Going into 2020, one of the very best processors you can get for gaming is one of AMD’s incredibly powerful Threadrippers. And fortunately for those who have the budget to build a Threadripper gaming PC, the brand new generation of Threadripper, the 3000 series, just launched in November. And along with the new CPUs have come new TRX40 motherboards.
The newest Threadripper processors, which can run up to 32 cores, require a brand new motherboard socket, and that means, naturally, that you’ll need a new motherboard to pick one up. That can be a daunting task, as buying a new Threadripper also requires upgrading one of the most significant parts of your PC build, but it’s worth it. These new TRX40 motherboards are seriously impressive, and they’re all built with the new sTRX4 CPU sockets.
Using customer reviews from the previous and current versions of these boards as well as our own analysis, we’ve made a list five of our favorite new TRX40 motherboards. So when you’re ready to pick up one of these beefy Threadripper CPUs, you’ll also be ready to give it a good home.
Asrock TRX40 Taichi
Talking about the Taichi is easy, because its previous generation, the sTR4 socket boards, was one of the highest rated and most reliable Threadripper boards on Newegg. The new version brings the same signature design of all ASRock’s Taichi boards—the clockwork accents and gears paired with sturdy and rigid heatsinks.
ASRock’s TRX40 Taichi is loaded with all the features you’d expect, too. Eight high-powered memory DIMMs, a state-of-the-art cooling system with bulky heatsinks and heatpipes, and built-in WiFi. It’s perfect for the PC builder who wants literally everything, because that’s what it offers.
Gigabyte TRX40 AORUS Xtreme
And on the note of wanting everything, here we have the Gigabyte AORUS Xtreme. Or, as I like to call it, the thing that happened when Gigabyte asked the question: “If we could turn the word ‘overkill’ into a motherboard, what would that be like?” This motherboard may look like a minimalistic machine due to its toned-down, sleek design and full brushed metal thermal plating, but it’s anything but minimalistic under the hood. It’s almost $900 worth of pure horsepower.
It has the same Quad Channel memory as all the other TRX40 motherboards, but the Xtreme’s memory is all unbuffered, which means its directly fed into the chipset controller rather than bottlenecked at all. The only reason most motherboards don’t unbuffer their memory is because unprocessed and unchecked power is normally a bad thing. But on a motherboard built to withstand all the punishment you can throw at it, that’s not really a problem. Of course we mean “punishment” such as 8K video rendering and playing nine games at once, not physical punishment. Please don’t hurt your motherboard.
Read more in our overview of the Gigabyte AORUS Xtreme.
MSI Creator TRX40
The Creator doesn’t cost quite as much as the AORUS Xtreme, but it’s still considered an enthusiast board. MSI made one of the slickest design choices on this board, too—a giant RGB-infused crystal covering the primary heatsink. It’s pretty. You can see more photos of it in our full overview article.
Pretty isn’t the only thing a TRX board has to offer, but it’s certainly a bonus. This board is also packed full of next-gen hardware, like integrated 10G LAN and a bunch of PCIe 4.0 and M.2 slots for storage expansion. One of the coolest features of the Creator is MSI’s Creator Center, a software program that allows you to dedicate CPU, GPU, and RAM usage to certain programs, like Vegas Pro 16 and the Adobe Creative Suite.
ASUS TRX40 ROG Zenith II Extreme
ASUS has been known as one of the most reliable PC manufacturers for a long time, and they’ve pushed their gaming brand, ROG, into the same sphere of reliability for gamers specifically. As such, this motherboard is incredibly well suited for gaming at the highest end of the spectrum.
The Zenith II is ROG’s flagship motherboard. It’s the best that the line has to offer, and while that does mean a hefty price tag, similar to the AORUS Xtreme, it’s built to conquer the best games on the market for a long, long time. It’s almost completely covered and protected by thick thermal plating, it has five M.2 slots, 10G LAN, 16 Infineon power stages, ProCool II power connectors, microfine alloy chokes, and 10K capacitors. Oh, and you can’t forget its industry-leading SupremeFX audio system.
ASUS Prime TRX40 Pro
And here we arrive at the Prime Pro, also one of the most highly rated Threadripper motherboards on Newegg. This generation of the Prime Pro is just as impressive as the last, with the signature sleek white design we’re all used to. It’s much more budget-friendly than some of the boards on this list, but it’s still quite the workhorse.
It has the same Quad Channel memory and 8 DIMMs that most TRX40 boards have, as well as a whole host of M.2 connectors and PCIe 4.0 slots, but it’s also supported by some pretty incredible software. ASUS 5-Way Optimization lets you tweak your BIOS in ways you can’t normally access, at least not easily, which opens the door for some pretty neat customization and power routing.
