Budget 21-30k Need help picking a motherboard.

[LuvOverTheWall]

To start off, I'm new to this forum and this is my first post, so thanks in advance to anyone who interacts with it .

I recently got my hands on the i5 13500, and now I'm looking at motherboards (ddr5) .
My primary usage is going to be drawing using a pen display/drawing tablet, I'm not a fan of too many cables so I'm looking for something that supports display output through type-c (display port alt mode).
Secondary usage would be video editing and light gaming (not a priority).

I know my options are very limited:
Asus proart b660 has type c display output but it's DDR4 and does not have wifi, plus it's old and would require a bios update, not to mention that it's overpriced.

Second opinion would be gigabyte aero z690/790 G ddr5, both of them are priced close to 30k or over 30k at the time of posting this. I'm trying to stay around 25k.

Last option would be Msi b760 tomahawk ddr5, it does not have the one feature I'm looking for but has everything else.
So i thought I'd get this one and get a thunderbolt add in card or something to get type c display out, but there lies another problem, thunderbolt cards cost just as much as a whole motherboard ಥ‿ಥ.

I'm beyond confused, so any suggestion in this matter would be helpful. Maybe there's another way of getting display output via type c (with a single cable) that i don't know of yet.

Ps. If I've made any mistake in the format of this post or otherwise, please lemme know so i don't repeat it .

 

[LuvOverTheWall]

Bump

 

[OMEGA44-XT]

MSI B760M Pro A WiFi should be good without costing a lot, usually ~17k.

Don't expect DP alt mode support over type C, use a converter to use HDMI port on mobo if you are using a type C from monitor. IMO almost all monitors should have an HDMI port on them, so not sure why you want type C DP alt mode. As you have already mentioned TB3 docks are stupidly expensive, so those are not worth the convenience they provide.

 

[LuvOverTheWall]

MSI B760M Pro A WiFi should be good without costing a lot, usually ~17k.

Don't expect DP alt mode support over type C, use a converter to use HDMI port on mobo if you are using a type C from monitor. IMO almost all monitors should have an HDMI port on them, so not sure why you want type C DP alt mode. As you have already mentioned TB3 docks are stupidly expensive, so those are not worth the convenience they provide.

Thank you for responding,
The board you mentioned is pretty good, i was looking at the ATX version of the same that costs around 19k.

As for why i want type c dp alt mode (already mentioned in the post), it can carry video signal, power and pen input with a single cable, much like thunderbolt but a little less versatile.
I considered using a hdmi to type c conversion cable, but I'm not if it will be able to carry power and video signal over the same cable, let alone the pen input.

 

[OMEGA44-XT]

Thank you for responding,
The board you mentioned is pretty good, i was looking at the ATX version of the same that costs around 19k.

As for why i want type c dp alt mode (already mentioned in the post), it can carry video signal, power and pen input with a single cable, much like thunderbolt but a little less versatile.
I considered using a hdmi to type c conversion cable, but I'm not if it will be able to carry power and video signal over the same cable, let alone the pen input.

As I said, the convenience you are looking for isn't worth the price you have to pay. Connect pen separately from the monitor, use HDMI for monitor.

 

[LuvOverTheWall]

As I said, the convenience you are looking for isn't worth the price you have to pay. Connect pen separately from the monitor, use HDMI for monitor.

Fair point..
I'd be paying an extra 10-12k just for that one feature (among other little quality of life features).. If i ignore that, i can save a ton of money.

Slightly off topic follow-up question, have you had any experience with Msi's after sales service? I was reading about it on Reddit and 90% of the people had HORRIBLE experiences.
Even though Msi offers very good build quality and features.. And they're known to make reliable products... But IF something goes wrong, I'd be stuck.
I'm starting to consider gigabyte and maybe even asrock.

 

[OMEGA44-XT]

Fair point..
I'd be paying an extra 10-12k just for that one feature (among other little quality of life features).. If i ignore that, i can save a ton of money.

