570-P and the MSI X570-A Pro, so we can’t expect anything less or missing. You can power the latest Ryzen processors up to 5000-series and four DDR4 DIMMs with 4400MHz memory speed.
It feeds a smooth power input to all the connected elements with the help of 14 power phases in a 12+2 configuration with 50A MOSFETs – the power system is 4% more efficient than others. Apart from that, there are plenty of all-types USB ports, six SATA 6Gb/s connectors, PCIe 3.0/4.0 ports, and three M.2 slots where all can be enabled simultaneously. You can utilize a dual LAN with 2.5GbE and Gigabit Ethernet for networking with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless communication.
Overall, it’s a well-equipped feature-rich mother circuit with everything you need. The board has a new UEFI BIOS with improved mouse control and layout featuring Easy mode, but the brand has dropped the one-click feature, maybe because it isn’t primarily used. Ultimately, I would like to describe its look and cooling design. It’s a perfect balance of attractive aesthetics and RGB lighting with an excellent cooling design containing fins-array heatsinks, heat pipes, thermal pads, and a thermal baseplate.
ASUS TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WiFi
Best Premium Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel Z590 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 5333 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Perfect performance-to-price ratio
✓Great thermal management
✓Attractive aesthetics
✓All-rounder connectivity
REASONS TO AVOID
✗Fewer fan headers
ASUS is a globally famous tech component manufacturer holding many records in numerous fields, and one of those fields is motherboard manufacturing mastery. We have the ASUS TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WiFi from the brand that showcases ultra-edge performance with a long list of features and technologies. Its VRM setup is slightly unhealthy, and the given fan headers are insufficient. Other than that, it is a perfect mobo with the best performance-to-price ratio.
You can utilize all the Intel 14nm processors and four DDR4 DIMMs with a 5133MHz memory speed based on dual-channel memory architecture. On top of that, a 14+2 DrMOS power phases design fitted on a six-layer PCB with ProCool sockets is enough to deliver optimal input power boosting the CPU and memory performance. If we unfold the details chart, the board has plenty of all-types USB connections, six SATA 6Gb/s ports, PCIe 3.0 / 4.0 support, and three M.2 slots.
Moreover, you can put 2.5Gb/s Ethernet into work to serve for networking, along with WiFi 6 to use for maintaining wireless connections. An ASUS version of the ALC 1200 codec is given for audio purposes, whose output can be taken from optical S/PDIF out. Ultimately, I would like to explore the board’s design and build. There is an all-black PCB on which components are carved, with few yellow areas and subtle RGB lighting to attract the crowd. Numerous features are mixed for cooling, including enlarged heatsinks, PCH fanless heatsinks, hybrid fan headers, M.2 heatsink, etc.
MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Plus
Best Budget Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel Z590 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 5333 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Affordable
✓Good value for money
✓Excellent VRM circuit design
✓Fully shielded style
REASONS TO AVOID
✗Three M.2 slots
✗No Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
A major chunk of tech customers falls in the category of people who buy affordable computer elements. Since we can’t forget those users, my team has selected MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Plus, which can be a perfect option for them. The brand has done a great job providing high-end features without raising prices. It features a 14 + 1 + 1 VRM circuit design where each phase supplies 75A power, which is an impressive number if we compare the board with the competition.
Although the MSI’s BIOS design hasn’t changed much, still, it performs well when you update it with the help of a USB-C port and Flash BIOS button. If we look at the specification sheet, the board has eight USB ports containing all types, six SATA ports, PCIe 4.0 support with three PCIe 4.0 x16 ports, two PCIe x1 ports, and three M.2 slots for expansion. The absence of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be an issue for wireless users, but a 2.5G LAN is an upgraded network solution for stable, secure, and fast networking.
You can use the given audio ports to listen to the music and effectively target the in-game enemy with the help of sound from the high-end ALC4080 by Realtek. It has a black PCB to which numerous other tiny elements are connected. The grey touches and lining look handsome with the dark black dragon logo on the heatsink. Overall, the board is an excellent option for users looking for a mid-range or affordable type of product, plus it takes its place with a long list of features.
MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi
Best Value Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel B560 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 2133 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Adequate RAM overclocking
✓Wi-Fi and 2.5Gb/s LAN
✓Plenty of USB ports
✓Enhanced audio
REASONS TO AVOID
✗Quality could be improved
If you’re a customer who wants to receive every penny of the investment in performance, the MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk WiFi is a perfect option for you. If you check the history of the brand’s products, its Tomahawk mobos stack is always a center of discussion, and this time, the B560 knocks it out of the park. However, the board isn’t great for overclocking, but you won’t need that for a locked i5 11400F.
Based on a dual-channel memory architecture, you can put 128GB of volatile memory on the board in four DDR4 DIMMs with a 5066MHz of memory speed. The board features an excellent VRM design containing 12+2+1 power phases with 60A per-phase power to boost memory and CPU speeds. Regarding connectivity, there are ten all-types USB connections, six SATA 3.0 6Gb/s ports, steel-armored PCIe slots supporting PCIe 4.0 connections, and three M.2 slots where one has PCIe 4.0 support.
The board also has a 2.5Gb/s LAN for fast and secure networking, with WiFi 6 for wireless communication. Moreover, with the Click BIOS 5 features, you can upgrade the BIOS in no time by visiting the CMOS Setup utility. If we look at the board, it has a black PCB sculpted with grey heatsinks with varying lines to decorate the scene, making it one of the best motherboards for i5 11400F. On top of that, you can further glorify the look with several LEDs and add more RGB headers if you want to take the thing to the next level.
ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WiFi
Best Gaming Motherboard for i5 11400F
Chipset: Intel B560 | Socket: LGA 1200 | Form Factor: ATX | Memory: 128 GB DDR4 | Memory Speed: 5000 MHz
REASONS TO BUY
✓Good quality build
✓LAN Ethernet and WiFi 6
✓A lot of USB ports
✓Attractive design
REASONS TO AVOID
✗No Bluetooth
The ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WiFi is a perfect motherboard for customers who want to build a budget-friendly system with a unique design. Although it can’t be overclocked, it’s ideal for pairing it with the Intel Core i5 11400 CPU since the chip is locked – both are made for each other. The B560-A has similar visuals as the B460-F but a different storage configuration and color scheme and has one more PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. A stable power stream is fed via an 8+2 power stages VRM design combined with superior chokes and durable capacitors.
Like most of the ATX mobos on this list, this one can accommodate 128GB of memory split into four DDR4 DIMMs running at 3200MHz memory speed. If we look at the specification sheet, the board has sixteen USB ports on the front and back panel, six SATA 6Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays, PCIe 3.0/4.0 connections, and a pair of M.2 slots to expand the storage. Moreover, you can tune and update the system with UEFI BIOS via a FlashBack button for a safe and easy update.
An all-rounder wired and wireless connectivity is one of the reasons to call it the best gaming motherboard. You can use a Realtek 2.5GbE Ethernet controller for networking purposes with an Intel AX200 WiFi 6 CNVi to complete the wireless-required tasks. Other than that, there are five audio jacks to listen to the audio coming from a SupremeFX S1220A HD audio codec chip. In the end, I would like to discuss its design. The board has a sleek silver and black patterned PCB with silver heatsinks, minimalistic pink highlighting, and an RGB glowing logo.
Conclusion
Intel Core i5 11400F is a tremendous mid-range gaming chip that provides enough performance to run all the current-era games and productive applications. It has a basic package of 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.4GHz of maximum clock speed. You can fetch impressive performance levels only when you pair the chip with the best motherboards for i5 11400F. A potent combination of CPU, GPU, and the motherboard is key to enjoying peak gaming and graphics performance. However, finding a mobo is complicated when the tech market is full of hundreds of options. You must read this post before you can sort those massive numbers.
We have done all the time-taking part of the process and the research and developed this post containing a buying guide with eight motherboards from different brands. It was a challenging journey, but we completed it at any cost. We have shaped the article so that you will find the best-suiting product for your needs despite any requirements. The list contains all kinds of products, including budget-friendly, with the best performance, mid-rangers, etc. Read the product reviews, pros and cons, and an in-detailed buying guide section.