Best Motherboard For i5 9400f – Buyer’s Guide

Best B365 Motherboard for i5 9400f - ASRock B365M-HDV

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When it comes to budget motherboards for Intel 8th and 9th generation processors, I think there might be no other better option than the ASRock B365M-HDV. We put this motherboard on the top because of its low price and excellent performance with 9th generation processors.

One thing I like the most in ASRock motherboards is their build quality as they are made with high-quality fiber, which removes space between the PCB layers and prevents the board from humidity.

You can install any mid-range processor on this board out of the box, but for high-end models, I would not recommend this one as you might upgrade your CPU in the future.

The base of ASRock B365M-HDV is colored in black while it has some diagonal white lines and blocks printed along with a circuit line, which gives a great look.

This motherboard has six SATA3 slots and one high-speed NVMe slot, which is enough for any budget build. On the rear I/O panel, it has four USB 3.1 Gen1 ports along with some other ports too for connectivity.

The audio and networking controllers are powered by Realtek and Gigabit, which are cheap in price and exceptional in performance resulting in lowering the overall cost of this motherboard.

ASRock B365M-HDV is useful if you have a low budget, but I would recommend you to go with a better choice because this board lacks some features.

We all know that most users prefer excellent connectivity options, but this motherboard lacks the necessary USB Type-C port. The M.2 slot on this motherboard is under the graphics card, and it is known as a warm place on the motherboard.

Also, the space between the M.2 slot and PCIe x16 slot is narrow; however, they don’t block each other in any way. The controllers equipped on this board are of cheap quality, and I would recommend you to consider some premium choice of this chipset.

ASRock B365M-HDV is placed on the top on our list because of its price and features; however, I would recommend this if you are not going to spend much on the motherboard. There are some great alternatives to this motherboard listed below for the same price. It would be much better if this board comes with an additional two DIMMs and a USB Type-C port.

Best Budget Motherboard for i5 9400F - Gigabyte B365M DS3H

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In addition to budget motherboards for i5 9400f, we got another great addition, namely Gigabyte B356M DS3H, and it’s slightly better than the one mentioned above.

This motherboard is targeted towards budget users who don’t want to spend much money on boards and looking for a cheap option. Gigabyte B365M DS3H is built with military class components the same as those used in Asus premium motherboards.

The base of this board is colored in black with some grey circuits printed on it, which gives attractive looks. Thanks to Realtek for providing the best and cheap audio and networking controllers, which offers noise-free sound and lightning-fast speed.

The motherboard mentioned before got two DIMMs while this one has four and supports memory up to 64 GB, which is enough for any gaming build. On the rear I/O panel, there are four USB 3.1 Gen1 5GBPS ports along with some other connectivity ports.

For storage, this motherboard has six SATA3 slots and one M.2 slot for NVMe and Wi-Fi modules. The best part of this board is the onboard RGB lights header, plenty of fan headers, and other options, which gives it an advantage over others. For all these fantastic features, you don’t have to pay any extra money, and it’s another best motherboard for an i5 9400f.

This motherboard is way better than other entry-level or budget motherboards; however, it also lacks some features which modern builds need. First of all, the same as the motherboard mentioned above, this one also lacks USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port on the rear I/O panel.

Also, this motherboard doesn’t have that potential to run this processor on max turbo while there are some other options for the same price that allows you to hit that clock speed. Gigabyte B365M DS3H was no doubt a great gaming motherboard for budget users, but if it comes with all these features, It will be a more compelling option.

As I’ve mentioned before that this motherboard is a great option but lacks some features which other motherboards are offering for the same price. Just below, we have a premium option, which is slightly more expensive than this one, so look at it too.

But still, if you can compromise on CrossFire and lower clock rates for some money cut, you are good to go with Gigabyte B365M DS3H.

Best Value Motherboard for i5 9400F - B365 Phantom Gaming 4

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ASRock has released several B365 chipset motherboards, and I’ve picked their premium motherboard in this chipset, which is B365 Phantom Gaming 4. I know pairing a premium motherboard with a budget, or mainstream CPUs doesn’t make sense, but this one comes with a budget-friendly price, which you can easily afford for this build.

