Best Intel 12th Gen Motherboard in 2024

The motherboard is the base of your system, and it might be challenging to figure out what determines the best one for your gaming PC. But no worries, we've undertaken all the research and outlined the list of top 5 products of the best Intel 12th Gen motherboard to accommodate your brand-new Alder Lake CPU.

Top Picks

1. Best High-end: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi

2. Best all-rounder: GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS Master

3. Mid-range: ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi

4. The Best Mini-ITX: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-I

5. The Best Budget: ASUS Prime Z690-P

1. ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi

Product’s Specifications

• Form Factor: ATX

• Socket: LGA 1700

• Chipset: Z690

• RAM: DDR5

Product’s Highlights

ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi ranks top of the Z690 motherboards that support Intel 12th Gen CPU on the market. Despite its shortcomings in Ethernet bandwidth, it still is an excellent choice.

This motherboard comes with the Polymer Lighting I/O cover and a customizable RGB lighting setting.

It also supports the latest RAM standard today, DDR5, which not only possesses outstanding processing speed but also provides the excellent overclocking ability.

Equipped with a heatsink chipset and a quality VRM, ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi offers the perfect balance of mass on the surface of the mainboard. You can freely install air or AIO coolers on this motherboard.

Pros:

• Solid quality

• Dual Thunderbolt 4

• 18+1 power stages (90A)

Cons:

• No 10Gb Ethernet

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2. GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS Master

Product’s Specifications

• Form Factor: ATX

• Socket: LGA 1700

• Chipset: Z690

• RAM: DDR5

Product’s Highlights

Regarding style and functionality, Gigabyte's Aorus motherboards are unrivaled. Despite its high price, the Aorus Master is unquestionably one of the greatest options for the most ardent PC gamers.

This generation's Aorus Master is substantially better designed than the previous one, with a sleek and attractive I/O cover and heatsink. 

With remarkable 20+1+2 Direct Digital VRM architecture, this Best Intel 12th Gen Motherboard allows for great efficient power delivery.

Like other Z690 models, the Aorus Master supports the all-new DDR5 RAM, providing speed up to 6600MHz.

Pros:

• Thunderbolt 4

• 5 M.2 sockets

• 11 rear USB ports

• 105A power delivery

Cons:

• Expensive

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3. ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi

Product’s Specifications

• Form Factor: ATX

• Socket: LGA 1700

• Chipset: Z690

• RAM: DDR4

Product’s Highlights

Z690-PLUS WIFI  is a mid-range motherboard from ASUS in the TUF gaming series for ultimate games. With the performance it brings, the sustainability and stability of the features and devices will show you this will be the product to own when you want to rebuild your gaming PC with Intel 12th Gen Motherboard.

With upgraded power stages and complete cooling abilities to boost the 12th Gen Intel Core™ processors, the mainboard dissipates heat optimally, keeping the board at the right temperature. It is also the perfect base for your next high-core-count battle rig.

Motherboard's VRMs with 14+1 DrMOS power stages promise to provide a powerful experience in data processing and excellent performance.

Pros:

• 14+2 power stages

• Thunderbolt 4

Cons:

• DDR4

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4. ASUS ROG Strix Z690-I

Product’s Specifications

• Form Factor: Mini-ITX

• Socket: LGA 1700

• Chipset: Z690

• RAM: DDR5 

Product’s Highlights

The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-I is unquestionably one of the top Mini-ITX mainboards supporting Intel 12th Gen CPU on the market. 

The Strix Z690 is not only compatible with DDR5 RAM and PCIe gen 5, but it also has two full-fledged Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections. The thermal design has been updated to include an integrated I/O cover as well as VRM heatsinks with high-conductivity thermal pads.

In addition to industry-leading audio, this motherboard supports HDMI 2.1. This little board delivers a powerful punch.

Pros: 

• 10+1 power stages

• Dual Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C

Cons: 

• Fewer features than comparably priced ATX models

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5. ASUS Prime Z690-P

Product’s Specifications

• Form Factor: ATX

• Socket: LGA 1700

• Chipset: Z690

• RAM: DDR5

Product’s Highlights

The ASUS Prime Z690-P is the list's cheap selection. It's as low as we'd suggest for a DDR5 compliant motherboard, with maximum speeds up to 6000 Mhz.

This motherboard will not disappoint anyone since it supports DDR5, PCIe 5.0, and Thunderbolt 4 compatibility and includes many great features like 14+1 power stages, WiFi 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet are among them. 

The ASUS Prime Z690-P delivers great performance and experience without the high price like other best Intel 12th Gen motherboards on the list.

Pros:

• 10+1 power stages

• Dual Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C

• Affordable price

Cons:

• Fewer features than expensive options

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1. Is DDR4 RAM compatible with the 12th Gen?

Fortunately, both DDR4 and DDR5 memory are supported with Intel's latest 12th Gen CPUs. This is a small exception to that rule, though. DDR4 is supported at 3200MHz and beyond, according to Intel's specifications for the 12th Gen processors.

2. Do I need a new motherboard for using the 12th gen Intel Core CPU?

You require a motherboard with an LGA 1700 socket in order to use 12th generation Intel Core CPUs. To overclock 12th Gen CPUs, a motherboard with overclocking capabilities is needed.

3. Does the Z590 work with the 12th Gen?

Obviously, Z590 is compatible with a 12th Gen CPU is not. You need to look for a Z690 motherboard instead. 

The release of Intel's 12th generation Alder Lake CPUs provides a number of new features and innovations to look forward to. And it also comes with the introduction of DDR5 RAM, which enables us to explore some significant improvements.

That's why we're here, to help you select the best Intel 12th gen motherboard for your next-generation experience with a collection of top products on the market.