Motherboards Price: Why Are So Expensive?

The motherboards are so expensive because of their high importance, multiple features, benefits, high production cost, and popularity of PCIe SSDs. Also, the pandemic, the gamers agreeing to the high cost, and known brands providing extra perks are responsible for the same.

– High Production Cost

The high production cost of the motherboard is one of the main reasons behind the sky-high price of the same. Note that premium materials and efficient and expensive Intel processors are used for manufacturing high-quality motherboards. Also, preparing the complex and compact design of the motherboard requires more effort.

Hence, a technically skilled team of workers is hired for the production process. It means that the manufacturers need to invest a lot of bucks to give you a small product that is worth having. Hence, you are asked to pay for what has been prepared for you.

– The Popularity of PCI-Express SSDs

Today, more people prefer PCI-Express SSDs because of their super-fast speed. Hence, the motherboards that offer the support for the same are priced high because of the high demand for the PCIe SSDs.

– Gamers Agreeing To the High Cost

The avid gamers who care more about their victory in the game than the money in their wallets are responsible for the sky-high prices of the motherboards. Although the high quality of the motherboards is not doubted, the high price of the same component is maintained due to its acceptance in the market.

The gamers who value the features and benefits offered by the motherboards feel that the price of the same is justified. Eventually, it encourages the manufacturers to charge more for the given component.

– Known Brands Providing Extra Perks

The motherboards manufactured by known brands come with extra features that are unique to the given brands. Moreover, the said brands have already gained a lot of trust and are considered authentic. The popularity of the brands results in high prices of their products, including the motherboards. Along with this, it makes it easy for consumers to buy expensive motherboards from the same brands.

So, brand popularity is another major reason behind the expensive motherboards.

How a Bundle of Features and Benefits Affect the Price

A bundle of features and a long list of benefits offered by a motherboard make it pricey but also convince the consumers to buy it no matter its high price. Plus, the more feature-rich a motherboard, the higher its price.

– Increased Overclocking Limit

A high-quality motherboard can make the overclocking limit exceed 5Ghz. It means that you’ll get additional benefits of high performance. Moreover, overclocking increases the useful lifespan of the processor. Hence, your PC will be able to cope with the demanding workloads while running the latest heavy games.

– PCI-Express Expansion Slots

The expansion slots are the sockets on the motherboard that are used to insert the expansion cards for adding extra features to your PC. You can add many functions to your system by using the expansion slots. Some of the functionalities that can be enabled through the expansion slots have been listed below:

Audio or sound processing,
Video processing,
TV and radio tuning,
Host adapting,
Power-on-self-test (POST),
Adaptive multi-rate codec.

– More USB Ports That Are Faster

Modern motherboards come with many ports for connecting to a USB. The said ports boost the data traveling process by 10 times. A USB transfers the data at an average speed of 12Mbps, while the average transfer rate of serial ports is only 150 kbps. You’ll be glad to discover that USB 2 has a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbps which makes it 40 times faster than the serial ports.

Furthermore, the said ports are more durable than the serial ports. Thus, a higher number of the given ports is another noticeable benefit of the motherboards that makes the component costly.

– One or Two Connection Slots for PSU

A motherboard has one or two connection slots to connect to the PSU. It might have a single four-pin header, a single eight-pin header, a pair of eight-pin and four-pin headers, or a pair of two eight-pin headers. The said slots are responsible for the transfer of power from the PSU to the motherboard.

– More Drive Cages for SSDs and HDDs

A motherboard allows the insertion of multiple SSDs and HDDs to ensure that your system has enough storage space. The more storage space on your computer, the more software you can install and run. Moreover, SSDs help in increasing the speed of your system.

This way, the support for various drives enhances the value of a motherboard and elevates its price.

– Four-Pins CPU Fan Connector

A motherboard comes with a four-pin fan connector that enables Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) feature. The said feature controls the speed of the fan by switching the power on and off continuously without being noticed.

Imagine a fan that is set to run at 60 percent of its maximum speed. Here, PWM ensures that the fan receives the power for only half of its working time by switching the power on and off repeatedly and rapidly. You won’t notice any difference in the working of the fan. You’ll believe that it’s functioning as per the set speed.

The advantages of PWM have been listed below for your reference:

Low power consumption,
Less noise interference,
Capacity to handle high power,
Less heat generation.

– Support for CrossFire or SLI

A motherboard offers support for the graphics cards required by first-person shooter games like CrossFire. Also, the support for SLI technology offered by the given component helps in increasing the available processing power of the system.

