Intel's excellent Core i7-9700K is a processor worth considering if you need performance with plenty of cores available. It's a great addition to any PC for gaming and productivity tasks, but you need an equally decent motherboard to really take advantage of all the performance available to you. This is where our collection of recommended motherboards come into play.
Top Pick
Staff pick
ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming
So this may not be the most affordable motherboard out there, but it's one that rocks high-end components where it matters like the voltage regulator modules (or VRMs). There's also solid support for overclocking, a great BIOS to get familiar with, as well as plenty of ports to hook everything up.
Budget-friendly
Gigabyte B365M DS3H
If you are on a tighter budget and need to save some money, you don't need a Z390 chipset to enjoy solid performance with this CPU. That allows us to choose something like the Gigabyte DS3H, which is a good board in its own right. You just won't be able to push this system anywhere near as close (or reliably) as more premium picks.
Premium Board
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero
This is one of the big ones. The ROG Maximus XI Hero from ASUS is a worthwhile pick if your budget can stretch it, coming with numerous upgrades and features over more affordable motherboards. This board rocks amazing quality components, speedy dual M.2 slots, USB 3.1 Gen 2, and other high-end features.
Small & Mighty
ASUS ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming
What if you could install that powerful Intel Core i7 processor onto a Mini-ITX motherboard and throw it inside a small form factor PC? Well, you can with this fine motherboard from ASUS. It doesn't hold back either, sporting the Z390 chipset — meaning you don't lose out too much on choosing a smaller board — high-quality components, dual M.2 slots, overclocking stability enhancements, and Wi-Fi.
Choosing the best Intel motherboard
If we had to recommend a single motherboard for the Intel Core i7-9700K, it would be the excellent ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming. Not only can you enjoy some solid value here, but it has pretty much everything you need for a powerful PC build. High-quality components, stable overclocking enhancements, a great and easy BIOS, as well as some other handy benefits like dual M.2 slots make the price well worth considering.
If you'd rather go all out with a compact system build, look no further than the ASUS ROG Strix Z390-I Gaming Mini-ITX motherboard. It's seriously compact, has some killer features like the same Z390 chipset as our top recommendation, as well as solid VRMs to even support some degree of overclocking.