Slightly off topic follow-up question, have you had any experience with Msi's after sales service? I was reading about it on Reddit and 90% of the people had HORRIBLE experiences.
Even though Msi offers very good build quality and features.. And they're known to make reliable products... But IF something goes wrong, I'd be stuck.
I'm starting to consider gigabyte and maybe even asrock.

There are poor after sales cases from Gigabyte & AsRock as well. Earlier, for Gigabyte escalations was easy because there was a Gigabyte rep in r/IndianGaming who was active & helped gamers. He moved on & his successor is incompetent or asked to deprioritise the subreddit & discord.

MSI laptops have worse after-sales compared to ones for PC parts. Product quality is good, so I continue recommending MSI's PC parts but laptops are a no.

 

[LuvOverTheWall]

There are poor after sales cases from Gigabyte & AsRock as well. Earlier, for Gigabyte escalations was easy because there was a Gigabyte rep in r/IndianGaming who was active & helped gamers. He moved on & his successor is incompetent or asked to deprioritise the subreddit & discord.

MSI laptops have worse after-sales compared to ones for PC parts. Product quality is good, so I continue recommending MSI's PC parts but laptops are a no.

I see .
This change of reps must've been very recent, because i saw the gigabyte rep in the comments of posts from a month ago.

Now I'm a little confused if i should prioritize product quality by going with msi, or after sales service by going with gigabyte and such.
Either way, thank you so much for clearing up other doubts!

 

[calvin1719]

FWIW, while misses in QC can happen to any company, most of the products for any top tier component manufacturer like MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, or even Asrock have consistently good quality. You wouldn't really get a lower quality product with a non-MSI motherboard as long as you're not buying from a lower tier brand.

Where it differs is stuff like pricing vs features, feature segmentation, QoL features, after-sales, and how a company responds to releasing a bad product. Almost all companies have some or the other instance of doing this badly.

For example, MSI has been accused of trying to bury negative reviews by YT reviewers, with some strong evidence for it. Recently, Asus has been called out for offering only a beta BIOS update for an issue with clocks for some AMD CPUs that damaged them, and including terms in the bios update that say installing the beta will void the warranty. Gigabyte has had their infamous exploding power supplies and their abysmal response to it.

I'd say just buy whatever brand hits the right price to feature point you want, and whatever seems to have the best warranty service in India.

 

[LuvOverTheWall]

FWIW, while misses in QC can happen to any company, most of the products for any top tier component manufacturer like MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, or even Asrock have consistently good quality. You wouldn't really get a lower quality product with a non-MSI motherboard as long as you're not buying from a lower tier brand.

Where it differs is stuff like pricing vs features, feature segmentation, QoL features, after-sales, and how a company responds to releasing a bad product. Almost all companies have some or the other instance of doing this badly.

For example, MSI has been accused of trying to bury negative reviews by YT reviewers, with some strong evidence for it. Recently, Asus has been called out for offering only a beta BIOS update for an issue with clocks for some AMD CPUs that damaged them, and including terms in the bios update that say installing the beta will void the warranty. Gigabyte has had their infamous exploding power supplies and their abysmal response to it.

I'd say just buy whatever brand hits the right price to feature point you want, and whatever seems to have the best warranty service in India.

I understand, and yes, I've heard about the incidents with asus and gigabyte.. But i didn't know msi was burying reviews.

As for price to feature point, msi was the sweet spot, meanwhile gigabyte is the one who's service gets praised, hence the minor confusion. I wouldn't consider asus since most of their products are overpriced.
I'm open to suggestions if you have any.

 

[OMEGA44-XT]

I see .
This change of reps must've been very recent, because i saw the gigabyte rep in the comments of posts from a month ago.

Now I'm a little confused if i should prioritize product quality by going with msi, or after sales service by going with gigabyte and such.
Either way, thank you so much for clearing up other doubts!

I will personally rate Asus, MSI & Gigabyte a cut above the rest for PC parts. So among those 3, Asus is usually overpriced. So you end with MSI or Gigabyte. My PC's mobo is Gigabyte as it provided me with the best value for money.