– Best Quality Chokes and Capacitors

You’ll have high-quality chokes and capacitors on the motherboard. The chokes are responsible for blocking the high-frequency alternating current (AC). It ensures that the direct current (DC) and low-frequency alternating current (AC) pass efficiently in the electric circuit. Hence, the better the chokes, the better the blockage of high-frequency AC.

Along with this, the capacitors absorb spikes in power to maintain a constant steady stream of voltage that is needed to switch on the motherboard. They further help in increasing the lifespan of your motherboard by minimizing the effects of variable amounts of voltage being passed to the same. So, the higher the quality of the capacitors, the more efficient the absorption of high voltage.

The motherboard’s price also includes the charges for the efficient chokes and capacitors.

How the Pandemic-caused Issues Influence the Prices?

The pandemic-generated issues are numerous and had a huge impact on the production, distribution, and demand for motherboards. Consequently, the low supply and high demand for the motherboards placed the same in the group of most expensive products.

– Work-from-home and Online Classes

The work-from-home and online classes during the pandemic resulted in the high demand for PCs, and eventually, the requirement for motherboards elevated.

– The Chip Shortage

As almost all the countries were asked to practice lockdown, the closed factories resulted in the zero or minimum production of semiconductors, which resulted in chip shortage.

This way, a low quantity of chips resulted in a shortage of motherboards.

– The Supply Network Problems

Sending or receiving raw materials and finished products was forbidden during the pandemic. It affected the production and distribution of the motherboards, which led to the scarcity of the same. Next, the low quantity of the motherboards increased their demand and, eventually, their price.

– Fewer Workers, More Work

It has already been discussed that motherboard production is a complicated process that requires sufficient human resources. Therefore, the production of the motherboards became difficult because the workers weren’t willing to join the factories again.

The pandemic changed the minds of the workers who previously worked in the factories. Hence, the pandemic resulted in low labor, piled-up work, slow production, slow supply, increased demand, and overpricing of the motherboards.

What Is a Good Price of a Motherboard?

The good price of a motherboard varies among different motherboards of various levels. If you want an average motherboard for basic computer tasks, then you might get it at an affordable price that would be somewhere between $70 and $130.

However, if you want to buy a mid-level motherboard, the price range would be $150 to $180. Now, if you want to level up and get a high-end motherboard, you can get it in the $200 to $250 price range.

Remember that there are motherboards that cost even higher than $250. These are the ones made for extreme builders and enthusiasts.

Is It Worth Buying a High-priced Motherboard?

It is worth buying a high-priced motherboard due to multiple reasons, including a higher number of ports for USB, capacity to add more drives, newer performance standards, and much more. Please read below to see why you should spend some extra bucks buying a costly motherboard.

More ports and peripherals

The ports for USB, SSD slots, and peripheral ports are present on your motherboard. The more bucks you spend on your motherboard, the more USB drives, solid-state drives, and peripherals you’ll be able to add to your system.

On the other hand, you’ll have fewer ports and less possibility to add more drives and peripherals. The cheap motherboards limit your ability to have more drives connected to your system.

Better power regulation components

The higher the price of your motherboard, the better the quality of power regulation components. Note that the quality of PCB is important for the best performance of the various system components. In the other case, the components will get power hungry and eventually hot, leading to an unstable system.

So, if you use high-performance components, then it’s important to have a pricey motherboard with high-quality power regulation components as well.

More features

The costly motherboards come with more features than the cheap ones. For example, you won’t get diagnostic display screens on the motherboard and dual-BIOS if you opt for a cheap motherboard. Thus, if you want more features, then you’ll need to pay a higher price, and it will be worth it.

Here, if you give preference to a cheap motherboard, then bear in mind that you won’t get anything more than the basic computer features.

Overclocking support

The more money you put in, the more powerful your motherboard is. You might have heard about CPU overclocking, which makes the CPU operate at a higher frequency than it is rated for. Here, the pricey motherboards will be more powerful to handle the extra load than the low-priced motherboards.

Less chance of sudden system failure

Have you ever experienced a sudden system failure? It might be because your motherboard couldn’t handle more load and stopped working suddenly. Here, if you go for costly motherboards, then you’ll not have to face such worst situations. Eventually, your work routine won’t be disturbed.

Why Are Mini ITX Motherboards Pricey?