ASRock targeted this board for mainstream gaming and professional work as it comes with all those features you need in a gaming build. The controllers on this board are a bit expensive and affecting the overall price of the board.

This board has a black colored base with some red and grey stripes on it and has RGB lights that look attractive in RGB builds.

The four DIMMs of this board allow you to install 64GB of maximum memory at the clock speed of 2666 Mhz, and it doesn’t support highly overclocked memory modules.

There are several ports on the backside, including the four USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A and one Type-C and two USB 2.0 along with some other ports for connectivity.

This board is available in ATX and M-ATX form factor; however, both of them have six SATA3 and three M.2 slots for Nvme and Wi-Fi modules, and their speed and bandwidth are identical. There are plenty of fan headers and an RGB lights header on this motherboard too.

This motherboard is an excellent piece of product, but it seems a bit expensive for budget processors.  However, for this extra price, we are getting much more; it has two PCIe x1 slots and two PCIe x16 slots and supports AMD CrossfireX in a quad way.

However, we don’t need that with this budget processor. The VRM cooling of this board is excellent enough that you can reach the max boost speed with it; however, you might need to go with some aftermarket cooler because the stock will become much noisy with it.

In the end, I will say that If you are willing to spend a hundred dollars, this is one of the best mobos you can get for i5 9400f.

Best Performance Motherboard for i5 9400F - MSI Z390-A PRO

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MSI Z390-A Pro is no doubt one of the best motherboards in this list, and it’s only because of its chipset and great power design VRM. This board is capable of overclocking and running Intel 9th generation processors on its max boost, and that’s what I like the most in this motherboard.

The only motherboard in this list, which can run i5 9400f at its max boost, is this though motherboards like ASRock Pro B365M can also run it at max boost but not at full potential. The looks of this motherboard are not that great at least for me as it comes in a coffee-colored base with some black touch on it.

Likewise, all other motherboards in this list also come with four DIMMs, but there something changed as it supports 128 GB of memory with support of higher clock rates. It has six SATA 3 slots and one M.2 slot for NVMe SSD modules and offers excellent transfer speed.

The rear I/O panel has plenty of ports, including the USB 3.1 Gen1 5GBPS, USB Type-C ports, and some other connectivity ports. The controllers on this board are those mostly used in the mid-range motherboard and are not very expensive.

Overall we can say it’s a great piece of product for an affordable price and offers excellent value.

This motherboard has four PCIe x1 slots and two PCIe x16 slots and supports AMD CrossfireX in 2-Way but lacks support for Nvidia SLI. This board comes with every great feature.

But it would be much better if I had some premium features like onboard Wi-Fi and RGB lights, which are missing in it. Though for its performance, we can compromise on these features.

Also, the aesthetics of this board are a bit plain as it has a coffee-like color, which doesn’t seem right to me not sure about others. But apart from these features, I found this motherboard, one of the best option on this list.

There are some other alternatives and other Z390 chipset motherboards too, but I wouldn’t recommend you to go with them because they are way expensive for this price. I found this motherboard best for i5 9400f as it’s affordable and has a great set of features.

Also, wasting your money on some premium motherboards doesn’t make sense because this CPU doesn’t support overclocking, so the basic one is good for it.

Best Basic Motherboard for i5 9400F - MSI H310M PRO-VDH Plus

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As I’ve mentioned earlier, the 9^th generation motherboard comes in three different categories, and there we got the most affordable or entry-level motherboard.

Yes, MSI H310M, which is a micro-ATX motherboard and comes with an H310 chipset and is compatible with Intel i5 9400f out of the box. The main difference of this chipset motherboard than others is the low number of USB and other ports and weaker chipset.

MSI H310M PRO-VDH Plus comes in black color PCB and some white circuit lines printed on it, which gives a great look in RGB builds.

This motherboard has 4 + 2 phase voltage regulators, which is fed by a single 8 Pin connector and delivers smooth power to the CPU and other components.

