The Core i5-14600K is the latest midrange champ from Intel and strikes up the best balance between power and performance. It is more power hungry than its predecessor, the i5-13600K, but is still manageable for the majority of motherboards currently on the market that have a comprehensive enough thermal solution. With the i5-14600K being nearly as performant as an i7-13700K, it still requires a robust solution.
B760 and Z790 motherboards are still compatible with this new 14th Gen, but there are a number of new boards that have support out of the box. If you get one previously released it will require a BIOS update for it to work with the 14600K, however they will be a little cheaper whilst the feature set will often be almost identical. If you’re hunting for the best motherboards to pair with it, these are what you should buy.
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX WiFi
Best midrange Z790
MSI’s Tomahawk range brings a solid offering to the lower end of the midrange, with the new MAX WiFi board bringing support for Intel 14th Gen and adding Wi-Fi 7 support. 16+1+1 power design with DDR5 support of 7800+(OC) MHz. One Gen 5 M.2 slot with a dedicated heat sink plus two Gen 4 M.2 slots for a total of three. This updated model also comes with yellow accents for a bit of added flair.
ASUS ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi
Best all-rounder B760
ASUS brings a great all-round experience, bringing some premium features along with pleasing aesthetics at a reasonable price point. 16+1 power stages, optimized VRM thermals and one-click fan tuning. Support for DDR5 RAM up to 7800MHz. PCIe 5.0 support and three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots with heat sinks plus Wi-Fi 6E. This is all topped off with a wonderful design and Aura lighting effects.
MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi II Gaming Motherboard
Best budget microATX B760
The MSI MAG B760M Mortar is a great mATX board for those wanting to build something a little more compact on a budget. It brings 12+1 power stages, an ample thermal solution with support for DDR5 memory of 7800+(OC) MHz. Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G LAN and three PCIe 4.0 M.2 connectors and Intel 14th Gen support out of the box rounds off a complete package to build yourself a great mATX PC build.
ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II
Best all-round Z790
This motherboard is perfect for those looking to have a white themed PC build as well as having a lot of excellent features. A 16+1+2 power solution rated at 70A in conjunction with beefy heatsinks, high conductivity thermal pads and an L-shaped heat pipe. Wi-Fi 7, one Thunderbolt (USB4.0) header and a 20G Type-C front panel connector with 30W PD charging, five M.2 slots with ample I/O means this is also a great board for content creators. That futuristic looking polycarbonate display looks pretty cool too! Supports 14th Gen out of the box.
MSI MPG Z790 Edge TI MAX WiFi
Best runner-up all-rounder Z790
This excellent looking white and silver motherboard from MSI has support out of the box for Intel’s latest 14th Gen CPUs and brings Wi-Fi 7 to the game. It has a 16+1+1 power configuration and four Lightning Gen 5 (PCIe 5) M.2 slots. Four USB 3.2 ports are surrounded by plenty more I/O making this board very appealing to those wanting to get the most out of their i5-14600K.
Best premium Z790
This is definitely overkill for an i5-14600K, but it will allow you to push every limit possible whilst providing all the features you could want. It also allows you to upgrade to the higher end 14th Gen CPUs later if you feel like it. The MEG offers a supreme 24+1+2 power delivery system. For cooling there’s a stacked fin array design, an aluminium backplate, direct touch cross heat-pipe and an enlarged PCH heatsink. For connectivity there’s dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, dual 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7 and an ESS audio DAC make this the complete solution for those wanting a top tier motherboard. It’s worth noting that this is an E-ATX board. Look at it though!
Choosing the best motherboard for the Intel Core i5-14600K
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You will have no issues running the i5-14600K on any of these boards. If you want the simplicity of being able to drop it in the motherboard without having to do any BIOS updates first, then be sure to get one of those latest motherboards listed above.
It all comes down to what features you want from your motherboard. There are differences in I/O which you might want more of if you’re a content creator. For gaming, you may just want to keep the cost down as much as possible to spend that money elsewhere, maybe on a higher end GPU.
Something to take note of as well. Whichever motherboard you get here will be the end of the line in regard to future CPUs. Intel’s 15th Gen next year will change to a different socket, so be sure that you are happy with 14th Gen before buying. If you’re going for the 14600K, though, there will always be the option of picking up an i7-14700K or i9-14900K later for a bump in performance. Just be sure to get a solid motherboard if that’s what you intend to do.