The said motherboards are expensive because they can fit in small cabinets. Their compact design and tiny components need premium materials and more production and testing effort than the usual motherboards. Hence, the development and testing of these mini models require sufficient money. Plus, there is no alternative to the said models.

For example, you want to buy a tiny motherboard for a small computer that can fit in an automobile. In this case, you’ll prefer a mini motherboard without considering its cost because you don’t have an alternative. Scenarios like the one discussed here increase the demand for the said motherboards, which adds to their value and makes them high-priced. Moreover, the manufacturers decide to charge a high amount for the given motherboards to recover the money that they have spent during the entire production process.

Now, would you like to know if mini motherboards are good for gaming? Then read the section below.

You can use the above pricey mini model for gaming without doubting the gaming experience. You’ll be glad to note that the small size of the said motherboard doesn’t restrict its features and functionalities. Hence, you can have the perfect gaming experience while using the same.

Why Is Motherboard Important?

You can consider the motherboard the heart of your PC without thinking twice. This PC component deserves the said status because if the motherboard doesn’t work, then your computer won’t even turn on until you buy a new motherboard.

Similar to the heart that pumps blood to all the organs and keeps them working, the motherboard distributes electricity from the power supply to all computer parts. It connects the hardware devices to the processor and decides the types of memory modules, storage devices, and graphic cards that can be connected to your system.

Furthermore, a motherboard plays its role as a system clock. The mini crystal quartz on the said component helps inform different components about their work and rest timings. Thus, a motherboard ensures that all the components work at their set timings to maintain the system’s proper functioning.

A motherboard does a lot more, which elevates its status among the various PC parts and, eventually, raises its price. The more important the component, the higher its price.

FAQ

1. What Makes Intel Motherboards Costlier Than AMD Boards?

A motherboard by Intel is costlier than an AMD motherboard because the former offers a better gaming experience than the latter. An Intel board provides lower latency paired with a higher frame rate to let you enjoy smoother gameplay, while an AMD board spoils the mood of the gamers.

Another reason for the highly-priced motherboards by Intel is the Intel chipset used in the same. The Intel chipset is quite intricate and is prepared through a special and complicated process that requires enough bucks.

2. Should You Buy an Expensive CPU or Motherboard?

You should buy an expensive motherboard if you want exceptionally smooth gameplay. However, if you don’t want to perform heavy tasks on your PC, then an inexpensive motherboard will be fine too. Considering the above cases and your budget, you can then spend the rest of your money on buying a CPU for your system.

Moreover, note that if you use a pricey motherboard with your CPU when both of them are not integrated, then you’ll be able to get maximum CPU performance.

3. Why Is LGA 1700 Socket Motherboard High-priced?

LGA 1700 socket motherboard is high-priced because of its recent launch in the market and the pandemic. You might be aware of the fact that the new products are usually priced high until you get to see them everywhere. As the said motherboard was released in the last quarter of 2021, it is considered a new product and priced high.

Considering the fact mentioned above, you can expect the price of LGA 1700 to drop after a few months.

4. Why Are the Prices of LGA 1700 and LGA 1200 So Different?

The implementation of PCIe 5.0 slots increases the price of LGA 1700 by 10 percent to 20 percent. Also, DDR5 RAM added in LGA 1700 has a quite different operating procedure that requires more effort and money. Furthermore, the Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake CPU is quite costly because of its different features. So, you can say that the cost of the said CPU is also added to the LGA 1700 price resulting in the costliness of the same motherboard.

5. Why Do ASUS Rog Motherboards Cost So Much?

The given motherboards cost so much because the said brand is quite famous and trusted by many gamers. Moreover, the motherboards offered by the same brand are beautifully designed and have a lot of RGB lighting. To be precise, the high cost of the stated product is often termed ASUS tax.

It means that you have to pay a high price because of the brand’s reputation in the market.

Conclusion

As per the above discussion, the motherboard is the heart of the computer and comes with various features and benefits which elevate its price. Moreover, the high cost of the motherboard is also the result of its high production cost and pandemic-related issues.

Also, you can read the following facts to perfectly wrap the knowledge acquired earlier:

The importance of the motherboard allows the manufacturers to charge high for the same.
The brands charge high for the motherboards because of the brands’ reputation in the market.
The acceptance of the pricey motherboards by the gamers have led to an increase in the motherboard prices.

Please feel free to bookmark this post and read it whenever the high price of the motherboards makes you question their expensiveness.