It has two USB 3.1 Gen1  slots on the rear I/O panel and has some USB 2.0 ports along with some other connectivity ports on it. There are four SATA slots on this motherboard, which is acceptable, but the disappointing thing there is a lack of M.2 slot.

which is a significant need of every gaming build. But for a price but you must have to compromise on some features that other motherboards are offering.

This might be one of the cheapest motherboards in this list, and I would recommend this one if you are building an entry-level machine and don’t consider overclocking or max boost and other features.

This board comes with a  basic set of features that are required for every computer system, and those who are on a meager budget can consider these choices. Though in my opinion, you will have to pay an additional 10$ to get a B365 chipset motherboard, which is way better than this one.

But it’s up to you as this processor doesn’t support overclocking, and we can also consider entry-level boards with it.

Best Mini-ITX Motherboard for i5 9400F - MSI Pro Series H310I Pro

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MSI has a couple of motherboards for Intel 8th and 9th generation processors from which we’ve picked the MSI Pro Series H310I Pro. This motherboard is specific for those users who like to have a compact build for side purposes like steam with gaming etc.

However, it’s a 310 chipset motherboard, which limits you from reaching the max boost, but the best thing is its build quality of the PCB. This motherboard looks attractive as it has black colored PCB with some of which accent that gives great aesthetics in color coordinate RGB builds.

As you know, it’s an ITX motherboard; because of its small size, there are only two DIMMs that accept memory up to 32GB, but still, it’s suitable for compact or SFF builds.

MSI Pro Series H310I Pro has four SATA3 slots and one M.2 slot with heatsink for better cooling as it’s too close to the PCIe x16 slot. There are enough USB 3.1 Gen1 5GBPS ports and some other connectivity ports on the rear I/O panel though it lacks USB Type-C port.

There is only one PCIe x16 slot with PCIe Steel Armor, which allows you to install big graphics cards, and also, there are plenty of fan headers for casing fans.

This motherboard is suitable for small form factor or compact builds, but it makes no sense to consider this if you are building a mid-tower build.

This board lacks a lot of features, including a low number of memory DIMMs, supports less memory, has only one M.2 slot, and doesn’t have any PCIe x1 slot. But for compromising on these features, you have to pay a lot of money even more than the price of the processor.

In this way, I would recommend you go with them-ATX or other motherboards, but if you still have to go with the SFF builds, you can consider this one.

This motherboard only seems terrible to me because of its price; otherwise, there are some cheap ITX motherboards too, which we can consider, but they have their advantages and disadvantages.

Overall if you are willing to spend some extra money, you can consider this one as it offers excellent features and exceptional performance with 9th generation processors.

Best B360 Motherboard for i5 9400f - ASRock B360 PRO4

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In the end, we have the ASRock B360 Pro4, a perfect i5 9400f motherboard bundle, compatible with Intel 8th and 9th generation processors out of the box. ASRock Pro series motherboards are very compelling as they offer a high number of features for a very budget-friendly price.

And that’s why I’ve put this one on our list. This motherboard can be used if you are low on budget, but I would suggest you look for the ASRock B365 Phantom Gaming 4 too because their prices are the same, and the other one offers excellent performance and features.

This motherboard is available in two different form factors, but I would recommend you to go with the ATX because it provides more features.

The looks of this board are great as it has an I/O cover and black and white color scheme which picks colors from the RGB build and gives an attractive look. The controllers on this motherboard are a bit expensive but offer excellent performance but affecting the overall price.

The four DIMMs of this motherboard can accept the maximum memory up to 128 GB at the clock speed of 3200 MHz overclocked. There is plenty of connectivity and other ports on the I/O panel, including USB 3.1 Gen1 5GBPS and USB 2.0 ports.

For storage devices, this motherboard has six SATA3 and three M.2 slots in the ATX version. On the other side, the M-ATX motherboard offers the same specification but two M.2 slots.

ASRock B360 PRO4 has enough fans headers, and also this motherboard has an RGB lights header. It has three PCIe x1 slots and two PCIe x16 slots with PCI Steel Armor on the primary slot and supports multiple AMD graphics cards. While reviewing this motherboard.

I found nothing wrong in it; however, there are even more options for the same price that you can also consider. But for me, this motherboard is okay to consider because of its price and great value.